And meanwhile, here we are between the devil and the deep blue sea, our ship's captain, Ahab, chasing the rogue white whale. Hope our story has this in common with Melville's--that it ends with the captain being dragged into the depths of his own madness.
In a paradoxical twist, the white whale he's chasing is actually himself, which is why he'll never succeed. The fella with the horns and pointy tail won't have much difficulty though.
truly beautiful. I cited you in an upcoming post, think it'll slate it for Saturday just fyi. you have a unique lyricism more people should hear. you're def one of the best writers on substack.
"We still wave the flag, but we’ve forgotten what it was supposed to mean."
We don't wave it from the back of a pickup at 60mph -- which reduces it to tatters in no time. We keep it enshrined in our hearts, where it's not as visible, but can never fade.
Thank you, Friedrike. There’s no greater expression of the human condition than in the wordless sound of music. It reaches parts of the psyche language can only circle around, never quite touch.
Thank you, Mark, for this moving post. As an immigrant to the United States myself (as a young child more than 60 years ago), this paragraph really struck me:
“Reagan’s promise once meant anyone could come here and become an American. Now it means anyone can be treated as prey. We still wave the flag, but we’ve forgotten what it was supposed to mean. Every time we look away, every time we stay silent, it pulls us closer to the edge of what we swore we’d never become. Every act of sanctioned cruelty cuts another letter out of the word freedom.”
I am chilled by your stark warning. The brilliant Coltrane piece is the exclamation point! 🙏
I have spent a long time studying Coltrane. I wrote my undergrad thesis on him, and as a guitarist, have spent years studying his compositions and transcribing his solos. Thank you.
That’s impressive. I’m only a music fan. I never had the talent or discipline to play an instrument. I’ve been pursuing music fandom for over 50 years of my life. The closest I got to anything Coltrane was attending a performance of McCoy Tyner in a small club in the the Montmartre of Paris in the late 80s. That was momentous for me.
Beautifully and powerfully written--masterful crafting of similes.
Love Coltrane any time, but your use of Alabama as the coda for your post was especially fine. When I heard After the Rain for the first time, it opened up a whole new world of music for me. I played it over and over for days and days.
I don't know a lot about jazz, mostly what was in Ken Burns' Jazz. Back when I was in high school, though, Miles Davis and It's a Beautiful Day did a concert together at a local university. I was amazed even though I wasn't familiar with Miles Davis or It's a Beautiful Day at that point in time.
And meanwhile, here we are between the devil and the deep blue sea, our ship's captain, Ahab, chasing the rogue white whale. Hope our story has this in common with Melville's--that it ends with the captain being dragged into the depths of his own madness.
In a paradoxical twist, the white whale he's chasing is actually himself, which is why he'll never succeed. The fella with the horns and pointy tail won't have much difficulty though.
Think the demons dancing nightly in Trump's brain haven't already taken over the ship?
truly beautiful. I cited you in an upcoming post, think it'll slate it for Saturday just fyi. you have a unique lyricism more people should hear. you're def one of the best writers on substack.
So kind of you. Thanks!
I'll send links. it'll also be published in rawstory and alternet, which is picked up by MSN and yahoo about half the time.
This is great!
Thank you so much, Sabrina
Agree completely.
Yes.
Mark McInerney is lyrical fire.
Best writer on substack.
On his way to being discovered
by freedom loving Americans.
Our country deeply needs
Mark's moral and political clarity
and his courageous voice.
"We still wave the flag, but we’ve forgotten what it was supposed to mean."
We don't wave it from the back of a pickup at 60mph -- which reduces it to tatters in no time. We keep it enshrined in our hearts, where it's not as visible, but can never fade.
And we're reclaiming it. We're taking it back.
breathtaking
beautiful
brilliance
"Alabama," was said by an American Indian chief after his people and he were chased by the American army; it means "Here shall we rest."
The worst had yet to come.
Thanks Gerard. I didn't know that
Super post Mark, thank you. And the description of how music dignifies our feelings is just beautiful.
"This is one of the most effective expressions of pain ever captured on tape. The melody doesn’t dramatize suffering; it dignifies it."
Thank you, Friedrike. There’s no greater expression of the human condition than in the wordless sound of music. It reaches parts of the psyche language can only circle around, never quite touch.
FYI
My response to the recent propaganda splash by the Department of Labor:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/029U4GSxn1LqKu6W9zMdfpisg
perfect
Thank you, Mark, for this moving post. As an immigrant to the United States myself (as a young child more than 60 years ago), this paragraph really struck me:
“Reagan’s promise once meant anyone could come here and become an American. Now it means anyone can be treated as prey. We still wave the flag, but we’ve forgotten what it was supposed to mean. Every time we look away, every time we stay silent, it pulls us closer to the edge of what we swore we’d never become. Every act of sanctioned cruelty cuts another letter out of the word freedom.”
I am chilled by your stark warning. The brilliant Coltrane piece is the exclamation point! 🙏
Beautiful writing on Coltrane which is not easy to describe in words but you mastered the impossible task.
I have spent a long time studying Coltrane. I wrote my undergrad thesis on him, and as a guitarist, have spent years studying his compositions and transcribing his solos. Thank you.
That’s impressive. I’m only a music fan. I never had the talent or discipline to play an instrument. I’ve been pursuing music fandom for over 50 years of my life. The closest I got to anything Coltrane was attending a performance of McCoy Tyner in a small club in the the Montmartre of Paris in the late 80s. That was momentous for me.
Beautifully and powerfully written--masterful crafting of similes.
Love Coltrane any time, but your use of Alabama as the coda for your post was especially fine. When I heard After the Rain for the first time, it opened up a whole new world of music for me. I played it over and over for days and days.
I don't know a lot about jazz, mostly what was in Ken Burns' Jazz. Back when I was in high school, though, Miles Davis and It's a Beautiful Day did a concert together at a local university. I was amazed even though I wasn't familiar with Miles Davis or It's a Beautiful Day at that point in time.
Chills, and tears.