A_H wrote:Being645 wrote: I find it remarkable, that Von made use of that phrase referring to Far Parade...
chosing an expression someone thought up centuries ago does also fit on various levels, typical Sisters...
It reminds me of what he says in the foreword to Postcards From Above the Chemist:
"...the King James Bible, Shakespeare and all the rest. These are in my bloodstream, often as much of a curse as a blessing..."
"There should be room for any number of layers in a song [or quote, apparently]... I write from a philologist's point of view, and as someone who has read a lot of stuff, although I hope you don't have to have read a lot of stuff to appreciate them in context. Any references should be a bonus for the like-minded, and it's sufficient for one of us to have a vague idea why the mere sound of a certain word does things to the psyche, resonates when set against another, and so on"
Oh yes, I love that foreword. Also it's a wonderful book! Anyway, I just can't relax as much as to reading anything deeply nowadays.
So often enough, I gotta rely on my capacity of merely having resonate consonants, vowels, grammar, sound and my personal storage
to imagine a bit of an idea.
A_H wrote:
For what it's worth, I'm not really sure what Von's driving at when he describes Far Parade as "even more absolutely Milan" than Under the Gun. It seems to chime with the above-quoted sentiments: there'll be several levels to it - the grammatically tortured quote; the allusions that quote conjures of usurpation, the need for absolute control/power, overweening ambition and so forth...; then the conjuration or Milan itself as a place and as an idea; then, doubtless some personal reference/in-joke related to either city or quote...
I could hardly express it better and probably not like that at all ...
... About any personal reference/in-joke, I have no idea, either.
Milan is known as "the moral centre" of Italy. In addition, it's been the place from where Mussolini started his "March to Rome".
IMHO,
Under The Gun represents a complete loss of believe in love within the cultural and moral environment we encounter, turning to the conventionally decided opposite of loving behaviour, i.e. destruction, out of despair and violating the "rule". In that context, I really appreciate your quote of " usurpation, the need for absolute control/power, overweening ambition" as within relations all such motivations are widely accepted under the name of love while in effect equating usage, exploitation along emotion and (make-)belief.
Everything is in order to achieve societal success and thus - recognition. At times and in former times anyway, the major purpose of - marriage, as is the term.
Far Parade goes way further. The protagonist has long given up: the belief in his own capacities, the believe in other peoples' will and means to communicate at a substantial level, the hope for some real intimacy and recognition. Still, he sees no escape from complying with certain roles to uphold an existence; and he's used to accepting the "circumstances", developed a few means of countenance. An observer-player, withdrawn, starving slowly, deeply weakened after a series of vain hopes and efforts.
He watches "society" with frustration, disappointment, boredom and distaste. He feels (and is) excluded along societal conventions, while at the same time he excludes himself. Out of contempt and disgust for said conventions, he is unable to participate in common events of recreation, entertainment, pleasure or in emerging movements, that might address basic societal ills, for relations mean progress (or not), mean money (or not), mean love (or not), all of the "common" corrupted/corrupting kind.
Everything has become a cheap business following the ever same rules like some standard group dance and its spectators, where recognition accounts for nothing but achievement, assessment and reward determining the inclusion/exclusion/chances for participation of the individiual which in itself doesn't have any value at all.
So far my impression at first sight ... - but whether "that adds up to a hill of beans" or might contribute to clearing things up ... I leave upon you to evaluate that in context ...
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A_H wrote:
Sorry, this has gone a bit off-topic...
Not at all ...
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Btw, did you ever notice that the paralysing loss of motivation, hope and perpective is called laziness mostly by those who are too lazy to spend any effort on others beyond taking the best of them? Thus often enough causing the "laziness" they love to complain about. IMHO, the whole term is such a useful nasty little means of emotional blackmail ...
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never bought into that stuff. Pass the crystal spread the tarot in illusion comfort lies.