Remember the punk/ska movement of the late ’90s? I was in high school and it was a pretty big deal. Definitely the trendiest music-wave I’ve ever lived through and I, yes, I embraced it…with blind, groundless elitism.
An odd psychology, indeed…one that celebrated its underground quality, its exclusiveness, in a totally ostentatious manner. I mean, I went of of my way to advertise the punk and ska bands I liked, only to condemn them when they achieved commercial success (i.e. Green Day, Goldfinger, Blink 182)
…as if money corrupted the creative process or purity or whatever, I’m not sure. I said “sell out” and “poseur” a lot though–I was dumb and in high school.
Anyways, in 1994, the Santa-Barbara based punk band Lagwagon put out the album Trashed and the song “Know it all” quickly became a fan favorite. It’s a song made fun of this music-snob attitude–it’s stupidity, it’s hypocrisy.
And alot of the bands on the college charts are great bands
Until they get signed. Then you hate them
It’s such bullshit – you used to love them you hypocrite…
I remember you and I listening to bands that we liked
Only the songs mattered to you
But now you’re a D.J. and preaching that hype
“Corporate Rock Sucks”…
The bands are good ’til they make enough cash
To eat food and get a pad
Then they’re sold out and their music is cliché
Because talent’s exclusive to bands without pay…
Why am mentioning this? And, moreover, why is this song apart of my libertarian dance party mix?
Because I think this song speaks to the belief that the exchange of money corrupts integrity and creativity, that commerce negates morality. That getting paid for one’s talent diminishes the value or meaning of that talent. (It doesn’t.)
And you can’t say that this attitude doesn’t exist. All to often it finds its way into our public policy, obfuscating legitimate issues like organ transplants or prostitution and making debate on their merits a pipe dream.
Finally, I explain the seemingly nebulous Nietzschian reference. Whoo! Actually, as it turns out, I had already explained it long ago. From a religious studies paper I wrote in 2005 for Robert Williams (my fav professor at UIC):
…life’s ultimate spheres of expression…the two fundamental drives that govern the world. These drives or spheres–inherently opposed to each other–are embodied in Greek culture by the art deities Apollo and Dionysus…
The Apollinian drive–striving towards that which is structured, sculpted and measured–symbolizes all that has form and shape. Because objects that have form consequently have a limit or a physical restraint, the Apollinian drive can be thought of as a cognitive faculty that organizes and individuates, making sense out of an otherwise incoherent reality…
Where as all is shaped and individuated in the Apollinian sphere, in the Dionysian drive “everything subjectives vanishes into complete self-forgetfulness” (BOT, p.36). This tendency yields the collapse of the individual–the collapse of limitations and coherenecy–and manifests a state of personal detachment or temporary self-oblivion. “Its annihilation of the ordinary bounds and limits of existence contains, while it lasts, a lethargic elemtn in which all personal experiences of the past become immersed.” (BOT, p.59).
If one thinks of the state of mind intoxication or music brings, where one’s inhibitions and individual concerns vanish–sometimes thought of as ‘losing oneself (in the whole)’–one gets a better idea of this drives. Nietzsche specifically references ancient orgiastic festivals where “the most savage natural instincts were unleashed” (BOT, p.39), and consequently, a situation in which all order, civility, and individuality disappeared…
…this feeling of a higher community–a mystical feeling of oneness among many…The Apollinian drives is necessary is protecting man from the chaotic rapturous ecstasy of Dionysus, giving him a foundation from losing himself completely self-oblivion.
I think Nietzsche’s metaphysical dichotomy speaks to the human condition. Moreover, I think a libertarian dance party–an event that combines a uniquely Dionysian activity (the dance party) with an Apollinian message (lyrics espousing a libertarian philosophy) is the perfect way to express that condition. It’s celebrating individuality collectively!
With that said, let’s jam out to this week’s pick:
In song and in dance man expresses himself as a member of a higher community; he has forgotten how to walk and speak; he is about to take a dancing flight into the air…He feels himself a god, he himself now walks about enchanted, in ecstasy…He is no loner an artist, he has become a work of art: in these paroxysms of intoxication the artistic power of all nature reveals itself to the highest gratification of the Primordial Unity”.
This weekend’s song–No Government by Nicolette–correlates quite well with the quote above…for a number of reasons.
For one, the techno beat.
Secondly, the lyrics border on a naive form of anarchism, which–if you ask me–is, well, fairly naive. The quote above is similarly incomplete and Nietzsche will be the first one to tell you. Tune in next week for the why!
Whew. I’ve been way busy folks. So you can guess what that means for my weekend “Nietzsche loves a dance party” post: half ass quality. Oh yeah!
So, alas, I’m evading elucidation of my Nietzschian reference for another week. And my blog will suffer the consequence of–horrors of horrors–even less traffic.
In any case, while it’s certainly appropriate for a libertarian dance party, this weekend’s pick doesn’t exactly qualify as workplace appropriate. So beware!
The dance party. Get a bunch of 20-somethings together with lots of booze on a Friday or Saturday night and–almost like clockwork–a dance party will break out. Doesn’t matter the location–club, house party or a sparsely-attended get-together–at some point between 11pm and 3am, a dance party will form. I’m pretty sure its instinctual.
And I couldn’t be happier. I always welcome–no, encourage–the manifestation of a dance party. Here’s this amazing social phenomenon that draws individuals together and produces this fluid mass of uninhibited energy and expression. And all smiles, it’s fun!
But the lyrics of most of these dance numbers…ugh. They’re generally these thoughtless, empty platitudes that say little of meaning, assuming–of course–that one can extract any meaning at all. And in the rare instance where a song gets deep, waxes philosophical, it’s some sort of nihilistic message of collectivism. I mean, come on…we’re talking about “artists” here! If they think at all, they think in the paradigm of post-modern socialism.
So that needs to change. Mainly because I really want to throw a libertarian dance party. A bumpin’ dance party that communicates self-affirmation, autonomy, individualism and personal responsibility. Really! I mean, how awesome would that be. And, I know–as an individual who has a synth and dabbles with that kind of stuff–I’m not one to lament but act.
In the meantime though, I’m going to collect a list of up-tempo songs with messages that speak to liberty and throw one up here every weekend in a thread entitled “Nietzsche loves a dance party”. Why Nietzsche, you ask? Um, hello! I’m name-dropping. Ha. Actually, I’ll explain the Nietzschian reference later, in installments since this will be an ongoing project. (Apologies for my intellectual procrastination…for those that can’t wait, good luck with The Birth of Tragedy.)
Without further ado, what follows is <trumpets sound!> the inaugural “Nietzsche loves a dance party” pick. As Thoughts on Freedom states, it’s “a clever piece of libertarian satire”…who target is “that canker on all societies prone to statist solutions: the bureaucrat.” Enjoy!
