The aesthetics of perfection

Over the last year or so it's become increasingly clear to me that I am attracted to songs more than I am to albums.  This brief post (my 300th!) is a first attempt to try and work through this.

I seem to love songs that encapsulate something that I will call the aesthetics of perfection. What I think I mean by this is an aesthetic that finds pleasure in works that perfectly embody an aesthetic or genre. I'm aware that this definition is somewhat tautological, so let me also put it another way: the aesthetics of perfection  is an aesthetic that finds pleasure in the encapsulation of the macro within the micro; an aesthetic that finds pleasure in the embodiment of an entire genre in a single work of art.

The aesthetics of perfection can be found in an album or even an entire oeuvre but it is more acutely expressed in a single song.

The aesthetics of perfection distill art into a heady brew that can be overpowering (overly sweet or overly alcoholic depending on which metaphor you prefer).

The aesthetics of perfection involves a replication of genre rules that is so perfectly achieved that it transcends mere replication. Cliche is turned into the sublime;  the overly familiar is turned into the wondrously unique.

It seems to me that the aesthetics of perfection are to be found most regularly in the most critically derided, populist musical genres. What those who don't share the aesthetic see as hackneyed trash, aesthetes with the appropriate sensibility see as transcendent.

I'm going to give three examples of the aesthetics of perfection.  Initially I tried to write descriptions of why I think the aesthetics of perfection beats so strongly in them, but in the end time and language defeated me. To a certain extent, the aesthetics of perfection are so ineffable they resist anything but the most painstaking description (and I don't have the time to devote to this just yet).

I've used youtube inserts not because the videos are particularly interesting, but because they provide an easy easiest way of inserting music into blog posts:

1) Judas Priest 'Painkiller'

2) Dragonforce 'Operation Ground and Pound'

3) Man 2 Man meets Man Parrish 'Male Stripper'

Comments

[ignition]

That Dragonforce video is awful (except for the solo, as always with DF). The album version of the song is much better anyway.

[Invisible Oranges]

I've been mulling over this post for a few days, and I think you should call it the "aesthetics of perfect embodiment." "Aesthetics of perfection" implies some sort of universal, well, perfection, while you're talking about a perfect and complete representation of something else that doesn't have to be perfect. Dragonforce song, for example - I'm curious exactly what it is you think it perfectly embodies.

To digress a little, I think the "aesthetics of perfection" might be a self-defeating term, as the pursuit of perfection usually fails. When one makes a Top 40 pop song, one usually aims toward some sort of technical perfection and thus polishes away any sort of imperfections or nuances that would give it soul in the first place. Thus, it ends up being technically perfect and artistically bankrupt (though of course the latter is a subjective determination).

[Keith Kahn-Harris]

Yes perhaps 'aesthetics of perfect embodiment' captures what I am talking about better.

Dragonforce? Well what I think is remarkable about them is the way they seem to so totally master metal cliches and they wield them with such glee that they somehow transcend cliche...

[CRM]

Behind the ball here, but bro -- Dragonforce seems to actually be laughing at metal (they're being snooty about it) without adding anything original to the mix. I can see what you're saying with the other videos, but Dragonforce is like listening to Michael Angelo Batio play through a Nightwish or In Flames rig. It doesn't succinctly capture anything about metal, but creates an argument against the actual genre. It creates a poorly exaggerated stereotype. It's like what record execs who can't distinguish what makes up a quality metal band would think a quality metal band sounds like. Wait a minute...

In other words, Dragonforce is positively soulless. Their popularity absolutely eludes my understanding; I'm pretty sure it's ONLY a matter of aesthetics here. Their stuff is like a new-wave of glam metal.

Seriously, Bon Jovi is much better than Dragonforce. One could write a more critical analysis of Dragonforce, but that'd be putting more effort into composing than they do. Ahahaha!