Culturebox: Facebook Music

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culturebox Facebook Music Why we all love Explosions in the Sky. By Mike Spies Posted Wednesday, June 1, 2011, at 7:51 AM ET Before Explosions in the Sky, some background: In June of 1838, Ralph Waldo Emerson, writing in his journal, observed, "A man must have aunts and cousins, must buy carrots and turnips, must have barn and woodshed, must go to market and to the blacksmith's shop, must saunter and sleep and be inferior and silly." This is transcendentalism at its most practical, intended for people who, unlike Emerson's moody disciple, Thoreau, don't have the time to sit by a pond and complain about society. Were that the case, we'd all be living in Portland, Ore., making Bright Eyes records. Instead, we live on the Internet, which is why this quote is oddly relevant, as we seem to have, unconsciously, absorbed its practical lesson. To continue reading, click here. Mike Spies is on the editorial staff of The New Yorker. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Rep. Weiner Won't Deny Twitter Photo Is of Him German Communities That Murdered Jews in the Middle Ages Were More Likely To Later Support the Nazis The Incredible Talent and Tragic Decline of Gil Scott-Heron, the "Godfather of Rap"	Advertisement
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