5/24/11

            I was most intrigued this week by how accessible metal music is on a global level.  Not accessible in terms of it is easy to get your hands on it, but how easily different cultures around the world can absorb metal.  I believe that you can take metal music into any culture in the world and there will be many people who are turned off by it.  But much like here in the States and Europe, there will be just enough people turned on by it to create a thriving metal scene.  I think that there are certain aspects to metal music that can be appreciated across all cultures.  It is fast, heavy, loud, offensive, rebellious, etc. and no matter which culture you go to there are individuals within that culture who will be drawn to it. 

It is also interesting that metal may have so much appeal because no culture is perfect.  As we discussed in class, cultures in Brazil and Indonesia are very poor but metal has found a way into the society, but on the other end of the spectrum northern/western Europe, especially Norway, is very affluent but metal has also found a strong scene there.  It seems that metal is very versatile in its ability to address certain issues.  In poorer nations it is used to escape and relieve the stresses of a very hard life due to social inequality.  But in richer nations it is used to escape the lack of stress and the mundane existence of an overly equal life.

This brings me to a different thought it was having.  How is it that “metal”, being such an efficient outlet for dis-enchanted individuals, can be such a solid and concrete genre?  For example, if a person is into the Thrash Metal scene they adhere to a certain sound, style of play, style of dress, ect.  And the same thing goes for Glam, Death, and Black Metal.  They all have certain rules that one needs to conform to in order to belong to the scene or genre.  I really don’t have an answer and it appears to be a paradox sometimes because we have a genre of music with various sub-genres, but each sub-genre adheres to a certain code, but at the same time metal is very good at being absorbed into various cultures that are different from each other.  I say this because I really don’t see Country music, which is popular in the States having a global scene.  The same can go for Gangster Rap, Jamaican Steel Drum Troops, and the Vienna Boys Eunuch Choir (just kidding), but you get my drift. 

Perhaps metal just has a way of tapping into something about human nature that is cross cultural, something that is ingrained into our DNA.  Who knows, maybe someday geneticists will find the gene responsible for appreciation of metal music.

Blog Entry 5/16/11

            This week’s material covered gender and sexuality in metal.  Personally I think that if one was to express themselves openly the metal scene would be the place to do it.  The whole metal genre is all about being an individual.  Most of the messages being promoted are the fact that a person should celebrate their individuality and be neo-individualistic.

            So if we take a look at Rob Halford from Judas Priests and Gaahl from Gorgoroth and the fact that they came out of the closet, it really isn’t a big deal.  In my opinion they are just practicing what they preach.  They sing mostly about pushing the boundaries or societal norms, not conforming, and living life free from oppression in a lifestyle that they see most fitting.  So then why would they choose to keep their true identities hidden?  It just doesn’t make sense for them to do so.  The reaction from the metal scene didn’t really surprise me either.  Most people seemed to be accepting and okay with it, but it they weren’t they would simply voice their opinion and leave it be.

            If we switch gears over to the Glam Metal scene in LA, we can see examples of hyper-masculinity in the form of men dressing up in lingerie, lace, and make up.  Again, metal seems to be a safe environment to do pretty much whatever you want without much ridicule.  Now, there was ridicule from different genres of metal.  For example the Thrash Metal scene was not too keen on the Glam Metal scene only because they disagreed on the methods on which they would use to achieve the same goal.  Both Glam and Thrash Metal scene members wanted to play music, live free, make lots of money, party, and get laid.  The Glam Metal members decided to dress up as girls to achieve that goal where Thrash Metal members did not.  I guess the point I am trying to make here is that Metal genre as a whole did not have a problem with Rob Halford or Gaahl because they were being true to themselves and genuine about their individuality and sexuality, where as members of the Glam Metal scene were perhaps not very true to themselves and they were just following a trend.  But I may be wrong; maybe the Glam Metal members were being true to themselves.

            Addressing the issue of women in metal tends to make me a little sad.  In the Glam Metal scene the only status women had were to be objects to have sex with.  They seemed to have very little value and they also seemed to be expendable.  But if we fast forward to the present day, we find that there are numerous metal bands that have women in them.  These women mostly tend to be front members of various groups and more commonly vocalist.  This is a big step forward from the Glam Metal scene but it still feels a little weird.  To me it doesn’t really feel genuine because the female’s role in the band seems to be streamlined and overly commercialized.  If you were to listen to a lot of the songs by female fronted metal bands you would find that they all sound kind of similar and over produced, it’s not really raw.  Then if you look at all the females who are in the bands they all kind of have the same image and they are often “sexed up” in ways most male metal members are not.  There is nothing that is extremely individualistic about it to me.  Now there are the exceptions like Arch Enemies Angela Gossow but other than that it is all generic to me. 

            I find it to be interesting because metal allows men to dress up like women, act in debauched ways, express their hyper masculinity and sexuality and pretty much do whatever they want.  But the women’s role seems to be largely contained within a certain boundary of acceptance.  Even the women who front metal bands, are they expressing anything individual or are they confined by the expectations of the music business and insecurities of male members of the metal scene?

5/6/11

            This week’s reading dealt with experiencing the scene.  The scene is very important to heavy metal and extreme metal because it allows individuals who are into the music to interact with others who are also into the same music.  The scene also allows members of the scene to escape the mundane monotony of everyday life. 

