WAXED: GET YOUR MUSIC PRESSED ON VINYL FOR FREE This interview with Weyes Blood first appeared in Monster Children issue #43 And though the act of traveling is a large part of what she does - touring and making music for the world to hear - the earth itself is of greater importance to the California native her fourth album and first for Sub Pop Records is Mering’s ode to Earth; a breathtaking sonic dream that weaves through ten tracks heavy with the themes of world collapse and man’s inability to secure a sustainable future Weyes Blood implores her listeners to wake up ‘is trying to find a way to engage my fans and give them more understanding about what they can do to deal with these issues.’ As Mering transitions into the fourth wave of her recording phase what would traveling be without the beauty of Mother Earth What’s your favorite spot when you’re touring there Do you get to venture outside of the designated tour cities at all I try to end tours in fun places to explore it a little bit you can’t go to all the castles or really get to know a place.Are there any spots in the US you look forward to traveling to We have a day off there so we’re gonna go to Barton Springs which is my all-time favorite swimming spot I love Philadelphia because I used to live there and I have a lot of old friends from there and I love traveling around and playing these places this issue of Monster Children is all about travel Travelling is a little bit of a way of life for me and I think that got me in this headspace of ‘Wow there’s so many different places to see,’ and the more you see the more you know about the whole big picture I started moving around pretty steadily every two to three years I ended up living in six different cities and touring and getting into music and doing things that involve this wandering way of life It’s fun to collect all the information about the different cultures in different places and also see the similarities going and seeking out new experiences in different places Do you feel like you subconsciously adopt a different identity based on where you are?Yeah I’ve pretty much just balanced it all out to where I’m basically the same I have this weird accent that nobody can really place I think I used to actually emulate it more like I had a lot of friends from the Mid-West and they had really fun and I would get into talking like that and thinking like that I very quickly adapted a ‘New York state of mind.’ And when I came to LA I just kinda cut loose and I felt at home because I can relate to how people think But I do think that my constitution and where I come from with my family I was living in its mouth and trying to keep up with the whole thing come again.’ I had no grip on anything there because it’s changed so much the way that I operate didn’t work with New York And my luck changed so immediately the moment I set foot in Los Angeles I think my life in New York was just an endless struggle How do you feel about the idea that music can move you I think that’s a very important aspect of music because I think we all get stuck And we need to find ways to move on and get past and play out any emotional stuff that we’re holding onto it’s one of my favorite feelings in the world It’s kind of like patting my back and drawing me out and being like just experience it,’ and it’s such a great release Recently I’ve been thinking about living in Ojai And I always fantasize about the Sierra Nevadas great grandfather built a little cabin there in like 1917 or something and it’s still in our family; it belongs to my uncle but he still lets me use it sometimes Literally just melted glacial water in a crystal-clear river with huge granite rocks and old pine trees That’s probably why I felt at home when I moved back to California.Speaking of glacial water the title of your new album is Titanic Rising A part of it is definitely about a titanic-sized rising of sea levels The Titanic is such a symbolic event; our lack of dominion over nature so perfectly represented man’s hubris being responsible for the deaths of innocent people as opposed to crashing into an iceberg and sinking a ship we’re melting the icebergs and sinking civilisation especially because the Titanic was such a massive Hollywood film and yet it was lost on so many people in power Mike Pompeo just did a press conference praising the rapidly shrinking sea ice in the Arctic for its economic opportunities and oil drilling I don’t know if you heard that.That’s really insane what kind of effect did the movie have on you I was already so fascinated with the event historically That and the Hindenburg both really fascinated me The Titanic was just so stunningly beautiful and I had a book that you could open up and see the inside of the ship and the swimming pool and I just remember being so fascinated by this moving city like the third class was gonna get fucking screwed It wasn’t just about Leo and the love story When you were coming up with song titles and the album’s concept How did the Titanic–both the ship and the movie–play into your album I’m really into this composer Gavin Bryars who made another piece inspired by the Titanic called ‘The Sinking of the Titanic.’ I was always fascinated by art that references the Titanic; I just knew it was this weird archetypal thing for humanity to continuously revisit I was attracted to it naturally and sonically I love the Celtic music they use in the film But I already like to make sounds that feel like they’re underwater and feel like they’re a whale in the distance or something we would think about the songwriting and the lyrics and the feel and then go could we add another texture that would make it Titanic-like?’ I feel like in the Gavin Bryars’ pieces you can really feel that infusion where it’s definitely music in his own interpretation but you’re almost reliving the experience on the Titanic How do you feel about releasing it into the world I do so much of the things that I put out on my own And now that I’ve finally made my statements and created this concept and find ways to get involved as an activist Because it’s so hard touring as a musician and also trying to do any kind of political activism right now My main focus has been trying to find a way to parlay the whole thing past it just being this art piece and into something that engages my fans and makes them think about what they can do on a day-to-day level to deal with the issues brought up on the record It’s a lot of responsibility because I think there are millions of things you can do and any one person probably feels overwhelmed as to how they can positively impact the world is for some stuff to start happening and some education Hopefully I can inspire people to educate themselves STEUBENVILLE, OHIO—Franciscan University of Steubenville announced the launch of In Focus, a free, online video series hosted by University President Father Dave Pivonka, TOR ’89, on FaithandReason.com The new series takes an in-depth look at culture and current issues through the lens of reason and faith The first In Focus series features author Noelle Mering on how Catholics can understand and confront woke ideology Not Woke: A Christian Response to the Cult of Progressive Ideology “Confronting a Woke World,” takes viewers on a journey to understand the origins and nature of the woke movement and how to navigate relationships with family and friends who have adopted wokeism “I can think of no one better than Noelle Mering to help us tackle the profound challenge of the woke movement,” said Father Pivonka “The speed with which it has taken over most of our major public and private institutions is extraordinary We must never retreat from the world but always seek to engage it and to share the light of Christ the only source of true human freedom and flourishing.” “It is easy to think the woke ideology is too political or polarizing for Christian engagement,” said Mering “But this is a movement that stems from something far more fundamental than politics I truly appreciate being able to discuss this in depth with Father Dave who keeps love for persons and true care for their well-being at the forefront of our minds and hearts.” Mering is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, editor of TheologyofHome.com Not Woke unmasks woke ideology for the danger it is to Christianity and our society In Focus is the latest series launch by Franciscan University on its online platform Faith and Reason features free videos and podcasts delving into important topics such as Church and culture The University plans to launch three In Focus series per year To watch the first In Focus, register for free now at FaithandReason.com joins forces with Katie McGrady on the Hallow app to guide… Franciscan University hosts landmark summer of conferences and launches new “Glory” women’s conference Global theologians to engage issues of creation Franciscan University of Steubenville is no ordinary university and a Franciscan education is no ordinary education it’s an education as rigorous and demanding as it is faithful—an education that challenges you intellectually "We can make a difference and bring a shred of hope to those who are still in need" Weyes Blood has opened up about “survivors guilt” following LA wildfires and has launched a charity shirt with the American Red Cross to raise funds for those affected The singer – real name Natalie Mering – took to Instagram yesterday (February 8) to share her experience of the devasting fires that began on January 7, destroying more than 12,000 structures destroyed and requiring the evacuation of more than 150,000 residents. Addressing her followers, she said that she was “emerging” from a period of hibernation to pay tribute to her “beautiful house” in Altadena, California. “I was displaced by the Eaton Fire and it’s taken a minute to fully absorb the emotional impact of it all, and share my little story,” she wrote. “Altadena was a dream town, and this was a little dream house. I’ve written many songs there, I’ve played piano with squawking peacocks, layed on the roof and howled at the moon, had badminton tournaments, sang YouTube karaoke in my living room… It was my spot, and my imagination ran wild.” A post shared by @weyesblood The ‘Andromeda’ artist said that although her rented house didn’t burn down “I am left saddled with this feeling of gratitude to have my stuff (albeit smoke damaged) but also I am saddled with survivors guilt and a whole lot of uncertainty about the habitability of the structures left behind.” After posting an Instagram carousel of photos showing the damage, she also shared a link to a limited edition Weyes Blood shirt made for the American Red Cross, which you can find here All proceeds will go towards providing food and shelter to those impacted by the fires I’m so grateful to have had a little chapter in this foothill paradise An aerial view of trees and homes which burned in the Palisades Fire on January 28 I’m lucky that I can bring my music wherever with me but not everyone is as lucky as I am — we can make a difference and bring a shred of hope to those who are still in need.” The world’s defining voice in music and pop culture: breaking what’s new and what’s next since 1952 Gender and Sexuality Studies Director of the Center for German and European Studies 2023 Public Voices Fellow on the Climate Crisis with The OpEd Project, in partnership with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication Recipient of the Volkmar and Margret Sander Prize 2022 (Deutsches Haus NYU) Theodore and Jane Norman Fund for Faculty Research and Creative Projects Brandeis University Provost Research Grant Hewlett Grant for Interdisciplinary Teaching 2001 Brandeis University Center for German and European Studies Research Travel Grant 1999 Teaching Award for Outstanding Graduate Students 1997 Kaplan Award for Excellence in Student Teamwork 1997 Beginning to End the Climate Crisis. A History of Our Future. English translation of Luisa Neubauer and Alexander Renning’s Vom Ende der Klimakrise Antisemitism on Social Media. (Routledge and Literature: Re-reading Christa Wolf’s Störfall Nachrichten eines Tages as ‘Ecological Force’ in Times of Climate Crisis.” In: Sonja Klocke and Jennifer Hosek (eds): Christa Wolf Companion. De Gruyter Right Wing Radicalism Today: Perspectives from Europe and the US. (Routledge GECS 130b: The Princess and the Golem: Fairy Tales GECS 167a: German Cinema: Vamps and Angels GECS 188b: Human/Nature: European Perspectives on the Climate Crisis and What to Do About It GER 10a: Beginning German GER 20b: Continuing German GER 30a: Intermediate German GER 110a: Goethe GER 120b: Deutsche Mäerchen GER 140a: Bertolt Brecht und das Theater des 20.Jahrhunderts Environmental Studies Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Creativity, the Arts, and Social Transformation “Promise Motivation: Films with Good News About Climate Change.” Canadian Journal of Film Studies [accepted for publication June 5 edited by Andre Loiselle and Jason MacLean Routledge Handbook of Grassroots Climate Activism and Climate Artivism.” In preparation for Routledge Handbook of Grassroots Climate Activism LNG and the Atlantic Climate Bridge.” with Maya Kattler-Gold In preparation for Routledge Handbook of Grassroots Climate Activism German Translation of Antisemitism on Social Media [contracted with Barbara Budrich Verlag Antisemitism on Social Media. (Routledge, New York and London: 2022), co-edited with Monika Hübscher. [https://www.routledge.com/Antisemitism-on-Social-Media/Hubscher-Mering/p/book/9781032059693] Right Wing Radicalism Today: Perspectives from Europe and the US. (Routledge, New York and London: 2013), co-edited with Timothy McCarthy[www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415627283] Russian-Jewish Emigration: A Transnational Community in the Making Edition of volume of articles based on Brandeis symposium in 2004 Co-edited with Olaf Gloeckner and Evgenija Garbolevsky Volume of articles based on conference held at Brandeis on November 11 “Introduction”, Antisemitism on Social Media co-edited with Monika Hübscher (Routledge, New York and London: 2022), p.1-4. [https://www.routledge.com/Antisemitism-on-Social-Media/Hubscher-Mering/p/book/9781032059693] “A Snapshot of Antisemitism on Social Media in 2021” Antisemitism on Social Media co-edited with Monika Hübscher (Routledge, New York and London: 2022), p. 5-17. [https://www.routledge.com/Antisemitism-on-Social-Media/Hubscher-Mering/p/book/9781032059693] “Zur Wichtigkeit wissenschaftlicher Vernetzung für die Erforschung von Antisemitismus in den sozialen Medien“ In: Einblicke/Insights. Jahrbuch 2022 der Zentren für Deutschland- und Europastudien and Literature: Re-reading Christa Wolf’s Störfall Nachrichten eines Tages as ‘Ecological Force’ in Times of Climate Crisis.” In: Sonja Klocke andJennifer Hosek (eds): Christa Wolf Companion and the Nazi Past in RecentGerman Cinema.” In: Anton Frank (eds.): Beyond Political Correctness: Remapping German Sensibilities in the 21st Century “No Servitude is As Miserable As That of Women Elsa Bernstein’s Neoclassical Tragedies.” In: Helga W Lorenz (ed.): From Fin-de-Siècle to Theresienstadt The Works and Life of the Writer Elsa Bernstei-Porges “There is a lot of antisemitic hate speech on social media and algorithms are partly to blame.” Co-edited with Monika Hübscher “What Friends are For” In: Contending Modernities (link) with Britta Kallin: “Feminist Scholarship and Feminist Climate Activism.” Digital Feminist Collective (link) "Grenzgang als zögernde Wieder-Annäherung: Die Deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft und der Jüdisch-Deutsche Dialog." In: Eurostudia 7 Encyclopedia entries for Franul von Weissenthurn Johanna: “Hermann” (1813) and “Das Manuskript” (1826) Friederike Lohmann “Der blinde Harfner (1791) In:Gudrun Loster- Schneider /Gaby Pailer (eds.): Werklexikon deutschsprachiger Prosaautorinnen und Dramatikerinnen 1730-1900 In: Internationales Germanistenlexikon 1800-1950 Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach am Neckar: Verlag Walter de Gruyter (2003) German Women and the Politics of Genre.” In: Seminar 38:4 (November 2002) p.330-343 “Jewish German Women Writers and their Sense of European Identity.” In: Conference Proceedings for the International Symposium for the Study of European Ideas [ISSEI] 2000 “Aesthetically correct?