((photos by Ali Carter))

The Music Tapes - The Minister of Longitude

Yesterday’s Music Tapes show at Dreamhaus officially put me in the christmas mood.  Apparently a holiday tradition, Julian Koster and a group merry travelers tour east coast living rooms to spread winter cheer with musical saw-centric renditions of traditional carols.  There was also a singing snowman, a gingerbread orchestra, and go-nowhere stories that managed to be both surreal (Billie Holiday learning how to sing because of an off-kilter whistling dreidel depicting the moon landing) and touching.

Julian Koster may be best known for his connection to Elephant 6 and Neutral Milk Hotel, which he was visibly relieved to not have to talk about yesterday, but he will forever be remembered by me for his beautiful quote about the role of local music scenes in bringing out the best in all its artists.

I think what Elephant 6 meant for us is very simple: there’s something pure and infinite in you, that wants to come out of you, and can come out of no other person on the planet. That’s what you’ve got to share, and that’s as real and important as the fact that you’re alive. We were able, at a really young age, to somehow protect each other so we could feel that. The world at large, careerism, money, magazines, your parents, the people at the rock club in your town, other kids, nothing is going to give you that message, necessarily. In fact, most things are going to lead you away from it, sadly, because humanity is really confused at the moment. But you wouldn’t exist if the universe didn’t need you. And any time I encounter something beautiful that came out of a human somewhere, that’s them, that’s their own soul. That’s just pure, whatever its physicality is, if the person can play piano, if they can’t play piano, if they’re tone deaf, whatever it is, if it’s pure, it hits you like a sledgehammer. It fills up your own soul, it makes you want to cry. It makes you glad you’re alive, it lets you come out of you, and that’s what we need: we desperately need you.*

As a musician, I’ve had plenty of good shows, bad shows, magical shows, soulless corporate showcases, and all kinds of other situations but his quote really touched me.  It showed me the light and cleared up some questions in my head.  Seeing him play only furthered the idea of clubs, finicky audiences, hip labels, only being middlemen between you and the art that’s inside of you wanting to come out.

I look forward to seeing The Music Tapes play every time they come through the town I live in from now on.

*quote taken from Kim Cooper’s 33 1/3 book on Neutral Milk Hotel