devendra banhart

i just received my current issue of signal to noise (it's a journal of improvised and experimental music) and as i'm reading through the feature articles, i come across the cover story on devandra banhart.

i've been hearing banhart's name for the last year or so around nyc's music scene and know he's performed at a few of the indie rock venues around town. although he decries the label in the article, most reviewers and critics have slapped the 'freak-folk' descriptor on the music he and his bandmates produce. can't say it's really my thing - the focus is more on vocals/lyrics over experimental instrumentation.

anyway, the article ends with a quote from banhart that encapsulates the trip i've been on for the last several years.

"it's very strange but we have to be compassionate to our younger selves. i think that's why i'm so attracted to native american poetry and writing, which teaches us to walk with compassion. and i suppose it's why i'm interested in hindu spirituality because it preaches that love, happiness and compassion should not be dependent on anything but you. people say they're happy because they have kids or a certain job but it shouldn't be because of anything it should just be because."

yeah, he gets it. not that we should avoid the procreative urge (well, i am) or occupational ambition (i guess i'm kinda doing that, too), but rather that we should be extremely wary of establishing our happiness or fulfillment on these external factors. as supplements to our inner light, sure - although the zen buddhists discourage any involvement as the external world is the source of all suffering - but never as the sole basis for our happiness.

not being artistically inclined in any obvious way, i've always envied those that possess and exercise the creative ability. i believe that one maximizes their happiness by being their own creator, by recognizing the god within. it's this internal recognition that binds us to the infinite creative processes in our world and universe. i feel it's this bonding that produces the feeling of transcendence, of feeling a part of something much larger and infinite than ourselves.

that's one of the reasons i love participatory music - its ambiguity requires idiosyncratic interpretation to evoke meaning. the interpretive process is wholly unique and, therefore, a form of creation. sure, it's not necessarily something i can share with others, but it allows me a moment to experience something larger than myself. it's transcendental. and it makes me happy!

well, that was a bit of a ramble.

so, i might not be into banhart's music, but i can understand his sentiments regarding the nature of happiness and his motivation to create.

not much to chuckle at there, folks. it's that kind of day - cold, snowy, overcast, but beautiful and solemn.

enjoy it...