Mumford might outsell Eminem? What is the world coming to?

Just a month or so ago a little act you might have picked up at your local Starbucks – Mumford and Sons – sold over a million albums digitally, third only to Eminem and Adele in digital album sales this year.  Seriously, could anyone have predicted this?

And earlier in the year Mumford and Sons, Eminem, and Lady Gaga dominated the Billboard Music Awards. Take just a moment to get your mind around that. A folk band from England that broke onto the music scene by being part of an artist community called Communion are now topping the US charts, being invited to benefit concerts with Neil Young, and sought after to guest on an Adele track because, to quote Adele, “Marcus Mumford’s voice goes straight through me.”

Obviously these young men have touched a heart string and are making music that resonates with people. They’ve erected a signpost by their music that points to something common in us all and beckons to something in each of us that wants to come out.  We’ll leave it up to you to figure out what that is.

Take a look at this music video for their song, “The Cave.”

Somehow simultaneously haunting and liberating, isn’t it?

Join the discussion. Let’s figure out what’s going on here. A group of musicians, artists, and generally fun people will be gathering at The Blake house at 7pm on Saturday, Oct. 19th.

There’ll be folk activities… you know gettin’ down like scruffy, longbearded wayfarers do. We’ll leave that up to your interpretation as to how they get down. But bring some drinks if you want, a spot of food, and maybe a smoke or two and join in the listening and discussion.

Thank you to everyone who came out for the mead tasting last Saturday!  We had a fantastic crowd, sampled some delicious variations on the theme of fermented honey, and had a lot of fun.  A particular thank you to those who brought friends or co-workers along; it was wonderful to be able to welcome some new faces, and I hope they’ll feel very welcome to join us in future get-togethers.

…Speaking of which, save the afternoon of Saturday, March 26 for a Korean cooking class!  Due to some logistical challenges (specifically, the need for industrial-sized rice cookers!) the class will actually take place at a Korean church in Maryland – but hopefully the drive won’t deter you from joining us!  We’ll have the awesome opportunity to learn to make some traditional Korean dishes, and then enjoy our handiwork together for dinner.  More details will come soon, but for now, save the date and think of a friend who would enjoy participating!

With a little help from our friends…

I’m delighted to know so many talented people.  They enrich my life…and now, this blog, too!  I’m delighted to introduce Prasana William, a D.C.-based freelance arts and culture journalist (and a familiar face to frequent Signposts attendees).  Prasana is a great writer with a zest for exploring all the nooks and crannies of culture.  Over the course of this new year, Prasana is going to periodically share her insights into her cultural experiences.  But before diving into uncharted territory, she’s re-capping the cultural highlights of 2010.

Hi! You don’t know me, but I know you. You’re a Signposts blog reader, which means you’re probably one arts and culture-loving fiend, or at least you aspire to be. Maybe you’ve already got your own niche in the world of finer things—a stash of rare vinyl, a penchant for fine cigars, a personalized corkscrew, Pandora stations so esoteric you’d have to be a real hipster to understand their logic. Or maybe you just want to know more about why culture is what it is. Either way, I, your friendly guest-blogger, am here to lend a little guidance to your foray into culture-making.

I am a fan first, blogger second—important to know because I will hound down cultural artifacts with the diligence of a true fanatic and report them with the sly tongue of a blogger. That is what you can expect from my posts here, but just in case you want to know a little more about me I’ve compiled the short list of my top culture moments of the last year:

Theater: Twelfth Night, as performed by The Shakespeare Theatre Company
Now, one thing I’ve learned over the years is never trust a Shakespeare performance that is free. I’ve seen one too many theater in the park renditions of the Bard (complete with 80s themes and crying babies) to not be skeptical about a company that gives its tickets away. But The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s free production of “Twelfth Night” has made me a believer. From a set that flips from spartan to lush in a moment (a shower of rose petals, what?) to brilliant embodiment of every character, this production was everything Shakespeare should be.

