[LAU] re Subconscious Affecting Music

[david]

Louigi Verona wrote:
>     There are two voices I hear here vis-a-vis Bach:
>     1. Art for art's sake -- the romantic idea
> 
> Why I don't like such unstructured discussions is because in the end it 
> is all labelled by some generic stereotypes and misunderstood 
> completely. If everything what I was telling you believe falls into some 
> romantic idea of art for art's sake then obviously I wasted my time.
> 
> L.V.

That wasn't me, Louigi. Someone else put those together.

Some other parts of what I see in the Romantic idea:

* The artist has no control over their art or themselves, and has no 
obligation to control their art or themselves.
* The artist does art for his or her own needs, not those of others.
* The artist is supposed to shock and offend others, and if others react 
with shock and offense, the others are wrong and the artist is right.
* Others owe the artist support simply because he's an artist. If others 
don't support the artist the way the artist wants to be supported, the 
others are wrong/evil/the enemy/inferior.
* The artist is exempt from the laws that apply to others simply because 
they're artists.

Some artists - particularly the French Romantic poets such as Rimbaud - 
would be quite reasonably considered as severely traumatized and insane 
today. Also, chronic alcoholics and drug abusers.

I think way too many artists are simply wrapped up in their own egos. 
The modern popular music industry is partly to blame for that, as is the 
modern media industry (that meaningless frothing of spray blown about by 
the wind over the waves!) that has turned players of games into 
exorbitantly overpaid "stars". Much of it seems to be the behavior of a 
spoiled child demanding attention: "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT WHAT I DID! 
AREN'T I GREAT?"

Maybe the old bards had it right. "If I've done my work well, you will 
be happier, learned a bit of news about the big world out there, and I 
will have food and a place to sleep indoors tonight."

-- 
David
gnome at hawaii.rr.com
authenticity, honesty, community