Take It Easy

The following is an excerpt of an email sent from Art to Will on 8 October 2014.

Don Henley

One thing that sticks out to me that you said was the Beowulfian element, which is another archetype that the project takes up. Carlton descends into the volcanic caverns where dinosaurs, unfrozen by volcanic activity, traipse through tunnels lit by streams of flowing lava. Carlton or Steffi, in sea monster form, terrorizes the Atlantic; maybe he or she has a cave down at the bottom. Heck, maybe in Atlantis for all I know...

Christ showed us how to enter the cave and emerge victorious in an unprecedented way. Yes, he put Death in chains, but not like Beowulf or Sisyphus.

The Christian artist needs to follow his example.

Another thing that I hear in your "reminder that life is good and beautiful" is the spirit of comedy. This is the same spirit we were talking about a few months ago. As I've mentioned before, I see this spirit most clearly in the genres of Country and EDM.

I'm sure I've painted with too broad a brush due to my never having personally associated with either of these scenes. But one thing I've noticed is the sense of inclusion. The artist up on stage just wants to party with the fans. To some degree, the EDM artist of today is just a leader of listeners, a first among equals. Concepts of private ownership, intellectual property, creative rights, artist and audience...all these blur within this milieu. The fundamental doctrine is the universal destination of music: everyone gets to join in the fun. Music isn't anyone's property; it's for the good of the community. You can add to it as much as you want, but you can't hoard it for your own selfish purposes (e.g. Don Henley).

As a person with a greater affinity for rock 'n' roll and rap, there are a few things that make it difficult for me to get into this mindset. I still believe the story that there's something really very special about me (cf. Don Henley). And yes, in a certain sense, that's true...just probably not in the sense that I believe it. The rock 'n' roll/rap artist imagines himself on a pedestal, a throne, perhaps even a cross. He may have a sense of his music as providing some kind of service, but it's usually pretty unconvincing. The rock 'n' roller's ethics and values are the furthest thing from those of the larger community. He doesn't, as the country artist does, sing about being a "meat-and-potatoes" (or t-shirts-and-blue-jeans or cowboy-boots-and-pickup-trucks) kind of guy. He experiences rarefied thoughts and emotions that place him well above his fellows. And yes, there is something of the stylite in him: the emaciated, wild-eyed prophet who stands aloof.

And yes, he is a hackneyed type. But so, for that matter, is the comic type expressed in the Country and EDM genres. The question is not which is less hackneyed but which is better.

You convinced me a few months back that comedy is the superior genre and the more Christian disposition. But this begins to touch on a topic that has concerned both of us: the issue of intellectual property and creative rights. I have a strong sense that you can't be comic unless you're ready to give freely. We are not exempt from the Christ's words: "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give" (Mt. 10:8). While I love ideas like Wu Tang Clan's "private" record, I don't like how Don Henley is spending his twilight years tracking down and suing young artists.

Jesus follows his earlier statement with "The laborer deserves his keep," but that seems different than what Henley is asserting through his lawsuits.