The discovery of cool. In theory.
Today I bought an album off a suggestion of a rather hip and young music store employee. My trepidations as a late 20 something not hip person were voiced by my internal dialogue. which spoke of how young the band looked, How young the girl with the suggestion was and how could these kids really know anything about music, because in my eyes, they look like they were just pulled from there mom’s tit. Well I gave the CD a listen and was reintroduced to cool .. the Band and album is named Foals, Antidotes. http://www.foals.co.uk/home.htm
While driving around I was getting a lesson is awesomeness from this album and began to think on the very nature of “Cool” of “hip” of the invention of trend. And this is some thoughts that I started kicking around.
People who are coming of age are more readily able to gain an understanding of “cool” because they are building and identifying themselves with any form of media and influence available. Because they are looking to find a piece of themselves in a new trend they are open to hear and understand what it is that the media is saying to them. Like radios who are open to receive the transmissions from around the world.
Now if the same people who are coming of age are perceptive enough and have a combination of intuition, perception and luck, they might be able to pull from very few inspirations and resources and create something that is cool. They do not get bogged down in the knowledge of music or art history. Now the knowledge of history is a double edge sword where at one edge there is a universe of inspiration and amazement in what others have done. The other edge is the loss of a individuals expression. How? Well if I am ever painting the night sky in blue spirals I will stop my expression and realize that it looks like a rip off of Starry Night by Van Gogh. The painting might not look like it but after I realize the similarity that is all I am going to be able to see. Death of expression, enthusiasm and the loss of cool. If I did not have the Knowledge of History and had been blissfully unaware I might have been able to make something whole my own and taken an idea into a new direction.. something that is purely my expression. something cool.
The next thing I thought about was assimilation of cool. Now I will go ahead and state that there is more shit out there than good stuff. Like a 18 year old pop star writing a biography. But, there is media out there that is pure in the expression, intelligent in creation and just really cool. So here is my idea on how to reach cool.
If you open yourself only to a little information or media that is the new young idea of cool then identify yourself with it and react in a honest development from that idea. Put your truth and expression on it regardless of the similarity of your project and any others that you know of . And create it with your full ability and enthusiasm.
It will be something of a personal expression, in relation of a stream of media that is relevant at the time and with enthusiasm and passion it will be cool
These kids out there making art are reinventing the wheel to the other kids who do not know what the wheel is. And sometimes the rediscovery of something like discovery is more encouraging than the knowledge of history. Get stupid for a while and just create something that glows with raw potential.
But this is just a theory and some ideas that I am kicking around right now.. I think I am going to play around with artist I like and see what happens.
What do you think? Write a response here or Drop me an email.
