Art Share: Anohni - Hopelessness

I've planned different blog posts for a while, and sharing music has been a part of that vision.

Here in Oregon, we recently finished a legislative session in which the Republican minority senators fled the state and law enforcement in order keep environmental protection legislation from passing. (Side note, I don't know of a job that wouldn't fire me for nine days of "no-call no-shows", but I digress.) The West Coast of the United States has experienced some frightening fires lately, and I am growing concerned about what will happen if steps aren't taken to put our planet before our greed.

It's at times like this that Anohni's "4 Degrees" gets stuck in my head. It is a reference to a study of climate change and the expected impact it would have on our planet and the species that share this space with us. I decided today to give my heartstrings a tug and play the album that "4 Degrees" came from, and now I want to recommend it to you, just in time for America's Independence Day.

As the title "Hopelessness" would suggest, this is an album focused on devastating events and happenings that are out of control of the individual. Anohni is transparent and the pain is tangible, though the perspective shifts throughout the album. Sometimes Anohni plays the nihilist and other times the victim, but every track inspires empathy for the vulnerability and honesty.

The title track, "Hopelessness", is the second to last. At this point in the journey of greedy and destructive behavior, Anohni asks the question "how did I become a virus?" This timely question suggests a complex relationship between the individual and a unified species. The shame of our species is inescapable for an individual and the pain becomes the weight and hopelessness of the individual. In asking these questions, we can look at the behaviors and actions of our species. We can ask questions about what we can be, if not a virus. After facing our hopelessness, we can then begin the work towards finding the ever elusive hope.


To help get you started, I have included the first track on the album, "Drone Bomb Me."



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