—Canon Politics or: Who is afraid of Eighteenth Century German Women Dramatists?” In: Critical Sense 5.2 (Fall 1997) Beginning to End the Climate Crisis. A History of Our Future. English translation of Luisa Neubauer and Alexander Renning’s Vom Ende der Klimakrise. Eine Geschichte unserer Zukunft, Brandeis University Press, March 2023. [https://brandeisuniversitypress.com/title/9781684581474/] “Attacks on Democracy? A Troll Attack on YouTube,” In: Antisemitism on Social Media co-edited with Monika Hübscher (Routledge, New York and London: 2022), p.74-92. [https://www.routledge.com/Antisemitism-on-Social-Media/Hubscher-Mering/p/book/9781032059693] "Zwischen Anpassung und Selbstbehauptung: Die jüdische Gemeinde im Großherzogtum Posen unter preußischer Herrschaft (1815-1848)." by Sophia Kemlein In: German Politics and Society (Summer 2019) of Energy Democracy by Arne Jungjohann and Craig Morris In: German Politics and Society (Fall 2018) A Companion by Kathrin Fahlenbrach Martin Klimke In: German Politics and Society (Fall 2017) Resilience and Community Greening by Keith G.Tidball and Marianne E.Krasny In: Journal of Education for Sustainable Development (New Haven and London: Yale University Press Cinema and Social Change in Germany and Austria (Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press Rev. of Bonnie Roos & Alex Hunt: Postcolonial Green. Environmental Politics and World Narratives. In: Ecozon@ (Summer 2012) Vol.3 No.1 155-159.http://www.ecozona.eu/index.php/journal/article/view/277 of Christian Rogowski (ed.): The Many Faces of Weimar Cinema: Rediscovering Germany’s Filmic Legacy In: Women in German Newsletter Spring 2011 In: German Studies Review (February 2011) Vol.34 of Alison Rose: Jewish Women in Fin de Siecle Vienna In: German Studies Review (Spring 2010) Vol 33,  No.1 of Caroline Pearce: Contemporary Germany and the Nazi Legacy of Memory Matters: generational responses to Germany’s Nazi past in recent women’s literature by Caroline Schaumann In: Journal of Modern JewishStudies 1472- 5894 (July 2010) Volume 9 In: German Studies Review (Spring 2009) Construction and Destruction of Bodies in Modern German Literature and Culture of Contemporary Jewish Writing in Germany edited by Leslie Morris and Karin Remmler In: Sh’ma 33:595.  (November 2002) of The Rhetorical Feminine: Gender and Orient on the German Stage German Studies Review XXIV:1 (February 2001) Fanny Lewald’s Recollections of 1848 Women in German Newsletter (Spring 1998) vonmering@brandeis.edu 781-736-3227 Check out Professor von Mering's blog, We Can (and we MUST!) Stop Climate Change and Asian Languages and Literature is an affiliated program with the Division of Humanities at Brandeis University Division of Humanities Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors has honed one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary music This statement stands true for her both literal singing voice and her wider artistic vision reminiscent of Karen Carpenter or Kate Bush in the way they swing high and low with ease but there’s more to her sonic singularity than her singing Mering somehow carves entire worlds out of albums It’s a collection of impossibly coherent chamber pop inviting us into her mind with each soaring sentence Even outside of the music, Mering executes a distinctive artistic vision. The cover art for Titanic Rising saw her delving into an underwater bedroom, surrounded by an ethereal light. She’s a truly all-encompassing artist so it’s no surprise that she looks up to her predecessors who exercised a similar level of control over their sound and style While picking out some of her favourite albums during a conversation with Tidal Mering shared her love for The Velvet Underground leader and lyricist Lou Reed and for one of his solo records in particular Mering considers Reed’s 1979 record The Bells to be one of the records that changed her life though she admits that it’s “so freaking weird.” The Bells isn’t quite as well-known as some of Reed’s other full-length solo offerings which spawned iconic tracks like ‘Perfect Day’ and ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ but it endeared itself to Mering through its weirdness There are certainly some silly moments on the record such as the squelching synths at the opening of second single ‘Disco Mystic’ and the jazzier influences but Reed somehow pulls it all together seamlessly It’s a record that doesn’t take itself too seriously – at least until its lengthy final track – which struck a chord with Mering a strangeness that has been largely reflected in responses to the album as critics and audiences struggle to know what to make of it But Mering clearly appreciates fellow artists who opt to lean into their sonic experiments to give into strange sound effects and genre-blending While the sound Mering has honed as Weyes Blood is a far cry from the jazzy rock of The Bells and even a far cry from Reed’s more subdued solo work and his avant-garde creations for The Velvet Underground the songwriter still wields a mammoth influence over alternative artists of all genres Mering’s baroque style isn’t comparable to Reed’s sound Noelle Mering is a Fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based think tank The Ethics and Public Policy Center. She is the author of the book Awake, Not Woke: A Christian Response to the Cult of Progressive Ideology (TAN Books). She is an editor for the website TheologyofHome.com and a coauthor of the Theology of Home book series and religion and has published in National Review Noelle is a wife and mother of six children in Southern California known for memorable global creative for brands.  The Shipyard leads with its "marketing engineering" philosophy leveraging data and creativity.  Combined the companies will provide clients with expanded capabilities which will be more important than ever post-pandemic.  The group now totals 120 people across four cities including:  Columbus Mering is known for creating work that moves people to engage with brands and drive positive business outcomes Its services include: insights and strategy and production.  Mr.  Mering becomes an equity partner and Vice Chairman of TSY Enterprises is the world's first "marketing engineering agency," known for uniting the power of data and storytelling to create and deliver courageous marketing that is compelling effective and measurable.  The Shipyard first entered the California market with its acquisition of Newport Beach-based O'Leary and Partners in 2016 Today's announcement comes on the heels of The Shipyard's creation of its new eCommerce Growth Engineering Practice designed to create foster and grow marketers' direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels  The agency serves iconic brands such as In-N-Out Burger The two founders of each agency were acquainted but reintroduced during a Worldwide Partners (WPI) call for CEOs who were discussing business successes and challenges in our world today "What began as a friendly personal dialogue between founders transformed into a plan for our companies to join forces," Mering said.  "Rick and The Shipyard have a track record of success bringing first to market solutions to brands and innovating ahead of competitors.  As we moved into more serious conversations a few things were clear about our possible shared future.  First and foremost by combining strengths we can provide our clients with deepened expertise.  Additionally, we saw the benefits of our diversified experiences across so many industries.  This not only makes us stronger but it also makes our companies a more exciting place to work for our teams who like to be challenged with new opportunities." CEO of The Shipyard; and Chairman at TSY Enterprises said: "Marketing today requires data and technology and creativity.  We were attracted to Mering because of its strength in designing compelling campaigns for clients that drive consumers to action We see tremendous business growth opportunity in California and Mering is California's leading independent agency.  Dave is going to be an incredible asset to our team and I couldn't be happier to have him and his agency on board." The two firms plan to integrate leadership and branding in 2021 a digital marketing company focused on the insurance industry.  In 2019 TSY successfully sold Smart Harbor to Accel-KKR Ventures using the resulting capital and resources to continue building The Shipyard Lynne Collins [email protected]1-646-286-4724 Adrienne Scordato Taylor [email protected]1-917-402-5377 https://www.theshipyard.com one of the nation's fastest-growing independent agencies is deepening its roots in California with the opening of its new headquarters .. Following The Shipyard's recent acquisition of Fahlgren Mortine Advertising Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers Do not sell or share my personal information: at marches — I even wore it at a kayaktivist rally with my brother in Berlin which is destroying the polar bear’s habitat But the barrage of data doesn’t seem to move many folks to action People’s faces light up when they see me standing on the side of the road in my polar bear costume It makes them smile and grabs their attention and when they have had a chance to read our signs which we are holding spread out in the style of old Burma Shave ads (signs stacked along the road completing a sentence) — they honk their approval someone also gives us the middle finger or shouts something like “get a job” while speeding by I call this activity “polarbearing” and I do it because I know people don’t want to be lectured about climate change Once an employee of the restaurant next door brought us water seeing me stand there in the polar bear outfit in 90-plus degrees Fahrenheit And I’ve lost count of the number of passersby who come up and say “You must be really hot in there.” No one can actually understand what I’m saying through the bear mask An extinction-themed protest four years ago inspired me to make the costume I made the head from a template for a paper mask I found on Etsy.com It meant printing the 20-plus pages of the template and gluing it onto cardboard before cutting it into dozens of small pieces then reassembling it according to the instructions I got a few yards of “fake fur” at a textile shop glued some of it over the head and sewed a pair of overalls from the rest I’ve already had to remake the head once — after several years of climate protests According to Yale Climate Change Communication, the majority of people in the U.S. are either concerned or alarmed about the climate crisis. But even among the alarmed: “Most, however, do not know what they or others can do to solve the problem.” I understand that the climate crisis is enormous — even overwhelming. But when people say they feel overwhelmed and don’t know what to do, my first question is always: “Have you tried doing anything?” with other climate activists on Route 9 in Framingham (Courtesy Sabine von Mering)I hope my polar bear costume also reminds people that they still have a lot more power than an actual polar bear to make a difference I wonder about the conversations we’re starting in the cars driving by I think about the couple that seems eager to read every sign who seem to get a kick out of the polar bear suit the lone driver on the phone with a friend Do they understand how much power they have just by making a decision about which bank to use they are likely to stick around for decades But no credit card is more attractive than a livable climate. Asked in another survey, “why they might not punish companies that oppose steps to reduce global warming,” 58% of people said nobody had ever asked them to do so OK, people, this is me asking you to do so: Cut up your card. Make your own polar bear suit or come join us It’s not just about Chase or even about polar bears Follow Cognoscenti on Facebook and Instagram . Sabine von Mering Cognoscenti contributorSabine von Mering is a 2023 Public Voices Fellow on the Climate Crisis with The OpEd Project in partnership with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and on the program faculty for Environmental Studies at Brandeis University The US musician’s Titanic Rising saw her hailed as the ‘millennial Joni Mitchell’ and her new album examining our turbulent times “This music is so ominous,” says singer-songwriter Natalie Mering sinuous songs that take in everything from technological alienation to the oncoming climate apocalypse but about the dour tones blaring from a large screen broadcasting the Queen’s funeral in the room next door Mering has flown in to promote her latest album and we meet in a hotel in east London on the day of the funeral The atmosphere in the cafe is strange and sombre as though we are whispering to each other in the back pews of a church It’s an apt setting in which to discuss the work of Weyes Blood who started making music under the name as a teen inspired by the Flannery O’Connor novel Wise Blood “I think I was attracted to the idea of the Holy Church of Christ Without Christ,” she says “that concept to me was just so mind-blowing as somebody that was raised really Christian: to want to undo religion but still have the structure still have that architecture living empty within me My form of worship became centred on music.” She pauses for a second then adds in a velvety Californian drawl: “And I was 15 with whom she shares an affinity for off-kilter baroque pop and a vintage-leaning aesthetic though her music sounds like little else that is being released “He kept trying to make me sing like Nico – it was like a seance We were summoning the low-voiced lady vibes.” Oregon to study music but dropped out after a year and performed in noise bands Jackie-O Motherfucker and Satanized but I’m really lucky that for the most part which she describes as “like bootcamp for people – if you don’t have generational wealth “It took a while to get really good,” she says and later had to learn how to resonate when singing through a PA system “I had to work for many years to get to where I’m at now I didn’t start out fabulous – that took a lot of practice I finally learned how to wrangle the beast.” What kept her going was a steadfast belief that music was what she was meant to do The Outside Room in 2011 and The Innocents in 2014 rich instrumentation and the soaring beauty of her voice A number of critics remarked on the disconnect between Mering’s past bands and the unashamed loveliness of her melodies “It took a level of bravery for me to embrace that side of myself,” she says “because I’ve always been a little bit edgier The fact that I ended up making really beautiful in its own way it’s subversive and brave.” Titanic Rising’s follow-up, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow, was written during the pandemic, which Mering spent in her apartment in LA, cooking food for her dog Luigi (“sweet potatoes with different meats, trace minerals”), calling her friends and watching DVDs from a local rental store (she has recently curated a Freaky Movie Weekend in New York) She read Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman and The Culture of Narcissism by Christopher Lasch; she contributed a song to Minions: The Rise of Gru when her friend Jack Antonoff was looking for someone who could sing Linda Ronstadt Hearts Aglow will be the second album in a trilogy following Titanic Rising’s “observation of doom to come” with a dissection of what it means to be in the thick of it; the third will be about hope “I was trying to process this idea of irrevocable change and what that does to personal relationships “It’s like a glow stick: you crack it and it glows It’s about the power of having your heart so broken that it would emanate a light.” The pandemic also exacerbated our reliance on technology something Mering has been writing about for a long time we’ve gained this inconceivable ability to communicate worldwide and promote yourself hustle the global market on the most individual scale but the trade-off is gigantic.” In the video for It’s Not Just Me Mering dances with an animated mobile phone that feasts on corpses strewn around a film set (loosely based on Anchors Aweigh with Gene Kelly and Jerry Mouse) the music crescendoing ethereally as things get increasingly gory But Mering is no luddite: she has a smartphone and uses social media where she is well versed in left-field internet humour “Smashing the phones and trying to go back in time is not a solution You almost have to get in the belly of the beast to understand it more and do what you can to try to save the kids that are really drowning in it Millennials and gen Z could both relate to the fact that they are the guinea pigs for these changes even though they might be in different parts of the spectrum.” Because the political system is pretty damaged.” Watch the video for It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody by Weyes Blood.A central preoccupation of the album presented as a possible remedy to the isolation that comes with digital dependency and modern capitalism