35 posts tagged “music”

Jarod:

I'd be interested to know what you have to say about Bono's DATA initiative. From what I've heard and seen, he's often held up as a shining example of a musician with a plan, not just a phrase. Also, how would older forms of music, such as classical and perhaps folk, hold up under this scrutiny? Do you hold them to other standards, or is it your intention to refine/redefine the purpose of music as an art form?

 

Hi Jarod,

 

Very systematically launched questions indeed Jarod.  I thank you for that sir.

A professional musician who profits from a phrase isn't going to be capable of coming up with much of a plan.  Musicians are constrained by their medium and thus enjoy both perspectival development, whilst suffering perspectival underdevelopment through it.  This is the bane of any profession.  It is only what I term, the Generic Artist, who realises this, and is humbled by it enough to bow out when a thinker walks in to complete what would otherwise be a song left half-sung.  Every concert is a half-complete act if the fans do not thereafter become fans of social scientists, social science, etc.  Take the vote away from such cretins I say!

Firstly, A master of one is a jack of life, but a jack of all is more of a master of life than the former because s/he, through development by various mediums, acquires a greater variety of senses via which s/he may experience reality.  The problem with contemporary musicians taking centrestage when it comes to giving humanity a direction is that firstly, most of them have not got more than a clue or two since they are not professional social scientists and philosophers but just singers/musicians.  A musician may sing about the North Star (ideals), but s/he does not focus our attentions on its value as a guide.  In this, she diminishes the relevance of the North Star in aiding our navigation.  T’was more than a star that led the 3 wise men to the stables, it was a recognition of its relevance.

Secondly, a musician taking centrestage when it comes to giving humanity a direction further reinforces their superior position relative to the professional thinkers. The Euthyphro Dilemma is resolved in the musician of today as far as the masses are concerned ("Is what is moral commanded by God because it is moral, or is it moral because it is commanded by God?").  To the masses, if it comes from a musician/actor/celebrity, than it must be good.  This basically detracts the masses from the true sources of relatively greater insight and enlightenment.  Consider this, if musicians enjoyed the status they enjoy today back in the times of Jesus, Gandhi, Buddha, Marx, Rousseau, we would never have heard of them.  Not being professional thinkers, musicians will inevitably serve as censors who will basically convey to the crowd, with extreme and fatal brevity, that which will not simultaneously see a plunge in album sales, and that which they, as professional musicians, can understand or accept.  Let’s not forget, they profit much from The System and are integral parts of The Corporation.  They, generally, will thus only do so much that will not simultaneously compromise their bloated and gargantuan purses.  They will speak of ‘making poverty history’, but they will not do anything to ensure that class history, which founds much of the evils of today and which they pretend to address, is discontinued.  They are aristocrats who seek to promote self-help amongst the serfs and slaves.  How nice of them.

 

 

The Tirade

In this, the problem does not really lie with musicians but with the audience who are, today, little more than childish thrill-seekers – what I call the ID-ian complex (ref. Freud’s ID)  There is little thrill, to the grossly underdeveloped mind, in 'thinking' in long sentences or paragraphs.  There is little thrill, to the grossly malnourished mind, in having their beliefs challenged.  There is little thrill, to the grossly retarded mind, in having to make any effort that has not been made before, although they be tested to fail most of the time.  And, there is little profit where there is little thrill.  Thus, the musician’s role, within a profit-based system, is to generate millions from thrill – be it in terms of dollars or comments on blogs.  This is especially so when we consider that the music industry is largely led by the appetites of a juvenile mass; that this juvenile mass thus underdeveloped by musicians and pop culture move onto becoming ‘professional’ this or that whilst being generally ignorant and ill-educated; that, as a compensatory and recuperative effort for the consequences of their professionalisation, and as an effort to express and relief their thus grossly reduced personas, they move on to being ‘consumers’ and ‘fans’.  That is when the Musician steps in, amongst other intrinsically worthless celebrities, to serve as ‘drug-traffickers’ dispensing feel-good-vicariously-whilst-denying-your-own-significance drugs to the mesmerised masses.  This is how the contemporary musician becomes underdeveloped by those whose meaningless existences s/he profits from.  And by pandering to the gross idiocy of the masses, s/he becomes an ‘Idol’, a ‘celebrity’, a ‘star’.  In other words, she becomes the only point of reference via which the masses plot their ‘progress’.  They become the North Star which they stare with eyes wide shut, with their tongues flagging lifelessly across their frostbitten chins, whilst utterly oblivious to the rent in their fast-sinking ship.

