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Daughters can be described similarly to how Nietzsche describes
the Greeks in Zarathustra, "...beautiful and accomplished, this
thoroughly sane, universally envied species of man-was it conceivable
that they, of all people, should have stood in need of tragedy-
or indeed, of art?" This question can most definitely be raised
on both ends, that being of the ancient Greek people and of
the collective musical unit known as none other than Daughters.
Nietzsche, through his book The Birth of Tragedy explains why
the Greek civilization, a great and triumphant era of peoples,
indeed invented tragedy stemming from the conflict of the Apollonian
and the Dionysian spirits and why in fact Daughters indeed follows
a similar pattern according to Nietzsche and his theory of art
and music as a whole.
Now we must provide a short synopsis of what Nietzsche's theory
embodies. When he speaks of the Apollonian spirit he conveys
it as being what is "self control, and civilized, a sort of
oneness that is thrown off balance by the Dionysian spirit,
which embodies frenzy and intoxication, these two serve as counterbalances
for one another. One can not exist without the other present
in some form of the other.
When looking at the particular piece that is our topic of discussion,
being that of Daughters, we must indeed take into consideration
that the music, which encompass songs spanning roughly within
an average length of less than a minute, still provides nonetheless
a true representation of Nietzsche's aesthetic theory. When
the music first starts, you can easily tell within the first
few seconds that the guitars clearly seem to embody what Nietzsche
refers to as the "Dionysian" spirit. It reflects constant frenzy
which can be comparable to the moments of short spanning madness
that comes across all of us periodically but soon leaves before
it can do real damage to anyone. Contrary to the two guitars
playing seemingly maddening squeals, the bass and drums seem
to fit perfectly into place is that of the "Apollonian" spirit,
which seems to give a structure and form to the insanity of
the guitars. At first the Apollonian tendencies of these two
instruments may not be apparent, but as one truly listens throughout
the whole album, they are what give it the form which is so
very essential to attain music of such a superb and original
quality.
Last but definitely not least we come to the vocals, which according
to Nietzsche, is "Apollonian" in nature, which is accurate to
some extent, the lyrics that are heard on this album (which
average four or five lines) shows order in its pattern over
the music, but when evaluated closer one could see that its
content shows clear evidence of a heavy Dionysian presence,
be it that some are so crazy, they have no decipherable meaning.
Daughters, whom not only follow the musical philosophies of
the epic civilization that was ancient Greece, but also follow
the work ethic they embraced, by having such vigorous touring
habits, the nearest one spanning nearly four months in length.
Daughters seems intent on building an empire more vast than
the ancient Greeks could ever dream possible.
According to Schopenhauer, "Music manifests itself as will."
Nietzsche somewhat agrees with this, he refutes this general
claim by professing that music can possibly represent some aspect
of the will, but he feels that it is truly impossible for music
to represent the "nature of the will". When it comes to the
piece in question, I must say that if Nietzsche were alive today
and heard this particular Daughters release, he would think
twice before making the statement mentioned above. Daughters
are the representation of not just the will of one, but of five,
and if the true nature of will could be represented in a sense
mentioned by Nietzsche, I think that this release would personify
it.
In Closing, Daughters represents a true clash of the Dionysian
and the Apollonian spirit in a distinct and clear fashion, with
enough energy and will to make songs that are under a minute
personify the relationship between insanity and order more so
than anything played in the mainstream of what is considered
"music" today. This representation, according to Nietzsche is,
is the true absolute essence of all forms of art. |