is the Buddhist idea of the interconnectedness of all things “We’re all connected to the animals and the trees and the land Everything is so permeable: things get into our skin no black and white idea that we’re all these little separate units functioning in an autonomic way: not just in a woo-woo new age way it’s scientifically false.” She has “a grab bag” of favourite spiritual beliefs Psychologically that’s how we cope with reality It’s almost an evolutionary impulse: to create meaning from something lest we devolve into chaos.” She is looking forward to touring the album to bringing audiences together to experience songs written about the isolation of the pandemic years “I think people are still trying to cope with the denial of how traumatic that whole experience was – there’s a lot of existential baggage for sure But I feel like the album is going to really come to life on stage.” It all comes back to the idea that for many people live music is the closest they get to a religious experience most of it was made for God – secular music used to be the exception but in the sense of music being this transcendent vehicle to take you to a more sacred space.” And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow is released on 18 November by Sub Pop. Weyes Blood tours the UK next February This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media Noelle Mering is convinced that the Catholic home is a place of apostolate In this interview she explains the importance of balance in the roles of father and mother the reality of the "domestic Church" and the beauty of the family "The home has a powerful ability to show spiritual realities through the material world," says Noelle Mering. A mother, philosopher and member of the Center for Public Policy and Ethics, she is author and editor at "Theology of Home" This project includes a website and several books through which they want to show the beauty of family life Mering and her colleagues accompany those who take care of the home to "find the eternal in the everyday" Noelle is convinced that Catholic homes are places of apostolate, welcome and dialogue. In this interview, she explains the importance of the balance in the roles of father and mother, the reality of the "domestic Church" and the beauty of the family – I think it’s better encapsulated in the subtitle to our first book which was “finding the eternal in the everyday” We believe that spiritual realities are unveiled through the material world And I think that home has a particular powerful ability to do that so that people that live within the home are not just aggregated by the walls around them but rather that there is something that becomes the life of the family that’s lived in the physical experiences and environment of the home part of what we are exploring with Theology of Home books is that what we are doing here is really a foretaste of what we hope to have in Heaven We are trying to create an environment where we can grow closer not only to one another but closer to God through one another and also through our family and personal prayer lives our ability to bring the outside world in through hospitality as sort of an apostolic I think that in caring deeply about home life even to the point of taking seriously having order in our homes That’s a sign that we are seeing that this is a place that we should treat with respect because of the relationships that are being nurtured in it Certainly I think that a clear way that happens that we sort of unmask or unveil God in the home is that it’s a really intimate environment if we have faults we encounter them through the eyes of the people whom we lived with because we see ourselves through their eyes and that can be harrowing but it can also be wonderful because it means that we get to contend with our faults that sense of “I’m going to truthfully recognize my weaknesses” that is a very Catholic path of understanding the nature of God It’s such a human temptation to deflect from our faults and responsibilities but the Church is always inviting us through daily examination of conscience and the sacrament of confession to not deflect from them And in that process we grow more merciful to one another we grow more aware of our existential poverty and need for a savior – The familial nature of our Church is the guide to be daughters and sons of a good and loving God And I think that familial nature is not accidental it should really inform how we think about our own family One of the things I think it’s most important right now is for our family life to be positive I think that too often we can think that our family life is transmitting the values maybe even keeping the bad things out of the home But it needs to be that and also laced with positive The kids we are raising now are gonna go out in the world and confront a lot of things that are contrary to the faith that we are trying to transmit to them and ignite in them And if they look back on their family memories and they were given intellectual formation but not a positive depth of love and affection Kids need to feel deeply how much they are loved in order to believe that the ideas that we are teaching them actually are for their good Another thing we do as a domestic Church is that we do have to keep the bad things out A crucial part of that right now is just getting on top of technology We want our homes to be places where we are human And technology kind of pulls us away from our humanity and makes us avatars of some sort of identity that we can manufacture Our homes should be places of real deep humanity A third thing is to introduce beauty to kids we are integrating things to our family culture that are a positive vision of a really Catholic life having beautiful literature and music in the home nature… That is a really important aspect of cultivating the domestic Church Our perseverance in our personal prayer life is going to speak to them far more than any class or book on prayer or catechism Kids are really struck by seeing their parents daily in and out persevering in their own private prayer lives And that can really inspire them in their lives – I only know about this movement from the very periphery Young women are finding purpose in domesticity and that can be a great thing There is some element that feels that there can be a pull towards being performative In the first book I had a chapter that was really about the role of the husband I think one of the ways we get really off track is when men start prioritizing their career over their home life because if you are supporting your family there’s an urgency there for the next meeting But I think that men need to find some way to communicate both through their actions words and attitude that their work really comes second to the life of the home just as much as their wives about their preeminent project when it’s clear that that is the most important part of their day then the wife starts to feel diminished in her role – It’s different in different circumstances it makes sense that her career is going to be preeminent it can be very difficult to not see your career as not being very important I think there’s a need to have the conversation and give permission to women to realize that family is something that they can prioritize They can think about getting married young and having children at a young age as a good and beautiful thing I think that the more we normalize and show the beauty but just acknowledging that you can be glad if you started your family young God’s path of life is going to be individual for each person and the real key is to respond well to what God is calling you to at the moment Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers We deliver! Get curated industry news straight to your inbox. Subscribe to Adweek newsletters Mering was founded 35 years ago by Dave Mering in Sacramento the agency changed its name last year after Greg Carson its longtime partner and chief creative officer The Shipyard was started nearly 10 years go by Rick Milenthal after his former shop, Engauge, was acquired by Publicis Groupe the new entity will employ 120 people across four offices The Shipyard has a second location in Newport Beach while Mering has an additional office in San Diego Subscribe now for unlimited access to exclusive insider reporting I want to receive emails from Adweek about products services and events that they feel may be of interest to me I want to receive emails from Adweek on behalf of carefully-selected third party partners about products By submitting your information you agree to Adweek's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and you will begin receiving our newsletters I understand by creating an account, I agree to Adweek’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and that I may review and update my marketing preferences at any time A code has been sent to your email address By subscribing you agree to Adweek’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Automatic Renewal and Cancellation By subscribing, you agree to the terms of sale, including the  Cancellation and Refund Policy You authorize Adweek.com to charge your credit/debit card at the annual subscription price at the amount noted above now and in time to  automatically renew your Adweek.com subscription every year before the start of each new 12-month term unless you tell us to stop.  Renewal rates are subject to change at any time with or without notice your service will continue without interruption The cancellation goes into effect at the start of the following billing cycle contact customer service at 844.674.8161 (U.S.) or 845.267.3007 (Outside U.S.) Minda Smiley is deputy Agencies editor at Adweek Adweek is the leading source of news and insight serving the brand marketing ecosystem Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Natalie Mering refines her vision with a new record Altadena – the tiny Californian town that Natalie Mering now calls home – is one of those places that time forgot Pushed back against the towering San Gabriel mountains it’s isolated on three sides by jagged foothills and dark primeval woods Eldridge Cleaver is buried here; so are Alice Walker and George Reeves Johnny Otis spent his final years here without anyone the wiser Altadena was where rich millionaires from the east and well-heeled Angelenos used to come to beat the heat before moving on to more exotic and cooler playgrounds to the north and south The single art store is called McGinty’s Gallery At The End Of The World It’s the kind of place where you could elude the law wait out the apocalypse… or maybe just be left alone to make an album Hearts Aglow – the follow-up to Uncut’s 2019 Album Of The Year Wild flocks of peacocks and peahens dart from rooftop to Altadena rooftop – including Mering’s where a stately male is unfurling his plumage on the low slope of her slate roof waving her hand dismissively as she unlocks the door to her rambling white ranch house If no-one looks askance at a majestic blue peacock on a rooftop what are the chances that Altadenans will recognise an artist of Mering’s calibre living in their midst But I got this house cheap because it doesn’t have air-conditioning,” she laughs “Which wasn’t that big of a deal until last week when the power kept going out and I had to stay with friends.” She’s talking about a 10-day heatwave that overtook Southern California sparking wildfires and sending temperatures soaring to 110 “I think my idea of impending doom is a lot closer than people think,” says Mering quietly she wrote about a world where technology was evolving as fast as the climate was collapsing I thought we just needed to clean things up I was shocked when everyone else wasn’t as concerned as I was,” she says edging a little forward on her white velvet settee She has perfect posture and small elfin ears that she tucks her lush hippie hair behind “I always felt our generation couldn’t really put our finger on what was wrong but making art about the stuff in a way that didn’t feel trite or bizarre or off-base seemed like the way to go I was always toying with how can I put these concerns into a beautiful song so this is specific to our generation and not more pebbles on the mound of music PICK UP THE NEW ISSUE OF UNCUT TO READ THE FULL STORY No thanks, I’m not interested! 23-year hospitality veteran selected to lead the firm's renewed push into the hotel sector CHICAGO, April 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Waterton a Chicago-based real estate investor and operator is pleased to announce the hiring of Matt Mering as executive vice president Mering will be responsible for the formulation and execution of Waterton's hotel investment strategy oversight of asset management and further developing investor relationships Mr Mering joins Waterton with over 23 years of hospitality experience He most recently served as director of development at Graves Hospitality where he was responsible for identifying new hospitality development and acquisition opportunities and oversight of the company's food and beverage operations Mering was a principal at Salita Development where he served as director of development "We are thrilled to have Matt on board and are confident that he will play an important role in strategically growing our hospitality portfolio," said David Schwartz "Matt's leadership experience combined with the strengths of Waterton and Waterford will provide a broad platform to execute our investment plan." The announcement follows Waterton's recent merger with Waterford Hotel Group The strategic alliance combined Waterton's investment and asset management expertise with Waterford's operational expertise as the companies seek to strategically grow their hospitality portfolios.  Press Contacts:Great Ink Communications – (212) 741-2977Sara Williams Eric Gerard Roxanne Donovan [email protected] a national real estate investor and operator today announced the final close of Waterton Residential Property Venture XV Real Estate Commercial Real Estate Travel Hotels and Resorts A rally to combat antisemitism in Miami Beach According to the Anti-Defamation League 2021 was a low point in the history of American antisemitism The organization tallied 2,717 antisemitic incidents for that year the most since it began collecting data in 1979 In the newly published book "Antisemitism on Social Media," a group of scholars examines how Twitter TikTok and other platforms may be fueling this rise in the United States and globally.  Co-edited by Sabine von Mering, professor of German and women's, gender and sexuality studies a PhD candidate at the University of Haifa it is the first comprehensive academic study of the subject Here are some of the book's major findings and conclusions:  their absence "was hardly noticeable" on social media because other groups immediately filled in.  Miller traces how beginning in the early 2010s members of antisemitic groups began a campaign on social media using the message "read siege," a reference to a violently antisemitic text written by neo-Nazi James Mason in the 1980s it wasn't flagged as hate speech by the social media platforms a Twitter user who went by the handle @ReidSeej fooled the celebrity gossip columnist Perez Hilton into saying "read siege" in a Christmas video.  implicated in the violence that emanates from it." However, it's important to point out that antisemitic content represents a tiny fraction of the traffic on social media. In his chapter in the book, Michael Bossetta, a researcher at Sweden's Lund University says most studies find that antisemitic content makes up well under 1% of the total number of posts worldwide "The bulk of evidence points to antisemitic content being much less visible on social media than commonly perceived," Bossetta concludes which has used social media to move from the fringes to the political mainstream would seem mostly focused on spreading conspiracy theories about Donald Trump and the Democratic Party.   But Armin Langer, a Phd student at Germany's Humboldt University argues in the book that even if the movement doesn't truck explicitly in antisemitism its conspiracy theories still draw on historically antisemitic lore and themes.  Langer traces its origins back to the late 18th century when the Prussian Lutheran pastor Johann Heinrich Schulz accused Jews of walling themselves off from the larger societies in which they lived to form a "state within a state" ("Staat im Staate") "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," the idea of a Jewish "state within a state" goes hand-in-hand with the concept of a Jewish world conspiracy "Both these theories promote the idea of the existence of a secretive group that works according to their own rules separately from the majority," Langer writes.  