I noticed this post, and since I am in contact with D Mullholland who is in metal exile- I thought it would be interesting to repost it- and get some fresh reactions.
Some thoughts expressed in the 'what do you respect in music' thread have pointed my thoughts in this direction. Does music have a clear purpose ? Does music have to be Functional ?
I'll try to define Functional music here.
The first thing that comes to mind is the more empty-headed versions of dance music. With an omni-present monotonous thumping beat being the foreground component, this music has a clear purpose : it's designed to be danced to. Can it be enjoyable outside the gathering of dancers (a club, a party, etc) ? The beat becomes tedious when you listen with your full attention. Other than as a social show-off and keeping up with trends to be 'cool', does anybody listen to dance music ? I think not. The so-called 'intelligent dance music' notwithstanding, but my knowledge in that area is limited - I think the form is not the biggest problem, but the usual lack of substance in the popular specimens of dance, as well as the limitations put on by the category itself (a static, loop-beat is a necessary part, and thus limits the possibilities of expression) mostly lead towards artistic inferiority. So, dance music in general is Functional music.
Functional music is music which is valuable in a local space, but has little value outside this space - in the global musical universe. Functional music has a local purpose.
But : when we accept this definition, we can see that Functional music is not limited to dance.
Political messages in music : can they be a form of artistic expression ? Politics is always external to the artist, and this sphere does not have laws, ideas and images carved in stone. It's amorphous and constantly changes. The artist can react only to a momentary tide in politics, with a statement, usually a back-fire or knee-jerk statement. With passage of time, the message becomes obsolete, unless it's a mindless generalization ('yah yah, all government iz bad, they lie to us, freedom to tha niggaz, fuck tha police etc'). So - it fits the definition. The value of political art is localized in time and location and has no value in a different society/country or era. Political music is Functional music.
Metal. Can it be Functional ? A lot of teenagers turn to aggressive music as an embodiment of protest against parental authority and society. Some of them do it just to be 'different' - see the frequent elitism of extreme metal fanatics. Most of these people stop listening to metal and dismiss it later, they say "we have outgrown it", when they achieve a stable social status (job, family). They are ashamed of it as an adolescent indulgence. It can be argued that such people were never really into music, they only turn to the available and 'safe' forms of protest. Here is a different example. Many metal-listeners admit that they like only aggressive and evil music. They use music as an imaginary enemy on which they are projecting their hatred and frustration. They go to concerts for more of the same - with all the constant moshing and headbanging how much attention goes to the music, excepting the rhythm (a close similarity to the functionality of dance music, no ?) - is there much value in the music of Deicide or Cannibal Corpse outside the concert venues ? Can it be listened to with full attention ? An example of functionality ? Probably, yes.
(Note : the aggressive black metal concerts are a bit different story. The troo ubermenschen prefer to listen to the raging messengers of Asmodeus standing 'proudly' with crossed hands and a 'grim raven stare' on their skeletal faces. Upon seeing this, Scooby Doo stumbles and runs away into the night, howling.)
Sad and depressing music (including doom-metal). This may be more subjective on my part, but I can't force myself to take statements like "This music is the apotheosis of sadness, it should be listened to when thy beloved dumpeth thee, and do not forget the obligatory glasse of wine under a weeping willowe" seriously. I apologize if I hurt someone's feelings here. I'm not here to say that "doom sucks" (or "black/death sucks", for that matter) - My Dying Bride is one of my favourite bands, and I value heartfelt, emotional music. But I never feed my mood with music. The best music always brings a mood with itself, together with its world of images. When I'm feeling bad, I don't want to have my head beaten down with barrages of low-frequency minor chords and 'sad' word-sequences which can form an illusion of emotionality just by extensive inclusion of the words "weep", "grief", "shadows", "darkness", "loneliness" etc. I'm not really into using music to perform a Function.
The list can go on and on...
For what it's worth, even academic/classical music can be Functional. Witness how many older people who don't really give a shit about feeling the music, go to opera and classical concerts. It's a social thing for the 'higher society'. They go mostly to the concerts of established performers, and to a lesser extent, the established composers (mostly those whose names begin with B). Such people would go insane when they'd hear some late 20th century music - classical as much as the B-dudes were classical. On the other hand, the contemporary classical concerts are filled with younger snobs who don't really try to understand or feel the music, only to keep a clever and thoughtful faces before their friends/girlfriends, while thinking about the beer they'd better have now. Unfortunately, they use this music as Functional.
I prefer to keep Functional music out of my life.
What does everybody think of this ? Is there a Functional music ? What is your attitude toward it ? Arguments and contrarguments are welcome.
