Epi, what? (In the pursuit of pleasure)
September 17th 2011 15:03
I think Epicurus (341-270 B.C) got it right when he sought to achieve pleasure over all else. He believed that worrying about common problems causes mental anxiety. For Epicurus pleasure was as divine as the gods. Epicurus is known for being content with very little. He lived with his friends and wife Themista in a share house; they ate from their vegetable patch and contemplated life. After Epicurus died his philosophy was carried on by his devout followers, and then it died out……..
As I was approaching year nine I had a magical summer where the stars aligned, I had my first kiss, we were allowed to stay out till 2 am on New Years and I met, through my cousin the group of guys who were to influence me musically till this day.
I was a teenager in the 90’s when grunge was at its height. The mood was definitely somber (we were teenagers after all!) Doc Martens, plaid shirts and an angsty attitude were prerequisites. We embraced it. Not that we were unhappy kids but there was something about that Summer and that music that propelled Generation X into defining itself as, well grungy. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden were some of my favorites during this time. But I became familiar with Alice in Chains, Mudhoney and others.
Over on the island where my family was holidaying, it was a stinking hot summer and I was introduced to Nirvana (bought on import by a friend of a friend). I remember listening to Kurt Cobain wail on the balcony of our beach cottage, my headphones on (using a walkman) looking out over the ocean. That was the Summer we had Nirvana all to ourselves, the Summer before Kurt and friends became household names. Yes it was sweet and it was ours (for a time anyway).
I loved Nirvana from that moment and even though I didn’t quite get Kurt and bands angst it reached a part of me deep inside. The animal in me made it’s first appearance. The part of me that will always love to dance to classics such as Sweet Child O’ Mine by Gun’s and Roses, Voodoo People by The Prodigy and early Red Hot Chili Peppers. That animal, (the inner Bogan) reared its head at Year 9 dances; head banging to Smells Like Teen Spirit all dressed up in freshly pressed outfits bought especially for the event. There is something distinctly tribal about 300 teenagers swinging their head and moving their bodies defiantly to rock/punk/grunge music.
The ‘boys’ were heavily into their music and I discovered too that I really liked what they were listening to. For the first time I listened to JJJ and found a whole new world of music. I never developed their level of fanaticism but I always admired their deep appreciation and love of music. In my own way I took on board their ‘relationship to music’ and developed my own tastes.
This was the summer of endless philosophical questions like – which do you like more the ocean or the sky? We’d sit there for hours analyzing our answers and never coming up with the definitive one. Like Epicurus we pondered life and lived for pleasure completely free of any worries. That was a great, great summer. Long live grunge and that endless summer that continues to give me pleasure…..
As I was approaching year nine I had a magical summer where the stars aligned, I had my first kiss, we were allowed to stay out till 2 am on New Years and I met, through my cousin the group of guys who were to influence me musically till this day.
I was a teenager in the 90’s when grunge was at its height. The mood was definitely somber (we were teenagers after all!) Doc Martens, plaid shirts and an angsty attitude were prerequisites. We embraced it. Not that we were unhappy kids but there was something about that Summer and that music that propelled Generation X into defining itself as, well grungy. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden were some of my favorites during this time. But I became familiar with Alice in Chains, Mudhoney and others.
Over on the island where my family was holidaying, it was a stinking hot summer and I was introduced to Nirvana (bought on import by a friend of a friend). I remember listening to Kurt Cobain wail on the balcony of our beach cottage, my headphones on (using a walkman) looking out over the ocean. That was the Summer we had Nirvana all to ourselves, the Summer before Kurt and friends became household names. Yes it was sweet and it was ours (for a time anyway).
I loved Nirvana from that moment and even though I didn’t quite get Kurt and bands angst it reached a part of me deep inside. The animal in me made it’s first appearance. The part of me that will always love to dance to classics such as Sweet Child O’ Mine by Gun’s and Roses, Voodoo People by The Prodigy and early Red Hot Chili Peppers. That animal, (the inner Bogan) reared its head at Year 9 dances; head banging to Smells Like Teen Spirit all dressed up in freshly pressed outfits bought especially for the event. There is something distinctly tribal about 300 teenagers swinging their head and moving their bodies defiantly to rock/punk/grunge music.
The ‘boys’ were heavily into their music and I discovered too that I really liked what they were listening to. For the first time I listened to JJJ and found a whole new world of music. I never developed their level of fanaticism but I always admired their deep appreciation and love of music. In my own way I took on board their ‘relationship to music’ and developed my own tastes.
This was the summer of endless philosophical questions like – which do you like more the ocean or the sky? We’d sit there for hours analyzing our answers and never coming up with the definitive one. Like Epicurus we pondered life and lived for pleasure completely free of any worries. That was a great, great summer. Long live grunge and that endless summer that continues to give me pleasure…..
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