            For example most individuals in the United States work 40 hours a week at a job that they most likely do not like but they do it just to pay the bills.  They wake up every morning and go to work then go home and go to sleep.  The weekend is time off but I think that most people are still stuck doing things they really don’t want to do during their time off too.  But if a person is involved with a scene, more specifically a metal scene, they have the opportunity to break away from the boring existence of everyday life.

            To participate in the metal scene usually means that you need to go to a metal show.  This is where the outlet takes place.  A person can dress differently, act differently, and partake in actions that otherwise would not be allowed in most places and situations in society. 

            This escape from reality that the scene provides can be healthy and productive.  But the danger lies in when the scene itself becomes just as mundane as everyday life.  Then the excitement of the scene is gone and the boundaries are pushed even further. 

I would like to take a step back and suggest that it is not wholly dangerous that the scene becomes mundane because that is when new innovations come to be.  We can take the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the scene in the United States.  There were tons of young people who were listening to the NWOBHM and there was a certain scene that was associated with that.  But at some point the NWOBHM scene became mundane in itself and the boundaries were pushed.  The result in the United States was the formation of Thrash Metal.  So in this sense the fact that a scene became mundane resulted in musical innovation and the creation of a new genre.

But getting back to how it can be dangerous.  If the most extreme scenes like black/death metal are becoming more and more mundane for those who are seeking an escape or a thrill then where else is there to go?  I would suggest the video we watched in class is a good example of where it can go.  I may sound like an old man but what they hell was that festival about?  To me it just looked like a bunch of kids getting together to listen to bad music and get wasted and high.  Which is fine I guess but how is it any less mundane than doing it in your parent’s basement?

To me, the kids in the video are all dis-enchanted and they are sick of their mundane lives.  So they go to a festival seeking thrills and excitement, anything to make them feel alive, but they have reached a point where there really isn’t any other level of experiencing a scene to be had.  There may be initial excitement and anticipation of the event but soon the realization sets in that the scene is just as mundane as everything else.  The end result is not the feeling of being empowered, or a sense of community, or a sense of being a unique individual, but rather even more anomie.  So the individual, feeling alienated and hopeless, gets wasted on drugs or alcohol, or engages in other activities like fighting and wresting, pretty much anything that will give them a sensation. 

Getting back to metal.  The metal scene is in a state of constant tug of war if you will. You have one side of metal that is exciting and that allows members of the scene to escape life for a while, but on the other side you have members of the scene who may find the scene becoming more mundane so they push the envelope to make it more exciting.  But at the core of it all is metal itself.  So the metal scene will probably never deteriorate into what we saw in the film because metal music is all about maintaining control, empowerment, strength, survival of the fittest, etc.  It is all about pushing boundaries but never at the expense of becoming too self destructive or self wallowing,  there are the exceptions but when those occur they are short lived or no longer a member of the scene. 

Blog Entry 5/2/11

            After reading chapters 1 and 2 of Extreme Metal I find that my knowledge of metal music ends with Metallica, Megadeath, Exodus, etc and the 1980’s and early 1990’s.  With that being said I find that as I read into the more extreme versions of metal I am becoming more aware of a scene that I always knew existed but never became affiliated with.

            What struck me most in the reading is the constant struggle within extreme metal to be a part of a scene but at the same time not conforming to any set of rules or norms.  The whole point of extreme metal, black metal or death metal, is to live outside the norms of society.  But as I continued reading I found that to be a member of the extreme metal scene means that you need to conform to some sort of norm to fit in.  This ranges from the style of clothing worn, the type of hair style that is acceptable, the makeup that is worn, to the style of music being played along with the lyrical content being sung.  I am very curious to see where the reading goes in explaining how this balance, or tension, plays out in the extreme metal scene because if you take a look at the scene itself, there is definitely a code and a community that exists, but at the same time the scene itself is advocating neo-individualism and separation from all norms of society.  Perhaps with further reading I will come closer to an answer.

            Also I would like to point out that the concepts of power and control are paramount in the extreme metal scene.  I think that the musical style of playing says it all.  To an outsider the sound of death or black metal may just sound like noise.  But to the members in the scene or to the trained ear the music is extremely controlled.  As pointed out on page 31 through 34, the music is pushed to its limit as far as speed, intricacy, and volume is concerned but it is always controlled.  But as I think about it more in depth I find another paradox.  If extreme metal, especially the lyrics, is all about no limits, extremes, anarchy, and the acting on animal/primal impulses; then how can bands and scene members be so dedicated to the ridged structure of the music?  It seems as if extreme metal is bipolar in nature.  The music on one hand is very controlled and exists within certain acceptable parameters (meaning no 10 minute freestyle jam during a live show), but at the same time the lyric content contains disturbing issues such as murder, rape, death, suicide, torture, etc.  But then again, perhaps the lyrics are forced to exist within the same parameters as the music.  Would it be very black/death metal to do a metal song with lyrics like “your body is wonderland”?

            Ultimately I am fascinated with how extreme metal can advocate for no rules, norms, or boundaries, but at the same time the genre is considerably tied down by rules, norms, and boundaries.  It will be fun to see how this plays out.