[MD] Churning Point?

[Ant McWatt]

Ant McWatt previously stated:

>Seriously, Platt, I don’t really know Pirsig’s opinion about Mick Jagger et 
>al
>but I think the issue highlighted by the quote (that Arlo pointed out) from 
>LILA
>about the cruise ship singer following the static safety of cover versions
>rather than Dynamically risking original songs is the important one here.
>
>Sometimes a cover version of a classic can be nice to listen to but if 
>that’s all people ever performed or listened to then music would never 
>develop and eventually stagnate.

Platt Holden replied February 13th:

While there have been technical developments in the production of art, e.g.,
the invention of the violin and oil paints, there has been no "progress" in 
the
arts. No paintings have surpassed the drawings in the caves of Lascaux, no
songs have greater quality than the compositions of Mozart. You can be
"creative" by  gimmicking around with pots and pans, throwing  dung at a
canvas, and adding  purple lasers to a stage performance, but the quality of
art will be unaffected. They don't call better works of art "classics" for
nothing.

Ant McWatt comments:

Platt,

I think the original point that I was making is that if you limit yourself 
to a certain number of songs and a certain genre, it will eventually lead 
towards static boredom and disinterest.  The new or Dynamic (even if it’s a 
personal discovery of a Vivaldi piece you may never heard) is always going 
to encourage a continued expanding aesthetic interest.

Another point is that high quality art (i.e. art pointing towards the 
Godhead) is found in nearly, if not all, genres.  I think you are blinkered 
somewhat in this respect though I do agree that it takes an increasingly 
open mind as you get older with some of the material that is popular with 
younger generations.  However, not to take risk musically (such as buying an 
album in a genre you’d never usually listen to) is to remain in a limited 
and less interesting aesthetic life.

Regarding your point that music has not developed since Mozart’s time.  His 
music as it appears today lacks the production values and the far greater 
palette of sound that the Beatles, for instance, had for their disposal for 
Sgt. Pepper’s or the White Album.  It doesn’t mean that Mozart was less 
talented musically but he was writing music in a more primitive and limited 
context.  Production by itself can’t save a badly composed piece of music 
but, unfortunately, I don’t think it’s possible for modern musicians to know 
exactly how Mozart would have wanted his music to be reproduced for 
contemporary playback media.  Live concerts are different (in that he wrote 
for these in mind) but you can’t stick an orchestra in your car (or average 
house, for that matter).

Moreover, I think good music reflects its time.  Our culture is continually 
developing and the music of Mozart and the Beatles will gradually become 
more dated and have less relevance for us.  Though I’m sure that that both 
will be played for as long as people are falling in love, can see the beauty 
in a sunset, etc.

Finally, it’s not a popular sentiment in this relatively repressive, 
conservative era but some rock groups such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd 
composed music to be specifically taken with recreational drugs such as 
psychedelics.  An analogy might be the difference between watching the 
“Wizard of Oz” on a black and white TV and watching it on a colour set.  You 
can always watch the black and white section on a colour TV, however you 
can’t watch the colour segment on a black and white TV without losing much 
of the fantasy element that the colour set provides.  I have been told that 
psychedelics provide a far greater degree of Dynamic freedom in what Kant 
termed the “the harmonious free play of the faculties”; there is a whole 
aesthetic realm above and beyond Mozart's imagination.  The infinite number 
of Dynamic possibilities is awe-inspiring especially when taking account the 
way recording technology is developing and expanding.  At least, that’s what 
I was told by some guy in New York that I bumped into once.  His name was 
Del Close or Allen Tate or Bill Hicks or Leary or Lennon or the Fool on the 
Hill or something similar.

Best wishes,

Anthony.


.

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