Introduction

1 Beauty, Justice, and Value are three different conditions of Spirit that are and must remain separate.

1.1 Therefore, the aesthetic value, moral value, and economic value of every product of spiritual activity (culture, politics, art, economy, law, etc.) must be defined autonomously.

1.2 It is inappropriate, for example, to judge a righteous action from an aesthetic point of view, even if language prompts us to make such errors.

1.2.1 Saying that a law is "a beautiful law" or "a good law," as well as claiming that a law is "convenient," is possible but improper; a law can be just or unjust, and upon closer inspection, judging it beautiful, good, or convenient is just a wrong way to speak of its justice or injustice.

2 Art is an emanation of Spirit.

2.1 More precisely, Art appears as Spirit in the form of Beauty and, secondly, of Truth.

2.2 Beauty and Truth, despite being absolute values, determine themselves differently depending on the context in which they are placed.

3 Right, correct, adequate, useful, significant, agreeable, intelligent, rich are all improper judgments when applied to the understanding of a work of Art.

3.1 The Artist and the Work of Art are not the same thing.

4. Judgment about the Artist and their work should not coincide; it is improper to confuse the two planes.

4.2 The Work does not belong to the Artist more than it belongs to the viewer, yet it often happens that if we judge an artist negatively—since we disregard what is stated in point 4.1—because of their work, the same judgment is then applied to those who appreciate that work (which is obviously absurd).

(note) It is a matter of debate whether it is proper or improper to contrast to a high Art (product of the Spirit) defined academically, a low or popular art, a craft or industrial and consumer product. I do not enter this discussion, but I try to say that pop music (and rock, jazz, R&B, new age, etc. are pop music, in the sense of "popular") undergoes a critical prejudice in this sense. That is, even if the concept of "pop art" has now been normalized and pop music, like comics, cinema, science fiction, and even video games have now entered even the most elitist intellectual salons, in the field of popular music (especially rock music) lacking is a critical and philological language, common criteria of judgment, shared and shareable elements of analysis, in short, a whole technical arsenal that would allow moving from bar chatter, from personal judgment, from fan discussion to a theoretically correct discourse. This is not to settle every controversy or establish factual truths (which are not present even in the pictorial or literary field), but to give pop music the cultural dignity that, primarily by the market for its own interests, is still denied.

Assertion:

"Filosofem" by Burzum is a beautiful album.

Although it expresses themes, concepts, and values that I do not find agreeable, it remains a beautiful album, and this is, therefore, a good reason to discuss it.

Subject

"Filosofem" is the fourth album by Burzum, released in 1996 by Misanthropy Records/Cymophane. It is essentially a black metal album, although the riffs are particularly hypnotic and the sound expands into doom progressions with a particular psychedelic taste. The album is one of Burzum's most famous and widely reviewed, and thus, I don't believe it's necessary to dwell too much on detailed analyses (which is not what I wanted to discuss here). My critical judgment is that, despite the simplicity of the melodic lines and the basic structure of the tracks—simplicity partly hidden by a dirty and gritty sound—the musical result is absolutely fascinating and disorienting, capable of evoking a sick but intriguing atmosphere, an abyss of evil that you can't stop staring into. Certainly, we are not in front of a spiritual evil of real and profound metaphysical power, but rather something artificial and horror-like (even though the author has, in fact, dealt with true evil), but which nonetheless maintains remarkable seductive power. The underlying themes are those of Norse mythology, but from these themes develops a narrative of the purity and supremacy of Nordic culture and race, openly drawing from Nazism and racism as well as esoteric and anti-Christian themes. The 6 tracks are all relatively long, repetitive, and quite slow; the attempt is to evoke the majesty and purity of the nature (real and mythical) of the North. The effect is powerful, but the suggested themes remain expressed on a superficial and epidermal level; the cold and glacial moral vision underlying this music, the misanthropy, and the lack of empathy towards Humanity, which should open up the MALE's abyss for view, are never really able to grasp its ontological essence (as artists such as, for example, Diamanda Galas or—in certain works—John Zorn manage to do).

