I’m depressed. I’ve also been obsessively listening to Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s album ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! These two phenomena are not unrelated. I wrote a piece for BuzzFeed Music explaining why.
My friend and editor Matthew Perpetua put it this way in the hed/dek he crafted for it:
How 2012’s Most Miserable Album Helped Me Through Depression
Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! was the only record that made sense to me when it felt like my world was falling apart.
It’s something I was building toward writing for months and I hope you like it.
Tags: 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!, Buzzfeed, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, music, music reviews, reviews
Words are wind, but I really really hope your daughter is OK.
I’m not a big commenter in general, but I appreciate your work a lot. In examining why, it occurs to me that when you write about difficult or negative things, your writing accomplishes something similar to what you describe GY!BE doing for you. I’m thinking of your work on torture, misogyny, and the terrible aspects of the world at large. (You’re also good on terrible things that happen to you, but I wish the universe would give you less material to work with on that subject.)
You and me both, brother. But seriously, thank you for this comment. If I sat around and tried to come up with a comment that would justify why I do what I do the way I do it, this would be it.
That final paragraph nearly had me crying. I hope you and yours get out of this year okay, and that 2013 holds better things, better health, better days. I feel like I can’t state enough how much your writing has meant to me over the last few years. It’ll sound like hyperbole, but: reading your stuff has made me a better person. It sure as hell makes me aspire to be better. Thank you.