I return to the fray with comments on this:
> I'm pretty sure most people on rara-avis don't
listen
> to heavy metal music :) -- but that might be a
better
> fit. The difference, to state
> it briefly, is that one of them (Motorhead) is
an
> authentic metal band, while the other is a pop
band
> faking it the metal arena. One of them believes
in
> their aesthetic, while the other is wrapping
the
> aesthetic around them in an attempt, basically,
to
> sell records.
As one of those who does listen to metal (more in younger
days than now), it tends to me that looking at music as an
analogy for what happens is hard-boiled literature brings up
something about the author of the post. These are heavy,
solid lines being drawn here, as "authentic" comes up in the
mix. But is anything a purely original genre or style of
music? They have historical backgrounds or mixing, matching,
cutting and pasting. And eventually, one can take aspects of
hard-boiled writing and aspects of different musical genres
and make a blend (Can we argue that the metal artists
influenced by classical modes and themes were not
practicing
"authentic" metal? ) . The blending moves things forward.
Trying to hold onto the purity of a genre or musical style
brings to mind the image of someone trying to fight off a
tidal wave with a tennis racket.
Hard-boiled writing isn't as new a thing as it was when the
pulp writers launched the whole thing (and can we really say
Hammett wasn't doing it for money? That the aesthetic was
less pure because he was? Stretch it out through
time--Chandler, Himes, Ross Macdonald, Elmore Leonard--and
ask the same question).
Not authoritative, of course. Just some thoughts. The
continued (and seemingly endless) search for a concrete
definition of the hard-boiled amuses me. Wait seventy-five
more years and then go see what some lit crit book has to say
about what it was all about, and, to that generation, that's
what it will be.
Neil Smith co-editor, Plots With Guns
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