"Yes -- But What Does It Mean?" book issued!
Ron Chrisley
today, and it looks wonderful! 342 pages of analysis of the lyrics of
Yes and related solo works! The appendixes look interesting, with a
22 page analysis of the *musical* themes of the greates Yes epics. I
can't wait to sit down with it, soak up it's insights (and doubtless
ly disagree with a few!).
I have no connection with Mosbo; this is just FYI.
Ronald L. Chrisley (ro...@cogs.susx.ac.uk)
School of Cognitive & Computing Sciences
University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QH, UK
Tel: +44 273 678581; Fax: +44 273 671 320
Wanna see/hear me? Try http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/gallery/fac.html#ronc
(You might want to use a "delay image loading" option for this...)
Steven Sullivan
: I got my copy of "Yes -- But What Does It Mean?", by Thomas J Mosbo
I saw a similar book on Beatles lyrics once. It made me gag.
It's possible to over-analyze this stuff , you know. Yes
lyrics are open-ended enough that unless you have a direct
phone line to Jon Anderson's addled brain, defining the
"meaning" is an exercise in futility. Furthermore, I'm
philosophically opposed to such interpretation for the
same reason I oppose music videos in general: the
impocsition of a received vision of a piece is to me
NOT prefereable to making up my own.
So will I buy the book. Of course. ;>
JOHN D CAPRIOTTI
>
> If not, the mere fact that the authors wrote a book explaining the
> lyrics shows that they have absolutely no clue what the lyrics
> mean. If they did, if they truly understood, they'd know that such a
> book is impossible to write.
>
> Scott
>
I'm not sure exactly what you mean ... but I *think* I disagree. :)
I think you can find meaning in any lyrics, but it is important to remember
that this is MEANING, not intent. Ask any English major, as they disect a
poem word for word. Often times, I'll catch myself and say, "Wait a minute,
this couldn't possibly be what he meant." The question then arise as to the
relative value of the author's intent and a reader's/listener's meaning. Which
is more important is a question that will never be answered. Both are a
reality, and the meaning of a piece has more imporance to me than the intent,
because it directly effects *me*.
I haven't seen the book, but I'll probably check it out. If the author
presents it as a definitive reading, approach it with caution. If he presents
it as his personal interpretations, great. I'll enjoy seeing someone else's
meanings, and contrasting/compairing them to my own.
If you don't think Yes's lyrics have meaning, then this is the meaning you
apply to them. This may sound contradictory, but lack of meaning in itself is
a meaning.
John
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Capriotti irc: murpes | Some dude: Did you really do all those things, sir?
JDCA...@vax1.acs.jmu.edu | Duke: It's possible. I don't remember anything
My opinions are yours. | between 1968 and 1981. - DOONESBURY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All spelling and grammatical errors are because I go to JMU, where
education is subservient to process.
Scott McMahan -- Genesis mailing list owner
AFC PeterS
Stunning logic. If the book offers a substantial exploration of the lyrics
without insisting on nailing down the meaning of every word and phrase, there's
hope for it yet. I'm not placing any bets, though.
Peter Stoller
Adam Zion
> I got my copy of "Yes -- But What Does It Mean?", by Thomas J Mosbo
> today, and it looks wonderful! 342 pages of analysis of the lyrics of
> Yes and related solo works! The appendixes look interesting, with a
> 22 page analysis of the *musical* themes of the greates Yes epics. I
> can't wait to sit down with it, soak up it's insights (and doubtless
> ly disagree with a few!).
So, this is finally, actually finished? That's really good news.
Where might I be able to pick up a copy? Is this available from normal book
stores, or would I have to special order it through Internet sources?
Adam
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N. Lathrop
PeterS) wrote:
I have read a copy of this book. To my mind, Mr. Stoller's hopes are
fulfilled.