Langer sees a parallel between QAnon's obsession with the Jewish financier and philanthropist George Soros and past antisemitic conspiracy theories about the power of the Jewish banking family He also says that QAnon's focus on pedophilia and sex abuse has roots in the blood libel the long-held belief that Jews ritually sacrifice Christian children at Passover to obtain their blood for matzah.  Langer says QAnon's adherents use"antisemitic dog-whistle politics," referencing "people terms and narratives that may appear vague and harmless without context but which signal a form of antisemitic hate speech." "TikTok has become a magnet and a hotbed for violent and extremist content," the Israeli researchers Gabriel Weimann and Natalie Masri write in their chapter because of the platform's huge popularity with tweens and teenagers.  Weimann and Masri analyzed TikTok's content between February and May of 2020 and 2021 They found a 41% increase in antisemitic posts a 912% increase in antisemitic comments and a 1,375% increase in antisemitic usernames.  the actual amount of content remains minuscule when compared to the total amount of material on the platform But TikTok's huge user base — over one billion —  means that even one post can reach a huge audience An antisemitic song about Jewish people being killed in Auschwitz was accessed more than six million times worldwide.  Weimann and Masri are especially troubled that TikTok had announced a crackdown on hate speech in October 2020 yet their findings showed that antisemitic material was still being posted.  the fear of being the target of an antisemitic attack on social media is omnipresent German social scientist Quint Czymmek cites a 2019 study that found that young European Jews (ages 16-34) were more likely to have experienced antisemitic harassment or violence than older Jews and that these younger Jews said the internet and social media was where antisemitism is most problematic today.  In-depth interviews Czymmek conducted with three young German Jewish adults revealed that being on the receiving end of an antisemitic social media post produced a sense of "loss of control," "unawareness of what would happen next," and despair over "the silence of other users." The interviewees all said they had witnessed a substantial amount of antisemitism on social media and it typically took the form of anti-Israel invective One of the study's participants decided to keep his Jewish identity on social media hidden "This anonymity protects me very much," he said But another participant said she found the connections she forged with other Jews on social media supportive and vital in facing the threat of antisemitism and this is so wonderful," she told Czymmek All the participants felt they could not turn to outsiders for help with antisemitism "There is a strong feeling that real support would only come from the Jewish community," Czymmek wrote.  According to Brandeis University's Sabine von Mering repost or engage with the material in any way Social media's algorithms reward content that elicits user responses Even if you denounce an antisemitic post or call out the person who published it you increase the likelihood that the content will be promoted on the platform Most platforms now have methods for reporting hate speech She also suggests finding ways to show empathy and solidarity with those who are being attacked by declaring your solidarity with them on your own page Solidarity with victims of hate speech is very important it's perfectly fine to seek support and comfort from your network on social media Just don't share the post in which you were attacked Sabine von Mering's most recent scholarly work focuses on right-wing extremism in Europe and the United States. As director of the Center for German and European Studies conferences and cultural events in the interest of promoting transatlantic dialogue The Rabbi Who Brought Progressive Politics and Judaism Together How Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories Contributed to the Recent Hostage-Taking at the Texas Synagogue The Jewish Experience is dedicated to exploring the most pressing issues facing Jews and Judaism today you will find research by Brandeis' world-class faculty on Jewish history You will find articles on how our students and alumni are transforming Judaism leading Jewish organizations and practicing tikkun olam on campus and beyond MS 136 Brandeis University 415 South Street Waltham jewish-experience@brandeis.edu Ahead of the release of her much-anticipated fifth album, Natalie Mering speaks to Annabel Nugent about coming to terms with the reality of climate change her ‘wild’ days performing with a metal band and living in the ‘underbelly of society’ I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Mering’s speaking voice is low like her singing one. She is pale with straight brown hair that falls heavy on either side of her face. The tips of her ears peek through like tiny glaciers interrupting a stream. People often comment on her elvish looks, but as easy as it is to imagine Mering stepping off the pages of a Tolkien novel, so, too, you can picture her on stage in a sweaty basement club, hair clinging to her face and fake blood gushing from her chest. But more on that later. That is the biggest upside to her recent success. And in the Darkness has received stellar early reviews and she is playing bigger and bigger venues. “It means I can pay rent now – and afford to have a dog!” Mering has a Pomeranian called Luigi back home. But the rest of it doesn’t interest her as much. “I don’t want to say it’s all bad but most people I know who have hit a level of success," she explains. “Usually that comes with a great existential crisis.” ‘And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow’ is out on 18 November via Sub Pop Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies {"adUnitPath":"71347885/_main_independent/gallery","autoGallery":true,"disableAds":false,"gallery":[{"data":{"title":"Weyes Blood","description":"Weyes Blood","caption":"Natalie Mering began performing as Weyes Blood as a teenager Natalie Mering began performing as Weyes Blood as a teenager Natalie Mering speaks to Annabel Nugent about coming to terms with the reality of climate change Weyes Blood’s West Coast AM goth-folk reveries hit a career high In this extract from MOJO’s exclusive interview Natalie Mering recalls growing up in a family of musicians-turned born again Christians and her early Natalie Mering moved with her family between Southern and Northern California before resettling in Doylestown had left their former lives behind and become devout members of the Pentecostal faith “It was a little more than that,” adjusts Mering it was a far cry from the Hollywood glamour that Sumner Mering had once basked in As the frontman of the titular band Sumner he was a charismatic figure who’d once dated Joni Mitchell and recorded their debut with Jack Nitzsche came out in 1980 and disappeared soon after a career in medical publishing and the move east would follow she dove deep into Radiohead and Ween – “weird” bands for Doylestown and wanted to start a Sonic Youth-type band,” she says Experimenting with her father’s old 4-track “I got a nylon-string and went full-on folk weird and gave up on the whole idea of being in rock band.” Working at a record store in Doylestown and making regular trips to nearby Philadelphia to catch underground concerts offered a period of accelerated development “There was a certain turning point where I just decided “If there was any place where my family’s religious background came in it was the fervour of pursuing my passion for music – as if it was the meaning of life or some weird spiritual practice.” where she began the first iteration of Weyes Blood – pronounced as per Wise Blood “I would just play my nylon-string and had two friends who would do tape sounds and play duelling saws,” says Mering “It was a really great way for me to grow as an artist but it wasn’t like I was exhibiting signs of creating high quality pop material.” Mering’s gnarly muse decreed a move to the North-west – home of music she loved on labels like Sub Pop and K – where she attended Lewis & Clark College in Portland “I was just one of a thousand people making that kind of music,” she says Mering’s immediate response: double down on gnarl She toured on bass with improv experimentalists Jackie-O Motherfucker and played keyboards for theatrical throb-rockers Satanized “Noise was the zone where it felt like a lot of the energy was at,” says Mering I’m going to make even less accessible music.” Mering flitted between cities and music scenes mostly along the East Coast – Philadelphia Baltimore and New York – though her travels would also find her tapping maple trees for syrup in rural Kentucky and studying herbalism in the New Mexico desert “Any time a place got weird I could very easily leave the practical reality of a music career was eluding her “My generation got emptied into a recession economy where you couldn’t work at a coffee shop and have a decent place to live and do art,” she notes I was constantly looking for some way to make it all magically work.” Mering had come to the end of her romance with the largely male-dominated underground rock subculture “The scene I was in had become the most conformist circle jerk of all time,” she says “It was so political and there was so many weird vibes.” The turning point for Mering came during a warehouse gig in Baltimore where she got into a contretemps with a group of scenesters who’d set up a poker table in the middle of the floor Mering upended their game by jumping on the table: “I was like Enjoy access to an archive of previous issues exclusive MOJO Filter emails with the key tracks you need to hear each week plus a host of member-only rewards and discounts Company number 01176085; Bauer Radio Limited Company number: 1394141; Registered office: Media House Peterborough PE2 6EA and H Bauer Publishing Company number: LP003328; Registered office: The Lantern H Bauer Publishing are authorised and regulated for credit broking by the FCA (Ref No: 845898) This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page A bishop in Poland has called a state university professor victim of the LGBTQ movement’s “intellectual terror” after the school suspended him for writing a homophobic article ” ‘How painful and sad it is that political correctness has contrived to become more important than normality The madness of LGBT ideology has become a form of intellectual terror directed against everyone who exercises a healthy judgement.’ “ Nalaskowski’s offending comments appeared in the Polish weekly Sieci in an essay about Pride celebrations entitled “Traveling Rapists,” a term he used  repeatedly to describe LGBTQ people. In a particularly vicious section, Nalaskowski wrote, as quoted in Gazeta.pl (via Google Translate): “[Pride marchers are] effeminate dandies tattooed babes who ostentatiously kiss like on promiscuous movies and individuals who are hard to attribute to some gender.” The Tablet reported that in an interview following the suspension Nalaskowski said LGBTQ people were out to “destroy the Church.” Aleksander Nalaskowski’s rhetoric about LGBTQ people is indefensible the issue is not one of political correctness It is not “intellectual terror” to expect LGBTQ people be treated with the “respect and sensitivity” that church teaching demands of Catholics church leaders in Poland are encouraging discrimination and endangering lives Educated men abusing their positions to spread fear and anger It is past time for the Church and society to realize that gayness is normal and not an aberration Too much kielbase and not enough Christianity Aleksander Nalaskowski’s rhetoric is indefensible I took the time to write a polite letter to Bishop Wiesław Alojzy Mering I quoted Bob’s last paragraph in this blog; my disappointment with what the bishop said; exhorted the bishop to apologize to the queer community and inform himself of current academic knowledge about LGBTQ matters by experts in the field of psychology and sociology; and affirmed the bishop’s the right to interpret and uphold church teachings—all of them If anyone else would like to write a polite response to Bishop Mering These church men must really be threatened by LGBTQ+ people defaming and unhinged language in their attacks and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. has a complex view of nostalgia.Photograph by Charlotte Rutherford for The New YorkerSave this storySave this storySave this storySave this storyOne afternoon in June of last year the indie musician who performs as Weyes Blood Hearts Aglow,” which comes out on November 18th is her first since “Titanic Rising,” in 2019 For the cover of “Titanic Rising,” Mering had an elaborate re-creation of her teen-age bedroom submerged in a back-yard pool It was a nostalgic image rendered deeply eerie critically acclaimed for the imaginative way Mering had recast the Laurel Canyon folk-pop of the nineteen-seventies for a new era of existential unease Mering half-jokingly described the record to me as “a doomer classic.” was the fanciest place Mering had ever recorded had once been a burlesque joint called Madame Zucca’s Hollywood Casino and had been taken over in the early sixties by Bill Putnam the pioneering audio engineer known for inventing many modern recording techniques The Beach Boys made “Pet Sounds” there; EastWest is where the Mamas and the Papas recorded “California Dreamin’ ” and “Monday A string quartet would not be out of place there “That first entrance to the cello?” she told the musicians. “You can totally swell that. Because it’s such a pretty note, I’d love to hear it come out a little more.” Mering, bouncing on the balls of her feet, said, “Can we try C-sharp? Is that crazy?” When she heard it, she grinned and swayed to the music. “Now that sounds right.” Earlier, Mering had described another new song as having the “vibe” of “Whiter Shade of Pale”—a song that, in turn, had a “Bach vibe.” That reminded her of how Jim Morrison and the Doors, whom she loves, had come up with “Riders on the Storm” while jamming on a 1948 cowboy song, “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” Learning about such inspired pastiches, she said, made her feel better “about all the influences that come out in my music.” She noted, “People have been doing that since the dawn of time.” And it went thataway!”Cartoon by Liana FinckCopy link to cartoonCopy link to cartoonLink copied Mering’s collaborators describe her as having an uncommonly confident artistic vision but one that she pursues through a lot of improvisation and open-ended experimentation “I can make noise out of anything,” she said an acclaimed indie producer who is also a member of the band Foxygen told me that Mering was “deliberate and freewheeling at the same time,” adding “She’s not necessarily looking for the perfect take but she’s looking for the perfect vibe—always trying to get at something with the right feeling and emotion And she’s down to take as long as it needs to get there.” the lyrics of a song by the Los Angeles singer-songwriter Judee Sill she thought of her own music as “atemporal” and felt a little bad about it wondering if she wasn’t attuned enough to her own times I miss going to the video store and renting a video I miss when people couldn’t break a plan because they had no way to get in touch with you so they couldn’t leave you hanging and just send you a bullshit text.” and radio stations are reducing the number of songs in their rotations “I really do appreciate the greats,” Mering said “But I would love to see new music and culture get a little more limelight because we don’t have the same kind of ecosystem that these people had”—a captive radio audience and generous budgets for studio time and album promotion Mering channels the disorientation caused by the pandemic: “Living in the wake of overwhelming changes / We’ve all become strangers / Even to ourselves.” but also the chambers for the reverbs—we’d be It was so fun to record a band in there live but after a while we need to go be primitive elsewhere standing on the shoulders of these giants.” She laughed “appealing to the subconscious more by saying less.” (Kubrick once said of the minimal dialogue in “2001,” that he had tried “to create a visual experience one that bypasses verbalized pigeonholing and directly penetrates the subconscious with an emotional and philosophic content.”) Mering told me that she takes a similar approach to writing music: “I love lyrics but I do think there’s a lot of emotion in instrumental and you can use them as your own canvas to paint feelings on.” Mering’s family background and upbringing set her up nicely for the kind of cultural time travel she likes to engage in Her mother’s mother was a vaudeville singer who once played the role of Indian Child in a lost silent movie called “The Gateway of the Moon.” Mering’s mother also sings; she had a florist’s shop in Santa Monica for a while and when Natalie was little Pamela would sometimes take her along on deliveries and entertain her by crooning standards was the good-looking front man of a New Wave band which put out a record on Elektra/Asylum in 1980 Her parents got together after a mutual friend arranged a blind date; Pamela Mering told me that she agreed to it after hearing that Sumner had gone on a few dates with one of her musical idols—Joni Mitchell He eventually abandoned rock music and began a career in medical publishing she and her brother Zak moved with their parents to Pennsylvania “We came from an angle of nothing was impossible there’s freedom in Christ and God.’ We weren’t a religious household in the sense of having a lot of rules and regulations Her rental in Pasadena is a modestly sized ranch house but Mering initially didn’t have a roommate and found it too big to rattle around in alone so her mother and Zak stayed with her for extended periods “I’ve come to terms with their Christianity,” she told me as we talked in her dusty back yard The yard is visited regularly by a flock of feral peacocks and they screeched as we sipped herbal tea the buds of a flowering plant called spilanthes she briefly apprenticed with an herbalist on a farm in Kentucky.) She said of her parents “I’m just very grateful that they were spiritual at all even if it’s not the same kind that I have now But obviously it can be hard growing up religious.” One upside was that she watched a lot of classic Hollywood movies at a young age in part because they lacked explicit content an artist and a musician who dated Mering in high school and who remains a close friend at a show at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia She just built an eight-foot guitar.’ ” Mering after coming across a book about experimental-instrument building had learned how to put two guitars together with their necks touching—a contraption that produced “a ghostly sound where you could only hear the harmonics of the strings.” (Mering lugged the chimerical guitar to gigs in a ski bag—the only case big enough for it.) Strong and his friends were starting to make their own instruments out of found materials “She was just immediately a weird little leader in this scene we were creating,” he recalled He said that the young Mering “had an incredible depth of knowledge about avant-garde music.” and their friends became interested in sixties “happenings” and the Fluxus art movement their projects had something in common with the more political idea of “temporary autonomous zones”—uncommodifiable experiences that and in story and memory.” They once staged an “upside-down-forest show”—taking “truckloads of branches and painstakingly tying them to the ceiling in this South Philly basement.” Some fans of the dreamy chamber pop that Weyes Blood makes today might be surprised to know that she was once the lead screamer for a grindcore band called Satanized whose performances sometimes involved exploding packets of fake blood Mering and Strong also had a performance-art act Their shows often featured the odd spectacle of the duo biting into fruit embedded with microphones which amplified the sounds of their chewing and swallowing Mering found this scene very heady and inspiring she was convinced she was hearing the sound of the future: “It’s going to be noise—it’s going to move past the structure of music as we know it to something ecstatic and improvisational and on the cutting edge of sound design and expression.” Mering observed “Instead of feeling like a regular singer-songwriter I felt more like an explorer—exploring realms of sound for my generation.” and I could be loud and use the space and run around Warehouses are to me so expansive—it’s kind of unlimited what you can do there Mering sewed hot-water bottles into her sweaters; on the coldest days everybody huddled around a wood-burning stove on the second floor because we had a roommate community based on ‘We’ve got to build the fire and sit next to it.’ And we’d talk about things—talk about ideas.” and out-there—there was no call to release a single she used the entire modest advance that she received from a record label to get her wisdom teeth taken out She recalled bursting into tears when she found a parking ticket on her car but she “didn’t have a leg up or a patron,” and she got by with a string of day jobs from census-taker to “dog-hiker,” which involved bringing packs of dogs into the woods to let them run around I can tell.”Cartoon by Victoria RobertsCopy link to cartoonCopy link to cartoonLink copied Mering would dance with a malevolent animated cell phone (She talks often about how drained and exploited we are by self-obsolescing modern technology.) In the car she had put on a nineteen-forties playlist—the Ink Spots Frank Sinatra singing “I’ll Never Smile Again.” Perhaps the velvety vocals helped but Mering turned out to be one of the calmest drivers I’ve ever shared a car with in L.A “I think I used to mute my sexuality and my femininity so that I could be considered a peer and a bro,” Mering observed Learning how to basically turn my pheromones off in a situation and make it really subconsciously clear that nothing was going to happen where she gravitated more strongly toward the singer-songwriter mode burnished by such seventies forbears as Harry Nilsson and Laura Nyro Though she was still incorporating “weird sounds and tape loops,” she said her music had been “morphing toward what I do now.” She noted because they didn’t need the atmospheric support anymore.” It struck her that the truly “nonconformist thing to do” was to make music that was “as beautiful as possible.” Guys in noise music had liked it when she got loud and dissonant and crazy onstage like”—she assumed a gruff dude voice—“ ‘You looked really good doing that.’ ” But Mering wanted to hone her songcraft “I went to this international noise conference,” she said “And I was playing in a basement and the amps caught on fire—I was playing so crazy and loud I honestly felt like the Devil had showed up to my gig and said this was a basement full of people and the amps were on fire And this was before the Ghost Ship fire.” (In December a conflagration broke out during a show at the Ghost Ship an alternative art-and-living space in Oakland that didn’t meet building codes; it killed thirty-six people remembering their youthful immersion in Baltimore’s experimental milieu she could have gone out and tried to have the career she has now from a younger age She was interested in gravitating toward the freak zones.” Some of the confrontational, theatrical verve of her youth is visible in her more recent videos and album-cover concepts. The drowned-bedroom image on the cover of “Titanic Rising,” for example, could easily have been realized with Photoshop. Instead, she worked with an underwater photographer holding her breath in the back-yard pool for longer and longer as night fell and the particleboard furniture began to dissolve if ever there was one—Mering scampers around a bombed-out cityscape constructed on the stage of the Ace Theatre that still looks like the Spanish Gothic movie palace it originally was Mering told me she is grateful that she started her career on the margins. It allowed her to try strange stuff and to practice among like-minded friends—not, say, on TikTok or in some other contemporary platform where she would have felt immediate pressure to brand her music and her style When she made the move toward less transgressive music “it wasn’t about money—I just wanted to reach people.” With the kind of noise music she had initially been creating I wanted to play big shows with people.” She feels that her years spent “doing something that was very ecstatic and free” organically led her to consider other approaches—“to do something that was very orchestrated and planned.” Mering’s two styles of music-making continue to “feed into each other,” she added as much as I bang my head against the wall sometimes—it’s gotta be perfect or this melody has to feel like this—at the end of the day the rawest form of emotion is more of an impulse I learned a lot about improvisation from noise music and I default to that if I’m overthinking it You can’t be too self-aware and calculating.” “runs it through a lot of effects to morph it into something sonically different.” Hearts Aglow” contains an especially striking track called “God Turn Me Into a Flower,” which features heavy synths played by the experimental electronic musician Daniel Lopatin Mering’s album notes describe the track as an “other-worldly dirge” that “serves as an allegory for our collective hubris.” Dua Lipa will probably not be coming out with a remix Mering writes that “the pliable softness of a flower has become my mantra as we barrel towards an uncertain fate.” The song comes off as a twenty-first-century version of sacred music with a wash of Disneyesque bird sounds that suggest a tripped-out sublime—or “a musical sob.” In its capacity to both haunt and soothe the song feels like the album’s definitive moment I asked Mering where we should meet for an interview and we walked among glowing Japanese maples and dying roses Mering spotted a woman and her young daughter eating ice cream and looked at them longingly We’d been talking again about her relationship to the past and she said that she was maybe becoming less nostalgic “I’ve been using the word ‘sentimental’ more,” she said “Because it leaves you open to experiencing the future as something that’s worth remembering it’s so easy to just assume the future is going to keep getting worse.” ♦ A long-ago crime, suddenly remembered A limousine driver watches her passengers transform The day Muhammad Ali punched me What is it like to be keenly intelligent but deeply alienated from simple emotions? Temple Grandin knows The harsh realm of “gentle parenting.”  Retirement the Margaritaville way Fiction by F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Thank You for the Light.”  Sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from The New Yorker. Joni Mitchell’s music has been soundtracking her life Mitchell has been there through thick and thin during pivotal moments for Mering Mering’s parents were musicians and part of the same Los Angeles music scene as Mitchell before leaving the dream behind for civilian life During his rockstar heyday before becoming a family man Sumner coincidentally enjoyed a brief romantic relationship with Joni Mitchell “It was a mystery,” Mering told The West in 2014 about her father’s past “I remember being about five or six years old and he got out his Fender Telecaster and started playing riffs That was the first time I realised he was a rock star That was probably the moment that somewhere subconsciously within myself During an interview with Tidal in 2017 Mering opened up about how Court & Spark by Mitchell changed her life The singer-songwriter explained why she picked the record: “That was played at my house when I was a child all throughout my young years While Count & Spark was Mering’s first introduction to the enchanting world of Mitchell she later revealed Hejira is now her favourite by the Canadian She told Under The Radar in 2020: “I think it’s a sleeper I’ve been hearing the record and knowing it for a long time and it all of a sudden came to me like a revelation that it was a great record.” I didn’t recognise how rampant sexism was and how people wrote certain women under the table for being really innovative and instead of being praised for their innovation they were essentially crucified because people wanted them to stay a certain way having been through the music industry in that way there are vast differences between Mitchell and Weyes Blood who has a distinct vocal approach incomparable to her inspiration growing up on a diet of Joni Mitchell showed her the ropes of songwriting and has helped Mering become the magnificent artist she is today Hearts Aglow,’ Natalie Mering explores the function of storytelling in the face of societal collapse “What people don’t realize is that throughout history most music has been made for sacred purposes—secular music was actually more fringe until the last couple of centuries,” says musician Natalie Mering That her music retains some of this essence comes as no surprise: Raised a Born Again Pentecostal Christian she describes religion as a formative influence in her early life—not so much due to the strength of her belief but rather because it provided a structure through which to understand the world Once she denounced Christianity in her early-teens she sought to fill the spiritual void with her own “patchwork cosmology”: one that privileges the cultural power of storytelling over organized religion “It’s an evolutionary form of survival—to help process the feedback loop of our consciousness,” she says sitting across the table from me at a Bed-Stuy coffee shop all our myths and religions and stories exist to help us digest the paradox of our existence It’s the same thing Mering hopes to achieve with her latest album But rather than provide a tidy framework through which to construct meaning the record takes inventory of the fractured reality that makes discovering it for yourself so hard—from the way consumer capitalism has sold our sense of self back to us in the form of personal branding to how technological platforms have furthered the divide between people by incentivizing self-promotion over connection and community Mering believes that consumer capitalism has stepped in to fill the void organized religion left behind—leading to the invention of new gods and false idols “I think people are actually leaning deeper into [fulfilling] some semblance of the big dream they had for their own future and you can’t really blame them for that,” she says attainable goals have taken precedence over activism and grassroots organizing ‘Give up on your dream and just try to fix the world right now,’ because the problems are so abstract.” This pursuit of psychological transformation—of finding beauty in suffering—is embodied in melancholic tracks like “It’s Not Just Me It’s Everybody,” a self-described “Buddhist anthem” in which Mering ruminates on the interconnectivity of all being—even in the face of a fraying social fabric “Mercy is the only / cure for being so lonely,” she sings prescribing empathy as the solution to our collective isolation With velvety vocals and disquieting instrumental interludes Mering’s latest release captures the contemporary disillusionment born of living through “unprecedented times.” The album at first seems to lull one into a false sense of security with nostalgic-leaning chamber pop sound and crystalline vocals But Mering’s lush sonic landscape soon gives way to otherworldly experimental stylings in tracks like “God Turn Me Into a Flower,” which derives inspiration from the story of Narcissus; elsewhere she mines the dissonance between sound and content pairing carefree pop structures with ominous warnings in songs like “The Worst is Done.” Shot through with themes of self-transformation and societal collapse the record aptly captures millennial malaise and the cognitive dissonance of modern life Whether it’s a swan song or call to action I’m surprised to find Mering is incredibly soft-spoken in person my music used to have more layers of noise,” she says speaking about her decision to embrace sincerity I realize I don’t want to be intentionally obtuse—it’s actually more powerful to be clear “All our myths and religions and stories exist to help us digest the paradox of our existence and the urge to adopt a veneer of removed cynicism “I think it’s because anything like sincerity or beauty can be weaponized with advertising in such a way that does feel like a betrayal,” she says but she doesn’t blame people for embracing cynicism as a form of catharsis “Irony has become its own form of communication now so we’re actually having very heavy conversations We’re having our political discourse through the medium of these little snippets of entertainment,” she says a bunch of nihilist brats—that’s the collateral of our culture.” Mering’s thoughts on the subject have been informed by countless sources—for instance Christopher Lasch’s The Culture of Narcissism and Guy Debord’s The Society of the Spectacle which she said she tried to reread