Purity
September 18th
There is something deeply pleasurable about fuzzy distortion. About loudness of broken notes and sounds and rhythms. About a scream or yell or moan or emotional pleading or recall. About sudden changes in direction with unexpected pauses and restarts. There is a power that comes from the cavalcade of all the disjointed parts finally falling in place together to create a seamless melodic mess that makes it a robust and energetic whole.
And then there is purity. Purity of sound and expression and emotion. Each sound and note has a clarity of pure perfection. Each instrument and performer are a part of the completeness of creation, even when silent. Each sound is predictable based on the previous one, but still unexpected in its pitch and expression of sublimity. There is a clear immaculateness in that act of creation that is being performed right in front of us. There are no second takes. None are necessary.
At this point, I am not sure if I am writing about the song (“Inside Out” live performance by Spoon) or about art and life themselves. Possibly both.
That song, the first time I heard this live version, floored me in its beautiful perfectionism. I guess I have a good eye and ear for perfection in creation. And I have a need for perfection in many other aspects of everything that surrounds me. But once in a while, that perfection transcendence itself into a just indescribable purity. The purity is on display in this song where there are no unnecessary sounds or movements or even breaths. No filler, no matter how slight.
The creation of any work of art starts as an endeavor in purity, unfortunately, it quickly can descend into a show-off showcase of skill without much meaning. The trick is to know, or to learn, or to practice humbleness of stopping the adjusting of creation when the initial state of perfect purity is reached. And that is not that simple since to be a creator or an artist — is to be fundamentally vain.
