I'm a big fan of this new Pumped-Up Kicks song by a group called Foster the People. Basically, it's a song about a kid that goes psycho and starts shooting at the "popular" kids at his school. At least that's the way I have interpreted it. Of course, if you watch the video, it's about the members of the band tooling around and having fun. Huh?
To me, this reflects on one of Joyce Carol Oates great quotes about rock 'n roll. I think it came from one of her novels about a Vietnam vet. The line was something like "rock 'n roll is happy songs about sad things," which in my opinion kind of sums up the dichotomy between light and dark we often encounter in mythology.
Basically, the darkness always precedes the light. To apply this to rock 'n roll: after you internalize a tragic/terrible event, to go light (in another context) we'll say it's a hearbreak, you commenorate/celebrate it in some way - like writing a happy sounding song. In other words, you laugh, so you don't cry. You whistle through the graveyard... (I also love cliches, but that maybe another blog.)
Anyhow, just thought I'd kick off this blog with those thoughts and also wonder, to complete the circle, does lightness also succeed dark in mythology? I'd say ask Job, but I hope to have plenty of discussions on these types of topics on this blog.
You've packed a lot of thought into your opening entry, Ralph. Themes of light and dark in the work of JCO is an exploration unto itself. I posted the lyrics to Pumped Up Kicks and they are remarkable for how they are juxtaposed against the melody. I mean, that's a dark song, but it's now stuck in my head (and I like it). It seems we exist in the interface between good and evil, light and dark, yin and yang. That's where we find meaning that goes beyond simplistic notions of black and white.
ReplyDeleteRight/write on.
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