I figured something out. Last night. When I was thinking. About music.
I look at it in two different ways, and like different bands for one of those two reasons. The first is the music itself. Pure sound, technique, skill of composition and execution. For these bands, I don't give a shit about the lyrics (hell, a lot of the time I can't even bloody understand them). I also tend to not like everything I hear in their songs. I make little mental alterations. I ignore the banters of entire instruments (or, more often, vocalists). But bands I like for this reason tend to be closest to what I consider perfect, when it comes to sound. And I love them intensely.
The second way I look at music is in terms of sociopolitical commentary and emotional gratification. Music that affects my emotions on nonmusical levels, in other words. For these bands the lyrics become important. The personality characteristics the musicians choose to present become important (I can't say the musicians themselves, because God knows how much of the images are accurate). The reflection upon society is important. This is not music for music's sake, this is music for the sake of everything but music. Music as a window, instead of an end in itself. I like many more of these than I do bands in the other category. They're simply easier to find.
Music is different to me than any other type of art for this reason. I don't look at paintings, read books, watch movies, or anything else purely with an eye for perfection of the form. I don't read stories for the writing. I don't watch movies for the director's skill. (Honestly, I do, but not to the degree that I do with music.) I can rarely enjoy other forms of art if they don't appeal to the second category. This is, I think, why I'm more focused on music than the other arts. Or perhaps my focus is why I love music more than other forms. Hard to say, honestly.
Anyway. I'm happy now that I've pulled this into the rational realm of thought.
Stay beautiful.
revoless.
2:31 p.m.
September 04, 2003.
Listening to: Antioch Arrow.