 

I care not for that idiot Bono’s projects. 

He is increasingly successful in increasing his stature to the point that it reduces the perceived value of professional thinkers.  In this, this arrogant fool is guilty of much evil than good.   It is the likes of him whom I speak of in terms of, ‘Who’s he?  He’s just a Musician who has chosen to be one because he’s good at nothing else of value, or it takes too much effort to be more, whilst attempting to usurp the roles of those who have by not seeing anything amiss when the masses swoon at the sight of His Grace.”  In this, I do not put down the whole of the caste of musicians, only those who purport to be one.  The True Musician, however, is unlike this fool.  For the sake of accuracy, I refer to many contemporary musicians.  

 

My purpose is not to redefine music as an art form. 

My purpose is to resurrect it as an art form that takes into consideration its ties with the artistic and intellectual world; to make those attempting to be True Musicians realise that this whole thing is far greater than the worship of their underdeveloped congregation and huge profits would have them believe; that they are a part, and not apart, of a symbiotic whole that comprises other artists such as professional thinkers, sculptors, dancers, amongst a host of others; that the role of music is not to pander to tastes but to incite awareness of other senses; that they ought not to detract the masses but be assiduous in redirecting the masses to their other counterparts as opposed to hoarding the psychological, financial and aspirational resources of the masses and their progeny as they do now.  If they do not realise this, then they are guilty of abject ignorance or self-interest and become a symbiotic part of the project hurling humanity toward sensible oblivion.

 

In this and all related articles on this site, one is witnessing an internecine war against those whom I do indeed recognise as my sister artists who are attempting to assail and expropriate the citadel of thought.  I take not pride nor joy in such a bilious task. 

Thank you for your insightful questions Jarod.

related article : on Musicians

 

 

ed-infinitum

 

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Metaphorically, Music is an Acronym. 

 

If one does not know what this acronym is an acronym of, or if one is not aware that the value of an acronym lies in its inciting further inquisitiveness and understanding on the part of the listener, then you’re being entertained, not enlightened; mesmerised, not inspired; sedated, not rejuvenated.

ed-infinitum

related article: on Musicians

music philosophy society culture art celebrity worship singapore malaysia psychology sociology india hong kong philippines uk 

“every song that is not accompanied by a relatively better-articulated thesis renders the song only half sung when one considers that the potential of every inspirational song lies it is transmutation within other abstract(art, sculpting, etc) and non-abstract art forms(i.e. social science, philosophy, etc), and vice versa.

The statements of songs, I realised in my teens, are basically questions that beg answers.

 

Even if each line is not followed by a question mark, that does not mean that it does not leave much unanswered.  Part of the reason why much of the world’s problems continues unabated is because inspiring songs are confused for clear-cut signposts.  When one follows these ambiguous directives, one is left without an answer, and soon, a sturdy trudge forward, in tune to a top-100 humanitarian song, becomes weary and one returns from whence one came to a vicious state of affairs that is far more articulated in its directives than any song ever produced.

