From The Desk Of The Waterboys’ Mike Scott: Sounding The Drum

Mike Scott is pop’s only literate lyricist who would dare take on the stately iconography of William Butler Yeats. Forget about the living proof provided by his band the Waterboys as they tackle the Irishman’s prickly poems through a series of 14 daringly diverse arrangements on the new An Appointment With Mr. Yeats (Proper American). You’d know that if you’ve listened to Scott’s richly robust catalog of Waterboys albums made since 1983, or even read his recently released book, Adventures Of A Waterboy. Though imbued with an intellectual curiosity beyond that of the most wizened scholar, Scott has long found himself inspired by Yeats’ vivid world-weary lyrical textures and smartly grammatical manner. On the other hand, he’s a big Twitter fan. Go figure. Scott will also be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Q&A with him.

Native American leader and activist Dennis Banks, an Anishinabe Indian from Minnesota, has been a hero of mine since I saw him speak some years ago at an event in New York to honour The Dalai Lama. Banks (his Indian name is Nowa Cumig) was there to represent Native America on a night when all the world’s major religions were present, and he took the podium with dignity and quiet, but palpable power. And why not? After all, the rest of the attendees and participants, Americans included, were guests in his country. Turning to the Dalai Lama, he said, “When you return to Tibet, I will go with you.” This was a reference to the Dalai Lama’s statelessness; since the annexation of Tibet by China in t=e ’50s, the Dalai Lama has lived in exile in India—a condition with which Banks would empathise, having seen his own people denuded of their homelands and forced onto reservations.

I was struck by this expression of not only solidarity, but optimism. It wasn’t “if you return” but “when you return.” And I came away with a sense of Banks as a man of stature and deep humanity. I’ve kept an eye on what he’s been up to since, and recently noticed that a documentary film titled Nowa Cumig: The Drum Will Never Stop has been made. It has had a few showings around the United States, and here is a beautiful and moving trailer.

Video after the jump.