Sir Mustapha
Group: Musicians
Posts: 2802
Joined: April 2003 |
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Posted: Sep. 15 2007, 22:22 |
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It's inevitable, but my Personal Library of Words and Meanings (a.k.a. some region of my brain) inevitably associates "Escapism" with "the worst possible way of dealing with a problem", which is turning your back to your problems and pretending they're not there: they still are, they still exist, they're still getting bigger and worse, yet you are in some merry land pretending all is fine. I just wonder if that is what we're talking about here, or we're rather referring to distraction, which is what every sensible human being needs: taking a break from your problems for a while when you know you're not in the right conditions to face them off. Yes, it's just terminology, but after I've realised how important formalism is, I can't handle wrong terminology...
So, um... referring to my own definitions, I can't see how escapism can possibly good in the long run. Most problems, when not directly attacked, tend to grow, and I don't see the advantages of generally letting them grow. Even the problems that tend to fade away naturally could use a little handling. Distraction, though, is what keeps us sane; it's going home, having a night of sleep and a shower to come back to your work and realise that bloody bastard problem was caused by a line of code you had completely missed. Music most definitely can be an excellent method of distraction. That's what it usually is, as far as listening goes. As for making it, well, the process of making music usually generates a lot of problems, so unless you're cruising on auto-pilot (which can be a great deal of fun), you're not really getting distracted. Same goes for writing, I suppose, and most other art forms.
Making music as a form of addressing your problems, well, Robert Smith did that a lot early on his career and it seemed to work.  Taking Pornography (the ALBUM!! ) as an example, a lot of troubled people can potentially relate to it. That can be good; after all, one realises he's not really alone, his problems aren't really one-of-a-kind, and there might be a way out. It's the applied use of art. As for the artist, he can use the art as a way of stating things he can't state with words. Even though I'm one of those who thinks if something can't be properly explained in words, it probably doesn't exist (really, ), this can potentially work.
Personally, I try not to make use of escapism - usually because when I have a problem, I tend to keep chewing on it for a long time, unable to think of anything else. If I am moderately aware it's a problem I can solve with relative ease, there's no need to escape. Escaping is a way of not realising things. I've had my fair share of not realising things in the past and I don't wanna be like that again. I tend to face the process of making art as highly (if not purely) intellectual process, so I externalise it from my own life. And it's very useful, you know - it stops you from writing music you'll probably regret having written later on. I mean, Bob Dylan reckons he shouldn't have written "Ballad in Plain D", but it's done already. That's what "emotion" does to you, right.
As for writing, well, writing is a much more verbal medium than music, so I think it's easier to address problems in it. I've done that once, and it seems to work. You can properly state things on writing, where as on music, you can pretty much only suggest it. I can't help but feel that if a musician is forcing one and only one very specific meaning into a piece of music, then he's destroying the very essence of music. Writing can also be like that, but it needn't.
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Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds.
Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com
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