 

The truth is, all the ‘bonos’, ‘geldoffs’, hendrixs, dylans, ‘band-aids’ and ‘woodstocks’ in the world has never, and will never solve anything to a significant degree.  Singers, most unfortunately, have gotten beyond themselves whilst intoxicated by the worship of ignorant billions and confused themselves for philosophical draughtspersons who would be in a better position to plot the path beyond the inspirational-turned-chimerical ‘signposts’ provided by musicians.  Most unfortunate, but predictable given the mutation and regression of humans into ‘consumers’ and ‘professionals’ seeking vicarious significance, thoughtless entertainment, and whom are specifically-skilled but generically ignorant.  The malady suffered by them is that which serves as the stage upon which the musician, amongst others, becomes the ‘celebrity’.  They demand little thought from their audience, pander to their existing disabilities and thus, render it terminal.  That is when the masses become like the mesmerised cobra, swaying to the movement of the artiste’s antics.  After which profitable interlude, these masses are boxed in and led through the daily 9to9 schedule of work.

 

Vocational Musicians, however, are not without significance.  They hold the potential of being the muse for the imagination of the most sturdy of stairways to the heavens - i acknowledge the work of musicians in inspiring me, but i know that every song that is not accompanied by a relatively detailed and articulated thesis renders The Song only half sung.  But they will never be able to construct it themselves, nor inspire any amount of people to do so, simply because they are practitioners of an abstract art form.  But, in its abstract state, music/art can delve deep down and stoke the fires that inspire, but the ingredients that go into the cauldron come from those practicing less abstract art forms whom are better able to meticulously detail 'Signposts' via more concrete directives.  When the inspirational work of musicians is confused for the meticulous and measured plotting of philosophers and social scientists, that is when the valuable inspiration they provide becomes chimerical at best, and, in consequence, all that can be constructed, as it has been the case throughout history, is a stairway to heaven pieced together with a deck of cards.

 

And thus, global catastrophes continue.  These are trying times indeed.

 

 

ed-infinitum

 

postscript, I do not expect much comments on this article, especially considering its analytical and challenging-accepted-norms value.  Thus, if musicians think that changes are going to come from their songs due to mass support they receive, they ought to simultaneously ask their devout congregation if they had paid more attention to non-musical compositions.  If not, they are simply reinforcing the evils they hope to confront by validating the perspectival status quo of their 'fans'.  Let it be known that the 'fan' undoes the 'professional citizen' unless the inquisitive responsibilities of the latter vocation is taken more seriously than the former.  It is in this that the contemporary 'musician' becomes an integral and indispensable part of The Problem.  Both the contemporary musician and her/is fan play a significant role in not only underdeveloping each other, but through their concerted efforts underdeveloping the entirety of human civilisation.

Title and artwork for 'album cover' and 'track artwork' inspired by Dave Birdsall's personality, and designed by ed-infinitum.

The artwork above was designed whilst I was in suspended animation, courtesy of Dave Birdsall's Introspective orchestral pieces-cum-'magic carpet ride', entitled, 'Odysseus' and 'ed-infinitum'. (tracks may also be found in the audio section of this site.)

The artwork comprises music notation designed in an 'arabic' script style.

Album cover and title awaits Dave's approving nod.

The above artwork and the inspiration that it took to create it would not have been if Dave was not.

ed-infinitum

“The value of things ought not to be simply dependent on its location along the time and space continuum, but in its illustrating the vibrancy, individuality and experimental potentials of what indicates a more Individualised mind.

 

 

I presume many may be inclined to laugh at the sight of Simon Le Bon’s ‘pants big enough to fit a chicken coop and a half’. 

 

But, the interesting thing is, nobody laughed during the 80s. 

 

In this lies an indication of the continuing tyrannous hold of the ‘modernist fallacy’…

…over the minds of the successfully indoctrinated masses who believe, by pure religious faith, that we are living in ‘modern times’, which, to the all too common mind, simply indicates that much that is past is bad because it is the past.  The wide use of the phrase ‘Old fashioned’ and ‘dated’ in reference to dress styles, ideology, attitudes, amongst others, and its synonymisation with ‘undesirable’, is itself indicative of the pervasiveness of this kind of thought(lessness).  

