If it weren't for music & literature, I'd likely be a philistine. It's not that I dislike movies, contemporary art, fashion and the rest. I'll defend Robin Hood Men in Tights to the day I die, and the Sketches on Matches dude is awesome enough to shell out $20 for a sweet print hanging on my wall right now.
Yet for me, nothing exceeds mere entertainment value like books & music do. I think it's an intamcy factor. Even indie movies reach a massive audience, & watching them is usually a social activity. Contemporary art is out there, but much of the time isn't quite accessible to people (I know this is unfair to a huge branch of art & there are some Andy Warhol fans that are getting their panties in a twist, but cool out-your skinny jeans are too tight to properly untwist & you might get stuck that way). I think it's fair to say that if art neither entertains nor truly challenges a huge demographic of people, it won't feel accesible. (Mind your panties, this is only a journal).
Fashion isn't intimate because it's always on display. Or, one could argue that because it's such an expression of individuality, people are afraid of being criticized & don't do it up to the fullest. I'm pretty down with jeans & the Hanes T. Analyze at will, because I won't bother.
Anyway.
Less than 2 years ago, I was pretty intent on working in music journalism. I knew I loved everything about music, & have always been pretty confident in my writing. It made even more sense when I read this:
"When you played the album in your car, it had so much propulsion, it started the ignition and rolled down the windows all by itself." -Gavin Edwards for Rolling Stone on LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out"
This is the most accurate descriptions of the potential power of music I've ever encountered. Raw power, that is. There's also sugar power (see "90's pop." Turn it up high, bounce around, then crash).
There's also grace. "Heartbeats" by Jose Gonzales is graceful in a way that literature can't be. There's no sweetness or sentimentality to the song the way that literature must have to progress, poem or novel. "Heartbeats" is an intimate lullaby sung to no one. It's about the infinite back & forth of "We."
The other quote that I love about music is pretty long. It's actually a book--Songbook, by Nick Hornby. Nick Hornby is the perfect person to write a book about loving music because he has always committed to writing in the simplest, plainest language he can. He is openly determined to make his writing accessible to everyone.
It's obvious intimacy has a tremendous amount to do with our relationships with music. "It's like he was singing to/about me." Lyrical intimacy never fails to excite. Clever lyrics that intruige people and become words they wish they wrote.. lyrics that tag around with you in your head all day.. I think intimacy is why indie music became so popular in the last few years. Besides the element of "I heard them first!" (& besides radio trash backlash), non-mainstream bands provide the intimacy of rooting for just a collection of dudes (or Pipettes, as it may be). And of course, the least intimate thing is being harassed with remixed renditions of "American Girl" while you shop for hoodies or milk (or anything. Sorry Sir Petty).
Anyway, here's to the next "car power" song. Slaandjivaa!
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