When last we discussed the comedy/ drama/tragedy/satire picaresque epic "Don Quixote," we focused on how reading a staple of the Renaissance still applies today. In Quixote's quest for knighthood and all the chivalric accolades, it is necessary that he do battle. As he tells his sidekick (providing us with the real-world view of the jaunt) Sancho Panza, "even shouldst thou see me in the greatest danger in the world, thou must not put a hand to thy sword in my defence, unless indeed thou perceivest that those who assail me are rabble or base folk." On one hand, Quixote is granting Sancho permission to defend him if need be, but, only if the enemy is one of Quixote's perceptions.
Comedy is generally a series of misunderstandings. While Seinfeld and his friends live in this massive city, their misadventures typically involve small coincidences in their small circle of influence. A girlfriend/boyfriend who has not seen the entire group can be subjected to infiltration (generally in search of a hidden truth) under either anonymity or another created identity. In fact, the comedy of mistaken identity is perhaps the most effective and timeless device still in play. However, what if that "mistaken identity" only occurs in one mind? Are the rest of us than expected to laugh at seeing reality? In this complex ecosystem of characters (693 to be precise), most enter under one identity before their true one is revealed.
However, "Don Quixote" is not a comedy of errors. We must always be conscious as readers that Quixote as the Knight-Errant is earnest and in dogged pursuit of restoring a former hierarchy of order. Quixote says "Fortune is arranging matters for us better than we could have shaped our desires ourselves." One of his wisest sentences. He acknowledges a higher power. He establishes that he knows his place in the universe and enters with a degree of humility also absent from Sancho's real-world view. Most importantly, Cervantes tips us on Quixote's sagacity and then juxtaposes it with battling those "giants."
On the surface, the battles are ridiculous and therefore funny. However, Quixote's logic is intact. When he says they are "giants," Sancho Panza is quick to protect/correct using the reality that they are "windmills." Quixote retorts that "the giants were changed into windmills with magic." His reasoning now impenetrable, Quixote turns to subdue all 30-40 of them to earn his knighthood, proclaiming "Fly not, cowards and vile beings, for a single knight attacks you." At the moment of his charge, nature intervenes to put a stop to this madness with enough wind ("a gentle breeze") to start the monstrous arms of the windmill. At "Rocinante's fullest gallop," Quixote's lance is destroyed, sending Quixote and his horse tumbling down the plain.
Quixote will live to battle again. In fact, he will see a pair of friars as bloodthirsty rogues, a flock of sheep as an army, and the barber covering his head in a pail as a prized helmet he must possess. However, without the sheer simplicity of his first true battle, we as readers would not begin to see the symbolism Cervantes is employing here. It is funny and sad; like Sancho Panza we are devoted to Quixote and will sally forth with him - even as we know this can only end poorly. Not beaten by the windmill, this episode makes Quixote our tragicomic hero. No matter what symbolism you attach to the act (imagination, technology, change, a world moving forward and smashing your dreams to bits), you now share pathos with Quixote because as the Stoics defined it - an erroneous internal response to its external impressions being in opposition. Even the noblest suffer from mistaken identity.
Mik Davis is the record store manager at T-Bones Records & Cafe in Hattiesburg.
New music This Week
BILLY STRINGS - ME/AND/DAD [LP/CD](Rounder)
Previous Billy Strings records have been solidly within the modern-day Jam Band-ish realm of production. Still, Strings' stringed prowess rose above them all. Now having earned respect and cultivated his audience (Dec.30 & 31 in New Orleans), "ME/AND/DAD" is a passion project. Recorded with his father Terry Barber, Strings finds love in the purist strains of traditional acoustic bluegrass ("Long Journey Home"). The John Hartford-esque version of The Judds' "Long Deere Tractor" with his father singing is a true highlight.
WEYES BLOOD - And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow [LP/CD/CS](SubPop/AMPED)
While it will never be "Titanic Rising" (the best album of 2019), Natalie Mering majestically celebrates sadness in these illuminating songs. Its rich production (California in the 1970s) simply cannot hide how hollow recent events made Mering feel. The flowing "Grapevine" floats along on hushed voices and swollen strings until Mering finally cuts through finding "the light shining across the freeway late at night" with the acoustic guitar. In addition, her identity is obscured behind this production that tries to approach the languidity of Lana Del Rey. Nonetheless, her Karen Carpenter-esque delivery on "It's Not Just Me, It's Everybody" is a beauty.
NEIL YOUNG AND CRAZY HORSE - World Record [LP/CD](Reprise)
Young's late-period recording barrage continues with Rick Rubin at the helm. Rubin cites 1970's "After The Gold Rush" as his favorite Young record, but "World Record" is far more "Harvest Moon" (the charming "Love Earth") and "Sleeps With Angels" (the noisy damaged blues of "Break The Chain." So far like most recent Neil Young albums, this one probably could use some editing - a goal Rubin may share. Like all of Neil Young's music - this one will have to be a physical purchase (or on Amazon Prime) to hear.
GOAT - Oh Death [LP](Rocket Recordings UK/Redeye)
Gothenburg, SWE collective Goat has always been capable of amalgamating their Psychedelic music with other strains (especially World) to create a new experience. However, "Oh Death" is their fuzziest, buzzing-est trip yet. "Soon You Die" is a sick Seventies Funk-based Stoner Metal shouter. "Chukua Pusa" is a fantastic deep drone that adds just the right touch of classic Psychedelia. "Under No Nation" swerves headfirst into Afro-Funk, and the single "Do The Dance" is two steps away from muscular World music merged with Seventies Glam. "Oh Death" allows you to feast on so many sounds and savory sonic ideas, it jumps every genre-classification fence to arrive as the musical meal we all need.
