What does it mean to be human?
This question, while simple in its phrasing, has puzzled great minds for generations. A biologist might say that to be human is to have the genetic makeup of a homo sapiens, to possess the innate hereditary blueprint that defines our species. We are, at our most base form, animals. To be human is to eat, to breed, to exist as a being dealing with a continual bombardment of instinctual, gritty impulses. The only thing that functionally separates us from our animal brethren is our DNA; we are still, biologically, animals, and no amount of intelligence or existential awareness can separate us from this reality.
A humanistic philosopher might take issue with the above definition of humanity and instead portray our species as far more noble than other animal life. A human is unique in its capacity for understanding its own fragile existence and pondering intricate questions far beyond the cognitive abilities of a dog or other animal. Humans are special because of our existential angst; our “humanness” is the ability to confront our demise and ask large, insightful questions about the nature of reality and our place in it.
George Watsky, as an artist, serves to bridge this gap between the material and the ethereal. Watsky often confronts the large, disturbing questions of life, such as the nature of death, as shown in “Conversations,” the first song of his Lovely Thing Suite.
However, despite Watsky’s philosophical ponderings, he does not limit his artistic expression to the “big questions” of humanity; instead, Watsky’s songs often portray the dirty, “inappropriate,” animalistic aspects of humanity often rejected by many great minds. To Watsky, it is misleading, if not entirely irresponsible, to treat the human condition as simply the burden of our higher cognitive understanding; instead, Watsky embraces all aspects of humanity, from our most instinctual impulses to our most cerebral quandaries. Take Watsky’s song, “Going Down,” released on the same album as the above listed “Conversations.”
“Going Down” is, as stated in the lyrics, a song about oral sex; Watsky’s entire reason for writing the song is to describe the pleasure he feels performing oral sex on other people. Watsky’s openness towards his own sexuality, in tandem with his philosophizing on the nature of death, illustrate his unique artistic style and highlight him as a rarity among both great thinkers and artists.
Artistic expression throughout the ages has been categorized, either intentionally or unintentionally, into one of two categories: “high-brow” and “low-brow.” “High-brow,” or “philosophical” art, questions the nature of humanity through refined, carefully crafted artistic expression, while “low-brow,” or “biological” art, represents humanity’s animalistic qualities and is thought to appeal to the uneducated masses. Watsky’s defiance of this categorization, through his unashamed release of songs appealing to both important existential questions and hedonistic human activities, marks him as a trailblazer in entertainment and artistic expression.
Watsky further blurs this line through his clever wordplay and double entendre, as well as his subversion of expected writing patterns. Much of “Going Down,” despite its supposed “low-brow” content, is written at a high literary level; in contrast, much of “Conversations,” despite the “deep” questions the song raises, is written in simple language.
To quote Watsky, in his poem “Letter to My 16 Year Old Self“:
“Letter to My 16 Year Old Self” Screenshot
You know what’s awesome? World peace.
But you know what else is awesome? Catapults.
And that’s just the goddamn truth.
Watsky’s willingness to confront these opposing realities of man, such as our love of both world peace and catapults, paint him as an artist who can recognize and reconcile opposing aspects of existence, something far too rare in our modern age. It is because of this ability that Watsky’s work will live on and continue to inspire all levels of artistry, from sexualized fan-fiction to philosophy textbooks. Hopefully he will continuing and writing and producing music for many years to come.
Works Cited:
Grenville, Chris. “Watsky Photograph.” The Monolith, 15 August 2016, http://www.themonolith.com/music/george-watsky-interview-x-infinity/.
Watsky, George. “All You Can Do Album Cover.” 10 June 2014, http://georgewatsky.com/.
Watsky, George. “‘Letter to My 16 Year Old Self’ Screenshot.” YouTube, 23 October 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-cT8Qe7y3k&list=PLblxhEQYeadHDUd5CWe8YvscHm_LydhC0&index=16.