You guys, I haven’t eaten anything but rice in the last 72 hours. Well, that’s not entirely true. I tried to eat human food last night and this morning, but my stomach was very definitively like “NOPE” and I actually thought I was going to either die during class or throw up right there in front of my students, which would basically be like dying.
On the plus side, I’ve eaten like a Zen Buddhist monk for the better part of a while, and I think that austerity has helped me better appreciate The Milk Carton Kids’ Monterey.
The duo are gifted singers and instrumentalists. As they relate in their fascinating interview over on No Depression, the pair focused more on their instrumentation — rather than a particular theme. It’s this emphasis on the music itself that makes Monterey feel downright unearthly. Some of you will enjoy that. The Milk Carton Kids are the type of artist to elevate folk music into Art. But let’s be honest — some of you won’t, possibly because you’re the type who believes that folk music should be grounded in a powerful message.
Nonetheless, listening to these two bounce off each other is a transcendent experience in its own right. When done well, this is the sacred experience that music can offer us: individuals joining together to create something much greater than they could have on their own.