I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: Thoughts on making art

Point Wilson Light, Fort Townsend, WA (Diana+, Kodak 400VC-3)

This week I watched "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," the documentary about the band Wilco. The film got me thinking about art and art-making. I decided to collect them here. I hope you'll share your thoughts in the comments if anything sparks your interest.

1. The film was shot in grainy black and white, which had the effect of focusing your attention and eliminating distractions. It also gave the movie a certain nitty-gritty feel that fit the subject matter. I'm wondering: What would it mean to write in nitty-gritty black-and-white?

2. As the band's manager points out, there are two types of potential: artistic and commercial.

3. I want to make collaborative art. What would a band of writers look like?

4. I wonder what it's like to perform songs over and over again, playing with them, tweaking them as you go, responding to the mood of the audience and the mood of the muse each time? Is there any equivalent in writing? Maybe during the editing phase, or if you give live readings of your work. But I can't find a one-to-one correlative here. Maybe the closest thing can be found in live storytelling (which is different than giving a reading). (note to self: will you please finally listen to that burning desire to tell stories on stage? find a venue, already. or create your own if you have to, dammit!)

5. David Fricke, the senior editor of Rolling Stone, said the following while describing Wilco's album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I like what he says about having to "sit with it." I think we need to sit with more things., both in the making and in the receiving of art. "There's pretty stuff in there. There's hard stuff in there. There's mystery in there. There's really sweet tunes in there! And there's an abrasion in there, as well. But it's all there, and you really have to kind of sit with it. You have to allow yourself the time to get something out of it. ... We expect everything to happen like that. ... People are just so impatient. And as a result, we're looking at things in ways like, 'Well, how much time do I have to devote to this?' And it's really sad, because music, art, literature, poetry, even great technological inventions -- they're not meant to be done and done with that quickly."

6."It's hard to be working with somebody that needs more than you can give them. I'm more interested in playing music with people I can share with than give things to." ~Jeff Tweedy, lead singer of Wilco, speaking about a band member who was asked to leave

7. Making collaborative art sounds beautiful when it's all flowing and grooving. It sounds grueling and heartbreaking when the group dynamics sour. Like life, then.

8. I posted this next quote in my last post (about editing as a creative act), but I love it enough to post it again. There's something so freeing and alluring -- and frightening! -- about creating something and then pulling it apart to make it more interesting. "We generally go for a pretty straight definitive version of what the song sounds like it should be, and then, deconstruct it a little bit to see if there's some more exciting way to approach it. There's no reason -- at all -- not to destroy it. We made it, so it's ours to destroy. And that's liberating and exciting in a really creative way." ~Jeff Tweedy

Comments

[Teresa]

I saw that documentary about five years ago a couple of times and though I haven't seen it since ( but I keep meaning to) it remains one of my favorite documentaries. I remember very clearly when he talked about the song being theirs to destroy. That had a big effect on me. Until then I had never really thought of that, but it's true, as heartbreaking as it is.

On a kind of side note I also remember when he threw up in the bathroom stall and then he took the time to unroll the toilet paper and clean the toilet seat. Pat it down, so to speak. I don't know why but when I saw that I thought, wow that's a guy that I want to know. That's a good guy. Those little things that tell you about a person.

A little long winded but anyway I love your blog and always look forward to your posts. :)

Cheers!

[Kim Aubrey]

I love that idea of "sitting with" stuff. I think we need to slow down in general, especially to fill the well for making art. And the idea of breaking down an old song or story or belief, and remaking it in a new way--inspiring!

[Lisa]

Neat post! We adore Jeff Tweedy & Wilco!!! They are just FANTASTIC in concert :-)

Like the way you wove this together. Glad I've learned to slow down and appreciate the process. Thanks for the valuable reminder and affirmation.

{{hugs}}