Quote of the Day (John Berger, on How Songs ‘Operate Maternally')

“The essence of songs is neither vocal nor cerebral nor organic. We follow songs in order to be enclosed. We find ourselves inside a message. And that is why what songs offer is different from what is offered by any other message or form of exchange. The unsung, impersonal world remains outside, on the other surface of a placenta. All songs, even when their content or rendering is strongly masculine, operate maternally.” —Critic/novelist John Berger, “Some Notes on Song: The Rhythms of Listening,” Harper’s, February 2015