& you have it all wrong! The music of AIC does tell of their personal struggles and what was happening in Seattle with many musicians. Its so sad that journalists applauded Kurt (news flash - he was an addict ad well) and continue to teardown Layne. He did try to get help on multiple occasions, but he couldn't escape.
Such an interesting interpretation of the article. I can definitely see that Layne tried to fight on multiple occasions - my thought is more around the songs themselves and whether AIC lyrics are about fighting for that escape or not. The music is beautiful and sad, from start to finish, and the question is whether listening to beautiful, sad music keeps us in the same place as before.
I totally understand why your response sounded defensive. It’s natural to get defensive when people talk about someone they didn’t know personally when you did. Still, I don’t believe the person who wrote this was applauding Kurt over Layne. He also spoke on how AIC music was all about personal struggle. I don’t think the author was tearing down Layne at all. This point of this article is for us to ask ourselves if listening to music that causes an emotional response like sadness or heartache is a good or healthy way to process those emotions or does it cause the us to get stuck in those emotions? I know I listen to NIN song A Quiet Place To Sleep on repeat so many nights in my young teenage years. I struggled with depression and insomnia plus all the teenage angst and that song brought all the emotions I push down to the surface and made me feel all of it. Probably wasn’t the healthiest way to deal with my emotions but it wasn’t the worst way either.
Great read, the way I see it is that artist making the song receives the benefits of art as a process. The act of writing the lyrics and composing the song can be cathartic and transformative; an expression of themselves. The act of sharing this music with us turns that art into a product inherently. If we're lucky, however, that song can become a process for the listener too.
I think the critique of sad-music-as-therapy is interesting to consider, and I think you frame the debate openly and honestly. I don't think a downer song has the same "purgation of unwanted/unhelpful emotion"-quality that defines a classical cathartic experience: there's some wallowing built into those moments, a willful desire to not be better. But I do think there's something to be said for the feeling like you have a friend at the bottom.
Feeling like they have to commodify that connection is at the heart of a lot of successful artists' problems, I'd wager.
Yes, it is incredibly sad, sometimes depressive music. Most people don't read the lyrics and don't know the pain behind them. But for people like myself, who have lived it and somehow come out the other side of addiction, it's comforting. Their music got me through some very difficult times and I believe I am as strong as I am now because of people like Layne and his music. I love Alice in Chains for many reasons, but helping me through the bad times is reason number one. Thank you Layne, rest in peace.
I knew Layne personally
& you have it all wrong! The music of AIC does tell of their personal struggles and what was happening in Seattle with many musicians. Its so sad that journalists applauded Kurt (news flash - he was an addict ad well) and continue to teardown Layne. He did try to get help on multiple occasions, but he couldn't escape.
Such an interesting interpretation of the article. I can definitely see that Layne tried to fight on multiple occasions - my thought is more around the songs themselves and whether AIC lyrics are about fighting for that escape or not. The music is beautiful and sad, from start to finish, and the question is whether listening to beautiful, sad music keeps us in the same place as before.
I totally understand why your response sounded defensive. It’s natural to get defensive when people talk about someone they didn’t know personally when you did. Still, I don’t believe the person who wrote this was applauding Kurt over Layne. He also spoke on how AIC music was all about personal struggle. I don’t think the author was tearing down Layne at all. This point of this article is for us to ask ourselves if listening to music that causes an emotional response like sadness or heartache is a good or healthy way to process those emotions or does it cause the us to get stuck in those emotions? I know I listen to NIN song A Quiet Place To Sleep on repeat so many nights in my young teenage years. I struggled with depression and insomnia plus all the teenage angst and that song brought all the emotions I push down to the surface and made me feel all of it. Probably wasn’t the healthiest way to deal with my emotions but it wasn’t the worst way either.
Great read, the way I see it is that artist making the song receives the benefits of art as a process. The act of writing the lyrics and composing the song can be cathartic and transformative; an expression of themselves. The act of sharing this music with us turns that art into a product inherently. If we're lucky, however, that song can become a process for the listener too.
Solid Panera burn 👏👏👏
I think the critique of sad-music-as-therapy is interesting to consider, and I think you frame the debate openly and honestly. I don't think a downer song has the same "purgation of unwanted/unhelpful emotion"-quality that defines a classical cathartic experience: there's some wallowing built into those moments, a willful desire to not be better. But I do think there's something to be said for the feeling like you have a friend at the bottom.
Feeling like they have to commodify that connection is at the heart of a lot of successful artists' problems, I'd wager.
Yes, it is incredibly sad, sometimes depressive music. Most people don't read the lyrics and don't know the pain behind them. But for people like myself, who have lived it and somehow come out the other side of addiction, it's comforting. Their music got me through some very difficult times and I believe I am as strong as I am now because of people like Layne and his music. I love Alice in Chains for many reasons, but helping me through the bad times is reason number one. Thank you Layne, rest in peace.