Niezsche Contra Wagner - Hinds, Solar Gap

"One walks into the sea, gradually loses one's secure footing, and finally surrenders oneself to the elements without reservation: one must swim. In older music, what one had to do in the dainty, or solemn, or fiery back and forth, quicker and slower, was something quite different, namely, to dance... Wagner wanted a different kind of movement; he overthrew the physiological supposition of previous music. Swimming, floating--no longer walking and dancing." (Wagner as a Dancer, pg. 666)

"Today we consider it a matter of decency not to wish to see everything naked... one should have more respect for the bashfulness with which nature has hidden behind riddles and iridescent uncertainties. Perhaps truth is a woman who has reasons for not letting us see her reasons?" (Epilogue, pg. 689)

I found it difficult to grasp the concept in class of pop music being what Nietzsche thought of Wagner, and of hip hop being what he thought of Bizet. I think it was biased of us, and I don't think it's that simple. I found the analogy unhelpful. I think Nietzsche says a lot of things, at times even contradictory, in an attempt to describe something much more complex. I'm uncertain about what type of music Nietzsche would like today, and choosing a song this week was challenging.

The first passage I selected is from Nietzsche before his break with Wagner. He describes the type of music that is old (music that inspires dancing---perhaps he did not like that dancing is for the masses and is a part of popular culture) and the type of music that is new (that which inspires swimming, floating). In the second passage, Nietzsche talks about bashfulness as being a part of nature. Nature is mysterious, he seems to say, and we should respect and appreciate that, as if we should leave the enigmas of nature alone.

As additional notes: I have a problem with Nietzsche's remarks about women... here and in the Case of Wagner, where he describes hysteria, which is historically associated with women. He also likens nerves with women, suggesting the weakness of nerves. Lastly, I wonder about subjectivity, because people respond to different music differently. This song might induce in me feelings of swimming, floating, and mystery, but perhaps it does not in other people. I don't know what Nietzsche would say about that.