On the Sublime and Sonic Youth

Longinus, in his “On the Sublime,” sets up basic criteria for examining the sublimity of ancient Greek writings. His criteria includes: confidence in speaking (which is presumed), strong and inspired emotion, certain kinds of figures (which I interpret to mean metaphors), noble diction and, finally, dignified and elevated word arrangement (Longinus, 350). Applied to contemporary studies of the aesthetic merit of popular music, the majority of these criteria hold true. However, this criterion lacks three important notions regarding the sublimity of contemporary music. The first posits that music, as well as any notable artistic pieces, cannot reach the level of the sublime without achieving some form of historical notoriety or import through some form of political motivations behind the music (the music, after all, must be remembered). These political motivations do not need to enter into the governmental realm; social or cultural politics may prove to be more important to the discussion of sublimity in music. Secondly, a musical artist must show some form of mutability or growth from album to album in order to qualify for the contemporary sublime. Lastly, and most importantly, the music considered must challenge either existing notions of what music “is” or challenge inexperienced ears and take them to another realm of understanding of what music can be. As such, this is not a study of one-hit wonders or a single album. It is a discussion of the sustainability of artistry over time. That is not to say that a one-hit wonder or a hipster delight cannot reach sublimity for a single document. That is simply not the ideal, and thereby not wholly sublime.
For this study, I chose the band Sonic Youth to serve as the vanguard of music for a number of reasons. The first emerged as I thought about what band had the most difficult music to access in contrast with their popularity. (In fact, when I first attempted to listen to them, I did not have the musical grammar yet established to understand what they were doing. Their music alienated me because of this.) The second reason I chose Sonic Youth is because of their intimate ties to the visual art world and composers such as Glenn Branca. Thirdly, Sonic Youth essentially has become a historical document, releasing albums consistently from 1982 to the present (16 proper studio albums in total). Lastly, I chose Sonic Youth because they, like their heroes The Beatles before them, transform and mutate with each album—even occasionally dabbling in “noise” compositions versus pop music. As the band does have 16 proper releases, most of them deserving of their own discussion, I’ve chosen to discuss three of the band’s landmark albums as evidence of their sublimity. These albums, "Daydream Nation,"(to be determined)and "Rather Ripped," each represent certain epochs within the Sonic Youth canon, as described not only by me, but by other rock music critics.
For evidence, I’ve chosen a number of texts to aide my discussion, including pieces on poetry by the likes of Matthew Arnold, pieces on the question of “What is Art?,” a historical documentation of Sonic Youth by noted music journalist Michael Azerrad and contemporary critical discussions of Sonic Youth’s music by online journalists. Through these, I hope to prove the following:
• Sonic Youth’s music is a form of art worthy of this discussion.
• Sonic Youth’s music can set out a template for the contemporary sublime vis a vis music.
• A good majority of Longinus’s basic structure for the sublime still holds true.