Chapter 13: The Hero Appears - 2003
The Lawrence Arms
The Lawrence Arms is a three-men punk-rock band from Chicago. The band was founded in 1999 and profiles itself as a group «with balls». They participated, for example, in the run of the American presidential election in 2004, to the album Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2 released by the record label Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced as Fat Records), with bands like Green Day and Foo Fighters.
The fourth album of the The Lawrence Arms, The Greatest Story Ever Told, was released in 2003 and contains many references to history, literature and pop culture. In the accompanying texts the band members are indicated under unusual names, playing instruments that are not on the album neither. The Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan is mentioned as playing the bassoon, and the modernist poet Ezra Pound is mentioned as additional musician (sic), while a hero of our novel, the young poet Ivan Nikolaevich, would play harp and lyre. It’s the first link to The Master and Margarita. Another link is a little further, where you can read a quote from Goethe's Faust which is also the beginning of The Master and Margarita: «Who are thou, then?» - «Part of that Power which eternally wills evil and eternally works good.»
The novel is also explicitly present on the album, especially in the song entitled Chapter 13: The Hero Appears. When he was asked in an interview why he had included this song, guitar player and singer Chris McCaughan said: «Appreciation. Bulgakov is a fine writer. 'The Master and Margarita' is just a phenomenal book that gets to the core of human/spiritual/creative suffering.»
The Lawrence Arms - Chapter 13: The Hero Appears
The Lawrence Arms
Technical details
Album
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Musicians
Chris McCaughan - guitar, vocals
Brendan Kelly - bass, vocals
Neil Hennessy - drums
Other musicians: Rob Kellenberger, Sansvin Hennessy, Matt Allison, Mark Lynn Baker and Pete Anna
Label
Fat Wreck Chords, 2003
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