What's the Real Reason Behind Music's Mysterious Power
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ต.ค. 2024
- Are visionary artists mentally ill? That's the question Ted Gioia asked in an interesting substack post, which takes issue with rationalistic explanations for artistic creativity. In this video, I read and comment on Gioia's piece, offering additional insight into the links between music, madness, and mysticism, and surprising connections to philosophy.
Ted's article: substack.com/h...
My songwriting article: millermanschoo...
In the video, I mention a quote about Sinatra but I couldn't remember the source. I think this is it: www.newyorker....
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Great and Beautiful sharing Michael....Thank you...
In a letter Schoenberg told Webern to never reveal the actual inspiration behind his compositions.
caduceus symbol contains a staff. i believe that since forever a healer not only was expected to be old, but most importantly someone who experienced wounds.
'I spear you the lines' :D dionysic insight to just leave us with the blank...and continue your freestyle. Go ahead, my ears and eyes are pleased to go along;)
As a songmaker and musician this really resonates.
There is definitely a very important rational part in the process of making music (or any art for that matter), though that in itself feels like a discovery of already existing patterns that one is extracting from the ether that is both internal and external.
In my own artistic experience I wholeheartedly agree that there is a crucial component that feels like a gift endowed for a purpose. Most compositions are started with a certain goal in mind (or none at all) but then take a life of their own and reveal themselves.
Though one sometimes wonders if these are gifts from above or tricks from below, but I think that even the chthonic ones, let's say, with the correct goal in mind and spirit can lead to higher places. Like Dante's journey teaches, the katabasis may show the way to the heavens.
There is a wonderful section in Eros and Magic in the Renaissance by Couliano that goes into the melancholic/saturnian type and the arts. Also great insights on phantasms in that book, definitely recommended. Very relevant to the topics of this video.
I'm looking forward to reading your substack article!
(BTW if you want to check out my stuff I recently made a new EP!)
Everyone who is familiar with the creative process admits, if being honest, that it's all out there and we just find it or tune into the right frequency. We don't create, we discover. BJM is a band you can spent years discovering.
Great presentation. I think that one of the things about music that makes it seem mysterious is that musical statements are neither true nor false, but they are meaningful. I mean by 'musical statements' things like melodies, chord progressions, rhythmic shapes, and so forth. When I say they are neither true nor false I mean that they are not true or false in the way modernity comprehends true and false; for example in analytic philosophy. I suspect that this is one of the reasons why music is so attractive to people, because music is conducive to activating aspects, or functions, of the mind that are not constantly analytically judging their content along rationalistic, true and false, lines. I think this is a kind of mental relaxation and realization. // I think of Plato as primarily a mystic and that was the traditional way of viewing Plato for over a thousand years. It was only in the 17th century that Plato began to be looked at as a rationalist, or proto-rationalist. I think viewing Plato that way distorts Plato and the whole tradition that emerged from his writing. // A fine example of the union of mysticism and reason is 'The Consolation of Philosophy' by Boethius. It is an astonishing work that has inspired people for many centuries and still does so. // Thanks for posting this video.
Great video, as always, but this time the subject is interesting more than usual.
Is there a word (in any language) that describes the ability to see the whole or essence of a phenomenon, problem, situation, etc.? The best that I can think of is "insight".
In the discography of the Brian Jonestown Massacre you can pinpoint when the medication really kicked in. The music is still good, but something is lacking.
I think artists and great philosophers, scientists etc
can very well be mentally ill.
but they also do need insane amounts of dedication and a keen understanding of human nature.
artists are meant to observe the crowd and try to reach fundemental human truths.
while i do think certain inspiration can suddenly give the song, book, poem, philosopical idea can happen out of the blue.
the artist or philosopher, needs to shape that idea into something that speaks to more people then themselves.
Artist are mostly idealist....
2:28 i also used to like this band. unfortunatelly, at some point anton newcombe started telling (he is one of those people who read and reply to commets, blesses to him for that) me that i don't understand russia and that i'm in denial and literally a nazi for not complying to putin. well, dreams can be nice while they last.
He was crazy during covid with masks etc. Trump derangement. Yes I remember. But used to make good music.
I still like his music but he is now indeed ideologically possessed. And I kinda get it. If you always thought the left was the revolution it's really hard to deal with contemporary reality. Many great musicians suffer from this problem and don't seem to see the easy way out: both sides are the empire.
Great video. How about a follow up on the opposing thoughts of Benjamin and Adorno.
The Marxist’s thoughts on art and music for me are a really sad and backwards/broken interpretation of just about everything regarding art. I honestly don’t know which world they were experiencing. Definitely not this reality.
‘I’ll spare you the lines…’
Dude, never offer lines then don’t cut them.
Party foul of the highest degree.
"Worlds of Unspeakable Beauty Unfold,
Glorious Splendor of Mysteries Untold,
And Sophia Whispers, Behold! Behold!"