Certainly the author, Thomas Mosbo, does not claim to be be able to inform
us of the one absolute meaning of Yes lyrics. He does make some very
interesting educated guesses, though. I'd be surprised if any Yes fan
could read this book without gaining insight into Yes' message. More
importantly, for me, Mosbo sometimes shows relationships of lyrics to
musical themes, and provides analysis of said themes. Certainly I often
disagree with the author's opinions. Nonetheless, I am excited such a book
has actually been published. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is
interested in gaining a deeper understanding of Yes.
Nathaniel
David Hague
Do you have an ISBN number for this book?
Thanks ...
David
Ron Chrisley
From: adam...@cellar.org (Adam Zion)
Subject: Re: "Yes -- But What Does It Mean?" book issued!
Organization: The Cellar electronic community and public access system
Date: Sat, 14 May 94 21:48:24 EDT
ro...@cogs.susx.ac.uk (Ron Chrisley) writes:
> I got my copy of "Yes -- But What Does It Mean?", by Thomas J Mosbo
> today, and it looks wonderful! 342 pages of analysis of the lyrics of
> Yes and related solo works! The appendixes look interesting, with a
> 22 page analysis of the *musical* themes of the greates Yes epics. I
> can't wait to sit down with it, soak up it's insights (and doubtless
> ly disagree with a few!).
So, this is finally, actually finished? That's really good news.
Where might I be able to pick up a copy? Is this available from normal
book
stores, or would I have to special order it through Internet sources?
==
Newsgroups: alt.music.progressive
From: David Hague <dav...@ozemail.com.au>
Organization: Message Handling Systems Pty Ltd
Date: Sat, 14 May 94 09:34:16 GMT
Ron,
Do you have an ISBN number for this book?
Before I posted I specifically looked for an ISBN, and could not find
one (although it does have a Library of Congress number).
If you are interested in ordering the book, I suggest contacting Doug
Gottlieb, editor of Yes Magazine, on dou...@aol.com
I don't have the book here at work, but after prowling through NFTE
back issues... (I think the price may have gone up; I'll post tomorrow
about that)
==========
"Yes - But What Does It Mean? Exploring the Music of Yes,"
by Thomas Mosbo.
"This 300-page work takes a serious look at the true depths of Yes's
music, offering new insights into all of the group's important
songs. It is a must for every serious Yes enthusiast and is being
published privately for Yes fans. It will be available ONLY through
direct order from the author. To order your copy, please send the
completed order form below along with $15 to
Wyndstar
824 Neumann Court
Milton, WI 53563-1733
USA
Yes! Please send ____ copies of
"Yes - But What Does It Mean?" @$15.00 each
$______________
Orders outside North America please add
$5.00 shipping per book $______________
Total enclosed: $______________
Send to:
Name __________________________
Address __________________________
__________________________
Please indicate where you got this form:_________________________
________________________________________________________________
Make checks payable to Thomas Mosbo.
(mention my name in the "where you got this form" slot and I might get
a rebate; Roy: did you get a rebate from my mentioning you?)
==========
I haven't finished it yet, since the remaining sections I want to read
properly, by listening to the CDs at the same time so I can refer to
the times they mention. But what I have read so far has been very
thought-provoking!
By the way, if you really want to ask me a question, it's best to
email me; articles are deleted from a.m.p at my site afster than I can
read them!
Steven Sullivan
or is it all just a bouquet of flowers, a la the Genesis biography?
Anyone who does not find at least SOME of Anderson's work more
ZZthan a bit silly cannot be trusted as a critic.
David J. Loftus
: Certainly the author, Thomas Mosbo, does not claim to be be able to inform
: us of the one absolute meaning of Yes lyrics. He does make some very
: interesting educated guesses, though. I'd be surprised if any Yes fan
: could read this book without gaining insight into Yes' message. More
In brief, could you relate what he says about "Heart of the Sunrise"?
I once ran the lyrics past my creative writing/poetry teacher in high
school, and after studying them carefully, he said, "I think it's about
solar wind (RIGHT, I thought) and how it affects human relationships."
Wow, I thought, looking over the words again; maybe there's something
to that....
David Loftus