 

 

I, however, unlike the so-called ‘individuals’ of today, have more of a mind of my own,

…and am thus able to appreciate the fashions of the past as indicative of varying degrees of the continuing existence and expressions of individuality as opposed to the present where many confuse making a public exposition of ones boxer shorts/’butt cracks’/etc as signs of individuality.  It would be more true to say, in this instance, that this is a degeneration of the idea of individuality via its synonymisation with the nether regions as opposed to personality, and the consequent synonymisation of personality with the nether regions.

 

 

In the animal kingdom,

…which is fast becoming a superior counterpart to humanity, self-assertion and individuation for whatever purposes is not effected simply via the exposition of their nether regions.  Look at the plumes of a peacock and the vibrant colours of various reptiles and you will see that their nether regions play a purely functional role as opposed to indicating one’s value.  But the current, version 0.1 (as opposed to 1.0) ‘human’, inversely, when they confuse the nether regions for their ‘plumes’, compromise their assumed perspectival superiority over their winged, furred and four-legged counterparts. 

 

 

So, in a clamshell, if you’re inclined to titter at Simon, just remember, that might simply be indicative of your having successfully ‘moonwalked’ past that dog licking its posterior down the street.

 

 

I once told a friend who was dressed in a ‘retro’ style, after he had told me that there were quite a few who had remarked that he was ‘out of sync’ and not fashionable, to respond when encountering this species of humans with a, ‘style never goes out of fashion’.  The breed of humans who take the transmissions of the ubiquitous billboard as holy writ and thus abdicate their critical capacity to The Corporation will, predicatably, have nothing intelligent to say in return.  I was right.

 

As for myself, I’m enjoying the above video for more than its music, whilst in full appreciation of the fact that style and the value of things is not dependent simply on its location along the time and space continuum, but in its indicating the critical vibrancy and experimental nature of what thus indicates a more individualised mind. 

Now that, gentlewomen and men, is true Style. 

 

 

“The 'I' only begins to exist when it ceases to solely be a logical corollary of the time and space it is reared within, or if a particular time and space does not fetter perspectives and styles of thought to a particular corporate-led vision.

Both of the above – Grand Funk Railroad and Wild Cherry -

...thrived within a similar period, the 70s.  It was a time when the 'Introspective and Critical' genre - that had dominated and been spawned within the preceding 'hippie', anti-war, CND, pseudo-socialistic period of the 60s - shared the same stage as the 'Good Times & Fun' genre that was increasingly gaining prominence in the 70s over the former.( society's movement from the superego to the id.)

With the advent of the 80s,

...both were fused to some degree, and, in a more abstract form via fashion and styles that were not always billboard-led.  There was still some Introspective and Critical content in some of the music of those times, but, with the 90s and thereafter, given the thoughtlessness-evoking nature of the 'Good Times & Fun' genre, and its obvious appeal to the Young and the Impressionable, the Introspective and Critical genre was gradually evicted with little ceremony...and music and so-called ‘musicians’ degenerated along with their congregation of 'fans'. 

 

I, personally, like both genres (especially of the 60s & 70s), if both share equal prominence. 

One promotes critical thought and activism, whilst the other provides cathartic relief and promotes raw or primitive vibrancy.   But when the former is cast aside, the latter can only serve as a recuperative-cum-compensatory ‘relief’ from the wage and 'education'-enslaved schedule, just as critical thought is increasingly confined within the workplace, as opposed to Life itself, for the purpose of the corporate idea of progress.  This, thus, creates the 'Consumer' and the 'Employee' who live from, and for, metaphorically-speaking, ipod to ipod whilst on circular billboard-guided pilgrimages from shopping-malls to celebrity-saturated stages.

 

That’s ‘hip’ 'you' say.  The corporation has spoken through you. 