recently we’d be burning books and censoring everything and that’s why it would be so hard to express yourself we kind of went in a Brave New World direction where there would be no need to burn books We would be so inundated with pleasure and entertainment they wouldn’t actually have to surveil us Intrinsic to this cultural moment is social media and the need to perform your identity online This modern form of self-mythology differs from that of previous generations rather than occurring in the public sphere often within the four walls of one’s bedroom you had to perform them—if you were a character in the downtown music scene you had to be that way in real life to embody and promote that weirdness,” she says “There’s this false self that you can construct and then put down.” The result is a subterranean and vulnerable album born of strange times and a hope for change has undergone countless transitions over the past few years: She’s bounced back and forth from state to state living first in New York and then in Los Angeles She’s performed sold-out tours in the US and Europe opening for acts like Kacey Musgraves and Lana Del Rey she identifies less as a musician and more of an “ideas man” (her words Mering’s ideas throw the cognitive dissonance of existing in today’s society into sharp disbelief running through the myriad manifestations of our societal disconnect Despite our cultural focus on individualism and freedom of identity there’s more conformism now than ever before people dress more similarly; they get more plastic surgery; they fall back on outdated norms searching for structure and limitation in an ocean of constant convenience We seek peace through striving for external achievements yet constantly hunger for a source of meaning outside of the self Mering makes sure to clarify that she doesn’t blame the individuals for manifesting these cultural trends—rather she condemns the forces that bring these powers to bear stating that she is no more exempt from their influence than anyone else Charting our cultural tumult by looking both inward and outward she has found a sense of empathy and connection with the countless others navigating these same conditions “But so is the tendency for things to fall into order These songs may not be manifestos or solutions but I know they shed light on the meaning of our contemporary disillusionment And maybe that’s the beginning of the nuanced journey toward understanding the natural cycles of life and death On Saturday Weyes Blood, aka Natalie Mering, and her band looped back to New York City for a show at Baby’s All Right their last before Mering embarks on a West coast tour with the help of only a harpist But something about her return must have been bittersweet– she’s not exactly the biggest fan of New York City a place she only recently started calling home Mering’s career making ethereal and sometimes haunting folk music has been an unstoppable just under an hour northwest of Philadelphia “Philly’s great because it’s kind of a small town and there’s a lot of trans-genre mixing,” she explained Though Mering’s not about simply dabbling in a variety of different sounds whatever you do best.” But as a musician she’s undeniably moved through different scenes When she was living in Philly, Mering was involved in the “freak-folk” scene. “But we also loved noise and drone music,” she recalled. “When I started I had folky elements but also used experimental tape manipulation, different elements that separated us from the older generation like Espers.” At one point, Mering says she became “obsessed” with noise and drone music. In 2006, when she moved to Portland, Oregon, to go to college, she met up with Jameson Sweiger of the Ohio psych-punk band, Puffy Areolas At the time he was playing in Maths Balance Volumes “We did a bunch of tours together,” she said “We bonded over music and collaborated but were never technically in a band together.” Around this time Mering dropped out of school to focus more of her attention on music “[It] was kind of a smart and stupid decision,” she said “At the time I thought I could make a living doing [noise and drone] tapes and it took five years for me to realize that scene was basically on its way out But she doesn’t look back on this time with regret Mering has fans from all sorts of musical backgrounds–some of the nastiest punk fans I know are huge fans of Weyes Blood she also has psych-freaks and folk fans on her side and even counts inoffensive pop listeners amongst her following Ariel Pink saw something in Mering’s powerful yet dreamy voice and recruited her to be on some tracks from his 2012 album Mering got to know Ariel Pink and considers him a friend “I do think sometimes he says stuff just to get a rise out of people and he actually really is a very sweet caring person with a lot of compassion and emotion And that’s why his music sounds the way it does She’s clearly more than a little conflicted about their relationship but I’ve also seen him treat women really well,” she said so I don’t want to condone any of his behavior Natalie’s next collaboration is with someone she is much less conflicted about and in this band called Greatest Hits– a chill wave band that was popular like three or four years ago,” she explained so he brings this chill wave vibe and I bring the melodies The Mering siblings come from a very musical family which might explain Natalie’s rock solid confidence as a musician at 26 They aren’t your music-school type musicians the experience of having moved through several scenes and Weyes Blood’s intense touring schedule over the past several years I was surprised to find that Mering is somewhat of a loner Her resistance toward what can sometimes seem a zombie-like collective mind of upwardly mobile seemed daunting when she first moved to New York City from Baltimore back in 2012 so I thought I should just make the leap and do it it’s pretty romantic and enchanting,” she said “But when I moved here I kind of hated it for a really long time It took a while to get into the groove and really like the vibe.” Mering admitted that the sheer number of people living in the city was overwhelming “It makes close relationships and scenes kind of difficult,” she said “It’s like a buffet of humanity at every level.” But eventually she learned to embrace this [And I found that] sometimes the city is a perfect place to be a loner,” she said This tendency to isolate herself was a huge factor in her decision to move out to Rockaway Beach “It’s like a deserted beach town right now like Venice Beach in the ‘70s– it’s all blown out it’s basically like weird Yankee surfers who surf in the winter time and Mering’s fascination with what she calls the “nautical aspects” of New York City are what drew her to the area “Red Hook is my favorite neighborhood in Brooklyn for that reason,” she said “But Brooklyn is actually my least favorite [borough] the vibe just isn’t that inspiring sometimes and anything by the water is always inspiring.” Though despite living a relatively remote location now Mering has experienced life right in the thick of it “I lived on the Lower East Side during summer time and that was actually my favorite,” she recalled “There were young people and really old people and people that were just Nu-Metal– just all different kinds of people without this oppressive Williamsburg skinny-fashion vibe Mering has little patience for the repackaged and accepted standards of hip that can admittedly seem overwhelming in parts of Brooklyn “I do like the parts of New York that do have normal people,” she explained I thought maybe Mering would be aligned with Brooklynites who are mourning the loss of several beloved DIY venues over the last year and Mering responded with her characteristic realness but that stuff’s not gonna last,” instead Mering recalled a couple of venues in Philly “The whole experience was like an art installation,” she said “I feel like Body Actualized got on that tip a lot they were trying to make it cool as opposed to ‘Let’s see how many kids we can jam in to this little fucked up There is at least one Brooklyn-based art space she’s enthusiastic about: Pioneer Works And it’s just like this gigantic playground,” she said So it’s either going to be the clubby Manhattan vibe or like a metal bar There are no cool crappy dive bars having rock shows right now.” It might sound like Mering is fed up with New York and is used to talking smack about the city amongst her crew “But I’ve met cool people and I feel like I have stuff to do And I really want to be here in the summertime because I live two blocks away from the ocean.” Natalie’s fluidity also shows in her approach to music “I am a little over the folk thing,” she said but it’s not the biggest thing that I like to do now.” Mering said she will continue to work hard at balancing her current projects and the managerial side of her career She admitted that the internet and social media “do not come naturally to me,” she said “[For a long time] I was completely unaware of the way the modern world works I had successfully avoided being an internet person for years and sometimes I can’t even tell if it’s worth shit.” Rather Natalie speaks fondly of her time spent in-between Kentucky and New Mexico when she was studying herbal medicine “I was an apprentice to an herbalist and I did some foraging and farming my friends there got me on the poison path— plant medicine,” she said “I had more time for it then because nobody knew about my music and I could kind of just hide but now as a 26 year old living in a city that’s insanely expensive But I dream of having more time for the plants German climate activist Luisa Neubauer has been dubbed the “Greta” of Germany and recently named a 2022 TIME100 Next She is one of the primary organizers behind Fridays for Future in Germany She has helped mobilize 1.4 million youth in Germany and has spoken openly about her beliefs that the politicians and media are ignoring the climate crisis Together with fellow climate activist Alexander Repenning who works for the Right Livelihood Foundation which annually awards the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize,’ she penned a book on how the youth can contribute to ending the climate crisis Beginning to End the Climate Crisis by German climate activists Luisa Neubauer and Alexander Repenning has been newly translated to English by Sabine von Mering This book will show you through the authors’ experience how you can take action in securing a better future for humanity in the face of climate change Join the Kleinman Center and the Penn Center for Science Sustainability and the Media for a panel discussion with German climate activists and authors Luisa Neubauer and Alexander Repenning Brandeis University professor and book translator Sabine von Mering climate and human rights advocate and Penn Student Sabirah Mahmud and Penn climate scientist and science communicator Michael Mann This panel discussion will focus on debunking myths around climate change discussing system and structural changes needed for human action and Sabirah have used their platforms and actions to mobilize youth activists and the youth climate movement There will be plenty of time for questions from the audience and this event will be in a hybrid format (in-person and via Zoom) In an effort to reduce travel carbon footprint Luisa Neubauer will be joining the event remotely via Zoom Sustainability and the Media is excited to cohost this event with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures Books will unfortunately not be available to purchase on site but they can be preordered here Luisa Neubauer is a German climate activist and has been dubbed the “Greta” of Germany and recently named a 2022 TIME100 Next Germany and is a comprehensivist facilitator He holds a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from the Humboldt-University of Berlin and a master’s in economics at the Cusanus Hocschule fur Gesellschaftsgestaltung Sabine von Mering is director of the Center for German and European Studies and Professor of German and Women’s and Sexuality Studies at Brandeis University where she teaches courses in German Language and Culture Sabirah Mahmud is a 20-year-old Bangladeshi climate and human rights advocate PA and her roots set from her family’s coastal village in Noakhali and the urgency and importance of an intersectional approach to climate Mann is the Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science He is a faculty fellow with the Kleinman Center and the first vice provost for climate science Simon Richter is a Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures and member of the Graduate Groups in Comparative Literature Perry World House faculty fellow and faculty fellow of the Penn Institute of Urban Research and faculty advisory board member of the Water Center at Penn Natalie Mering – the indie musician known as Weyes Blood – has always been keenly aware of the end of times she tells me about growing up with the Nineties version of environmentalism “All we have to do is clean up the planet.” It was as a teenager that the effects of climate change became really obvious to her: “We started having weirdly warm winters and I watched the places I used to visit as a kid have these mass shifts and die off Enough happened to grasp that we’re barrelling off a cliff with no real safety net That was a big moment for me in terms of understanding the urgency of it all.” While urgency may be at the heart of Mering’s work Under Weyes Blood (derived from and pronounced like Flannery O’Connor’s seminal Southern Gothic novel the 35-year-old makes music that is so sumptuous and ethereal that it is almost otherworldly baroque-pop melodies and the hair-raising beauty of her voice have led to comparisons to Karen Carpenter (and despite erring more psychedelic) there is a feeling that Mering is continuing the legacy of the country’s great female folk singers — albeit with the heavy burden of modernity Mering returned to her native California to release her most commercially successful album to date “I could feel that shit was about to hit the fan,” the musician recalls Mering seems to sing from the waterlogged 90s bedroom of her album cover; she laments the rising tides and despairs over technology’s impact on human connection On ‘Wild Time’ where she sings about how “everyone’s broken now” the song starts and ends with arrangements from ‘Nearer To Thee,’ the hymn the band on the Titanic reportedly performed as it sank is a huge fan of the 1997 film — but still it is an apt metaphor: down with the ship we go I ask — querying about the role of the artist in facilitating change “That’s a confusing thought because I do feel like you should never assume people are unable to change,” she replies “Change is the one constant of the universe I think it’s just difficult to overcome the echo chamber quality of our medium of communication The public discourse happening now is influenced by algorithms so it’s not  a fair sample of humanity.” She pauses: “But I do feel like I’m riding into an abyss Any change that I would make would be theoretical like a salve to help people cope with the feelings of powerlessness in the scope of an incomprehensible gridlocked culture.”  