Dangerous Music

The latest discussion at the Library of Congress was on "Dangerous Music" - whether there is such a thing and if so what are its characteristics.

Jessica Krash of George Washington University and Norman Middleton of the Library of Congress gave the talk, which dealt with the tritone - the so-called devil's interval, as well as murder, execution and suicide by music.

Most of the talk seemed to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Though the two speakers were authoritative, both seemed to have kind of "wink-wink" attitude when it came to "the devil's music."

They covered such topics as the church intervals (which intervals the church allows) and the tri tone. Krash said that the basic human desire for order and control is what contributes to people's nervousness about the tritone, which is halfway up the chromatic scale.

This interval has been used in some very famous pieces of music, usually to indicate something sinister. Wagner's Gotterdammerung is one piece, but the interval has also been used in West Side Story (the opening of "Maria" uses it) as well as the title sequence for The Simpsons .

Middleton told the story of the band Black Sabbath - whose eponymous album cover appears at the top of this article. Apparently one of the band members painted his apartment black and put inverted crosses in it. Ozzie Osbourne is reputed to have brought a book on black magic to this band member (Geezer Butler). Shortly thereafter, Geezer reports having a visit from a black figure in his apartment that pointed its finger at him and the book on black magic was gone.

The talk then turned to the use of dissonance by Bach and Mozart. The panelists also said that the misunderstanding about dissonance or uncomfortable intervals in music might be from irony - the composer doesn't really advocate evil or something sinister, they are asking "what if?"

Middleton then talked about the crossroads image in African-American music, specifically about Robert Johnson and the blues. The discussion also covered the Parents Music Resource Council, labeling of records, Ice-T's "Cop Killer" and rap music. The discussion also included the case involving Judas Priest and two young men who committed and attempted suicide after listening to their music.

All in all, the discussion was interesting, and could have gone on longer, but had to be adjourned because of a concert by the Fireworks Ensemble in the Coolidge Auditorium. The Music and the Brain series continues through next year.