The Zen of Stina

[~Michael]

So, we all know how private Stina's personal life is, and how she gives little press, interviews, and never plays live. She has given the impression of being unattached in her interviews, mentioning how she has completely forgotten songs she has recorded or written in the past. And let's not forget the time when she said: "I forget someone as soon as they leave the room."

With the recent interview transcribed in the "Collaborations" thread, I'm beginning to wonder if Stina takes (perhaps unconsciously) a very Zen (or even Taoistic) approach to life. Despite the pain and sadness of her lyrics, she really does seen to be completely living in the moment, without expectation, and doing things spontaneously and/or naturally, without clinging to them or giving any thought to them afterwards.

Take a look at some of the excerpts from the interview:

"Stina Nordenstam thinks that her albums are precise descriptions of her life, as it appeared just at the moment when she was recording them."

"But she never put herself under stress to deliver something."

"But I don't have any plans when I start making the music, she says. I can recognize the main theme for each album afterwards,"

"I’ve noticed that the subconscious is controlling me very much."

"She shows a consciousness that is rare for most of her colleagues."

And then I just briefly scanned the lyrics to "The World is Saved", and came up with these fragments:

"Get on with your life"

"I think of nothing / walk around the house in the cold"

"Hold on to nothing / don't count on anything"

"Yet I'd found nothing to life / but my life"

"Yet I hold nothing in my arms / but my arms"

and let's not forget the lyric from "Into the Wasteland" - "I loved a man who was dead inside."

Any thoughts?

[RobB]

Excellent post ~Michael with well observed points.
The major problem I have with Stina's comments (or lyrics) and/or your interpretation of them is that they tend to fly in the face of the actual high quality and consistancy of Stina's albums (work).

I don't believe that she is consistantly lucky or just a mega brilliant artist who can't put a foot wrong. The albums I believe are as good as they are (and lets face it, they are all pretty good) because of very careful advanced planning in both the songwriting and pre-production areas.

Stina does seem to like the romantic idea of just rushing into the studio with nothing,making it all up on the spot and rushing out again with a completed album but I'm sure the reality is far from that.
I don't know of course but I suspect that a lot of work does go on behind the scenes both pre/post production which probably explains why an album is usually a year out of date before its even been released.

Despite the rather fey, nervy public image, Stina does give me the impression of being a rather clever and determined woman who knows exactly what she's doing in advance......which I guess isn't very zen-like.

[sound world]

Interesting thoughts,Michael-and hey,nice to see you hereabouts again!
Are you by any chance getting into Zen yourself?
I don't think Zen necessarily means that you leave everything to chance,RobB.It's perhaps more a way of observing and reflecting on what happens anyway.
As in the old saying 'Before zen,chopping wood and carrying water.After zen,chopping wood and carrying water'.

[RobB]

I don't think Zen necessarily means that you leave everything to chance,RobB.It's perhaps more a way of observing and reflecting on what happens anyway.

I prostrate myself to your superior knowledge of Zen,Dave.

And yes,its great to see ~Michael posting here again.

[~Michael]

I don't mean to imply that Stina records her albums without any planning or thinking, but it does seems like she does all the work for producing/making an album, and then completely moves on, almost as if the work went in one ear and out the other. It's no surprise how shocked can be when she hears something she has recorded years ago and be really moved by the experience, as if she was listening to a singer that wasn't her, but is completely in tune with her feelings. Her message on her unofficial myspace about "Greetings from the old world" illustrates this.

Are you by any chance getting into Zen yourself?

I've been into Taoism for many years, but I have been reading a couple of Zen books lately, so the thoughts are definitely close in my mind at the moment

[RobB]

It's no surprise how shocked can be when she hears something she has recorded years ago and be really moved by the experience, as if she was listening to a singer that wasn't her, but is completely in tune with her feelings.

I think anyone who has ever kept a diary would recognise that feeling,especially when the entries were being made during a traumatic or sad period of the diarists life.
Its amazing how 10 years later you can read those entries and not recognise yourself as ever having been the author.