which hangs heavy either side of her parting it’s easy to picture Mering as some kind of Millennial sooth-sayer I’m reminded of Cassandra of Greek mythology; the Trojan priestess cursed to foretell truth prophecies that would fall on deaf ears Natalie Laura Mering was born in Santa Monica which once opened for the knack in the late 70s he also had flings with Joni Mitchell and Anjelica Huston to a small town called Doylestown in Pennsylvania “I was raised with a certain cosmology and when I hit puberty all the little hairline cracks and the system behind it just started to rupture,” she explains I was ready to expand into other cultures and couldn’t believe that every idea about god came from the same place I felt in my heart that everybody was trying their best I remember being in a youth group and wondering ‘what about the little girl in an Amazonian tribe that’s never heard the gospel and adds with a laugh: “Now do me a favour and do not make that the quote I’m very done with disappointing my mother I think a lot of it has stayed with me in a sort of God shaped hole created by that system of attributing meaning to things I have a patchwork cosmology that includes the more esoteric Christian stuff alongside everything else I’ve discovered along the way.” Mering scored a job at a local record shop and would spend evenings sneaking out to Philadelphia to attend gigs — sometimes arriving so early and looking so young that she wouldn’t have to pay entry There was a stint at college to study music before she decided to drop out to dive headfirst into Philly’s underground scene: “I treated going to shows in basements like I was going to church It was very Pentecostal in its own way.” Sonically the music was a 180 to the Weyes Blood of today She would play in noise bands like Satanized and Jackie-O Motherfucker where she would douse herself in fake blood and mashed fruit to make it look like her guts were exploding; or pop fake green breast implants Mering has been operating as Weyes Blood for 20 years and in that time released three (commercially unsuccessful but critically lauded albums) before Titanic Rising She’s opened for the likes of Lana Del Rey and Kacey Musgraves as well as played shows at Coachella and Glastonbury “I felt like it was still alternative back then to be badass and punk a lot of the big pop stars use demonic imagery If you want to be avant garde and cutting edge then writing beautiful classic songs is the future “I was at the turning point of generations People that were just five or ten years older than me had a much easier time being an artist,” she tells me and there was a built-in safety net for Gen Xers — they were dumped into the most beautiful economy of anybody I had this idea that I was going to be an underground musician and somehow paying rent and health insurance I saw which of my friends had connections or rich parents It was a deep education in the fact that the world doesn’t owe you anything.” Mering struggled to hold down waitressing jobs because she didn’t look “really shiny and gorgeous” was fired as a nanny for just having one pair of shoes This is the second time I’m chatting with Mering so it’s hard to get a full read; but she comes across as polite but completely discerning (if she doesn’t want to answer a question she will just reply with a long “Definitely”) You can sense a tiredness too — it’s as if she’s spoken about the admittedly heavy themes of her music one too many times Hearts Aglow — an existential record about the human condition with tracks that sound more like self-contained hymns then the sophomore effort in the trilogy was written from the veritable eye of the storm But while reflecting on the previous album and the pandemic Mering also offers us a way to navigate this strange and turbulent time: connection “I think the gist of what I was trying to say is that we’ve become so isolated in our cellular worlds that it is very difficult to lean on one another,” she replies after I reference the music video to ‘It’s Not Me “I think a lot of people don’t know the difference between setting boundaries and subscribing to this idea that we should all be completely independent The whole record was thinking about how we are going to get together in the face of this growing isolationism.” If you read anything about Weyes Blood’s live performances The crowd has become more diverse as she’s gained commercial success too Mering would project images of togetherness on the screens as she performed underneath — floating high priestess-like in flowing white dresses and capes telling me that she’s been archiving them in her time off Italian Style and John Cassavetes’ Love Streams Mering is on track to release the final instalment to her trilogy of albums She always knew that it would end on a hopeful note — because “how else could we go on?” But in typical Weyes Blood fashion she’s setting sights on the eternal philosophical question of what it means to live a good life amongst calamity In her own words: “We’ve been called to the most daunting task — we’re all under the impression that we should all be saving the world somehow But there’s a balance to be found; you have to locate your righteous anger without existing in this modern It’s about finding that sweet spot where you can pay homage to the whole globalised planet as this tiny person living in one localised place.”  Noelle Mering argues that our “woke” moment is a surrender to the age-old temptation to take the place of God It is also the direct consequence of the sexual revolution She joins us to explain how an awake Christian can help free the world of the destructive ideology of “woke” understanding and defending your Catholic faith and among the things you might feel you have to defend your Catholic faith against these days is what was once called political correct language Mix in all the different things like critical race theory and whatnot and more and more it seems like those who espouse what used to be just basic and you shouldn’t be saying those things and you shouldn’t be thinking those things and there’s a lot of people who will tell you what you should be saying If that doesn’t seem quite right to you there’s a reason why it doesn’t seem quite right to you and she explains why a Christian might balk at the idea of getting woke about the fact that this is not a huge academic tome but it cuts like a knife through what I think is a general sense of bafflement I didn’t want it to be an inaccessible I really wanted it to be something that could speak to anyone at any level because that’s the complaint I kept hearing and felt like something wasn’t quite right but didn’t know how to put their finger on it So I really wanted to add clarity for people I think the general sense of unease that something is not right and I don’t know where I fit in this Many people are afraid to say anything because a great part of this unease is that you have to be very careful with your language these days I think it gets people to be silent and afraid by operating on two factors It’s very difficult and impenetrable in some ways So you see there’s certain bully tactics that are deployed because we do see a lot of people being intimidated into silence called names if they don’t align perfectly with the ideology So normal people don’t want to be called out publicly so it’s operating on a normal desire to be a peacemaker and to oppose things that ought to be opposed We all want to stand on the side against real injustices So it takes that natural instinct and exploits it and it tries to force us to accept a whole host of ideological premises just based on that instinct to be a good person I want to describe to you what that’s like clearly something wrong in the 70s when we were coming of age this is not a healthy direction,” but I do think people always had the sense and it’ll swing back.” It now seems to people my age this is not just a matter of the pendulum swinging; something has been lost and I wonder if that sense of the pendulum swinging back and forth was this idea that there are different sides of different debates that are legitimate But I think we’re dealing with an entirely different animal here The woke ideology fundamentally is not interested in debate or our neighbor down the street necessarily but the real radical ideologues who are driving the movement It’s really a movement based on power and so I think for a long time we’ve been trying to play catch up and thinking if we can dialogue and have more debate then perhaps we’ll sway people to the truth and I think we need to realize that and play catch up a bit not to deploy the same tactics that they’re deploying but to understand what it is that we are dealing with getting a grasp on what it is we’re dealing with You do a great analysis of what happened in the 1960s and we’ll talk a little bit about that we humans?” There’s this desire I think that what is at the heart of this is a spiritual battle and that’s really why I wanted to write the book It’s not just to talk about this as though it’s another political phenomenon but actually to really dive deeply into the natural elements of it and on Christ Himself as the perfect innocent victim I think that’s really essential to understanding a lot of what’s happening in this movement and why they want to claim victimhood and also corrupt innocence fit into this desire to supplant the divine with ourselves This is an idea that you first started to hear it… I don’t know when you first started to hear it it’s going to be another one of those faddish terms that comes around Apparently it does the job it was intended to do this fundamental temptation to human beings to supplant the divine I think that there is a desire to deify ourselves and I think the woke distill it down to focusing on two fundamental questions So these are legitimate questions for any person We do need to know if we’ve been hurt because ultimately God is what we all desire He’s behind and inside of all of our human desires But the woke take those valid questions and turn them into obsessions blinding us to any sort of moral agency that we are called to have what do I desire becomes something that is the expressive individualism and be able to force everyone else to acknowledge within me But these are really the questions of someone who thinks that he is God “No wonder we’re going through a society-wide divorce Who wants to be married to someone who’s obsessed with how he’s hurt and what his desires are.” It’s fundamentally the opposite focus than what the Christian ought to have you tackle this with this very insightful analysis of this three generations of loss So there’s all this preparation for the 1960s but in the 1960s desire becomes predominant in our conversation about who we are to be a generation of people who are actually hurt and so are easy prey for an ideology of grievance and it’s one of the more frustrating is that they introduced a whole host of pathologies by targeting the family and the real social pathologies that result from this abuse and exploitation of the proper roles of men and women and then look to them as greater evidence for the need to further double down on attacking fatherhood Harvey Weinstein was not… We don’t get these types of predators from men striving to live lives of virtue and self-restraint we get them from a society of people who are told that sex is meaningless that there is no meaning to it other than consent Consent is a very thin hinge to place morality on It can’t sustain the raging will of a human person who has not been led to virtue So they’ve introduced all these pathologies we need to fight the patriarchy even further.” So it’s doubling down on this type of pathology So you’re trying to reach people and say things like fatherhood is what was missing in your life and what we need is a renewed vision of fatherhood but this is a group of people who already have a poisonous view of fatherhood what I need is to get woke to how I’ve been oppressed or my desires have been not the focus of society somehow It’s a cycle of decline in which the basic thing is you say Fatherhood is important,” is repugnant to the very people who need to hear it I think it can easily sound like a platitude we believe that God is capable of turning the hearts of men and most of the stories that I’ve read that have been truly redemptive of people who grew up in incredibly abusive the thing that reached them oftentimes is one person being a mentor but in a way that called them to something higher rather than kept them in their rage and in their grievance So I think that that sort of personal influence is not to be underestimated and really is the way that we as Christians can reach out to other people through that natural friendship and guidance and even the person who’s been deprived of a good father knows and intuits what fatherhood ought to look like and I think that they deep down really desire that What’s the difference between awake and woke one difference I would say that is crucial is that I think woke is a classic ideology where it takes a partial truth and it blows it up into being a totalizing filter through which we see all of reality but it’s also totalizing in the way that it exploits our filter as Catholics we’re called to think with the fullness of reality with the reality of the nature of the human person So that really frees us to be able to engage and encounter any sort of situation Here’s a simple concrete way to think about it The Catholic church defines a human person in relationship to the love of God But the woke define the human person in relationship not to the love of God negative filter through which you walk through the world Whereas we are supposed to see everything as signs and shadows of God’s goodness they are called to see everything as signs and shadows of the oppression of man and this is an enormously reductive way to see the world that if you say fundamentally the story is a good story if you want to share Jesus Christ as the Son of God there’s a certain white privilege that comes with that and really that’s just some kind of imperialist colonialist attempt to impose values from outside that aren’t intrinsic to my culture There’s a very sophisticated language just to say and it really is a sophisticated way of creating an ad hominem that you can dismiss the access to truth of another human being based on who they are and certainly it’s compelling because there is something true about I don’t know what it feels like to walk through life in the shoes of another human being But we all have sufferings that other people can’t relate to The Catholic message is not all ease and comfort so that our faith takes into account the depths of human suffering that are unimaginable oftentimes to us and yet we’re called to understand it So there is a balance where we are called to walk with people truly in their suffering that is only understood by people based on some immutable characteristics; their skin color the way they identify based on their gender way to think that we can understand the truth its ridiculousness is made obvious when you think of how much structure is required to support that way of thinking that it does seem that almost the entire product of Hollywood is designed to make you believe the ridiculous It seems that a super structure of enormous media works overtime to make the ridiculous appear insightful Part of their position is that we have access to the truth because we don’t have power does anyone think that the woke movement doesn’t have power at this point when every corporation in America has to send us an email telling them that we’re flying the rainbow flag Our embassies across the world fly the pride flag “Black lives matter.” Our media is that they have to claim powerlessness because the accusation that the culprits are outside of themselves and that they are utterly and only victims So that’s a key [inaudible 00:18:03] that they have to keep going forever in order to maintain their power of this very basic parable that we all grew up with the emperor has no clothes.” Is there any moment at which people go actually there is a difference between men and women and men shouldn’t be competing in women’s sports in the Olympics.” I don’t know where the moment is I would have thought it would have arrived by now many of the things that are proposed to us as truth now that it seems that we’re past the point where it should have happened I do think it’s been happening in small ways it’s just that we don’t have a megaphone But you see it in school boards across the country that parents are objecting to DEI training people are extremely uncomfortable with it and oftentimes just don’t know how to voice that But I do think that part of the reason I wrote the book was to give people clarity but also to help them have courage that we can voice this because it really is such a power play to say we don’t know if a baby is a boy or a girl there’s no consensus on how to determine if a baby at birth is a boy or a girl It’s such a flex of a muscle to kowtow people into saying “The thing that is most obvious to you because we have the power.” This is a dangerous ideology that’s going to do that This is something that you avoid beautifully in the book and that is to respond to this kind of revolutionary way of thinking our revolution is so profound that we uncover the depths of truth that you couldn’t even imagine; you can’t tell the difference between a boy and a girl at their birth You don’t tell us to respond to that with revolutionary fervor of our own You’re not selling a revolution to respond to the revolution and we cannot meet that sort of rage with rage So I think that arming ourselves with spiritual armor is the best way to go because anything we do out in the world has to be a fruit of our interior life but even in the way that the church has the sacrament of confession confession is the utter opposite of what this movement wants from us This movement wants us to remain in a place where we are accusing where we’re deflecting from our own sins no one wants to look at how we fail in generosity Confession is the exact opposite; it forces us to see them and