[MD] Punk Rock Existentialism

[Tuukka Virtaperko]

Arlo, John,

for me the MOQ has been pretty much metal or psychedelic rock. 
Subversive, sophisticated and new. Intense, outstanding, somewhat 
marginal but self-sufficient. Or maybe I just liken the MOQ to whatever 
I've been listening while working on it.

Ultimately, I'm not quite pluralistic enough to just liken the MOQ to a 
small musical genre. For me its influence is comparable to the influence 
black people had on Western music. The invention of rock music, the 
introduction of drum sets and so on. I suppose these are based on some 
African influences.

This is of course a pretty lavish way to bestow appreciation on the MOQ.

Regards,

Tuk




On 03-Sep-16 23:05, John Carl wrote:
> Hi Arlo,
>
> And greetings all.  It's been a while.
>
> Your question reminded me of something I'd read recently on Art and
> Nihilism <http://www.fourbythreemagazine.com/issue/nihilism/iain-thomson>
>
> "Sounding like some hipster conservative, Heidegger contends in Being
> and Time that a formerly hyper-trendy term like postmodern “can first
> become free in its positive possibilities only when the idle chatter
> covering it over has become ineffectual and the ‘common’ interest has
> died away.”  In other words, once everyone stops talking about “The
> Next Big Thing,” it becomes possible to understand what was so
> inspiring about it in the first place, letting us uncover those
> enduringly inspirational sources that tend to get obscured by the
> noise that engulfs a major trend during its heyday"
>
>
> I like that.  Sometimes you have to just let the river run broad and
> shallow, before it can run deep.
>
> I myself have run broadly and shallowly.  But there is still in me
> that which wishes to dig deep.  And I'm thankful for company.
>
> But back to the quote, and the subject at hand -
>
> Arlo:
>
> If you were building this analogy, what genres of music and philosophy
> would you combine?
>
> Jc:  Modernism is classicalism, no?  Classical in the way Pirsig used
> the term.  Squareness.  What he himself claimed as his own fundament.
> At least at the beginning.  Who knows where it ends?
>
> The huge sweeping faith in logic and rationality, the square.  So
> that's an easy equation with "classical" music and its connotations.
>
> Then the romantic reaction.  ok.
>
> But Existentialism?  It wasn't romantic,  not at its core.  Highly
> rational.  reactionary against rationalism, but not toward the emotive
> side of the equation.  Rationally reactionary.  And that's what drives
> jumps in intellectual evolution.  Not emotion.  reason.  Sweet reason,
> pure reason.
>
> Arlo:
>
> Personally, I wonder if the 'angst' of existentialism would align it
> better with gothic or darkwave music?
>
> Jc:  I think you're confusing the parent and the child, here.
> Existentialism gave birth to Nihilism, in some ways, but parents
> aren't responsible for the choices of their children.  Thank Goodness.
>
> And honestly, I think American Pragmatism cut through the morass of
> confusion like a hot knife through cold lard.  - Peirce, Royce, James
> and Pirsig - I can't say enough about these heroes of thought, these
> explorers of the high country.
>
> But what  musical movement do I liken that too?  They built upon all
> that had come before, but added something new.  A synthesis like a
> fusion of Jazz and blues - a uniquely American Mix that combines
> Native American pentatonic and rhythmic influences with African beats
> and makes a new music that changes the world.  When people hear
> Beethoven for the first time, they go... mmmmm... ok, nice.  But when
> they hear Chuck Berry play "Roll over Beethoven", they want to hear
> more.  They need to hear more.
>
> Arlo:
>
> But, importantly, what would you align with the MOQ? (I'm leaning
> towards 'post-punk'.)
>
> Jc:
>
> Blues.  Simple and elemental.  Nothing fancy, nothing so high-falutin'
> that you can't possibly grasp it with your simple mind in the face of
> all this scholarly philosophy in the world.. just the sweet blues.
> when you hear it.  You know it.
>
>
>
> On 8/24/16, ARLO JAMES BENSINGER JR <ajb102 at psu.edu> wrote:
>> Hey All,
>>
>> There is a fun, short article by Stuart Hanscomb in the current edition of
>> Philosophy Now, "Existentialism as Punk Philosophy".
>> https://philosophynow.org/issues/115/Existentialism_as_Punk_Philosophy
>>
>> Whether or not you'd agree, his statement "Hegel was the Prog Rock of
>> philosophy" had me chuckling and wondering...
>>
>> If you were building this analogy, what genres of music and philosophy would
>> you combine? Personally, I wonder if the 'angst' of existentialism would
>> align it better with gothic or darkwave music? But, importantly, what would
>> you align with the MOQ? (I'm leaning towards 'post-punk'.)
>>
>> Arlo
>>
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>>
>


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