The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Reads tagged with “music”

The Life of Trees: A Poem
The Life of Trees: A Poem

“I want to sleep and dream the life of trees, beings from the muted world…”

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Nick Cave on the Art of Growing Older
Nick Cave on the Art of Growing Older

“We’re often led to believe that getting older is in itself somehow a betrayal of our idealistic younger self, but sometimes I think it might be the other way around.”

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The Neurophysiology of Enchantment: How Music Casts Its Spell on Us
The Neurophysiology of Enchantment: How Music Casts Its Spell on Us

“Music so readily transports us from the present to the past, or from what is actual to what is possible.”

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Nick Cave on the Antidote to Our Existential Helplessness
Nick Cave on the Antidote to Our Existential Helplessness

Stepping up to the subtle gestures that can redeem a day, or a life.

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Herbie Hancock’s Antidote to Burnout
Herbie Hancock’s Antidote to Burnout

“We usually define ourselves by what we do… There’s a big trip with all of that.”

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The Balancing Monsters of Love: Leonard Cohen on What Makes a Saint
The Balancing Monsters of Love: Leonard Cohen on What Makes a Saint

On loving the world enough to surrender to the laws of gravity and chance.

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The Symphony of Belonging: Alfred Kazin on Music as Spiritual Homecoming
The Symphony of Belonging: Alfred Kazin on Music as Spiritual Homecoming

On the emotional machinery that suspends us between rapture and tears.

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Love, Music, Solitude, and How to Be More Alive: The Best of The Marginalian 2022
Love, Music, Solitude, and How to Be More Alive: The Best of The Marginalian 2022

From Emily Dickinson to Bruce Springsteen, by way of galaxies and gardening.

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Music and the Price of What We Cherish: Margaret Atwood on the Bonds and Obligations of Creative Gifts
Music and the Price of What We Cherish: Margaret Atwood on the Bonds and Obligations of Creative Gifts

“Gifts transform the soul in ways that simple commodities cannot.”

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Favorite Books of 2022
Favorite Books of 2022

From Rumi to Blake to Nick Cave, by way of trees, hummingbirds, grief, and music.

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