Writer's Block: Poetry

[evile]

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Honestly, I don't think my generation has any 'best minds'... I mean, come on, Curt Fricken Cobain, Mr. "I ate a shotgun once" was called "The Voice of Our Generation"...and I'm sorry but the man was an idiot.

No one in my generation has the attention span, the breadth or depth of education, or the moral wherewithal to compose or be reached by great poetry (or fine literature of any kind). And I'm as shallow, stupid, lazy, apathetic, selfish, and attention-deficient as the rest of the people I talk about, though perhaps marginally more self-aware.

To the people before and after my generation, who depend on us, or WILL depend on us for anything: I am deeply and thoroughly apologetic and embarassed. (But far too lazy and self-involved to do anything about it.)

Comments

Re: Point taken.

[thax.livejournal.com]

hold up there.

U2's lyrics are the same drivel as anywhere else. Listening, I'm compelled to stop and say, "these lyrics are stupid." Now, maybe I just haven't run across the songs you found best, having really only listened to their radio play. But maybe that is the root of the problem.
What makes it to radio or Empty-vee is the not the finest that the cream of our generation has to offer. The "really good stuff" is not readily available and suffering from a word of mouth sort of advertising. And that system is reinforced every time we buy from the big distributors...

Re: Point taken.

[angryneo.livejournal.com]

Yes. Thank you. You have hit the nail on the head. Most of U2's better stuff has never been radio friendly, only controversial even. However, I used U2 as an example of the Beat Generation's influence. The music is what sells records not the lyrics. Hell. Listen to any musical "act" today. What garbage, right? It needs to be catchy. Most of it IS drivel, I agree. And yes, some of U2's electronica/pop-infused stuff made me cringe.

Now in U2's defense, here is a band that emerged from the late 70s punk scene. Punk (not that neo-punk shit either) was raw and real and angry. There was a message. That's the point to this thread. The influence that resonates in unlikely places few and far between as they might be. U2 came from that. When an artist "gets it", he or she becomes relevant.

As you mentioned, the good stuff suffers because no one knows about it. We are to blame for that for buying from the big distributors. All packaging and merchandising. Music (and art) are no longer personal. It's sold in bulk to us, the masses of comsumerist sheep. Which is what "Howl" was predicting.