toomuchmetal

Too much metal

by Bob on April 12, 2007

There's too much metal around us.

Some decades ago, a professor of Architecture, especially Sacred Architecture and Sacred Geometry, visiting from England, was teaching in New York City and made a very curious remark.

He said there was just too much metal around and about New York City. Between cars, and buildings, trains, and the like. Especially cars, he said, because one drove them like a Roman chariot in battle.

But there was more to it.

As a scholar of Alchemy and Neo-Platonism, he was also aware of the possible effects of metal on people. They are not neutral in some theories. Magnetism comes into play. One need only look at how an MRI works on the body to think about that. Even ignoring Animal Magnetism.

Automobiles were a nuisance, he thought. They stress people out in urban situations especially, and even in the major interstate highways. And it was like a battle between an arena full of gladiators.

He felt we could do without the cars. And he frequently used wood to build sacred structures, favouring that over metal where feasible.

Now, with the oil running out and people driving bigger cars, or so it seems, in spite of that danger, we are more in a tighter spot.

Everyone here in America seems to drive an SUV these days. Even if they don't need to. It's just a mixture of peer-pressure marketing and convenience. And perhaps enjoyable for the drivers sometimes. But not in urban or suburban traffic jams which occur every day.

Everyone is seemingly in his own little Panzer tank negotiating the traffic. That's a bit much. Let's not even get into "muscle cars".

One might also persist in mentioning the prophetic technological 1973 novel "Crash" by J.G.Ballard, and the striking 1996 film adaptation of it.

Too much metal. Too much stress. And even metals fall under stress themselves and fatigue. That's why in the ancient of days, a blacksmith and was considered a magician in his working with and forming metals and using methods of metallurgy.

And one might have thought this was about fillings in teeth which is another kettle of fish entirely, or heavy metal rock music. Not quite. Even though little did we know that the Beat Generation avnat-garde writer William S. Burroughs pioneered the term heavy metal in his 1961 novel, "The Soft Machine", with the term "Uraninan Willy,.the Heavy Metal Kid". Little did he know. Or perhaps Burroughs was prophetic enough to know in advance through his famous dreams.

All that metal. Very little wood. Too much information. Bad societal formula perhaps.

And heavy metal music can almost religiously transform an audience and the musicians. Hammer of the gods. It has power.

As the Buggles sang in their 1979 song "Video Killed the Radio Star" ... "We've can't rewind, we've gone too far". Perhaps. Perhaps not. Time to read Alvin Toffler and his "Future Shock" book again.

And even remember Gary Numan and his brilliant 1979 song "Cars" on his album "The Pleasure Principle". In fact, there are a lot of songs about cars. That must mean something profound.