From the Nov 9 – Nov 15, 2000 issue

News

Music Quarterly: "Sea Blue"

"When we listen to the saddest songs we have ever heard, we die." We drop the tough-critic act and bare our souls, exposing deep, blue sorrow.

by Jeff DeRoche

At the point where sorrow takes over, we have lost our ability to speak altogether--which is a primary reason why sorrow is one of the most useful and perfect states of consciousness we are lucky enough to suffer through in our lives. Music, as a medium, serves the life-saving function of expressing what is otherwise inexpressible, and always wins when it gives respiration and meaning to mental suffering: deep, blue, heart-rending sorrow. When we listen to the saddest songs we have ever heard, we die. When we listen to a record that breaks our hearts, we want so badly to speak of it; and then we usually do; and then we miss the mark; and then, ineffective and dumb, we die again. Though it's arguably much more effective to simply press "Play" in most cases, we thought better of it. We made this quarterly about sorrow, because we fucking love sorrow. We relish it. And, consequently, we hope that what we've written makes you very, very sad.

Edited by Jeff DeRoche • Photos by Charles Peterson