Re: Fwd: The Artist's Right To Be Boring (was: Re: the best.... theworst....)

[David Small <dsmall@uh.edu>]

Speaking of dead horses:

This guy walks into a psychiatrist's office with a concerned look 
on his face.  "Doc," he says, "I'm worried. 
It's that dream.  I'm 
having it again." "What dream?" asked the shrink, not
really paying 
attention. "You know," says the man, "the one where I'm
into 
sadism, necrophilia, and bestiality. Should I be worried or am I just
beating a dead horse?"

David

At 10:43 PM 6/20/2007, you wrote:
> Not wanting to keep beating a
> dead, or at least dying horse, I just had to share this. 
>
> I sent someone(?)'s previous wonderful rant on LD about this subject to a
> friend of mine 
> in Seattle who is a long time recording engineer there (and damn GOOD at
> it)
> and has a Masters Degree in musicology (amongst other things) and is one
> of the more brilliant people I know. 
> (unlike my own barely educated self :-) )
>
> Hopefully, his words / rant will resonate w/ some of you, or at least be
> some fun reading. Enjoy.
>
> -Rev. Fever
> Portland,OR
>
> > Subject: Re: Fwd: The Artist's Right
> > To Be Boring (was:  Re: the best.... the worst....)
> >
> >
> >      Good discussion, by somebody with enough
> > experience to recognize
> > the need for DISCIPLINE (defined as Structure, not Obedience) in 
> > music, as in everything you actually give a husky fuck about. 
> > Yes,
> > Virginia (and Stefan), there is FAILURE.  I'm a seasoned expert
> > on
> > this topic, so you can trust me here.  Yep, the artist must be 
> > "allowed" to fail, because, whether there is allowance or not,
> > IT'S
> > GONNA HAPPEN.  Because we're *human*, not gods or muses, even
> > when
> > we're engaged in allegedly "inspired" activities.  It's a
> > sad fact
> > that you can't learn from a mistake *until you make it*; it's 
> > tragic when some "free spirit" doesn't learn from a mistake
> > because
> > he or she can't admit it was a mistake, or even that mistakes are
> > possible.  Sure, anything that makes a sound can be *considered*
> > a
> > musical instrument; every sound can be *heard* as music.  But
> > that
> > doesn't elevate it to the same level of achievement as the best
> > music made by people who have real musical ability honed by 
> > experience in FAILURE.  It's NOT "all good".  Just
> > because something
> > can be argued to be "legitimate" doesn't make it valuable or
> > worthy.
> > The great fallacy (and colossal waste of time) of the 20th century
> > was the obsession with "validity": "Is it art?" 
> > "Is it music?"
> > Who gives a shit?  Is it worth a damn?  Is it worth the
> > cover?
> > Sure, it's "valid" as this or that art form on a conceptual
> > basis;
> > but is it any good at all?  These are questions that *can* be
> > answered; it just takes a few generations for the clues to
> > accumulate.
> > Meanwhile, "non-judgemental thinking" just leads around in
> > circles,
> > winds up being just another form of mental masturbation.  THERE
> > IS
> > GOOD.  THERE IS BAD.  *We* won't be the ones to render a
> > final
> > assessment, but we're sure as hell part of the discussion. 
> > Unless
> > we attempt to abdicate on some namby-pamby all-inclusive pseudo-
> > "liberalism", in which case WHY BOTHER?