A musician waxes-poetic on politics
Last week I shared the Gospel. This week I’m talking politics. Later on today I’m visiting Jerry Falwell’s grave.
It’s been five, six, seven years that I’ve been giving my heart to this “making of music” – and a good 15 that music has been the “apple of my eye” as they say. That said, I have and continue to spend the vast majority of my time listening, writing, reading, and so on about notes and tones, rhythms and form, dynamics and melody, improvisation, etc. I, of course, expect my hours to reap rewards on a variety of practical musical fronts, but aside from that, music continues to teach me a bit about the world outside of itself. Really what I’m saying is I’m going to talk about politics. I tried to fool you and and more importantly Last Level Boss Val (who in recent days has leveled up her powers) by a clever, wordy intro BUT what it comes down to is that I’m going to baptize myself in the political discussion (by way of the cinema).
Unfortunately for me the RVANews team is in love with movies. Ross really just likes anything on a screen, so that counts him in. Susan, as you know, prattles on weekly about the latest and greatest (i.e. Tropic Thunder over and over and over…) and it’s Val’s favorite topic as well, aside from babies – but movies about babies, don’t get her started!! There’s also former contributor, rabid g-chatter, passionate movie viewer as well as skeptic of love Justin. The point is that I hang out with these folks and inevitably this conversation occurs (usually at Ipanema)…
Ross, Last Level Boss Val, Suze, Skeptic of Love Justin: OMG movie XYZ was so fantastic blah, screen writing blah, great editing blah blah, he was also in blah, Scarlet Johansson not so blah, MattWhite what did you think?!?
Me: Uh, I haven’t seen it, don’t know who that is, Teo Macero really did some great editing on Miles Davis’s’ work, and I only love Charlize Theron more than ScoJo, but I don’t really have an opinion about the movie I guess?
These multi-weekly conversations got me thinking, and in an entirely too short summary this is the fruition of my thoughts…
It is very difficult for me to discuss other fields – all arts, religions, and politics etc. because as a musician, I have spent five, six, seven years digging hard to know more and grow more and learn more and I have truly seen fruits in my labor. I make different musical choices now that I certainly wouldn’t have made seven years ago. I play differently, write differently, analyze and process differently, and I am – I think – a significantly more astute and wise musical decision-maker than I was a few years ago.
The hindsight that this affords handcuffs my personal assessment of movies, theatre, dance, visual arts, religion, and politics. Of course, my personal set of aesthetics and experiences combine to form a personal opinion about many of the aforementioned topics, but since I have spent virtually no time (in comparison to the time I have spent with music) with any of those things, I am quite certain that my personal opinion should carry little weight and, if my musical path is any indicator, is probably wrong.
We are, of course, in an election year. In two months we will know who the next president of our country will be. The political landscape is, in short, complex. I am voting for Barack Obama. I also have no idea what I’m talking about. I could certainly be voting for the wrong candidate. History is convoluted and sometimes has surprising answers to questions we thought were easy. I spend a few hours a week reading about the election – probably more than the average American. But in reality, I am quite ignorant. I have never seriously studied American Political History, International History, Ethics, Economics, Foreign Affairs, or Environmental Science. I have (as Jim Rome says) a “take” – but one that has mostly been informed by the last year’s worth of political insight and certainly propaganda from both sides.
Really, I am complaining. I am complaining about folks that somehow have a monopoly on political insight. Folks that couldn’t possibly be wrong. Folks that approach the political sphere without a sense of humbleness and trepidation that the uncertain tide of history should have carved in all of us. I am complaining about having to hate John McCain and Sarah Palin like I hate Kobe Bryant and Peyton Manning. Not in any sort of rational way, but in a blind fit that discounts all positive contributions that this man may have made to the world. Believe me, I do hate Kobe Bryant as well as Peyton Manning with a totally irrational and blind rage, but that is the beauty of sports, not politics. The polarity that the whole process brings about is, amongst other things, disconcerting. Maybe the elusive swing voter actually exists – the one who is seriously weighing the issues and the personalities and trying to give each its appropriate due. I, however, have met few (if any) of those creatures. Maybe this is a dialogue about my insulated and thoroughly polarized world, and if so, I apologize for an extended, funded personal catharsis.
The point is that if music has taught me anything it’s that I don’t know nearly as much as I think I do at all times. In addition, there is no other answer to growth and greater understanding other than work, work, work. As applied to politics it means that although I have an opinion it could very easily be wrong, and since I haven’t put in loads and loads and years of hours, I don’t have too much business casting my judgment on others.
The only casting that I need do is with my very own vote in ye ol’ ballot box.
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Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
I’m gonna bite his hide!
I dont know what that means susan. I dont think that makes any sense.