The 'I' only begins to exist when it ceases to solely be a logical corollary of the time and space it is reared within, or if a particular time and space does not fetter perspectives and styles of thought to a particular corporate-led vision.  In this sense, Individuals of the 60s and 70s, and to some degree, the 80s, were more deserving of the use of the 'I' word than those who came after them.

The Individual mind died quietly sometime in the 90s. 

The writer of this article is a perspectival and spiritual resonance, or 'ripple', from the past.

The following ringtone is a fusion of both of the above.
...the beginning part of, 'play that funky music', and two separate guitar parts of Grand Funk's song fused into one.

Comments are appreciated from those who taketh. 
One ought not to let anonymity on the net breed ill-manners.

size : 573 kb
bitrate : 192 kbps
length : 24 seconds

“All art forms are stepping stones. 
Realise that, and you will not make an epitaph out of your particular medium of expression.

A comment on the Vox group, ‘Music=Life’

 

Music does not equal Life. 

Music suggests signs of Life.  Music supplies inspiration, motivation and aspirations in a relatively less-articulated or abstract form relative to the written treatise.  But Music in itself delivers as much as fuel without a vehicle.  It can bring about hope and determination, but does not deliver ends.  When the musician mistakes herself as the life-giver as opposed to the one who suggests it, s/he unwittingly reduces all of creative history to a single diminutive denominator – that which is of value is that which delivers instant gratification to what I term, an ID-ian society (ref. Sigmund Freud's, ID).  That is when humanity will begin to ‘moonwalk’ forward into progress.  That is when the masses will be gradually trained to look positively on 'instant solutions', 'instant problem identification' as opposed to seeking them out with time and effort and finding the actual causes, effects and solutions.  That is when we will miss out on real causes, effects and solutions and address global warming at the 11th hour, conduct 'wars on terrors', give birth to terrorists, perpetuate starvation and poverty, amongst a host of others.  In other words, that is when, metaphorically-speaking, Music itself, via the conduit of 'Musicians' becomes the consort and sword of the Devil.

 

 

However, I am not surprised with such an equation as ‘Music=Life’. 

After all, such a perspective is founded on the general perspective of the grossly intellectually and creatively maldeveloped masses.  Confounding ‘Music’ with ‘Life’ fits in well with the elevation of musicians as ‘life-givers’ and the Gods and Saints of these hadean times.  Thus, we afford ‘successful’ artistes luxuries, fame and fortune which we ourselves are simultaneously deprived of.  Whilst they encourage us to give till it hurts in grandiose and allegedly ‘humanitarian’ band-aids, they, amongst others, hoard untold riches and detract us from appreciating problems objectively and in themselves.  In other words, they subliminally forward the notion that there is no problem till you can dance to it.

 

 

However, Music in itself is most important…

…in providing us with the primitive fuel required to move forward.  But it is only the relatively well-articulated works of thinkers utilising the medium of words which provides a relatively well-plotted navigational chart and blueprint for both the vehicle and destination.  This is not to say that music is secondary to the treatise.  Rather, it serves as the harp in the background which helps align the mind of the thinker as he proceeds through the effortful task of transcribing experiences, observations, findings, along with, whilst fuelled by, the spirit of particular pieces of music into a form that gives one more well-articulated insights than any piece of music ever produced.  Music is however not inferior relative to the written word.  The musician, exposed to the intellectual produce of her/is times will in turn be improved by it and will produce even greater music that will in turn further inspire the thinker, amongst other artisans.  Thus, they are equal parts of a single whole comprising other parts.  The degeneration of humanity begins when either of these parts views itself as the summum bonum of this whole and begins to equate itself, arrogantly, with Life itself. 

 

 

When we confuse ‘Music’ with ‘Life’,

...what we are left with, when the interests of the entire sentient collective is taken on board, is Lifelessness.  This is when all the emotional fuel extracted by the ‘music-lover’ who unwittingly depreciates music as an end in itself serves as little more than that used to grease and pry open the valves, not of perception, but of relief.  That is when music serves as a cathartic valve, or, as far as the residual content left behind in the individual (post-musical interlude) and which is not used to relax and grease one’s psychological sphincter, serves as little more than raw material to be used by politicians and corporations for self-aggrandizing ends, or oneself to cope and compensate with ‘life’ within The Order.

