Comments on: Week 29: Transitions – Kill ‘em All?

By: The Sparrows of Happiness

The Sparrows of Happiness — Sun, 20 May 2007 00:53:00 +0000

Wow, the idea that we could somehow evolve special hearing so that we don’t even HEAR Celine Dion any more, but we can still hear the MC5!

That would be SO cool.

By: Carlos Anaconda

Carlos Anaconda — Sat, 19 May 2007 13:57:00 +0000

Viewing from the pov of the organization taking over the individual is a good point, SoH. And even though I could probably find some merit in loosing one’s self to a larger group to the point that survival of the group is more important than that of the individual, I think ethically and by extension aesthetically the individual still holds ultimate responsibility. I think. I’m not much of a philosopher. I don’t think.

as for that trend i will once again refer everyone to Stanislaw Lem and his Star Diaries. in it there is a story of a planet that got the provervial 40 days and nights of rain, and developed in that time an infrastructure to deal with the flooding that involved such a large portion of the population that after it stopped rainining they had to continue to keep the planet flooded in order to keep the infrastucture viable. The infrastructure then perpetuates itself while the whole planet is under water so that people’s bones are slowly softening and everyone is walking giving little jumps to keep their heads above the water, while some claim to be developing gills. This could be a good way to look at the ‘huge famous rock band as corporation’ syndrome. the band floods the planet with crap, while the fans keep jumping to try to catch a breath air and keep their heads above the shit, while claiming they are totally figuring out how to breathe in shit. hehe, i just made myself laugh.

By: John Cramer

John Cramer — Sat, 19 May 2007 13:11:00 +0000

Well said SoH, as usual. Camus and Ulrich, who’d a thunk it?

By: Electramummy

Electramummy — Sat, 19 May 2007 08:21:00 +0000

I can’t think of any example of an artist, who has become incredibly wealthy from their art.. their “fuck society/fuck the system” art and hasn’t lost support from the original group of individuals supporting them. (There’s exceptions but mostly because their art wasn’t totally accessible) Besides shooting yourself in the foot, what is the alternative? You will be hounded and hounded and hounded from all sides to give your money, to represent some recent pinch in whatever is cool to decry NOW. I don’t think HIgh Society fundraising dinners are tasteful or even successful in putting dents in the chasm of diseased global issues, but expecting artists to lead us beyond the border of clubs and radios isn’t exactly genius. Metallica was just a band. And the earth is full of just fans. Fans need to follow through and stop wasting tears on less than credible leaders in the Glitter dome once they fall victim to what SoH points out as… par for the course.

I appreciated the way you did this post Anaconda.

By: Kilian

Kilian — Sat, 19 May 2007 07:51:00 +0000

John - I guess I was wrong. Sorry.

Sparrow - your best defense yet. You're just perched waiting to strike aren't you now. But can the NAP survive...

the sniper
???

By: The Sparrows of Happiness

The Sparrows of Happiness — Sat, 19 May 2007 06:12:00 +0000

For a brilliant exposition of the notion of becoming what one despises, read the parable of the prison camp in Albert Camus’ “The Fall”. The narrator Clamence takes responsibility for leading a small group of prisoners. But he takes water for himself from a dying man, saying, “Persuading myself that the others needed me more than they did the man who was going to die anyway, and that I should keep myself alive for them. This is the way, my friend, that empires and churches are born, under the sun of death.”

This is, indeed, the way. All organizations, even bands, reach a point where the organization’s continuing survival becomes its primary objective, replacing whatever objective or objectives it originally was designed to pursue. Greenpeace, the Ku Klux Klan, the Rolling Stones, Starbucks, the FDA, the CIA…whatever, it doesn’t matter. They all share this trait. Why? Because they are run by humans, who are inherently greedy little fuck monkeys. When you start hearing someone in some organization pontificate about doing something sacrificial for the public good (like flinging $500/hr at IP lawyers, for example), that’s a good time to check and make sure you still have your fucking wallet.

By: John Cramer

John Cramer — Sat, 19 May 2007 00:08:00 +0000

Umm, hey K, why don't you relax. I think your defense of C is just a little unnecessary, as was you "light-hearted," not to mention inaccurate, swipe at me. Since when did it become your charge to protect the NAP from mean-spirited bullies like me?

Jesus, this sniping shit pisses me off.

If you don't like me, that's fine. But unless I am upsetting the natural universe by expressing confusion over someone else's post, you can mind your own. Last I checked, C can handle things all by himself.

Fuck. I must be sleep deprived.

By: Kilian

Kilian — Fri, 18 May 2007 14:40:00 +0000

This comment assumes and plays on the idea that John is stirring things up because the comments have been dull lately.

I understand this post for what it is. Like John wrote, "???," it leaves you with questions. It also ties in nicely with your Transitions post from last week. Sure the subject matter may be old hat but you took a unique approach. I do realize my approval is self-congratulatory in this little universe. But I am happy with your level of quality without taking into consideration that you write every week and do it for free (because we should always do our best and that would be no excuse).

Speaking of obvious posts, wasn't John's last post another self-loathing metal review ironically intertwined with domestic issues?

p.s. I dug John's last post too.

By: Carlos Anaconda

Carlos Anaconda — Fri, 18 May 2007 13:44:00 +0000

John, this post came about after a friend sent me a link to the last article because we were talking about George Lucas’ daughter. After seeing Ulrich in it i began to wonder how one can become what one decried, and whether what one decried is what one has been all along. with this in mind i thought i would try and see if there is that moment where Dr. Jeckyll turns into Mr. Hyde, or whether Dr. Jeckyll has always been Mr. Hyde or whether, once one becomes Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jeckyll ceases to exist and even to have ever existed.
I used quotes and pictures in an effort to stay away from passing judgement on ulrich and even less on metallica (like you say, there is no need, they have not been viable for quite some time). for a moment i even considered taking metallica and ulrich completely out of it and using some abstract band person, but then i realized that the interesting thing about ulrich is that he is so well known and that he does seem to have made a huge turnaround comparable in my mind to Jerry Rubin’s turn around from yippie to yuppie (and in the same way the same questions arise – wasn’t Rubin always just a yuppie?).
So why not write what i wrote in this comment and make myself clear? I don’t know for sure the answer to that, but i do know that i like my writing best when i dont clearly understand it myself. It is very rewarding to me to write stuff that ends up revealing things to me I didnt intend at all, and the collage technique used in this post is good for that. Throw a bunch of stuff together and see what it says. I do realize that the result is most often a lot of garbage, and i do try to spare you all from most of it, but with this piece i felt I could re-read it (sort of my litmus test) and find some questions in it that i think are semi-interesting to ponder.

By: Kilian

Kilian — Fri, 18 May 2007 04:37:00 +0000

No baby seals were saved. Nor wetlands restored. But…