On a musical level, consider a Kenny G analogy. As a musician who plays and studies the great American music form, the aforementioned saccharine saxophonist is universally reviled (for good reason) in jazz circles. His brain-smothering take on the idiom is repugnant for those who fell in love with the form once defined by its unbridled innovation, musical complexity and melodic boundary pushing. Instead of standing on the shoulders of giants, Mr. G sits on them. Jazz, at its best, demanded a measure of intellectual curiosity to be fully appreciated. It required players (as well as listeners) to be actively engaged in the process of exploring the melodic unknown that’s true beauty wouldn’t be fully appreciated unless one understood the history and the time & effort it took to be able to push things forward. Take Bitches Brew for example. The layman hears tuneless meandering while the actively involved hears the subtle musical complexities, the blending of different audio sensibilities and the heroic amount of skill demanded to make such a piece of art. One has to be engaged in the process to fully understand & appreciate the end result. In the world of Kenny G, everything is reduced down to its most simplistic form. Giant steps are replaced by the cynical belief that listeners only hear the world in terms of black & white. By robbing the music of its tapestry of color, the intricacies of the creative process are not longer relevant with the end result being defined by it’s insistence to only dwell in the shallow end of the pool. While this dumbing down of the music has proved successful in moving units, the sad side effect of this diminishing has made the collective whole less capable of understanding complexities and more & more divorced from the act of active participation. People have come to believe that they are merely benchwarmers and have devalued their own participation to the point that they believe their perspectives on things of are little or no relevance. The music of Kenny G proves this. It makes no attempt to exercise the brain muscle thus reinforcing the theory that you, the listener, are too feeble of mind to understand or appreciate anything beyond simplistic major scale platitudes. Put it this way: would you like to engage in politics with the quiet, sickly pleasant submission that defines Kenny G’s, “What A Wonderful World” or Louis Armstrong’s inspiring take on Bob Thiele and George David Weiss original? Too many of us have opted for the life of quiet desperation. People need to remember that though they may not take an interest in politics, politics most certainly takes an interest in them. Your 2 cents matter…
That is a great analogy, very well said and is very true. This is my point – I think the political discussion would be stregthened if people became self aware about the realities of their two cents. Political dialogue is certainly important but, just as you mentioned in your Bitches Brew analogy, true input into the dialogue takes work – a lot of work.
Also, you or I or anyone else would never even pretend to approach Teo Macero and offer him insight into the making of Bitches Brew. But somehow we, as a culture, think that political insight is our right – that all out opinions and thoughts, when brought to the table, are equally valid and should carry equal weight. Me vs Teo Macero in a conversation about Bitches Brew is obviously a MattWhite loss. But somehow it would be totally fine for me to say that me vs. John McCain/Sarah Palin could be a win.
I’m just suggesting that the political conversation would improve, become less polarized and maybe things could move forward if we were aware actively involved in not only actively evaluating the value of our two cents but looking to improve its worth.
“evaluating the value”…
MattWhite, I like what you have to say here, and I was thinking about this not long ago. If I might distill part of your thesis out, it seems like you are of the opinion that evaluating and re-evaluating your political beliefs is a good thing. Right?
Like you, I think people should think critically about their beliefs, because in doing so it validates their political stance, and results in a more informed public. No one should trust someone to do their thinking for them.
Well, for the past ten years (and maybe forever? I also am not a political historian) it seems the worst thing any politician can do is “flip-flop” on an issue. People on both sides of the spectrum have leveled this at the other in the few years since I started following politics, and it seems ridiculous to me. It is goes against everything you were just talking about, because what the politicians are really saying to each other is “NEVER CHANGE YOUR MIND”.
The resulting criticism from the public and other politicians discourages politicians to re-evaluate their positions. This is a terrible way to govern, as it means no one will admit when they are wrong, and problems will go uncorrected because politicians will be too afraid to own up to their mistakes.
Also, remember when Kenny G played on saxophone note for like 10 years or something? That must have been very boring for everyone involved.
If you want to read something about the negative effects of listening to Kenny G, check this out:
http://www.richmond.com/arts-entertainment/6972
Priceless…
I shocked my co-workers when I told them that I saw Kenny G (for free) and I thought he was a great performer. Does that mean I listen to all of his music all the time- hell no.
Don’t lose sight of your ideals and don’t let politicians define them for you.
And to further this metaphor, let’s all not forget that Kenny G knows ten times more about playing a saxophone and jazz than 95% of people. Can we really fault the guy for making serious cash doing what he presumably loves? As a working musician, I can’t. Do I ever want to listen to him? No. Would I like to make that kind of bread singing? Yes. Do I love jazz and think all other music inferior? Yes. Is Kenny G’s music jazz? No. Do I think Kenny G’s stuff is still better than most garbage that’s been hustled by music critics and devoured by joe q. public? Yes. There’s always two sides to the coin. Whenever you think you’ve got it figured out and the other guy’s all wrong, you’re in a bad place.
Also, Bitches Brew is so cliche. The Birth of the Cool is where it’s at. SEE??? MANY OPINIONS, ONE INTERNET.
Bitches Brew came about because of the movie editing joke, unfortunately Birth of the Cool does not have any clever Teo Macero editing.
John Tesh rulz, Yanni rulz. They should make the political candidates go on american idol and do a song of their choice, Obama can do “gettin Jiggy with it”, Palin can do lynyrd sknyrds “gimme back my bulletts” McCain beach boys “ba ba bomb bomb bomb Iran”, and Biden ted nugent “cat scratch fever”
its funny that the comments ended up focusing on the music part. bitches brew cliche though? kind of blue might be cliche, but bitches brew definitely doesn’t come up that much among average musician-type-persons.
anyway, thanks for the insight mattwhite. i felt very small, yet very powerful after reading that. i feel the same way…disliking kenny g and sarah palin as a matter of principle is something i think we’ll always have to deal with, despite our best efforts.
yeah, democracies are overrated.