More to the point, I read something from Ennis about Kanyeism, ask him sometime.... It was with regards to the effect of music on states of mind. Particularly Kanye West's confidence inducing nectar. And this led to a quest to find Truth from music. I found it in a band from Japan called Sakanaction (roughly translated: 'fish' action). They aim to be like fish in the water.
The song in question is called 'Music'. From the moment it started I knew this was something other. It wrapped around me like the arm of an old dear friend and with it's other hand, buried in my chest cavity, began to massage my heart. We all here different things so I will not go into music analysis- the notes, the arrangement, tones, cadence and textures. Instead I want to talk about the feeling in as much as I can express what I felt.
There were definitely two distinct layers running throughout the song. One was a cool and magnetic wave that led me from place to place and from image memory to the next, I trusted them. This must have been the arm around my shoulder.
The second layer was impulsive and hypnotic. It jerked me around at specific points where all I could do was sigh while trying to burst and scream. This was more of a terrified exhilaration. The hand in my chest where no hand should be and doing what no hand should.
The appropriate question now would be how is that truth? If it was just one of either layer then I would say no truth to be found here. However, the juxtaposition of the layers is where I found truth. This is the very nature of truth, to be both constant and uplifting, comforting but also challenging, controlled but also unpredictable. That was the truth echoed by Sakanaction and I heard it.
After this experience I had to know what those strange but beautiful sounding japanese lyrics meant. And here is what I found:
English Translation Lyrics
Flowing along and along
Do the birds end up missing their far away caves?
They flew high into the sky
Nobody knows
Looking down over an unknown town, what do the birds think of?
Are they the same as my lonely self?
When they part
do the birds end up missing their flock companions?
They cried in a high voice
It doesn’t say a thing
The silent town quietly
listened to it
Is it the same as my weak self?
The words of us who have grown used to pain, scars and lies
drift on the surface of the worn-out river
in the town that you live in
They disappeared
They disappeared
(THE RIVER FLOWS)
They disappeared
(YOU STILL DON’T SEE IT, YOU STILL DON’T SEE IT)
They disappeared
They disappeared
(THE RIVER FLOWS)
They disappeared
(YOU STILL DON’T SEE IT, BECAUSE YOU STILL DON’T SEE IT)
I want to go to sleep with my hair still wet
The discarded clothes
are still in the same place as yesterday
It doesn’t say a thing
It’s as if it’s leaning on the wall of my silent room
looking at my sloppy self
I who have grown used to pain, scars and lies align my soliloquy
with the worn out night as the wind blows
towards your cheek
It touched it
It touched it
(THE NIGHT FLOWS ON)
It touched it
(I’M NOT CRYING, I’M NOT CRYING)
It touched it
It touched it
(THE NIGHT FLOWS ON)
You
(WERE CRYING, BECAUSE YOU WERE CRYING)
Turning to look back as they stand in the season
hating that they can’t remember
even the birds that flowed on and on
were surely crying, crying*
in the town
Waiting for a season that’s gone by,
hating that they can’t remember
Because they will part they take flight
The birds were surely crying,
crying
Always waiting on us,
despite being tired of your pain and scars
even though the night remains unchanging
You continue to sing,
continue to sing
You always wait for us
Still unable to see it, you simply wait
Even my sloppy and weak self
can continue to sing,
continue to sing
*Translator's Note: This word can also meaning that 'they were singing.'
Even more disturbing is that the lyrics echo this truth too. A truth I heard before I even understood. So thank you to my senpai: Ishizaki Rui for the discovery, Your taste in music is astounding. Hope the rest of you find a truth that is both eternal and momentary in whatever art you experience. Its not only found in music, ask me sometime... Truth
Here is Sakanaction with Music and then Kanye added for that confidence boost. Truth
Ennis Cehic - Writer Extraordinaire
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