Note on the author: Burzum is essentially Kristian Vikerness, who, consistent with his anti-Christian stance, changed his name from Kristian to Varg (he also used the pseudonym Count Grishnakh). The group was founded in 1988 (it started as a trio first with the name Kalashnikov, then Huruk-Hai, and finally, after Vikerness ended his experience with Old Funeral, it reborn as Burzum and as a solo project). Burzum's early works express a violent black metal, the themes of which, besides Tolkien's works, are influenced by paganism and Norse mythology. Burzum soon became a leading name in Nordic black metal, joining the so-called "Inner Circle," a group of satanists and fascists devoted to ramshackle and confused pseudo-cultural visions. I do not intend to underestimate their scope and the violence of their outcomes; I simply care little, and this is not the place for an in-depth analysis of the phenomenon. We are interested in recalling that it is within this group and, it seems, for supremacy in it, that the murder of Euronymous—Øystein Aarseth, musician, producer, and key figure of the Inner Circle—takes place, together with the accusation of having burned some churches, leading Vikerness to prison until 2009. In prison, Burzum was able to continue recording albums and professing his ideas. Today he lives in France, continues to play and record albums of varying value, and to say what he thinks— a freedom that, fortunately, is allowed to anyone, even to the last of the fools. Recently, he risked ending up in jail again with his wife, but that's another story.

(note n.2)

Can genius reside in a hateful, perverse, brutal, disgusting, obtuse, or perhaps banal, insignificant, or morally deformed being? The lives of many artists are there to answer this question. (To avoid misunderstandings, I reiterate here that I do not consider Burzum a genius in any way, he is a musician of medium value emerging in a well-defined and limited subgenre; it’s just an opportunity to make a discussion that I believe is worthwhile here.) And again, can art be made with obscene, perverse, disgusting, or corrupted themes? But the real problem is: how can such characters—and such materials—produce works capable of moving us, looking inside us, emptying our souls, or even just making us dream? It is the love for their works that often leads us to forgive or try to justify the shortcomings of many of them. But the truth is that Art is the territory of the Human; Art is made from the matter of men: shit, blood, piss, semen, spit. Only the illusion of Beauty can make it bearable to look into our souls. We are not fallen angels longing to return to Heaven, but worms crawling on the ground, lifting our gaze upward with effort and despair. Hatred, perversion, cruelty are deep needs like love and brotherhood.

Assertion:

All Art is popular Art.

Contemporary Art tells us who we are more than Past Art, which tells us, primarily, who we’ve been (although all Art is contemporary Art).

Music is the most abstract and metaphysical form of Art.

For this reason, I love greatly popular and contemporary Music.

Ideologies and Religions, the Right, the Wise, and the Cultured almost never love popular and contemporary Art, and if they do consider it, they always do so in a snobbish way.

Conclusion:

I’m glad Burzum records his albums; it was good that he could do so even during his detention. I’m glad Vikerness was put in jail; it was good he ended up there, and it was probably not long enough. I consider Varg Vikerness a true imbecile, but Burzum is a good musician.

Conclusion n.2 (apparently out of context), more like a dedication

Dear reader, who has had the patience to read through this long (too long) writing of mine, a product of lascivious mental onanism, to thank you I leave you my last pearl (or fool) of wisdom: we are not just, therefore we are not suited for a just world; it's better to be happy in an unjust world than unhappy in a just world.

Tracklist

01   Dunkelheit = Burzum (07:05)

02   Jesus' Tod = Jesu Død (08:39)

03   Erblicket Die Töchter Des Firmaments = Beholding The Daughters Of The Firmament (07:53)

04   Gebrechlichkeit .I. = Decrepitude .I. (07:52)

05   Rundgang Um Die Transzendentale Säule Der Singularität = Rundtgåing Av Den Transcendentale Egenhetens Støtte (25:11)

06   Gebrechlichkeit .II. = Decrepitude .II. (07:52)

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