“Shallow, unaccredited
noise...”
Last
class, there was a fairly involved discussion about the 'value' of
entertainment. Some people did not seem to understand the basic difference
between art that challenges you in a deep and meaningful way and art that does
not, or why listening to the former is preferable to the latter. So I thought I
would attempt to explain.
I don't
want to sound pretentious and elitist (not everything you need to listen to
needs to be experimental art music), but people will think I am anyways so I
might as well roll with it. And, in the spirit of being as obnoxiously
pretentious as possible, I’m going to run my explanation through a comparison
of two Death Grips songs. (Death Grips is widely considered one of the most
pretentious and ``modern-art'' groups of the 2010's. If you haven’t heard Meme Grips yet, be
warned: their music is quite violent and, to be honest, doesn’t really appeal
to most people.)
The first
song I would like to discuss is a fairly celebrated track off the album Exmilitary, called “Culture Shock”. The
song is an unashamed criticism of the modern addiction to information overload.
The author rails against Hollywood and the media for producing intellectual
garbage, as well as society for consuming it in disturbing and unnaturally
large quantities. He warns his audience that the unrelenting bombardment of
data jetsam destabilizes and weakens their minds, as well as opening them up to
undesirable influences, both from their own vices and from third parties
wishing to do them harm.
It’s an
alright song. By the second or third listen, you might begin thinking to
yourself that, yep, I get it already. That’s because the song, while it brings
up some interesting ideas about the author’s views of society, is pretty
straightforward. You, as a listener, are told exactly what the author is
thinking, and very little about how or why, to boot. The gubment is bad, mmkay?
Down with the man!
The
second of the two is a significantly less appreciated song, the opening track
to the group’s album No Love Deep Web,
titled “Come up and get me”. The entire album is a musical personification of
crippling paranoia, drug use, and physical and mental control, as well as a
disturbing warning as to the consequences of abuse of or overexposure to these
sins. “Come up and get me” really gets the ball rolling with this.
What
makes “Come up and get me” an interesting song, lyrically, is the layers of
abstraction. Powerfully described is this notion of a man cracked out and alone
in an abandoned building on the eight floor, with a police task force blocking
off his exit. However, MC Ride takes this terrifying vision, which he has built
in only a few verses, and starts tearing it down. His description of his
assailants as ‘Nazis’ and ‘the world’ suggest that he may actually be speaking
about a society which he feels is authoritative and oppressive. His admittance
that he cannot really determine the identities of his demons due to his own
‘fragmented mind’ suggest that they may not even be there at all, that he
himself is the enemy. In the end, the speaker decides that no matter what,
conflict and its potential consequences are preferable to endless paranoia and
dread, and screams at his demons to ‘come up and get him’, whoever they may be.
The
lyrics are intentionally vague. This allows the artist to make a decisive,
concrete statement (COME UP AND GET ME wuhbwuhbwuhb) but at the same time,
forces the viewer to make a decisive, concrete statement about what he believes by deciding what the speaker
is actually talking about. Is the speaker a victim or his own enemy? Your
answer to that question is a direct reflection of your opinions on the topics
he is discussing. Ultimately, there is no right answer, and that’s the point –
all that’s left is the assertion that you shouldn’t take whatever is assailing
you lying down. Whatever the meaning behind the song, its complexity certainly
makes it more valuable than the one-dimensional counterpart.
Death
Grips is very much music reliant on its shock value, which is in itself
limiting in some ways. These songs are absolutely not the deepest, most
engaging pieces of music you will ever hear. However, it is precisely because
neither of these tracks are untouchable masterpieces that it’s easy to see the
clear difference between them. One, a musical exploration of otherwise
unrelated themes by attempting to construct a conflict around them. It is
interactive (the listener decides what to think, ultimately) but also clearly
directed (as in, the artist has intent behind writing and performing the song,
and wants to send a message). The other is just a very angry rapper telling it
like he thinks it is. If you understand the difference between these two songs,
you will understand why Professor Vinsel thinks Star Wars sucks.
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