D Mullholand
Some thoughts expressed in the 'what do you respect in music' thread have pointed my thoughts in this direction. Does music have a clear purpose ? Does music have to be Functional ?
I'll try to define Functional music here.
The first thing that comes to mind is the more empty-headed versions of dance music. With an omni-present monotonous thumping beat being the foreground component, this music has a clear purpose : it's designed to be danced to. Can it be enjoyable outside the gathering of dancers (a club, a party, etc) ? The beat becomes tedious when you listen with your full attention. Other than as a social show-off and keeping up with trends to be 'cool', does anybody listen to dance music ? I think not. The so-called 'intelligent dance music' notwithstanding, but my knowledge in that area is limited - I think the form is not the biggest problem, but the usual lack of substance in the popular specimens of dance, as well as the limitations put on by the category itself (a static, loop-beat is a necessary part, and thus limits the possibilities of expression) mostly lead towards artistic inferiority. So, dance music in general is Functional music.
Functional music is music which is valuable in a local space, but has little value outside this space - in the global musical universe. Functional music has a local purpose.
But : when we accept this definition, we can see that Functional music is not limited to dance.
Political messages in music : can they be a form of artistic expression ? Politics is always external to the artist, and this sphere does not have laws, ideas and images carved in stone. It's amorphous and constantly changes. The artist can react only to a momentary tide in politics, with a statement, usually a back-fire or knee-jerk statement. With passage of time, the message becomes obsolete, unless it's a mindless generalization ('yah yah, all government iz bad, they lie to us, freedom to tha niggaz, fuck tha police etc'). So - it fits the definition. The value of political art is localized in time and location and has no value in a different society/country or era. Political music is Functional music.
Metal. Can it be Functional ? A lot of teenagers turn to aggressive music as an embodiment of protest against parental authority and society. Some of them do it just to be 'different' - see the frequent elitism of extreme metal fanatics. Most of these people stop listening to metal and dismiss it later, they say "we have outgrown it", when they achieve a stable social status (job, family). They are ashamed of it as an adolescent indulgence. It can be argued that such people were never really into music, they only turn to the available and 'safe' forms of protest. Here is a different example. Many metal-listeners admit that they like only aggressive and evil music. They use music as an imaginary enemy on which they are projecting their hatred and frustration. They go to concerts for more of the same - with all the constant moshing and headbanging how much attention goes to the music, excepting the rhythm (a close similarity to the functionality of dance music, no ?) - is there much value in the music of Deicide or Cannibal Corpse outside the concert venues ? Can it be listened to with full attention ? An example of functionality ? Probably, yes.
(Note : the aggressive black metal concerts are a bit different story. The troo ubermenschen prefer to listen to the raging messengers of Asmodeus standing 'proudly' with crossed hands and a 'grim raven stare' on their skeletal faces. Upon seeing this, Scooby Doo stumbles and runs away into the night, howling.)
Sad and depressing music (including doom-metal). This may be more subjective on my part, but I can't force myself to take statements like "This music is the apotheosis of sadness, it should be listened to when thy beloved dumpeth thee, and do not forget the obligatory glasse of wine under a weeping willowe" seriously. I apologize if I hurt someone's feelings here. I'm not here to say that "doom sucks" (or "black/death sucks", for that matter) - My Dying Bride is one of my favourite bands, and I value heartfelt, emotional music. But I never feed my mood with music. The best music always brings a mood with itself, together with its world of images. When I'm feeling bad, I don't want to have my head beaten down with barrages of low-frequency minor chords and 'sad' word-sequences which can form an illusion of emotionality just by extensive inclusion of the words "weep", "grief", "shadows", "darkness", "loneliness" etc. I'm not really into using music to perform a Function.
The list can go on and on...
For what it's worth, even academic/classical music can be Functional. Witness how many older people who don't really give a shit about feeling the music, go to opera and classical concerts. It's a social thing for the 'higher society'. They go mostly to the concerts of established performers, and to a lesser extent, the established composers (mostly those whose names begin with B). Such people would go insane when they'd hear some late 20th century music - classical as much as the B-dudes were classical. On the other hand, the contemporary classical concerts are filled with younger snobs who don't really try to understand or feel the music, only to keep a clever and thoughtful faces before their friends/girlfriends, while thinking about the beer they'd better have now. Unfortunately, they use this music as Functional.
I prefer to keep Functional music out of my life.
What does everybody think of this ? Is there a Functional music ? What is your attitude toward it ? Arguments and contrarguments are welcome.
D Mullholand