 

 

However, when music is used not as a socially-approved opiate,

…it can serve as an intravenous conduit via which one is inspired to move mountains.  And when one develops in such a way with the indispensable aid of Music, the music of tomorrow will in turn be increasingly fortified by greater input by an increasingly intelligent society.  In other words, when music serves to strengthen minds, the thus strengthened minds of the collective will produce even more insightful music within all genres (be it ‘pop’, ‘rock’, ‘blues’, etc, etc).  The idea of ‘entertainment’, ‘relaxation’, amongst others, will be redefined as humanity progresses perspectivally into a truer version of modernity than the medieval quagmire humanity has currently confused for modernity. 

 

 

Ever wondered why lots of insightful, complexly arranged, exquisitely detailed, and well-orchestrated music/art/writings were produced in the past and not the present? 

 

If you look at the correlations in history, you will see that much of western classical music was produced within the scientific, intellectual, and critical period of w.European history.  This beautiful period had also progenously (from the word, ‘progeny’ – not in dictionaries at present) spawned many insightful works via the mediums of literature, philosophy, science, paint, architecture, and so on.  These days, we have ‘pop’ music, minimalism, the ‘professional’ who is specifically skilled but generally docile, visual effects-based ‘films’, amongst a host of others.  Do you not see the correlation?  As symbiotic parts of a single whole, degeneration in one can resonate and underdevelop other aspects of the human persona.

 

 

But it is quite the task to take contemporary ‘modern’ musicians down a peg or two.  Not when an increasingly docile, juvenile and professionalised mass are taught to know no better and thus inclined to confuse the first note that hops in the path of their aural senses as orchestral in value simply because the ‘musician’ is cast in the hallowed floodlights of the media.  Thus, knowing no better, they become perfect little consumers marinated, garnished and readied for consumption by the Corporation. 

 

 

That is why, gentlemen and ladies, amongst other reasons, sites such as ‘Music=Life’ can exist with precious few baulking reflexively. 

 

I wish ‘Music=Life’ well, but I would suggest that they do not take mass juvenile approbation and the fame and fortune that comes to the ‘successful’ amongst them as an objective indicator of their caste’s celestial value.  ‘Music’ does not equate with ‘Life’, nor can the ‘Musicians’ of today be synonymised with ‘Lifegivers’.  Musicians and music is a part of the process of life or lifelessness.  When they realise that, they will then be empowered to be an alternative way of looking and appreciating things, or as an inspiration to other types of artists to seek further than they otherwise would.  If not, they stand the risk of being nothing else but logical corollaries of the evils society is encumbered with.  And certainly, they, and Music, are not the endpoint or the definition of Life.  As I wrote to my good friend, and introspective musician, Dave Birdsall, in a private discussion, we cannot expect the bulk of the so-called ‘musicians’ of today to know better as they practice an abstract art form.  They who practice an abstract art form are simultaneously developed and underdeveloped by it as every art form imparts particular perceptive abilities which other art forms do not.  Thus, I’m inclined to advise, metaphorically-speaking, anyone aspiring to be a writer to pick up the sax, every pianist to study sociology, every sociologist to play an instrument, and every painter to study history, so that they may become more adept at their profession.  The abstract and the literal hold the potential of transforming each other symbiotically and dialectically.  When you look at the bulk of the great artists, thinkers, musicians, amongst others, throughout human history, you will find that they were quite adept at other art forms as well.  It is only the true artist who realises this and complements her forays into an art form with equally inquisitive ventures into other art forms. 

 

To those aspiring to be musicians, muses of the thinker, and vice versa, I would advise, seek not to be Gods worthy of immediate worship and thus become adept at what you do and nothing besides.  If not, you stand the risk of becoming lesser Gods and making even less of your ‘fans’. 