to contend with them and if we’re going to change the world and defeat this movement I really think it’s going to be an outgrowth of that real spiritual battle or anything besides me having to follow Jesus take up my cross each day and follow and be converted but it is a beautiful and simple and small one that has far more power than I think we can think at times when we are trying to be so active in the world I do think that there are things that we should be doing in the world I think we should be finding where we can in our own personal lives to resist this It’s going to look different in the lives of every person but if you’re a working man… My husband can’t go and blow up the woke movement in his company and I think that most people can find ways in which they can fight against this in some ways and I’m so grateful for it and I think many people are grateful for it is give us a sense that we’re part of a community of people who realize this You can tell the difference between a boy baby and a girl baby.” That little feeling you have that something is off and that’s the beautiful thing about the truth It’s not something you have to coerce into yourself It’s not an ideological box you have to conform the reality into So there’s something enormously freeing about that that can really give us a lot of courage in this fight One last thing before we go that I’m struck with and I wonder if you would back me up on this that one of the things that I should do is get married is absolutely a world-healing act that I don’t think young people can appreciate been a crucial target of this movement for decades The good reason is that it is in the family life that we learn all of these tools to fight this we learn how to help the next generation grow and be whole It also is the avenue in which we share the faith is that we learn far more about how to live the faith through our family lives than we do in any class or in any relationship outside of the world So it’s an enormously formative mechanism of society and also it helps us to learn how to suffer which I think is a real target of this movement is they don’t want us to know how to suffer and how to suffer well and so instead they’d tell us to separate loudly you did a magnificent service to all of us who have been saying somebody needs to say something about this It should make a difference to be Christian There is something distinct about being Christian There is something that makes us stand out and makes us set apart from those with whom we share this civilization It doesn’t mean we have to be their enemies and one of the things that makes us stand out is the way we use language the things we won’t say; the things we will be part of this society is insisting that you let go of some of that Christian stuff if you want to fully participate you want to have a world where your children and grandchildren can still be comfortably… maybe we don’t want it to say comfortably but at least can still function as Christians in the world then you’re going to want to get the book Awake you want to have a way to stand up for the truth and against what really is some old fashioned bullying you can send an email to focus@catholic.com and if you’d be willing to support us financially “This is for Catholic Answers Focus.” If you’re watching on YouTube If you’re listening on one of the podcast services if you subscribe there you’ll be notified when new episodes are available Mitchell may never have veered into the baroque stylings favoured by Weyes Blood but that doesn’t mean the folk legend hasn’t had an effect on Mering Mitchell’s influence seems to transcend genres and generations paving the way for women with guitars to tell tales of life Mering may have found her start in noise music, but she also harboured an early love for Mitchell, whom she discovered courtesy of her mother. Picking out some of her favourite albums during a conversation with Tidal she named Mitchell’s sixth studio record Court and Spark “That was played at my house when I was a child all throughout my young years,” Mering shared She’s fucking brilliant.” Mering and her mother aren’t alone in this opinion; Mitchell is widely considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time – and for good reason but with an inextricable homeliness and familiarity it’s easy to see why Mering favoured the record particularly if it was often revisited by her mother in her youth It’s a gorgeous collection of tracks that would stay with Mering through her noise era and through the inception of Weyes Blood maintaining its place as a favourite well into her adulthood As she’s forged her own way as an artist, she’s never really delved into the jazzy stylings of Court and Spark, but Mitchell’s influence can still be felt in her expertly crafted lyrics and soft stylings. Both of them are all-encompassing artists in their own right committed to their craft and creativity and inspiring others in turn Revisit the title track from Court and Spark Weyes Blood’s favourite Joni Mitchell album Waterton The announcement follows Waterton's recent merger with Waterford Hotel Group The strategic alliance combined Waterton's investment and asset management expertise with Waterford's operational expertise as the companies seek to strategically grow their hospitality portfolios Link IconCopy linkFacebook LogoShare on FacebookXShare on XEmailShare via EmailLink copied to clipboardIt’s a Philly homecoming for Weyes Blood who’s playing two shows at Union TransferSinger-songwriter Natalie Mering grew up in Bucks County makes lustrous music with an undercurrent of anxiety lurking beneath the beautiful surface love songs are complicated by the fear of coming climate catastrophe Mering is pictured underwater in her teenage bedroom on the album cover came out in November and won Mering wide acclaim and deserved inclusion on lots of year-end best-of lists which were written during the COVID-19 lockdown conjure singer-songwriter sounds of 1970s Los Angeles while exploring alienation in the social media age “Living in the wake of overwhelming changes we’ve all become strangers,” she sings on “It’s Not Just Me It’s Everybody,” the album’s gorgeous opener Mering spoke via Zoom in an interview between a run of concerts in Europe and the start of her In Holy Flux U.S. tour, which brings her to Union Transfer on Tuesday and Wednesday. (The first show is sold out; tickets remain for the second.) which she calls “the world’s loneliest city” on And In The Darkness’ “The Worst Is Done.” The Philly shows will be a homecoming That’s because Weyes Blood — a name inspired by Flannery O’Connor’s 1952 novel Wise Blood — was born in Bucks County lived in Doylestown “from the time I was 10 or 11″ until graduating from Central Bucks West High School Her family moved to Pennsylvania after her father gave up his music career and became a Pentecostal born-again Christian her father also briefly dated a singer Mering is frequently compared to: Joni Mitchell “That was something my mom would brag about,” Mering says “She was the bigger Joni fan in the house.”) “I played piano and guitar when I was a kid it was really going to punk shows in Bucks County and working at this record store Converge and all these popular hardcore bands would play in my middle school cafeteria [at Lenape Middle School].” and her parents didn’t discourage her from secular music making “though I don’t think they thought hardcore music and people screaming was a good thing.” she was booking underground all-age shows in Bucks County and taking the train to Philly to R5 Productions shows at the First Unitarian Church and Danger Danger Gallery “It was easy to transition from being a church kid to a show promoter obsessed with DIY stuff congregating over angst and dystopian vibes vs. founded the Church of Christ without Christ changing the spelling after Greg Weeks of Philly freak-folk band Espers told her about a 1980s band of the same name to go to Lewis & Clark College but dropped out after a year she lived on Parrish Street in the Art Museum area and played shows “I was very into John Cale and the Velvet Underground and the dronier side of songwriting.” Her debut The turning point in her career came at a Philly warehouse show in 2013. “I played this thing called the International Noise Conference, and the speakers caught fire. I remember thinking: Nothing good is coming from this.” “The experimental noise scene had become very conformist.” She came to realize, “I was just better at making beautiful music. ... I actually sang better and played songs better than I did scream and roll around the floor.” The influence of ‘70s songwriters like Harry Nilsson and Judee Sill came out with her 2016 album Front Row Seat To Earth. “I was raised on so much classical music and Tin Pan Alley that the art of songwriting, for me, has become just as important as experimenting sonically.” Reaching out rather than confronting the audience — “I alway think about how Kurt Cobain wanted his CDs to get sold at Walmart” — has brought Mering high profile connections. She sang backup on Mitchell’s “For Free” on Lana Del Rey’s Chemtrails Over The Country Club, and covered Clint Ballard Jr.’s “You’re No Good” Linda Ronstadt-style on the Minions: Rise of Gru soundtrack. In “a real full circle moment,” she collaborated with Cale on ”The Story of Blood” on the VU founder’s new Mercy. Mering’s seriousness masks a subversive sense of humor. The playful video for “It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody,” is a Gene Kelly homage. She dances with an animated figure, as Kelly did in Anchors Aweigh in 1945. The difference is that Mering’s partner is an animated cell phone that attacks its victims and leaves dead bodies scattered in a Los Angeles theater. That’s the sort of subversion that Mering is aiming for with Weyes Blood; aiming to use “the vessel of FM gold radio and have that wonderful songwriting be a secret Trojan horse” that hides “weird noises and experimental tendencies in packaging that’s more palatable. Like sugar to help the medicine go down.” Mering says it’s inevitable that she’ll release another noise-rock album. But her next move is to complete the trilogy that began with Titanic Rising. “I’ve been writing it. I don’t know what words to use to describe it because I don’t want to jinx it,” she says, “but I do feel like And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow was like this purgatory of worlds that’s very reflective and internal. The next record is going to be a little bit more extroverted. And a little more hopeful.” When she’s not at her home in East Los Angeles, Mering can be found on the road—and these days, she packs like a pro. The contents of her suitcase strike a balance between comfort (“You’re squashed inside of a plane”) and style (“You don’t want to feel like a complete dump, because you already will energetically. It’s important to be fancy”). Here, she shares her pro tips for packing multitasking products, along with her tricks for winding down and pumping up in any time zone. How do you pump yourself up for a performance?Sometimes I just put on really bad, embarrassing ’90s Top 40 hits and dance. I bring little five-pound weights and lift them. It fans the flame. I’m not the best push-upper yet, but I’m building up to it. I do that for about 10 to15 minutes—not enough to get into a deep endorphin zone, but enough to get the blood flowing. And then I put on my makeup. To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page. Natalie Mering released her new album “Titanic Rising” April 5 surreal drama that eulogizes modern existential anxiety On “Everyday,” one of the album’s stand-out singles Mering assures us that “true love is making a comeback.” This sighing call to the ideal of true love epitomizes the record’s nostalgia for a more idealistic past But despite indulging in these sentimental Weyes Blood never teeters on anything mawkish or syrupy She brings an undercurrent of unease and experimentation to her pop references Mering’s new album recalls a synthesizer-filled Karen Carpenter-esque sound that enhances her ability to create majestic “Titanic Rising” is Mering’s fourth studio album and follows her 2016 release “Front Row Seat to Earth.” Her moniker “Weyes Blood” is taken from American author Flannery O’Connor’s first novel “Wise Blood,” which details a World War II veteran’s crisis of faith O’Connor’s Southern Gothic novel is primarily occupied with the themes of redemption isolation and American existentialism — all subjects tied into Weyes Blood’s darkly folkish sound Mering’s record holds a sense of the past that makes it feel like a family vinyl tucked away in an attic box On the song “Andromeda,” Mering uses a combination of synthesizers slide guitar and flawless vibrato to bring forth an impossibly beautiful ballad that feels almost too good for 2019 “Love is calling / It’s time to let it through / Find a love that will make you / I dare you to try.” the song evokes a Tinder-plagued world that complicates “love” as a concept but simplifies human interactions she wrote that “Andromeda plays on a few themes (mythology and is ultimately a love song about finding something long-lasting in an ever-changing world full of distractions (and) unrealistic expectations.” With her simultaneously medieval and 70’s rock style Mering submerges her listeners in an ageless sound The music video for “Everyday” also reflects Mering’s self-aware indulgence in vintage sounds which she combines with the theme of futuristic uncertainty Reminiscent of horror films like “Friday the 13th” and “The Shining,” the campy video follows Weyes Blood as she violently turns on couples in the forest Mering explained in an interview with Pitchfork magazine: “The song was so upbeat the amount of people that get together through social media and Tinder — it almost seemed a bit like a slasher film quality of love.” As much as “Titanic Rising” addresses personal tragedy Mering’s album primarily focuses on postmodern existential anxieties Mering related the album’s title with climate change “I want people to think about the reality of what’s going on but also to feel a sense of belonging and hope and purpose … I’m speaking to anybody who feels overwhelmed by the sheer mass of all these problems.” The title recalls the Titanic as an icon for nature’s rule over humanity — but Mering still maintains a sense of hope in her interpretation of the disaster grandiose story about the hubris of man,” Mering said of the Titanic “To me that was so poignant… to what’s going on now.” While themes of environmental destruction and loneliness seep through Mering’s hymns “Titanic Rising” isn’t nihilist in any way And even if the world is facing an apocalyptic doom – Competing in a second meet in less than 24 hours Wis.) again won two individual events and contributed to a relay triumph as the Carleton College men’s swimming and diving squad finished second at a meet against conference foes Saint John’s University and Macalester College slotting between the host Johnnies (699 points) and the Scots (159) “We knew that the back-to-back meets (on Friday and Saturday) would be a challenge for both teams the bigger challenge coming on Saturday because of the quick turn-around from Friday’s meet against Gustavus,” said Carleton Head Coach Andy Clark “Both teams were definitely showing some physical fatigue on Saturday but the swimmers and divers still came through with hard-fought efforts “This type of meet setup is in many ways a rehearsal for the MIAC Championships and while it is a different experience at the MIAC Championships due to being tapered having this type of competitive challenge at this point in the season—when the team is not rested—is essential to preparing them to be even stronger at the championship meets We had consistent results for both days and had a quite a few season and lifetime bests.” Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) prevailed in the 50-yard freestyle Klontz remains unbeaten in the event during meets against conference opponents who also won two individual events and a relay on Friday against Gustavus Adolphus College led off Saturday’s meet with 55.24 opening backstroke leg on the Knights victorious 400-yard medley relay He later grabbed top honors in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke Wis.) was tabbed the Knights’ swimmer of the meet He followed up his lifetime best in the 200-yard freestyle on Friday with another personal record The Knights will be back in action on Saturday 22 when they host Saint Mary’s University for a 1 p.m Knights Online hopes to carry a live video webcast of this Senior Day meet Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here