Sublime and Funky Love

Via CT a paragraph that astonishes:

The basic problem with my love relationships with women is that my standards are so high -- and they apply equally to both of us. I seek full-blast mutual intensity, fully fledged mutual acceptance, full-blown mutual flourishing, and fully felt peace and joy with each other. This requires a level of physical attraction, personal adoration, and moral admiration that is hard to find. And it shares a depth of trust and openness for a genuine soul-sharing with a mutual respect for a calling to each other and to others. Does such a woman exist for me? Only God knows and I eagerly await this divine unfolding. Like Heathcliff and Catherine’s relationship in Emily Bronte’s remarkable novel Wuthering Heights or Franz Schubert’s tempestuous piano Sonata No. 21 in B flat (D.960) I will not let life or death stand in the way of this sublime and funky love that I crave!

The author is one of these two gentlemen, though both can claim to have approved it:


J— brings the J—unk:

But what does it mean to be a bluesman in the life of the mind? Like my fellow musicians, I’ve got to forge a unique style and voice that expresses my own quest for truth and love. That means following the quest wherever it leads and bearing whatever cost is required. I must break through isolated academic frameworks while, at the same time, I must build on the best of academic knowledge. I must fuel the fire of my soul so my intellectual blues can set others on fire. And most importantly, I must be a free spirit. I must unapologetically reveal my broken life as a thing of beauty.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SET YOUR TWIN STUDIES ON FIRE?

UPDATARAMA FROM COMMENTS:

212

Richard Cownie 12.04.09 at 4:19 am

“Listen to me now: they are terrible.”

OK, let me give you my take on the much-mocked “sublime and funky” passage.
First off, West is a “jazzman” – an improviser. And this passage is an improvisation.
Like most improvisations, it is not perfectly formed, and it has some dull moments,
but it also has some pretty good phrases.

“The basic problem with my love relationships with women is that my standards are so high—and they apply equally to both of us.”

The beginning is blah. But he’s just stating the theme.

“I seek
full-blast mutual intensity,
fully fledged mutual acceptance,
full-blown mutual flourishing,
and fully felt peace and joy with each other.”

Nice music: “full … fully … full … fully”. And good sentiments (though grievously lacking
in Roycean philosophy)

“This requires a level of
physical attraction,
personal adoration,
and moral admiration that is hard to find.”

Again, nice music: “physical … personal … moral”, “attraction … adoration … admiration”.
This time it’s three clauses instead of four, giving variety. And again the meaning is clear.

“And it shares a depth of trust and openness
for a genuine soul-sharing
with a mutual respect
for a calling to each other and to others. ”

Awkward and unclear. Improvising is tough.

“Does such a woman exist for me?
Only God knows and I eagerly await this divine unfolding. ”

The jazzman borrowing from the preacher here. An idiom that secular middle-
aged whites (like me) couldn’t – and shouldn’t attempt. But West can own it.

“Like Heathcliff and Catherine’s relationship in Emily Bronte’s remarkable novel Wuthering Heights
or Franz Schubert’s tempestuous piano Sonata No. 21 in B flat (D.960) ”

OK, ok, this is a little absurd. But hey, it’s an improvisation: you throw in what
comes to the top of your mind. He’s thinking “passionate” and this is what floats
up on the spur of the moment.

“I will not let life or death stand in the way of this sublime and funky love that I crave!”

You’ve all had fun with the “life or death” part: but hey, the guy is 56 and has had cancer.
I interpret “life or death” as an oblique reference to that experience.
Then “sublime and funky love that I crave” ? That’s an instant classic: it’s the headline
of the post. And the humor is surely deliberate. “sacred and profane love”
would be just about the same thing, but “sublime and funky love” is more precise and
funkier and funnier: a neat twist to come up with in an improvisation.

213

J— 12.04.09 at 4:31 am

Also nice music.