Excerpts
Philosophy Lessons from Metal Magazines: Summoning
Hi! This is a picture from Summoning’s website. They are metal. Some really nice person (here on the Giant!) told me I should write about their Tolkien fetish, in regard to literature, so I tried to get my husband to do it (I have never read Tolkien and he recites that shit in his sleep), but he told me to fuck off. Also, he hit tennis balls at me as hard as he could today after I beat him 7/6 in the third in a almost 3 hour match we played. I was embarrassed for him being a bad sport- he’s normally a good sport. But I fucking WON MOTHERFUCKA! Anyway, there is a FANTASTIC inteview with them at the wonderful anus.com. In it, is this great quote from Kant:
In fact, it is absolutely impossible to make out by experience with complete certainty a single case in which the maxim of an action, however right in itself, rested simply on moral grounds and on the conception of duty. Sometimes it happens that with the sharpest self-examination we can find nothing beside the moral principle of duty which could have been powerful enough to move us to this or that action and to so great a sacrifice; yet we cannot from this infer with certainty that it was not really some secret impulse of self-love, under the false appearance of duty, that was the actual determining cause of the will. We like them to flatter ourselves by falsely taking credit for a more noble motive; whereas in fact we can never, even by the strictest examination, get completely behind the secret springs of action; since, when the question is of moral worth, it is not with the actions which we see that we are concerned, but with those inward principles of them which we do not see. — Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals
It was meeeeee!
(in evil metal voice:) Ash nazg durbatuluk, Ash nazg gimbatul, Ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!
The relationship between Black Metal and Tolkien is very weird – Tolkien was a devout Christian, but has been taken up in a big way by the hordes of darkness. Varg Vikernes, convicted murderer and church-arsonist, called his one-man-band Burzum, which is “darkness” in the Black Speech of Mordor (cf. the quote above).
Perhaps one could paraphrase Blake on Milton, that Tolkien wrote so vividly about Orcs and Darkness, and so cheesily about elves and hobbits, that he was “of the devil’s party without knowing it”.
It was meeeeee!
(in evil metal voice:) Ash nazg durbatuluk, Ash nazg gimbatul, Ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!
The relationship between Black Metal and Tolkien is very weird – Tolkien was a devout Christian, but has been taken up in a big way by the hordes of darkness. Varg Vikernes, convicted murderer and church-arsonist, called his one-man-band Burzum, which is “darkness” in the Black Speech of Mordor (cf. the quote above).
Perhaps one could paraphrase Blake on Milton, that Tolkien wrote so vividly about Orcs and Darkness, and so cheesily about elves and hobbits, that he was “of the devil’s party without knowing it”.
Addenda: interesting post on Tolkien here:
http://mairangibay.blogspot.com/2009/05/tolkien-industry.html
Addenda: interesting post on Tolkien here:
http://mairangibay.blogspot.com/2009/05/tolkien-industry.html
Ross! Thanks for telling me about this band. I’m sort of a devout Christian although not really. But the fact that Tolkien was in no way seems strange or ironic of whatever that he was then able to write well about evil or darkness. Most Christians have some obsession with evil- because they believe in it- and so- well. Evil, Satan, hell- all Christian beliefs.
I love that quote or paraphrase of Blake on Milton. But not sure if I agree with it- although I would need to read the whole thingy, right? Tell me what piece you are refering to? I would love to read it.
Thanks again Ross!
It’s “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell”It’s a well known quote:
“the reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of. Angels & God, and at liberty when of Devils & Hell, is because he was a true Poet and of the Devil’s party without knowing it.”
It’s “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell”It’s a well known quote:
“the reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of. Angels & God, and at liberty when of Devils & Hell, is because he was a true Poet and of the Devil’s party without knowing it.”
pr,
sometimes men don’t like to lose. well actually we don’t like to ever lose but sometimes we can’t cope with it.
pr,
sometimes men don’t like to lose. well actually we don’t like to ever lose but sometimes we can’t cope with it.
haha- we are actually evenly matched- i win, he wins, i i win three times in a row, he wins three times in a row– it’s really funny. We play once or twice a week. And usually he’s a good sport. But he wasn’t last weekend. I say shit like “I’m never fucking you again!” when he beats me. I am by FAR the worst loser in the family.
RIght now, I am upstate with three children, only one which is mine- I just fed them fried pork chops, sweet potatos and broccoli –and now I can’t figure out how to get my tv, vcr, or dvd to work. Sigh. I had my son clean a dead bird off the back porck- thanks kittens!–did the dishes, looked at the laundry and then looked away–read three short stories, one good, one ok, one quite bad in my opinion. It’s beautiful outside- long stretches of green, birds chattering away, the light pink and disappearing. A gorgeous doe walked across the yard and down to the stream while I sat on the porch, drinking a glass of wine. One of the kittens was in the yard–it was as if she’d seen God. It was lovely, and funny. Earlier tonight, I walked out to the pond and kept thinking, I am blessed, I am blessed, I am blessed– this even though bugs kept flying in my eyes and I’m the only grown-up around.
OK- back to force my tv to function. I hope I don’t throw it out the window. I kicked a window screen in the other day because it wasn’t doing what it was supposed to do.
haha- we are actually evenly matched- i win, he wins, i i win three times in a row, he wins three times in a row– it’s really funny. We play once or twice a week. And usually he’s a good sport. But he wasn’t last weekend. I say shit like “I’m never fucking you again!” when he beats me. I am by FAR the worst loser in the family.
RIght now, I am upstate with three children, only one which is mine- I just fed them fried pork chops, sweet potatos and broccoli –and now I can’t figure out how to get my tv, vcr, or dvd to work. Sigh. I had my son clean a dead bird off the back porck- thanks kittens!–did the dishes, looked at the laundry and then looked away–read three short stories, one good, one ok, one quite bad in my opinion. It’s beautiful outside- long stretches of green, birds chattering away, the light pink and disappearing. A gorgeous doe walked across the yard and down to the stream while I sat on the porch, drinking a glass of wine. One of the kittens was in the yard–it was as if she’d seen God. It was lovely, and funny. Earlier tonight, I walked out to the pond and kept thinking, I am blessed, I am blessed, I am blessed– this even though bugs kept flying in my eyes and I’m the only grown-up around.
OK- back to force my tv to function. I hope I don’t throw it out the window. I kicked a window screen in the other day because it wasn’t doing what it was supposed to do.