i read an article about Will Oldham (Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Music, etc.) in the New Yorker a few days ago, and the piece has somehow stuck with me ever since.

Oldham was one of the first people in the lake, and others wanted to know if it was cold. He looked thoughtful. This was not a simple question. “I found it cold, but there are others who are not finding it cold,” he said. “My body temperature dropped right before I went in—the world became cold.” He conjectured that maybe the water felt cold to him only because he was anticipating the cold feeling of getting out of it.

i like the slowness of his reply. he didn’t want to mislead anyone, so he qualified his responses: these thoughts and feelings only apply to me so please don’t use them as a basis for your decision-making. in the softest way possible, he made everyone responsible for their own actions. it was his challenge to the world: jump in and feel for yourself.

The idea, all along, was to erase the person making the music so that listeners would focus on the music itself.

there’s something beautifully pure to me about that idea. these days, we tend to revel in the description of the experience rather than actually having the experience. we read People and watch the Travel Channel. we wait for someone to tell us what’s relevant.

but Oldham just plays and hopes you’re listening, and that’s the particular beauty of his music: no one is telling you that you want it–you have to be looking for it to find it. he doesn’t do much, if any, publicity or marketing for his music. he has released an album without his or any artist name on it. he barhops about Louisville, playing anywhere that will let him for people who have no idea who he is.

he doesn’t want you to come see him play, because it’s not about him. he just wants you to listen to the music.

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