Blue Notes

Written in the aphoristic style made famous by Nietzsche, Blue Notes is a decidedly thought provoking work. Its topics range from noisy neighbours to statues, hipsters to cops, psychology to religion and many others. John Faithful Hamer's playful writing style engages with these issues head on, holding nothing back. Hamer draws from the Ancient Greeks, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, sociologists, psychologists and others, giving the reader a variety of places to feel intellectually at home. His discussions on hipsters, capitalism and ethics were especially brilliant. Of particular highlight for me, “If the Devil's greatest trick was to convince the world he didn't exist, Late Capitalism's greatest trick was to convince us that we could be radical without being political. The 'one percent' isn't threatened by your tribal tattoos, your hard-core haircut, your skateboarding, your edgy music, your veganism, your yoga, your recreational drug use, your bisexuality, your dreads, your piercings, your kinky taste in porn—or anything else you do by yourself (or with other consenting adults) in the privacy of your own home. You may see a radical subculture, but they just see a niche market.” Hamer's work reminds us again and again that it is not necessarily his point for the reader to agree with him. Rather, and rightly so, Hamer aims to present important issues with new and challenging insights. And with such a wide variety of topics for the reader to choose from, this work provides any reader with a valuable, philosophical resource. It can also, and should, I think, be read as a profoundly original introduction to the city of Montreal. The martyrdom of Socrates makes it clear that it is not enough for a philosopher to comment on humanity. A philosopher must be committed to her ideas and her dwelling space if her ideas are to have any life at all. Without question, the teacher and philosopher John Faithful falls within the dominion of this beautiful tradition.—Joel Peters, Music Director, St. John's Lutheran (Montreal, Quebec)