Why We Like Art
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I was thinking about this question a few weeks ago, when my friend Rose talked about why Chris Cornell's music never grabbed her. She said it was missing something in the high range that her ear seems to want. So interesting . . . There's definitely a lot of music that is critically acclaimed, and I believe intellectually is good, but that falls flat on my ear. I'd love to be able to figure out what it is that unites the music that I like. Maybe it would even extend to other art forms.
Here's one stab: I like art that is complex but unified. Some art (songs, books, paintings) are too straightforward. But at heart I lean Apollonian and chafe at art that is too all-over-the-place, has too many diverse elements, random bits, is out of proportion. Every once in a while there's a piece of art that is so diverse and rich that is almost---not but quite---tips Dionysian; that's my sweet spot. Here are some examples:
1. Cloud Atlas (novel): This book contains something like 10 different sections. It starts with historical narrative A, then jumps forward in time to historical narrative B, then forward to C, and so on until E. At that point, the next section is E again and it starts going backward: Next is historical narrative D again, then C again, and so on back to A. Each of the five historical narratives is really, really different. The novel is kind of an exploding bomb of voices, syntax, places, and characters. But it's strongly united by theme, and so instead of bursting to pieces it's held mid-explosion, so to speak, with everything existing together in harmony. It's an awesome achievement, one of my favorite novels ever.
2. DC Talk (music group): DC Talk was a Chrstian rock/pop/rap band that was huge in the 1990s. It was formed by three strong personalities: the rapper/producer Toby McKeehan, the pop powerhouse Michael Tait, and the eccentric Kevin Max. What I love about their music is that it's got so much going on. It's not just verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus, chorus. It's intro, verse, chorus, verse, rap, chorus, bridge, chorus, coda, appendix, surprise. It was always almost too much, but walked that line between richness and schizophrenia.
3. Jack Joseph Puig's production of Heavier Things (CD by John Mayer): This is on the list because I was listening to it this morning. It's a quiet CD but not a bland CD. Puig was the perfect producer for John Mayer, and added layers upon layers of musical touches to what, very easily, could have been left alone. The songs are strong, and a lesser producer would have just relied on that strength. But Puig adds the subtle horns, the occasional sound effect, the occasional twinning of vocal and bass, all sorts of effects that enhance and fill out the songs without sounding like tricks or feeling just tacked on.
I'm going to think on this more and see if there are other principles I can come up with.
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I was thinking about this question a few weeks ago, when my friend Rose talked about why Chris Cornell's music never grabbed her. She said it was missing something in the high range that her ear seems to want. So interesting . . . There's definitely a lot of music that is critically acclaimed, and I believe intellectually is good, but that falls flat on my ear. I'd love to be able to figure out what it is that unites the music that I like. Maybe it would even extend to other art forms.
Here's one stab: I like art that is complex but unified. Some art (songs, books, paintings) are too straightforward. But at heart I lean Apollonian and chafe at art that is too all-over-the-place, has too many diverse elements, random bits, is out of proportion. Every once in a while there's a piece of art that is so diverse and rich that is almost---not but quite---tips Dionysian; that's my sweet spot. Here are some examples:
1. Cloud Atlas (novel): This book contains something like 10 different sections. It starts with historical narrative A, then jumps forward in time to historical narrative B, then forward to C, and so on until E. At that point, the next section is E again and it starts going backward: Next is historical narrative D again, then C again, and so on back to A. Each of the five historical narratives is really, really different. The novel is kind of an exploding bomb of voices, syntax, places, and characters. But it's strongly united by theme, and so instead of bursting to pieces it's held mid-explosion, so to speak, with everything existing together in harmony. It's an awesome achievement, one of my favorite novels ever.
2. DC Talk (music group): DC Talk was a Chrstian rock/pop/rap band that was huge in the 1990s. It was formed by three strong personalities: the rapper/producer Toby McKeehan, the pop powerhouse Michael Tait, and the eccentric Kevin Max. What I love about their music is that it's got so much going on. It's not just verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus, chorus. It's intro, verse, chorus, verse, rap, chorus, bridge, chorus, coda, appendix, surprise. It was always almost too much, but walked that line between richness and schizophrenia.
3. Jack Joseph Puig's production of Heavier Things (CD by John Mayer): This is on the list because I was listening to it this morning. It's a quiet CD but not a bland CD. Puig was the perfect producer for John Mayer, and added layers upon layers of musical touches to what, very easily, could have been left alone. The songs are strong, and a lesser producer would have just relied on that strength. But Puig adds the subtle horns, the occasional sound effect, the occasional twinning of vocal and bass, all sorts of effects that enhance and fill out the songs without sounding like tricks or feeling just tacked on.
I'm going to think on this more and see if there are other principles I can come up with.
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posted by Anonymous at
5:55 PM
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