A Philosophical Discussion in Contemporary Music: Janes Addiction and Bush :: Music Musical Jane Addiction Bush Essays

A Philosophical Discussion in contemporary Music Janes Addiction and Bush The purpose of this paper is to examine philosophical and theological themes in the work of two modern musical groups. The alternative rock bands Janes Addiction and Bush will be the guidance of this study. I have chosen these two artists since I have spy what I believe to be contrasting ideas in their work. Perry Farrell was the songwriter for Janes Addiction. His bands release in 1988, titled Nothings Shocking contains views on God, mans place in the world, and didactics on living a living that adheres to dit philosophical views. Songs on the album include Ocean Size, a memoir about how life should be lived Had A Dad, Perry Farrells beliefs about God and Ted, Just bring It..., that will be discussed in more detail below. Bushs lyrics, written by Gavin Rossdale on the album Sixteen Stone, argue at present with the ideas contained on Nothings Shocking. I believe that his song Everything Zen is a respons e to Perry Farrells beliefs.I will first travail to fit the ideas of Perry Farrell into a philosophical Zen framework. A good starting signal point is the song Ocean Size that points to the Zen theme of a oneness with nature. The mouther in the song seeks to get beyond his opinion self, and become like the ocean. The almost interminable suffering of human human cosmoss is described by Farrell as, Like a tooth aching a chaffer (26). He writes of his own human weaknesses, I was made with a aggregate of stone/ to be broken/ with one hard blow. (27-9). His frailty contrasts with the force out of nature, Weve seen the ocean/ brake on the shore/ come together with no harm done (210-12). The songs verse states, It aint easy living.../ I loss to be/ as deep/ as the ocean/ mother ocean (213-17). He calls upon the common theme that public lecture to fail to convey the true meanings in Zen with, I want to be like the ocean/ no talking/ all performance (221-23). In the words of Lao -tzu Those who know do not speak Those who speak do not know (Watts xii-xiii). Only through an escape from his thinking, talking self can the author can stop experiencing the suffering of being human. Zen themes may be familiar to a student of religion, since they go up from Buddhism. The Buddha, Sidhartha Gautama, is said to have achieved his four noble truths about the nature of macrocosm through meditation.