The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Wednesday, October 23, 2019 — 5A
Robert M. Drake and R.H. Sin deliver an uplifting pep talk in their poetry collection “Falling
Toward the Moon.” In their respective halves, Drake and Sin shower the reader with affirmation
through their messages of self-love and perseverance. Despite their collective thematic effort, the
poets manage to maintain their own unmistakable voices in their presentations of encouragement.
Given these different styles, one inevitably ends up favoring one section of the collection to the other,
and many will prefer Sin’s for the greater degree the complexity he includes.
In the first half of the collection, Drake opts for a direct approach, typically writing brief excerpts
in which he relies almost entirely on emotion to captivate and move the intended audience, which
implicitly fluctuates between the collection reader and a more specific former or current lover. Some
excerpts incorporate greater complexity, whether it be in the form of anecdotes from Drake’s own life
or the integration of more involved analogies, like one of a returning soldier in “Fight Wars.” These
portions are far and away the most engaging for active readers as they attempt to unpack at which
point in Drake’s timeline of distant and recent relationships the segments apply.
By comparison, the more transparent emotional streams of consciousness come off as somewhat
simplistic. The reason for their inclusion is entirely sound, as they are able to explicitly convey the
themes needed to give context to Drake’s more thought-provoking poems. They are the crucial mortar
to more substantive bricks of Drake’s subtler works. Unfortunately, the majority of a building should
not be mortar. While initially emotionally charged, the excess of direct emotional commentaries causes
several poems to lose their potency, diluting them to the level of platitudes printed on motivational
posters. Granted, it is clear that Drake’s poems come from a place of strongly pinpointed emotion for
past and prospective lovers. For readers still pining over what could have been or those who above all
else want the best for a current partner, Drake’s direct poems may be better received. When poems
are as narrowly tailored to a subject requiring the reader’s experience on the matter, all others can
feel alienated since they cannot even cling to the author’s creative depiction. For those yearning for
a more ambitious and well-rounded presentation of similar subjects, Sin’s portion is likely to be more
gripping.
Similarly to Drake, Sin implements a blend of direct exposition of feelings and comparatively
hidden sentiments. Few would be able to mix up one author’s poem for that of the other, though. Sin’s
ratio of mortar to brick is more palatable for an involved reader, and, often times, even Sin’s more
simplistic works feature an easily understandable metaphor or other means of spicing up his work
while maintaining the desired straightforward tone. The complexity of most of Sin’s poems goes a step
beyond this base level and forces the reader to more closely inspect each sentence or stanza, but the
tactic benefits Sin — especially as it juxtaposes against his co-author’s work. Sin does not come off as
pretentious for obscuring or complicating his emotions.
Instead, the approach comes off as endearing. His feelings become more human as he depicts them
in a more alien nature. Few are able to accurately understand the exact way they feel, much less the
cause of their emotions. Consequently Sin’s sometimes foreign descriptions and extended metaphors
add credibility to the feelings of overwhelmedness, love and perseverance that he conveys.
Sin’s “Crowded Minds” discusses overwhelmed feelings towards interactions with a chaotic tone
and idiosyncratic descriptions like the interactions being “noisy on the soul.” On the contrary, in
“Entire Life,” Drake approaches the same sentiment as Sin but from the perspective of a therapist or
motivational speaker, consoling the audience. While heartwarming, the technique fails to create the
authenticity of Sin’s poems. Granted, perhaps Sin is so able to take on less straightforward depictions
of emotion because Drake transparently introduced these emotions in the first half of the collection.
Even still, Sin’s poems are more developed and enjoyable in isolation.
Fans of love poems, especially those in need of a pick-me-up, should not hesitate to let gravity take
hold in “Falling Toward the Moon.” Others should not avoid giving it a chance, but should keep in
mind that getting through the first half may not be so invigorating — luckily, the direct nature of many
of the poems in this half expedite the process.
Distinction and halves in ‘Falling Toward the Moon’
BOOK REVIEW
ANDREW PLUTA
For The Daily
There’s gonna be a riot in the streets of Ann Arbor
this Sunday night. He captured our hearts as a
headliner at the 2019 Ann Arbor Folk Music Festival
last winter, then crushed them after a cancelled
March show at the Ark. Now, Pokey LaFarge looks
to return to lamplit streets of Ann Arbor Oct. 27 at
The Ark.
Lafarge embraces the legacy of his predecessors,
and has refashioned music of eras gone by for a
contemporary audience. No small feat, given that
many modern listeners would scoff at listening to
the music popular in parents’ and grandparents’
time.
His magic comes from his ability to blend vintage
and modern effortlessly. LaFarge looks like an old
folk musician right out of Nashville’s 1950s heyday
— almost amusingly out of place in the 21st century
crowd. His voice has a tinge of the classic country
warble; lyrics recall the old-timey jazz of the South.
Yet while harmonica riffs and lyrics recall the music
of the past, guitar riffs and swing rhythms wield a
sharp, enjoyable edge that elevates LaFarge’s music
from a mere rehash of old hits. At times, his music
echoes the style of classic French or Spanish music,
echoes which are softly carried in the picking of a
guitar.
And while LaFarge’s music remains distinctly
familiar, he manages to defy expectations in all
regards. Traditional song structure is bucked, bent
and then twisted round to suite LaFarge’s wicked,
musical mastery.
The Ark’s intimate performance space is perfect
for LaFarge. His music, which often features plenty
of instrumental breaks and riffs, and his unique
style of singing both lend themselves to a venue
like The Ark. Every seat is the best seat in the house
when you’re down at Ann Arbor’s local live music
joint.