Music: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, “Up from Below”

I think I was born in the wrong era. I like my music to sound as though it was made decades ago—not mere months. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ freshman album “Up from Below” takes me back to a time my parents can relive, but I can’t—the late 60s. This psychedelic album rolls smoothly from trippy wailing chords to modern electronic to folksy gentle twang.

Book: Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

I’ve been a fan of Michael Chabon for years, but only picked up this classic last summer. “Wonder Boys” is the story of an over-the-hill writer who discovers his wife is leaving him, his mistress is pregnant, his star student is suicidal, and his publisher is about to drop him all in the course of one night. Chabon is at his best in a book peopled with interesting characters and not-so-subtle emotion.

Film: Community

Ever since cinema ticket prices skyrocketed right out of my entertainment budget, I’ve come to appreciate the small screen in a whole new way. So despite all the amazing movies that have come out this year, I tip my hat to “Community,” a new part of NBC’s Thursday line up. It is still technically film and this show (I can’t bear to call it a sitcom) is like a Whitman’s Sampler for the pop culture fanatic. Following the adventures of a group of misfit community college students, “Community” has enough dry, meta, and straight forward humor to pretty much satisfy anyone. Oh, and that guy from “The Soup” is just great.

Food: Cooking with wine

You’d think that would be an obvious one for a foodie, but until this year I never really tried it. After dyeing my steak purple with a particularly full-bodied merlot, I hung up my sommelier/chefs hat and went back to jar sauce. But this year, I’ve found myself keeping aside a little white to add to everything from mushroom soup to sauerkraut. A little dash of red has saved pot roast and pasta alike. And it doesn’t hurt to have a glass for yourself on hand as well.

That’s a little about my year in culture! Looking forward to spending 2011 exploring with you.

Coming Up

Well, well, well – It’s a new year!

Signposts has what I think will be a very interesting quarter ahead. While coordinating many calendars is proving to be about as easy as keeping my New Year’s resolutions, I hope to have all the dates in stone by the end of this week, at which point I’ll be ready to post more info with confidence! Until then, however, here’s a teaser run-down of just a few of the things we’ll be exploring in the next few months:

• “Food, Inc.”
• Homemade Mead
• Traditional Korean cooking

The food & drink theme was unintentional, but not an unwelcome coincidence, as these are areas full of potential for cultural expression and education. How do the laws and business structures designed and implemented by humans affect the quantity, quality, and accessibility of the food we eat? What new cultures are created – or conversely, what cultures are in danger of elimination – by such systems? What unique variations have people the world over lent to the same basic formula – honey and water? How have the limitations and possibilities presented by climate, geography, and resources shaped the foodways of an entire people?

I really hope you’ll join us as we learn to eat and drink more attentively in 2011…Come hungry!

Listening Party: Hem

On Saturday, Oct. 16 we’re going to gather at Blake House to listen to the sweet, sweet strains of Hem. Hem has been categorized as everything from “progressive folk” to “countrypolitan” to “country-pop” to “Americana”…It is all and none of these things, which is what keeps it at once such an interesting band to following and such a frustrating one to try to describe! Their songs are deeply rooted in all the best of American music (Appalachian folk songs, traditional hymns, Aaron Copland, Johnny Cash), but at the same time speak to emotions and experiences that are always current (young love, lost love, parenthood, loss, fear, comfort). Every piece is impeccably, tenderly crafted, a total work of art, from the melody to the arrangement to the lyrics.

Another reason I’d venture to say they are compelling is that they are clearly not doing what they do for material gain. Dan Messe, who writes much of the band’s material, sold most of his belongings to finance their self-released debut album Rabbit Songs. Sally Ellyson, Hem’s lead vocalist, was not professionally trained and was not seeking a singing career; she spotted an ad in the paper and sent in a demo tape of some lullabies she’d recorded for a friend’s baby. Messe listened to the tape and had his muse. Aside from a few Liberty Mutual commercials, the band hasn’t received very wide exposure. They’re simply devoted to making the best music they can. Once, when asked if his music is escapism, Messe said, “I always look at it as I’m trying to find comfort. Certainly in this world today, the need for comfort is great, to say the least. For myself, the reason I’m making these albums is because I figure if I can write a beautiful enough song and have Sally sing it, maybe I can listen to it someday and feel better about things, and just feel comforted.”

