Re: Armenian White Nationalism
Yes, they can be compared, I'm just stressing that it is important to note that they rely on different means of expression. It takes intellect to make achievements in any style of music. I mentioned how a flute plays less notes than a piano and you replied that the Duduk is much harder to master than the piano. The Duduk plays less notes, but relies on expressing emotions that the piano cannot. Rap works in the same way, and although I doubt all those stupid rappers we see on tv have gone anywhere near mastering the complete potential of their music style choice, that doesn't mean I'll dismiss its lack of potential altogether. Rap is so much more limited than Classical music in terms of musical expression (just as a flute lacks the range of notes that a piano has), yet if someone can manage to impress me with such a handicap, then I will consider that they are quite intellectual.
I find it interesting how you bring in this issue of our modernity. Yes, the mass culture of today shows us nothing but mediocrity. This is why I find salvation in listening to the music I do (which includes metal, blues, progressive rock) as well as my study of classical music. However your reaction to this mediocrity might be very different from mine. I thrive off of the mediocrity of the masses as I stand out so much more at Cegep than I would've should I have eaten the same crap that all the other students do from the mass media. My philosophy does not care for the well being of the world or of the human race for that matter, and so my study of music, history, anthropology, etc... does not make me hate the mass media for what it is doing to our generation, it merely makes me aware of what the hell is going on. I recognize the lack of value for intellectuality in our modern society and how it's reflected in popular music, however, this does nothing to hinder the valour of the musical style itself. The issue that today's artists aren't reaching the potentials they can reach is another issue (I haven't heard this R-mean guy, so I cannot properly judge his input to the world. All I've heard on this thread is that he's teaching the general public about the genocide, which isn't a bad thing in my mind).
Hmmm, you're right about that, I'll take this back.
This comes back to the earlier issue. Bah, it's probably organizations like the Free Masons who are behind this :P
I do not agree with the degeneration of our abilities to function as anything other than a flock of sheep who feed of their own feces either... The real question is, how the hell are we gonna get out of this mess?
Originally posted by Anonymouse
It is not and never has been the periods that we are comparing, but rather, the human creativity, potential and intellect behind its creation. The humans of "that era" were no different from the humans of "this era" in terms of simply being human and expressing themselves. In fact, we can look at all of history and compare the creations and advancements of many different peoples and places to many different times. There is never anything that somehow states these are forbidden territories. In fact, we could even argue, why is that this particular modernity, this paradigm, has nothing that stands out. There are no "philosophers" that stand out, no composers, no thinkers, no artists. Do you think this is just coincidence or is this the result of the forces of one culture (low) replacing the forces of a higher culture? Do you realize how the gradual domination of low culture and mass culture has alleviated the world of these and replaced it with a melange of nothing?
That is untrue. You of all people should know that music in the classical continues to be written, however, as we all know, that does not equate to popularity.
The issue is not whether there is change. You misunderstand my criticism if you think that somehow I argue that history, culture or man is static. Nothing is static. Values must and shall be broken. But what it is replaced by is the key. Will it be replaced by something higher, greater and nobler, or will something lower, baser and simpler replace it? Why are there studies arguing that if a child in the womb listens to Mozart he or she will increase their IQ, but none of these studies can claim the same about rap? Why does it take more music savvy to know how to read music, to play an instrument, than rap? Many of these rappers cannot even play musical instruments, let alone read music. That, my friend, is what we mean by the simplistic things being more easily understandable.
I do not agree with the degeneration of our abilities to function as anything other than a flock of sheep who feed of their own feces either... The real question is, how the hell are we gonna get out of this mess?
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