 

All art forms are stepping stones.  Realise that, and you will not make an epitaph out of your particular medium of expression.

 

 

 

 

music life vox blogging culture philosophy psychology sociology history blogs celebrities art science uk usa india malaysia singapore hong kong philippines

The thing about Music

– and I’m not speaking of the pop rubbish spewing out of the orifices of the superficially-inclined seeking fame and fortune in the boils on the loins of the juveniles of the planet – is that it contains far more than what the singer or musician intends. 

 

In this, the musician creates from both the conscious mind, and the unfathomable abyss of her subconscious.  That which is consciously created is actually a product of the conscious mind’s attempt to articulate, or ignore, the voice crying out from the subconscious swirl that absorbs far more than the conscious mind is, or wants to be, aware of – perhaps, one might even go on to speculate that a part of all artistic creation is utilised by ‘heaven’ or/and ‘hell’ to subliminally transmit particular perspectives of which the artiste is unwittingly the conduit.  Thus, the artist/writer/musician owes a great debt to those whom intentionally or unintentionally have contributed to the creation of what is mistakenly believed to be her creation via ideas or attitudes that in turn nudges her along a particular creative path.

 

 

The same applies to the writer, and I’m not speaking of many so-called ‘writers’ of contemporary times who basically transmit ideas in a straightforward ‘simpsonian’ fashion (ref. ‘The Simpsons’), or who have committed the mortal sin of confusing the ability to cast an opinion with the logical or insightful quality of its content.  I’m speaking of writers who use the palette of allusions, metaphors, rhymes, analogies, punctuation, and references to seemingly unrelated phenomena, amongst a host of others, to transmit more than the simple idea.  In this, she enriches other aspects of the human persona that are otherwise left untended and left to wither in the desert of the growing demand for the direct transmission of an idea.  Of course, this is wasted on those who’ve been trained to view ‘entertainment’ as that which requires passive, self-centred, and thoughtless imbibing as opposed to active involvement in the creative process.  Such ‘people’ do not become a part of an ongoing creative process but rather its users and imitators, and, over time, far less than they otherwise could be.

 

 

And the same applies to the artist, whose every swirl, shade, perspective, focal point, crease, texture, shapes, and refraining from using these here and there, amongst a myriad of others, conveys far more than an illustration of Socrates accepting hemlock from his captor, Christ on the Cross, Nataraja doing the eternal dance, or ‘Allah’ in Arabic script.  In fact, it conveys far more than what the artist intends as a corollary of the fallibility of the current version of human nurtured nature.  Thus, when we appreciate art/music/writings, we do not only appreciate efforts of the artist, but also her deficiencies, the historical/psychological/sociological background that nurtured her, the workings of the subconscious mind, the agenda of the heavens or hell, amongst the myriad of influences and persons who have coalesced to use the artist as the artist uses the brush.

 

 

The most important point here is that insofar as the subconscious mind exists, any creation of an artist, be she a writer, musician,  sculptor, painter, amongst others, transcends her.  In other words, whether it is a God, providence, a single element within one’s human DNA, there is an unseen finger having her say in the work of every Artist. 

 

 

It is in appreciating this that the true Artist realises that the mastery over her artistic proclivities has to be preceded by a mastery over one’s subconscious, or at least in her attempt to clear out the rubble and rabble of historically inherited bias, self-serving sentiments, or attempting to being a product or entertaining jester within the court of the appetites of any particular time and space.  She will, in all likelihood, never acquire such mastery, but in attempting to do so, she will at least be afforded the privilege of, at times, catching a fleeting glimpse - like a lone sailor in the midst of the night catching a glimpse of the distant glow of a firefly on an oasis in the desert of the oceans that lies a millimeter beyond the horizon of her perception - of the Hand of God scribbling in the sands of her inner soul in the quiet of the night of our existence.  That is when the shards of all time and space will pierce her soul and she will transcend her humanity to go a little closer to its potential.

