Line #53 Music/Hospice


1	[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hospicecover.jpg]]
2
3	-> ''But something kept me standing by that hospital bed''\
4	''I should have quit, but instead I took care of you''\
5	''You made me sleep all uneven, and I didn't believe them''\
6	''When they told me that there was no saving you.''
7	-->-- '''"Kettering"'''
8
9	''Hospice'' is the third studio album by Brooklyn indie band Music/TheAntlers with Music/SharonVanEtten making a guest appearance on vocals. It is the first ConceptAlbum attempted by the band, as well as the first album released as a full group rather than frontman Peter Silberman's project. It was originally released in March of 2009, although demand was so great that it was officially reissued in August of that year.
10
11	The album's story tells of the doomed relationship between a hospital worker and a terminal cancer patient. The disease has left the patient in a deranged state and prone to violent mood swings, who she takes out any frustrations on the hospital worker who, despite the abuse, loves and supports her until her inevitable death. [[WordOfGod According to Silberman]], this is all a metaphor for an emotionally abusive relationship, which is autobiographical to at least some extent.
12
13	Widely considered the band's masterpiece, ''Hospice'' went on to receive critical acclaim upon release; its lyrics and instrumentation were commended, and the emotional intensity of its concept led to it being deemed [[TearJerker one of the most depressing albums of all time]].
14
15	Coming from the tail-end of the decade, ''Hospice'' is considered one of the greatest albums of the [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2000s]] and, for some, of all time, citing it as the ''Music/InTheAeroplaneOverTheSea'' of today.
16	----
17	!!Tracklist
18	# "Prologue" (2:35)
19	# "Kettering" (5:10)
20	# "Sylvia" (5:27)
21	# "Atrophy" (7:40)
22	# "Bear" (3:54)
23	# "Thirteen" (3:11)
24	# "Two" (5:56)
25	# "Shiva" (3:45)
26	# "Wake" (8:44)
27	# "Epilogue" (5:25)
28	----
29	!!Principal members
30	* Peter Silberman - Vocals, guitar, accordion, harmonica, harp, keyboards
31	* Darby Cicci - Trumpet, bowed banjo
32	* Michael Lerner - Drums, percussion
33	* Justin Stivers - Bass
34	* [[SpecialGuest Sharon Von Etten]] - Vocals
35	----
36	!!Let's open up those tropes:
37	* AlbumIntroTrack: "Prologue" begins with sounds of respirators and heartbeat monitors before the instrumentation kicks in. This establishes both the setting and an atmosphere of despair and fear before transitioning into "Kettering".
38	* AllThereInTheManual: The liner notes for "Prologue," an instrumental, are a modified version of the lyrics from "Sylvia, An Introduction," a song from The Antlers' preceding EP (and bonus track on some versions of ''Hospice'') which set up the story of the titular Sylvia. The notes outline a bit more backstory to the patient's condition and its psychological effects, and turn a couple of lyrics in later tracks into a CallBack.
39	* BreakingTheFourthWall: The ending to "Wake" seems to be Silberman directly giving advice to the listener:
40	-->''Don't be scared to speak,''\
41	''Don't speak with someone's tooth,''\
42	''Don't bargain when you're weak,''\
43	''Don't take that sharp abuse.''\
44	''Some patients can't be saved, but that burden's not on you.''\
45	''Don't ever let anyone tell you you deserve that.''
46	* CallBack: In "Epilogue", the narrator repeats the phrase "screaming and cursing" from "Sylvia".
47	** Several lyrics call back to lines from "Sylvia, An Introduction", a song from an EP The Antlers released the year before ''Hospice''. "Your face is up against mine and I'm too terrified to speak," "Dig me out from under our house," and "get your head out of the oven" from "Epilogue", "Thirteen", and "Sylvia" respectively all echo lyrics from "Sylvia, An Introduction". The song also largely shares a melody with "Bear" and "Epilogue".
48	** The final lines of "Wake" have the same melody as the final lines of "Atrophy".
49	* ConceptAlbum: The entire album is centered around a narrative of an abusive relationship.
50	* DownerEnding: The patient's death, and the worker being unable to get over it.
51	* EpicInstrumentalOpener: "Prologue", which establishes the hospital setting.
52	* EpicRocking: "Wake" and "Atrophy", which both clock in at around 8-9 minutes and undergo multiple changes in instrumentation.
53	* FaceDeathWithDignity: Averted in the most gutturally heartbreaking manner. "Thirteen" is told from the perspective of the patient as she knowingly nears death, and she's begging the worker to save her.
54	* FadingIntoTheNextSong: Between "Prologue" and "Kettering", and again between "Bear" and "Thirteen".
55	* ForegoneConclusion: The fact that we know what happens in the end only makes things so much worse.
56	* FreudianExcuse: The cancer patient, if "Two" is anything to go by.
57	* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Averted in "Bear". The wife becomes pregnant and the couple decides an abortion would be best because of their unhealthy relationship.
58	* GriefSong: An entire album, but "Shiva", "Wake" and "Epilogue" are more direct examples, with the narrator trying to deal with the patient's death.
59	* LoveNostalgiaSong: Averted with "Kettering", which is about the singer wishing he hadn't fallen in love with someone in the first place.
60	* NonAppearingTitle: "Kettering," "Atrophy," and "Thirteen".
61	* OneWordTitle: The album and its tracks.
62	* PrecisionFStrike:
63	** "Bear"
64	-->''But we'll make only quick decisions and you'll just keep me in the waiting room,''\
65	''When all the while I'll know we're fucked and not getting un-fucked soon''
66	** "Two"
67	-->''Daddy was an asshole, he fucked you up''
68	* RockMeAmadeus: The first few bars of "Bear" are are taken almost exactly from "Twelve Variation on 'Ah vous dirai-je, Maman'" by Mozart (aka, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star").
69	* RomanticizedAbuse: Averted. The metaphor of the cancer patient as an emotional abuser [[UnsexySadist is not romanticized.]]
70	* ShortTitleLongElaborateSubtitle: It doesn't appear on the album's back cover, but the liner notes show that a couple of the songs do have alternate titles which serve to describe the song a little more:
71	** "Bear": "Children Become Their Parents Become Their Children"
72	** "Two": "I Would Have Saved Her If I Could"
73	* ShoutOut: Of the tragic variety. "Sylvia" and "Sylvia, An Introduction" both mention the titular character putting her head in an oven, a reference to Creator/SylviaPlath's famous suicide. The lyrics about crawling under a house in "Sylvia, An Introduction" and "Thirteen" are also Plath references, as her first known suicide attempt occurred when she overdosed on sleeping pills in a crawlspace under her house.
74	* StealthSequel: To the EP ''New York Hospitals'' released the year before, specifically the song "Sylvia, An Introduction".
75	* SwitchingPOV: "Thirteen" is sung from the patient's perspective, and gives insight into her fear of her oncoming death.
76	-->''Can't you stop this all from happening?''\
77	''Close the doors and keep them out.''

Context Music / Hospice