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Post by Maolsheachlann on Aug 9, 2019 13:54:10 GMT
To clarify, the Anglosphere is obviously sex-obsessed too. This I know. But still I see a very peculiar French orientation to SAVOURING physical pleasure, food, wine, sex etc along with corresponding contempt of English cuisine, English rushing about and not savouring ... Still poorly put. Ah, well. Fascinating stuff, Roger. I have been thinking a lot about the difference between novelty-hunting and the ability to appreciate that which already exists. It seems to me that modern society is infatuated with the new and different to the detriment of the old and familiar-- or even to the detriment of the new and different, once the first sheen of novelty is gone. This does seem to boil down to the difference between merely experiencing, and actually savouring. But I hadn't thought of it in terms of the anglosphere and France-- most likely because I know nothing about France.
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Aug 9, 2019 14:37:41 GMT
Interesting point but how would you deal with the genuine enjoyment of something that is objectively superior: be that food , or properly brewed coffee or good books (personal fetishes of mine). I have been accused jokingly of snobbery but why not choose what is better over the second rate or worse? I hasten to add I earn the average wage and do not inhabit a mansion. The classical Epicurians and Stoics believed you could enjoy even fairly humble activities by how you approached it . A sense of gratitude for all gifts which are ultimately divinely bestowed might make this attitude more morally acceptable to Christians. Hercule Poirot was a great example of preferring the finer things in life and in being horrified by English inter war cuisine. This is an interesting subject, one I often think about. When it comes to poetry and books, I think I have pretty good taste. Sadly, when it comes to music, I have terrible taste. I can understand, conceptually, that classical music is richer and more complex and more nuanced than the various genres of popular music. However, I just don't enjoy classical music-- I've made many, many efforst to appreciate it and it leaves me cold. What is the point listening to something if you don't enjoy it? I feel guilty listening to pop music, considering how it has generally been associated with a subversive, anti-Christian, anti-traditional, anti-national agenda. (Look at Hot Press magazine in Ireland.) And yet...I can't help enjoying it. It can be quite a pick-me-up, at times. I find myself asking: is it the LIFESTYLE that came along with this music that is decadent, or the music itself? Roger Scruton often comments upon the monotony of pop music, formally speaking, and I can't help worrying that this has a deadening effect on the imagination. Is the decadence and crudity of pop music intrinsic to it? Is it a sin to lisen to Led Zeppelin? (Of course, I know it's not literally a sin. But is it a cultural sin, so to speak?) I have almost the opposite problem when it comes to Irish ballads. I often think that learning and singing Irish ballads would be a good way I could make some small contribution to preserving Irish culture. But, as I said above, I think I have a rather epicurean taste when it comes to poetry and lyrics-- and I can't help noticing that a lot of traditional Irish ballads have more or less wretched lyrics. I find it hard to remember them, for this reason. (Yes, many ballad lyrics can have a haunting, rough-hewn, naive beauty about them, one which often compensates for their lack of polish. But every often, even this isn't enough to save them.)
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Post by servantofthechief on Aug 9, 2019 15:29:39 GMT
Interesting point but how would you deal with the genuine enjoyment of something that is objectively superior: be that food , or properly brewed coffee or good books (personal fetishes of mine). I have been accused jokingly of snobbery but why not choose what is better over the second rate or worse? I hasten to add I earn the average wage and do not inhabit a mansion. The classical Epicurians and Stoics believed you could enjoy even fairly humble activities by how you approached it . A sense of gratitude for all gifts which are ultimately divinely bestowed might make this attitude more morally acceptable to Christians. Hercule Poirot was a great example of preferring the finer things in life and in being horrified by English inter war cuisine. This is an interesting subject, one I often think about. When it comes to poetry and books, I think I have pretty good taste. Sadly, when it comes to music, I have terrible taste. I can understand, conceptually, that classical music is richer and more complex and more nuanced than the various genres of popular music. However, I just don't enjoy classical music-- I've made many, many efforst to appreciate it and it leaves me cold. What is the point listening to something if you don't enjoy it? I feel guilty listening to pop music, considering how it has generally been associated with a subversive, anti-Christian, anti-traditional, anti-national agenda. (Look at Hot Press magazine in Ireland.) And yet...I can't help enjoying it. It can be quite a pick-me-up, at times. I find myself asking: is it the LIFESTYLE that came along with this music that is decadent, or the music itself? Roger Scruton often comments upon the monotony of pop music, formally speaking, and I can't help worrying that this has a deadening effect on the imagination. Is the decadence and crudity of pop music intrinsic to it? Is it a sin to lisen to Led Zeppelin? (Of course, I know it's not literally a sin. But is it a cultural sin, so to speak?) I have almost the opposite problem when it comes to Irish ballads. I often think that learning and singing Irish ballads would be a good way I could make some small contribution to preserving Irish culture. But, as I said above, I think I have a rather epicurean taste when it comes to poetry and lyrics-- and I can't help noticing that a lot of traditional Irish ballads have more or less wretched lyrics. I find it hard to remember them, for this reason. (Yes, many ballad lyrics can have a haunting, rough-hewn, naive beauty about them, one which often compensates for their lack of polish. But every often, even this isn't enough to save them.) I'm going to perhaps give a less-than-helpful answer here, with music, as with most things, it depends on the intention behind it. The decadence of most modern pop music is intentional, as is the lifestyle around them, it is easy to see if you have a bit of knowledge about musical theory and how most of the songs, as mentioned, 'sound the same'. Its because they largely are and this is intentional, its the music industry relying on the 'ear worm' phenomenon for the music to get stuck in your head to be analysed over and over again, thereby making you listen to it more, thereby driving up ratings and so on. Meanwhile there are bands and songs and musical genres you likely never heard of on youtube getting millions of views and listens that you will never, for the life of you, ever hear on the radio. Ever. The Music industry, like the film, entertainment and animation industry, is purposefully corrupted, for the same ends. This is not to say all pop is bad, I am pretty Edward Sheeran when he came out was actually authentic, upon reflection, despite disliking him to begin with. And not all modern music is bad, as they say, even if they had bad beginnings. Rap and Hip Hop had horrendous beginnings, but it led to people like this who wrote absolute beautiful songs such as this: As for sin, listening to some music willingly, especially songs and music that denigrate God and enjoying them for that purpose, is very obviously sinful. Some music is genuinely harmful, from physical to spiritual levels (A good rule of thumb is to avoid any music that 'discordant'). That said, while classical may not be your thing, I would advise trying to play some gregorian chant or other religious music, (I recommend the youtube channel Adoration of the Cross which does explicitly nothing other than sacred music and songs in a variety of languages, Latin prominently, but also Old Church Slavonic for Eastern hymnals, psalms, pretty sure they even have some in Aramaic). It is particularly recommended to play Gregorian chant over your speakers according to some, good for helping one to sleep or otherwise relax from anxiety as well as being genuinely spiritually beneficial to hear it.
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