Whether you’re ready to gear up for his upcoming
performance this weekend, or you’re looking to
jump into the world of LaFarge for the first time,
start with “Goodbye, Barcelona,” “La La Blues”
and “Riot in The Streets.” For a more classic feel,
go to his earlier albums, like Beat, Move & Shake,
then switch it up to LaFarge’s modern twists with
Something In The Water.
Maybe, if this preview does its job, I’ll see you in
the audience this Sunday night. Until then, indulge
in the old-fashioned with the world’s coolest time
traveller, Pokey LaFarge.
LaFarge to play The Ark
MADELEINE VIRGINIA GANNON
Daily Arts Writer
Summer tends to be a season of new discoveries
for me, especially in terms of finding new music.
The summer after my freshman year, I was fully
invested in the Ann Arbor music scene, but
wanted to explore what the broader DIY scene
had to offer. I spent much of my time poking
around Bandcamp and the related artists section
for some of my favorite artists on Spotify and
found some groups I really liked, and some that
I didn’t. Three projects that stuck out to me were
Snail Mail, Soccer Mommy and Clairo.
I was mesmerized by the lush melodies,
beautiful
harmonies
and
overall
fantastic
songwriting I heard, despite the fact that none
of these artists had a full-length release under
their belt yet. I sent my friends demos, covers and
EPs from these artists because I really enjoyed
their music, so much so that I actually wrote
an application sample for this paper on Soccer
Mommy’s Collection.
At the end of the summer, The New York
Times published an article titled, “Women are
making the best rock music today. Here are
the bands that prove it.” The article featured
several projects that I either knew or would
come to know like Snail Mail, Sheer Mag, Diet
Cig in addition to many others, and discussed
the underrepresentation of women in the genre.
After it was published, I started to see other
publications post about “women in indie rock” in
a way that almost felt tokenizing. But nonetheless,
it still exposed audiences to voices that are often
underrepresented in the scene.
DIY has often been accused of being a bit
of a boys club, and if you go to a few shows,
it’s not hard to see why. Most of the bands
consist of an all-male lineup with a pretty stark
underrepresentation of people of color. Even the
crowds present at these shows can sort of embody
this masculine energy at times, which creates a
space that feels exclusive. But how can we change
this?
The Cohort is a new, independent organization
on campus that seeks to promote and protect the
art and work of women, POC and the LGBTQ+
community. Think of them as less of a club and
more of an artist-based union. Started by LSA
junior Delaney Cavanaugh and Stamps senior
Victoria Rinaldi, the group is still in their
beginning stages, but is already starting to put on
events and meetings.
“I just really wanted to provide more of a
platform for more marginalized people. I feel like
there’s a lot of times where I’m the only woman in
the space, or I’m the only non-white person in the
space, and it can be really uncomfortable … I just
want to provide a place for people that wouldn’t
normally have that,” Rinaldi said in an interview
with The Daily.
Cavanaugh added that she was discussing
some local bands with a group of her friends and
came to the realization that along with Victoria’s
band, Big Vic, there was only one other women-
led local DIY band, Landline, that really was
active in the DIY scene. “And we were like, ‘why
is that?’,” Cavanaugh said. “And we just kind of
came to that realization that, oh, there’s not a lot
of women, or just diversity in general within the
scene.”
Part of what contributes to this gap is the
omnipresence of masculine energy in these
spaces. Rinaldi said that even when she plays
with a group of her male friends, she sometimes
feels uncomfortable. “No matter how much I like
them, and how much we get along, I still feel like
I have to prove myself,” Rinadli stated. “I identify
as a woman, or like, I’m even on the more feminine
side of the spectrum so it’s just kind of like ... it’s
like you have to hold it up. Yeah, it’s like I feel
like I have to prove myself, even though nobody
around me actively makes me feel that way.”
Cavanaugh followed up, saying, “The point of
the group is to have a space where women and
underrepresented groups feel safe and are like,
‘Oh, I’m attached to this group of people who will
support me; I feel more confident to go out there
book myself or play a show,’ or whatever it may
be.”
The group aims to provide resources for these
underrepresented artists and expose these
artists to a larger audience. From helping with
booking and providing practice spaces for groups
to making playlists featuring a diverse group of
artists and creating a community to identify with,
their services really vary. But if you don’t identify
as a member of a marginalized group, The Cohort
still welcomes your support.
“We’re not going to, like, exclude anybody,
so our thinking is that you’re here to support
everybody else if you’re identifying with The
Cohort. You are going to be here to be an ally,
which means that we may not choose your art
first (if you don’t identify with these marginalized
communities) because we want to support
these other people first. But it’s still completely
welcome,” Cavanaugh said.
There’s still a ways to go before the Michigan
DIY scene can be called diverse, but through
increased efforts from groups like The Cohort,
progress is slowly being made.
Cox’s Corner: Diversifying
DIY through The Cohort
RYAN COX
Daily DIY Columnist
DIY COLUMN
Pokey LaFarge
Oct. 27, 2019 @ 5 p.m.
The Ark
Falling Toward the Moon
R.H. Sin, Robert M. Drake
Andrews McMeel Publishing
Oct. 22, 2019
THIRD MAN RECORDS / YOUTUBE
CONCERT PREVIEW
ROBERT M. DRAKE / YOUTUBE
Fans of love poems, especially those in need of
a pick-me-up, should not hesitate to let gravity
take hold in “Falling Toward the Moon.”