Musical Thesis: Moby “All Visible Objects”

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At the center of every album is a musical thesis. This thesis can be the driving force behind the album, a theme that interweaves songs together, or a feeling you are left with after the very last song plays. With some albums, the thesis is easy to find. On others, it is hidden and requires you to be more than a passive listener. These reviews are not about rating an album. Instead, it is about uncovering a musical thesis.  

One of these days 
Gonna rise up singin‘, yeah 
One of these days 
Gonna rise up in love 

Back in 2020, I named Moby’s All Visible Objects my Album of the Year. After some time away from the album, I returned to it, hoping to discover something new about myself and the record.  

The chaos and drama of 2020 feels both present and like an object growing fainter in the rearview mirror. As we settled into the reality of a COVID Christmas, my thoughts turned to what we had collectively experienced over the last 12 months.  

In my estimation, my country had missed a genuine opportunity to lead the world on issues such as community health, shared sacrifice, national pride, and collective effort. Instead, we ended the year more divided than ever before. I ended 2020 feeling less pride for my country and desperately searching for a fresh start elsewhere.  

Elsewhere would never materialize, but art (as it always does) showed me I wasn’t alone. All Visible Objects is a reflection of the time and place of its creation. Its somber and reflective nature was a mirror into my soul. I experienced heartache and devastation for what had been lost. In these arrangements, my grief could find a home.  

But this album is something more. It is also a call to action. The moral failings of those in power delivered us a year of enormous loss, but this album served as a reminder that we are not powerless against them. If only we could rise up in love, then we might speak truth to power. In this album’s second thesis, the reality of our power replaced the helplessness of my grief. In this realization, I felt a little less alone and a little surer.  

Years from now, I am sure I will return to this album. In that span of time, I am sure I will be flabbergasted by the speed of change and how little changes at the same time. As I reflect on this album, I hope to find new inspiration and reminders that my feelings are valid and that I possess great power.  

Be good to each other,  

Nathan  

Musical Thesis: Moby Everything Was Beautiful, And Nothing Hurt

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE MUSICAL THESIS PLAYLIST

At the center of every album is a musical thesis. This thesis can be the driving force behind the album, a theme that interweaves songs together, or a feeling you are left with after the very last song plays. With some albums, the thesis is easy to find. On others, it is hidden and requires you to be more than a passive listener. These reviews are not about rating an album. Instead, it is about uncovering a musical thesis.

For 20 years now, I have been digesting the music of Moby. In that time, he has become one of those artists whose music gets added to my collection with each new release without question. Since Play and 18, I have spent considerable time lost in his lyrics and music. I have found myself lost deep within the recesses of my mind, filling electronic and ambient sounds with meaning. His songs often provide a moment of mediation for me in a noisy world.

When I look back on the last twenty years, no collection of Moby’s songs has hit me like Everything Was Beautiful, And Nothing Hurt. This is his most emotionally gripping and complex collection of songs to date. In these lyrics, I see a man reflecting upon the times in which we find ourselves. His assessment of this moment is part cautionary tale, part warning sign. The tone seems to match the angst, sadness, and loss we are collectively feeling. The album does not offer a way out of our current state. This is more than fine by me. Sometimes, we just need to know we are not alone in our current situation. Solutions will come at some other time. For now, let’s be in this moment and be okay with feeling the way we do.

If you easily write off electronic, dance, or techno music as mere repetition, I implore you to reconsider. I recommend rediscovering the genre with an album such as this. As you do, pay close attention to how this album makes you feel. Allow thoughts to come and go. Use the lyrics as prompts and consider the picture they are painting. Rest on the repetition as moments of emphasis. Even songs without words are trying to paint a picture, but they are inviting you to fill in the details. Very few forms of music give you this much freedom. For me, this album does all this and more. I am confident it will do the same for you.

Be good to each other,

Nathan

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Musical Thesis: My Album of the Year (2020)

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE MUSICAL THESIS: ALBUM OF THE YEAR PLAYLIST

At the center of every album is a musical thesis. This thesis can be the driving force behind the album, a theme that interweaves songs together, or a feeling you are left with after the very last song plays. With some albums, the thesis is easy to find. On others, it is hidden and requires you to be more than a passive listener. These reviews are not about rating an album. Instead, it is about uncovering a musical thesis. 

“Power is not shared. Power is taken.”

“All Visible Objects” by Moby is a meditation. In a year filled with disappointment, loss, pain, corruption, heartbreak, and few glimmers of hope, it is the album I returned to most often for some sense of relief. In its big, grounded, inclusive, expansive, and devoid production, I found opportunities to wrestle with what I was experiencing via my television or as I “doom scrolled” social media. I found myself meditating on its use of silence and sparsity. It does not have a lot to say but it says every necessary thing. It provided peace, calm, and reflection. In a year of such monumental change, it was a crutch I leaned on for support. This year was filled with lots of magical music, but no album did what this collection did for me. For that, it is my album of the year.

Be good to each other,

Nathan

This website exists because of readers and supporters. If what you just read made you smile, please consider supporting the website with a monthly gift. Your support means everything and proves to the world that original content still matters.

Become a Patron!