slavery worksongs precipitated jazz

familiarity breeds contempt, and creativity is gleaned in large part from misery. so do people experiencing repeated minutia produce the best art?

it's probably not repeated activity that leads to depression so much as the repetition of mundane and/or loathed activity. also you have to take into account whether an individual is more left- or right-brained, chemical imbalances (although maverick says fie) and a host of other variables. the cliche about how the best art stems from suffering is a cliche for a reason.

it's the tortured artist, not the happy-elated-optimistic artist. of course there are no broad brushes (maybe with painters, HA) and not all creatives are sad or suffering, but in large part probably so. elliott smith stabbed himself in the heart, van gogh cut off his ear, myriad drug overdoses from great musicians (shannon hoon being my own greatest lament), and all sorts of other self-deprecation from great artists.

i don't know what my point is with this little diatribe, except maybe the albastrosses consistent with typical american (and other "civilized" societal) life are conducive to repitition, dissatisfaction, and therefore good art.

i'm just spitballing.

also, those who say "people who are left-brained aren't in their right minds" ought to be shot, even though it's true. to me it's tantamount to saying "oooh somebody has a case of the mondays".