Be Not Nobody- A gift or a curse?

[JamesCrowley]

I've just been listening to my daily dose of Vanessa and cracked out some of the super old stuff (demo tape tracks) and I remembered just how much better I find the Demo tape to BNN. Don't get me wrong, I love all V but I definitely think some of the tracks of the Demo are among her best.  This got me thinking about why I love the early stuff, I think it's because of how raw and personal it is and when you listen to BNN in comparison you can see how much she'd been stifled by her label. But then again, the huge success that was brought to V by BNN has allowed her to continue on her own way and look what she's produced: ROTR. (Again some of her best stuff)

What do you guys think, was the A thousand miles era a blessing or not?

[sarab]

I think that every blessing has curse within it.  Just like lottery winners!  Seriously though, there are good and bad things about every choice in life.   There is always something to be gained and something to be lost.  It's interesting you ask this question today because I just read something that pertains to this.  My favorite guy, Joseph Campbell writes:

"In other traditions, good and evil are relative to the position in which you are standing. What is good for one is evil for the other. And you play your part, not withdrawing from the world when you realize how horrible it is, but seeing that this horror is simply the foreground of a wonder: a 'mysterium tremendum et fascinans.'

"'All life is sorrowful' is the first Buddhist saying, and so it is. It wouldn’t be life if there weren’t temporality involved, which is sorrow — loss, loss, loss. You’ve got to say yes to life and see it as magnificent this way; for this is surely the way God intended it …

"It is joyful just as it is. I don’t believe there was anybody who intended it, but this is the way it is. James Joyce has a memorable line: 'History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.' And the way to wake from it is not to be afraid, and to recognize that all of this, as it is, is a manifestation of the horrendous power that is of all creation. The ends of things are always painful. But pain is part of there being a world at all …

“'I will participate in the game. It is a wonderful, wonderful opera – except that it hurts.'

"Affirmation is difficult. We always affirm with conditions. I affirm the world on condition that it gets to be the way Santa Claus told me it ought to be. But affirming it the way it is — that's the hard thing, and that is what rituals are about."

-- Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

(you can receive status updates like this on facebook, someone runs a fan page for him!)

[JamesCrowley]

"In other traditions, good and evil are relative to the position in which you are standing. What is good for one is evil for the other. And you play your part, not withdrawing from the world when you realize how horrible it is, but seeing that this horror is simply the foreground of a wonder: a 'mysterium tremendum et fascinans.'

"Affirmation is difficult. We always affirm with conditions. I affirm the world on condition that it gets to be the way Santa Claus told me it ought to be. But affirming it the way it is — that's the hard thing, and that is what rituals are about."

-- Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

Wow that was a really interesting response, thank you! I guess that horror puts the good into perspective (you can't experience the highs without the lows etc) but I've recently had a really horrible 'epiphany' if you will, about how insignificant my little existence is and I find it really hard to use what's good in my life to remind me that life is essentially a good thing.

This guys work is really interesting, I've taken a look at his other stuff! Thanks

[sarab]

Joseph Campbell is the man!  He gets a lot of his inspiration from Carl Jung who is also the man!

I'm sorry you feel like your life doesn't feel significant.  I assure you, it is, but it's just something we all have to figure out.  We have to figure out how we contribute to the world.  Maybe you should volunteer somewhere to make it feel like you've made a difference.  Or pick a profession that helps others.  That is why I became a nurse, to help people.  I didn't feel like I made a difference at my old job, but I've been in maternity for two years and LOVE it.  It gives me purpose and I KNOW I make a difference in the lives I take care of.  It's a wonderful feeling.  You need to find that!  Find your bliss (which I think is also a JC saying).  If you "like" him on facebook they post status updates like these.  It's so great! 

[nosticker]

ATM was absolutely a blessing.  It came on the tail end of when you could even have a hit with a simple pop song.  To me, pop is nearly unlistenable now, and what's more I think that ATM might not be a hit today.  ATM is probably not her best overall song, but I still think it's her best pop song.

ATM/BNN got her foot in the door.  It made these other things possible.  Some demos are magic, but lack the polish of a well-produced album that would sell well.

Listened to BNN the other day and really enjoyed it.  Some tracks aged better than others, but I'm proud to be an old school Nessaholic.


Dan/NS

[tricia]

Totally agreed Dan.  Without BnN, and ATM, Vanessa wouldn't have had the same opportunities.  Her demo is fantastic, but if not for the success of that first single, we'd never have heard anything at all.  Plus, the movie White Chicks would have had 0 funny scenes without ATM lol