[MD] Punk Rock Existentialism

[John Carl]

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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-- 
"finite players
play within boundaries.
Infinite players
play *with* boundaries."