So, I’m a little late. But better late then never, right?
Once again I get my inspiration for this weeks rant from my Philosophy class. A few weeks back we discussed Kurt Cobain’s “suicide” letter. Our assignment was in part to compare Cobain’s letter to Beethoven’s Testament. We eventually got to the fact that Cobain committed suicide and Beethoven did not. My Professor believed that it was in part due to the fact that the type of music that Beethoven created was superior. Beethoven felt he had more to contribute to the world and Cobain felt he had done all he could. I didn’t agree with the Professor but I didn’t argue. I could tell he really wanted someone to. “How could someone who lives in this day and age believe that Ludwig van Beethoven is superior to the great Kurt Cobain,” he must have been thinking. He waited and no one bit. He said that classical music is ultimately superior to rock and roll and modern music in general. And I didn’t say a word. I’m pretty disappointed with myself. Because I think that the comment he made was completely false. Now, I’ve been listening to and playing classical music since I was in 3rd grade. I can appreciate classical music on a level that most don’t. But to dismiss an entire genre of music as being inferior. I just don’t see it. He claimed that in order for music to be considered art, it had to have certain elements. One of which was beauty. Okay, I’ll give him that. Nirvana’s music wasn’t necessarily beautiful. But I think there’s so much more to art then beauty. What about the feelings that music can invoke in a person? What about the connection that the artist makes with the listener. I’ll gladly make the argument that Nirvana’s music affected people in a more profound way then Beethoven’s music ever could. Don’t get me wrong, not all music is art. But Kurt Cobain was one of the greatest voices of this or any generation.
Remember, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
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