| Apollonianism and Dionysianism In My Musical Tastes As Nietzsche wrote in his paper Apollonianism and Dionysianism ?Art owes its continuous evolution to the Apollonian-Dionysiac duality? and music is no exception. Whether it be an organized and Apollonian sonata composed by one of the masters, or a drunken Dionysian beer song sung in an Irish tavern, musical expression comes from both sets of ideals. In my own musical tastes I find myself constantly seeking both schools of thought in the music I like and also find myself seeing that the music I enjoy most owes it?s creation to both forms of artistic expression. Apollo, the god of order, music, and the plastic arts, has a very important role in the form and creation of music. When music is created with precision and an air of dignity, that would be Apollo hard at work, concentrating on making a balance of notes, rhythm and harmonies. When choosing the types of music I prefer, I look at the fact that the music is created for the sole purpose of expression. There are also times when I look for organized and beautiful music to listen to, such as the multi-layerd, complex sounds of Radiohead?s new album Kid-A, and The piano driven rock and soul of bands like the Eels and Ben Folds Five. Even the Squirrel Nut Zippers work hard to find that precise blend of big band, jazz, and swing which they recreate from forms of the past in our own time. The sorrowful Rock stylings of Poe and the Smashing Pumpkins delve into their own minds and souls with a feel of style and grace that could only be considered Apollonian. Even Rock bands like Blur and Weezer try to perfect the sounds of rock and roll while making it their own. At times when there is no order in the world, I even look towards classical music for a sense of direction. Then, of course, there is Dionysos: god of wine and drunkenness. In my favorite bands I find the hand of Dionysos not so hard at work. In ska bands like the Aquabats and Reel Big Fish I find them feeling that fun and carefreeness takes precedence over form and value, with their wacky lyrics and sometimes off beat humor. The music of Blink-182 is mostly childish and unspecific almost with a want to never grow up. In punk bands like Goldfinger and New Found Glory, there is this same want of expressing fun, but even most of these bands try to express deeper feelings in their music, though it?s just a little harder to find thanks to the god of wine. Sometimes the Dionysian method of creating music ends a band?s career like for the band Jeffries Fan Club, who recently called it quits because of lead singer Mike Dziurgot?s struggle to perform on stage clean and lead a good Christian life. And even in the case of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones some fans of the band say that they have lost their edge after singer Dickey Berrett decided once and for all to sober up. Recently, someone asked me why I listened to the music I do, when it is so hard to find the CDs of the bands I like and impossible to hear their songs on the radio, and after a lot of thinking it came to me that, though it may be harder to enjoy the music I love, it is far more worth going to the trouble and time to get it than settling on a mainstream type of music. The main reason is depth. The majority of the bands making music that sells today are doing just that: making music that sells. They aren?t making artful or inspired works, they are just seeking the almighty dollar. The majority of the time the ?artist? didn?t even write the song?s music or lyrics, or if they did, they did such a half-assed job it just sounds like all the other music of the same type. In the music I listen to, however, they would rather tour hard and write well than sell a million records and be on TRL, the ever popular MTV request show. My favorite bands care not for the mainstream, but care for their fans and care of making good music, even if that means never getting a record deal with a major label and never having a legion of fans. They would rather have fans like me who care about them and hope they continue making great music without ever selling out. With the thousands of bands and types of music all over the world, I find myself drawn more to the ones who utilize both the Apollonian and the Dionysian, the ones who create fun-loving music for the sake of expression. These bands have a soul that the mainstream sellouts have lost along the way to their big mansions and fancy cars and a passionate spirit that gets expressed through their music. Damn, i can write when i really want to. |
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