 

 

OM

 

The credit for the above piece goes to the Rationalism of the united kingdom, the Metaphysicalism of ancient india, the Spiritualism of the Aborigines of the earth, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy, History, Socialism, the belief that the existence of God/s is evidenced by our ability to doubt….amongst others whom I’ve yet to appreciate because I’ve yet to acquire more than a fleeting glimpse of the firefly that hides within my subconscious.

art music blogging writers culture philosophy sociology psychology uk india history malaysia singapore hong kong philippines god religion

Don't bother to try to understand what she's saying lest you underdevelop the other modes via which you can understand that which the written word sometimes leaves out.  The poverty of the human language, at times, is only able to discover a glimpse of the metaphysical nature of beauty.  Feel the lilt of the voice, the intonation, the composure, the calm, ....

Let your Sundays not be happy because it is a Sunday, lest you excuse yourself form this prized sensation for the time that lie betwixt Sundays.  Let it be the start.  A renewal.  Refuse to allow the profit-production schedule to monopolise the time and space of your appreciation of life, and through it, the appreciation of your Spirit.  Thou art more than an 'employee'.....simply because Thou canst be More than your current identity allows you to even begin to imagine.

a self-serving cousin of,

ed's sh-red vs Bono's joinred

(the following is the code for the above anti-(red) campaign - aka, sh[red].  You can copy and paste it in your sidebar 'widgets' section, at the end of your articles, or anywhere you please.  If you do not want it to be 'centered', just remove the <center> and </center>.  If you want a line space between the button and something else, just add <br> at the end of the code. 

Thanks to my dear mate Dave Birdsall for the question on how this may be done and his empathy - thus the inclusion of the following code.)

<center><a href="http://sh-red.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 2px;" src="http://saveapixel.com/uploaded/40872275.jpg" border="0" /></a></center>

Once the compilation CD of 15 new 'artistes' is released on the 15th of August,

• It will provide global exposure for upcoming 'artistes'

• It will popularise Itunes further thus increasing their returns

• It will help sell the CDs of the thus-popularised and earn them and The Corporation, collectively, far more than that which is raised for the fight against Cancer

• It will help instill in the population the notion that 'doing good' for another must result in entertainment for the 'ME'

• It will make the masses more oblivious to calls to 'do good' in the future that is not simultaneously frilled with fairy-lights, fanfare and fun, and does not hold the potential of filling the coffers of The Corporation.

• It will help sanitise The Corporation by presenting them as part of 'The Solution', thus distracting the masses from considering the possibility that they are a foundational part of 'The Problem'.

• It will enable all diseases, poverty, and other evils to be inadequately handled via direct appreciation and address as the masses will become accustomed to waiting for this CD or that movie through which they can 'do good' vicariously.

 

• The masses, when having learnt to associate ‘doing good’ with ‘being entertained’ will become oblivious to the fact that if The Corporation was not accustomed to hoarding resources and investing them so that they might accumulate more resources, there might already have been sufficient resources to solve ALL of the evils humanity is currently encumbered with and which (is made to) require money to solve them.

 

 

epilogue

The greatest achievement of the ‘Devil’ is in getting humanity to do evil whilst leading it to think it is doing good.  In this, the ‘Devil’ depends on what might be an innate desire of humanity to 'do good'.  Fight Cancer with Music?  I thought all we needed was Empathy.  The ‘Devil’, I have often thought, practices Jujitsu – using the force of humanity’s energy and goodness against itself by applying the counter-techniques of ignorance and self-centredness.

Thus, He has my respects, but not my love, as a master practitioner of the perspectival martial arts.

The Root of all Evil finds its Incubatory Refuge in All that is Perceived to be Good.

 

 

related links:

Bono's 'JoinRed'

ed's 'Sh-RED'

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