Two Suns (Bat for Lashes)

Bat for Lashes is the pseudonym Natasha Khan, a Pakistani-Brit raised in Brighton, England. Two Suns is her second album. I was first drawn to Natasha because I admire and enjoy the sounds of artists such as PJ Harvey, Björk and Tori Amos, all of whom Natasha Khan emulates quite fervently.

Two Suns is a well-produced slice of chamber pop and progressive metal, featuring heavy basslines and floorboard percussions ("Two Planets," the most Björk cut on the album); the piano-laden and snaring "Travelling Woman" which owes itself to PJ Harvey; and the opener "Glass" which seems to be an amalgamation of all her aforementioned music heroes. Natasha Khan does wear her influences on her sleeve, doesn't she?

Were it not for Natasha's strong songwriting and savvy (check out her album cover: a cross between Gen Y art student and mother earth hippie -- there's even a carefully put hint of cuteness via the track "Daniel," about Natasha's supposed obsession with The Karate Kid; awww), accusations of being yet another young artist with nary a useful or new thing to say would not be completely without merit. Two Suns is a fun listen, and I find the sultry Natasha singing about loneliness and your usual post-modern afflictions rather giddy and addictive especially on a cold night.

Cause and Effect (Spinoza)

Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) is another interesting philosopher, who I find much more compelling than the 'father of modern philosophy' Descartes. And if you think about cause and effect as Spinoza did, then you could say Spinoza would not exist if it were not for Descartes and his theories that influenced Spinoza. But let us save the bios and historical contexts for another time, and concentrate on summarizing the great rationalist Spinoza's thoughts on Cause and Effect:

Spinoza believed that (1) the universe is not random; that it is perfectly organized and everything is determined; (we'll consider his specific theory on 'God' another time); (2) because the universe has a certain predetermined sequence of events, all human actions are subject to prior causes that effect current actions -- for example, you are reading this blog, but according to Spinoza your decision to read this blog did not arise spontaneously out-of-nothing, but because of some prior decisions or influences. Only 'God' is truly free because his actions do not have prior causes; only he is outside the chain of cause and effect.

Spinoza seems to be suggesting that humans are in bondage, not free from cause and effect (unlike 'God'). However he tempers this pessimistic view by suggesting we take moral action through reason, and act not in response to external causes but due to internal causes that are determined by reason ie, we refuse ourselves to be in the grip of 'passions.' (People who are held captive by their passions are slaves; they are vehicles of passion, and respond to external causes, because they do not apply reason to understand the true causes of actions/emotions.) This would be the key to living a truly moral life and experience happiness, and this would make us more *fully* human, which according to Spinoza, means more God-like.

The Death of Marat (David)

I've developed a very strong interest in the French Revolution, through this famous painting (The Death of Marat) by neoclassicist painter Jacques-Louis David, who was part of the political movement to restore the Republic in France. Art is usually a response to social and political influences in any given period, so it is only fair that I fell into this particular period of political history through art.

What first struck me about this painting was its minimalism and the great use of sculptural qualities: the definite lines of the objects and precise form of the human body. David's use of light and contrast is also critical, even if it seems subtle (reality is subtle!). There is of course a narrative here: read up on Marat, to understand his role in the Revolution and his murder by a female spy. Here, David makes Marat a Christ-like figure, a martyr, and bestows on him a certain majestic quality that forever seals his 'great sacrifice' for country. Of course, David's work can, in fact should, be considered propaganda of Robespierre and the Jacobins, and this may possibly be the most famous propaganda painting of all-time, but don't quote me on that.