How much agreement should there be between message and medium? It's an imprecise question, I know. What I probably should ask is how much harmony should we expect there to be between message and expression.The answer is probably none. Case in point - I've listened to Steely Dan for decades, in fact I'd still say they are one of my favorite recording artists. Yet somehow my appreciation of their music, for a long time, didn't go too far beyond their feel-good melodies and smooth vocals. It was not until the CD Two Against Nature that I really paid attention to the lyrics of the songs - which turned out to be at times quite dark. Dark lyrics covered with a coat of super cool toe-tapping melodies.
My first response to this discovery, far from being outrage or any other judgement, was actually a bit of surprise - as when a magician pulls something unexpected out of an unlikely place: how'd they do that? Would it be insensitive to say that I still love these songs despite their sometimes off-color sentiments? I don't know, but I do. Which is to say that it's possible for me to tease apart my appreciation of music and vocal styles (mood) from the actual lyrical content of the song. However, sometimes it can feel like a kind of betrayal when things (or people) appeal to us one one level and are distasteful to us on another. We can almost feel like we've been taken by the Trojans.
My son is a huge fan of the music genre called Dubstep. Many of these songs are electronic re-creations (samples and remixes) of other songs. I consider myself lucky that my son often shares his favorite music and videos with me. When he shared this particular dubstep song/video, I enjoyed it immensely. Later on, I did my homework on the song 'Pumped Up Kicks' by Foster the People:
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks better run better run, outrun my gun.
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks better run better run, faster than my bullet.
Hmmn...
The songwriter has explained that his song is not condoning violence, but is written from the perspective of a kid who feels like an outcast. He admits to exploiting the disconnect
between his music and the lyrics, calling it 'adding another layer'. We might say that he is adding
a romantic glow to something that could be quite menacing, but the truth is - he is free to do so.
The dancer adds yet another layer to this whole dilemma. What he is doing is so visually exciting, do I need to deprive myself of the enjoyment of him and the music that he has chosen because of the questionable lyrics? The answer of course, is no. But, I would say that I feel an obligation to enjoy responsibly - in awe of the power of music and art, but not abandoning myself whole cloth to them.
And, that is what I'd like to teach my son as well.
Here is the video of Marquese Scott, dancing to the dubstep version of Pumped Up Kicks, by Foster The People.
