Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Subverted
Yesterday in class we discussed our readings of Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto. For this class we have to provide a summary of an article several times throughout the semester, and one of my esteemed colleagues brought something on the connection between the Gothic novel (for Otranto was the first of the sort) and heavy metal music. The connection did make some sense. The argument from the article went thus: when genres like rock music and the novel came along they were subversive, especially upsetting to their times. But, as we think about it, their act of subversion was really rather tame, and as people got used to rock music and the novel they started to appropriate these once-subversive forms into codified methods for commercial success. Now introduce the gothic novel and heavy metal, which want to reclaim the subversiveness once held by their parent genres (the novel and rock music).
Nevermind that the gothic novel, sort of like the novel itself, was quickly codified and reappropriated for commercial success. Really, so was "heavy metal" when it first came out. To me, at least, as a heavy metal listener, what was originally considered "heavy metal" (like Led Zepplin) is hardly "heavy" anymore, but perhaps that's because metal has continually gone through this process of reincorporating its subversive qualities in different genres. Each new style, introduced by some innovators, eventually becomes codified and loses its subversive qualities. Take grindcore, for example. Grindcore had Cannibal Corpse, but it's easy to reduce their sound to codified junk--it's really not too far from that to begin with. But we see it even more readily in "shock" metal, which perhaps wears this influence right on the surface. God bless Alice Cooper--and I can say that because we belong to the same church denomination--but "School's Out" hardly sounds either heavy or shocking these days. After Alice Cooper gets, well, typical (and don't get me wrong--I love Alice Cooper) it takes something like Marilyn Manson to reinject the subversiveness.
Even old Marilyn's getting flaccid now--sadly, he just came out with his greatest hits album, which sounds like the death knell of a career to me--so maybe we're going to be on the hunt for something new to shake up our sensibilities. I'd propose the popular embracing of black metal. We could talk for a long time about how subversiveness is a large part of black metal, how it's a reaction to a dominant Christian culture. Sure, they've been doing their schtick for some time now, but black metal still has all the anger and attack and slicing subversion that our culture needs.
You don't need my word to see how these artists are quietly stirring up the pot, and how it's now only a matter of time before this subculture bubbles to the rock and roll surface to supplant all of our codified notions. You want a home where "genre" has no bounds, where each artist is an innovator and where there are no two voices with the same timbre, much less language? Where fresh thoughts spring like water from the rock? Where "convention" is the most hated nemesis, and where the decaying Christian culture has finally met the skeletal hands to punch through its rotted flesh and yank out its cold, lifeless heart?
Look here.
Nevermind that the gothic novel, sort of like the novel itself, was quickly codified and reappropriated for commercial success. Really, so was "heavy metal" when it first came out. To me, at least, as a heavy metal listener, what was originally considered "heavy metal" (like Led Zepplin) is hardly "heavy" anymore, but perhaps that's because metal has continually gone through this process of reincorporating its subversive qualities in different genres. Each new style, introduced by some innovators, eventually becomes codified and loses its subversive qualities. Take grindcore, for example. Grindcore had Cannibal Corpse, but it's easy to reduce their sound to codified junk--it's really not too far from that to begin with. But we see it even more readily in "shock" metal, which perhaps wears this influence right on the surface. God bless Alice Cooper--and I can say that because we belong to the same church denomination--but "School's Out" hardly sounds either heavy or shocking these days. After Alice Cooper gets, well, typical (and don't get me wrong--I love Alice Cooper) it takes something like Marilyn Manson to reinject the subversiveness.
Even old Marilyn's getting flaccid now--sadly, he just came out with his greatest hits album, which sounds like the death knell of a career to me--so maybe we're going to be on the hunt for something new to shake up our sensibilities. I'd propose the popular embracing of black metal. We could talk for a long time about how subversiveness is a large part of black metal, how it's a reaction to a dominant Christian culture. Sure, they've been doing their schtick for some time now, but black metal still has all the anger and attack and slicing subversion that our culture needs.
You don't need my word to see how these artists are quietly stirring up the pot, and how it's now only a matter of time before this subculture bubbles to the rock and roll surface to supplant all of our codified notions. You want a home where "genre" has no bounds, where each artist is an innovator and where there are no two voices with the same timbre, much less language? Where fresh thoughts spring like water from the rock? Where "convention" is the most hated nemesis, and where the decaying Christian culture has finally met the skeletal hands to punch through its rotted flesh and yank out its cold, lifeless heart?
Look here.
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