Check out some of the tracks on their Myspace, and we hope you’ll join us on the 16th, bring your musically-inclined friends, and let us know what you think! Shoot an email to signpostsdc@gmail.com for logistics.

Exquisite Collaboration

Thanks to everyone who came out to watch and discuss “Between the Folds” last week! It was great to get everyone’s thoughts on a number of interesting questions that arose out of the film. A couple of key things we considered were the implications of cultural/creative power and its use, in particular the truth that most things humans produce are capable of either contributing to or detracting from (or even prohibiting) human flourishing, simply depending upon whose hands those things fall into.

We also discussed the dignity there is in the willingness of an artist to subject him/herself to the limits of a medium, to the unpredictable reaction of an audience, or to the long timeline that quality work often requires – a struggle for inhabitants of an age of instant gratification!

Recently, 100 artists came together in a project that actually gives a light-hearted emobodiment to the exploration of those same questions! These artists agreed to forego exercising complete control over their work by participating in “The Exquisite Book,” an elaborate version of the “exquisite corpse” game. Maybe some of you played this as children: One person begins by drawing a head, folds the paper down and passes it to the next person, who then draws a torso, folds the paper, and passes it on until an entire body has been completed. The end result is usually pretty bizarre! 

In The Exquisite Book, 100 artists were given a phrase for inspiration, such as “In the Woods” or “In the Snow.” Each artist had to create a picture based on that theme. They were allowed to see the image that preceded theirs, so that they had some sense of a storyline. They also had to incorporate a common horizon line into their picture.

It’s interesting to think about what each artist had to surrender; the images they created will probably not be evaluated on an individual basis, but will be given attention as one part of a very collaborative whole. They also had to forego instant gratification, waiting several months for the creation of the other 99 illustrations before they could see the final product.

Between the Folds

On September 18 we’re going to gather to watch the documentary “Between the Folds” by director Vanessa Gould. Gould enters the fascinating subculture of paperfolders – people who have devoted their lives and careers to exploring what it is possible to create within the limitations of one square piece of paper.

It’s easy to raise an eyebrow (or two) and think, “Seriously?” Aren’t there bigger problems to tackle in this broken world?

But if we ask this question about paperfolding, we must ask it about any of our hobbies, right? What is the lasting value of playing golf, or collecting stamps, or spending hours writing a song that only you will hear? There are a lot of different answers to such questions, but I think one important thing to remember is that in any and all of those endeavors, we are “flexing the muscles” of the nature we were given. We are created to create, as well as to bring about order and sense. We are made to find the limits of a medium and seek excellence within those limits. As if aware of skeptical viewers (perhaps they’ve dealt with a few skeptics in their own families over the years) the film’s sibjects address these as well as some other startling questions, and passively challenge the viewer to consider that there might actually be great value, and even dignity, in the craft (or science, depending on the person!) they pursue.

Food for thought…

• One paper-folder in the film states, “The process of making is the point of it.” Is the process of creating something — and the lessons embedded in that process — actually the whole point of creating, more important than the end product itself? Does that perspective only benefit the maker?
• Another paper-folder says, “Part of what makes us human – and is both our strength and our weakness – is our need to change things…[Paperfolding is about] the surprising magic of just how far you could change that square.”
• Although in many ways it is an artform carried out in solitude, paperfolding has nonetheless had a significant impact on our daily lives. It has informed the design of air bags in automobiles and provided new ways to solve seemingly impossible advanced mathematical problems…literally changing the world for drivers, passengers, professors, students, and those around them. What other “so what?” hobbies might actually have the potential to change the world?

More paperfolding!

He probably made the best paper boats as a kid…It’s paying off now: The “Origami” Concept Superyacht

Email signpostsdc@gmail.com for location & other details for the Sept. 18th get-together.