words and sounds for winter's bleakness

Sounds: PJ Harvey's White Chalk

For those unfamiliar with PJ Harvey's previous releases, White Chalk, her eighth album, may not be the best introduction to her body of work. Unlike her previous albums, White Chalk is free of electric guitars and her "modern rock" sound. With the exception of "Broken Harp" and, ironically, "The Piano," White Chalk is a piano record.
The album's bare production leaves Polly Jean stripped and naked, exposing the musical assets that make her one of the best singer/songwriters performing today: ghostly, ethereal vocals; cryptic lyrics that range from melancholic to sexual; and unique song compositions.
"The Devil" introduces the listener to White Chalk's gray world. "As soon as I'm left alone / The devil wanders into my soul" are the first words uttered. Harvey delivers the first verse in a paper-thin voice that barely rises above a whisper until the chorus shatters the song beautifully. "Come! / Come! here at once!" she sings, her voice full and resonant.
"The Devil" frames White Chalk nicely. The song's sound and lyrics are a perfect, albeit ominous, omen for what's to come: pleas for darkness ("Dear Darkness / Won't you cover / Cover me again" ["Dear Darkness]), the mourning of a loved one ("Oh grandmother / How I miss you / Under the earth / Wish I was with you / I'm so lonely / All of my life" ["To Talk to You"]) and final goodbyes ("Farewell my friends / Farewell my dear one / If I was rude / Forgive my weakness / Goodbye my friends / Goodbye to evening parties / Remember me / In the spring" ["Before Departure"]).
The lyrics are moving, but it's Harvey's voice and her method of delivering these poignant lines that make White Chalk her best album to date and possibly the finest release of 2007.
In a recent interview with PitchforkMedia.com, Harvey, a self-proclaimed piano novice, said that her lack of playing experience was "freeing" and allowed her to "travel in ... areas [she'd] never have reached before." It's this exploration that makes White Chalk such an intriguing masterpiece.
Rarely should one judge an album by its cover, but this work is an exception to that steadfast rule. Surrounded by darkness, Harvey sits, gazing forward, in a ghostly white Victorian gown. The photograph mirrors the album's sound; for the songs are not products of this century nor the last -- they are unsettled spirits searching for peace. And never has that eternal search sounded so beautiful.

Words: Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure

Due to its scathing criticism of religion, marriage, and socio- and economic conventions, Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure (1896) drew the ire of literary critics and ultimately silenced his desire to write another novel; he would, however, continue to write, publishing several volumes of poetry until his death in 1928.
Most critics now regard the novel as Hardy's finest work.
Jude the Obscure is a magnificent tale about the tragic consequences of extinguished dreams and lost love. With exquisite craft and precision, Hardy keeps the reader clinging to the spectre of hope until the closing pages.
The novel, which takes place in late 19th century England, follows Jude Fawley from his impoverished youth until his demise several years later.
Upon his schoolmaster's departure to Christminister, a city of great schools and opportunity, Jude, at the age of 11, dreams of the scholarly possibilities that await him in the city and longs to leave meager Marygreen.
He remains in Marygreen for a few more years, becoming a stonemason and, in his spare time, teaches himself Greek and Latin in preparation for university. Before he can leave for Christminister, he falls in love with Arabella Donn. Distracted by his heart's new fancy, Jude abandons his studies and soon marries Arabella. Unbeknownst to Jude, the marriage is based on false pretenses -- a feigned pregnancy.
Several months later Jude realizes that his and Arabella's lives have been "ruined by the fundamental error of their matrimonial union." He then learns that his family history is riddled with failed marriages (his mother drowned herself after an argument with his father). Shocked by the revelation, he attempts to drown himself in a nearby lake, but the water is frozen solid. After drinking himself drunk at a local pub, he returns home only to discover a note from Arabella: "Have gone to my friends. Shall not return."
Jude finally leaves Marygreen and moves to Christminister where he resumes his studies. He soon discovers that no university will have him, but finds joy -- and love -- when he meets his cousin, Sue Bridehead. Jude also sees Mr Phillotson -- the schoolmaster that inspired an 11 year old Jude to move to Christminister. Phillotson eventually marries Sue, and, once again, Jude is forlorn.
In the rare case that someone reads this post and actually reads Jude the Obscure, I'll refrain from revealing more of the story's plot. Alternatively, an attempt to summarize this epic tale would be an injustice to Hardy's work.
As I stated earlier, Hardy craftily dangles the carrot of hope in front of the reader, so the book is not completely desolate. It is, however, a heartbreaking novel of immense beauty and great tragedy that, when finished, leaves the reader aghast.

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--Side note--
Jude the Obscure is a must-read for any man who identifies with the following passage:

"At first I did love you, Jude; that I own. When I first knew you I merely wanted you to love me. I did not exactly flirt with you; but that inborn craving which undermines some women's morals almost more than unbridled passion -- the craving to attract and captivate, regardless of the injury it may do the man -- was in me; and when I found I had caught you, I was frightened. And then -- I don't know how it was -- I couldn't bear to let you go -- possibly to Arabella again -- and so I got to love you, Jude. But you see, however fondly it ended, it began in the selfish and cruel wish to make your heart ache for me without letting mine ache for you."
"And now you add to your cruelty by leaving me!"
"Ah -- yes! The further I flounder, the more harm I do!"
"O Sue!" said he with a sudden sense of his own danger. "Do not do an immoral thing for moral reasons! You have been my social salvation. Stay with me for humanity's sake! You know what a weak fellow I am. My two arch-enemies you know -- my weakness for womankind and my impulse to strong liquor. Don't abandon me to them, Sue, to save your own soul only! They have been kept entirely at a distance since you became my guardian angel!" (357)

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