"Metallica" and Philosophy: A Crash Course in Brain Surgery

Hit the lights and jump in the fire, you're about to enter the School of Rock! Today's lecture will be a crash course in brain surgery. This hard and fast lesson is taught by instructors who graduated from the old school - they actually paid $5.98 for The $5.98 EP. But back before these philosophy professors cut their hair, they were lieutenants in the Metal Militia. Metallica is the "thinking man's" metal band and the headbanger's CNN. Snobs and music critics have often dismissed Metallica as mindless noise; we're here to set the record straight. "In pursuit of truth no matter where it lies," this book considers questions that philosophers have been pondering for ages, including: Does Metallica's music provide an Aristotelian catharsis or does it just make kids go postal? Can "Fade to Black" save you from suicide? Are we all in the "Sanitarium"? How can we "Escape" to be free? What can Nietzsche tell us about the God That Failed? What can Descartes and "One" tell us about the relationship between the mind and the body? Did Lars make a sound argument against Napster? Metallica is more than just a band, and this book is much more than just a ticket to ride down memory lane. This is an in-depth analysis of the soundtrack to your life. So start your CD player, fire up your iPod, or, better yet, break out the old vinyl. We're going' for a ride with the four horsemen, and a few philosophers too. Reviews “The most elucidative dissertation on Metallica ever written. And a kick-ass read to boot!!!” Scott Ian, guitarist for Anthrax “Like philosophy itself, Metallica’s music can scare the uninitiated, who fear their brains will hurt. This book makes both philosophy and Metallica accessible to the curious while deepening the experience of those already in the know.” Theodore Gracyk, author of Rhythm and Noise and Listening to Popular Music “Metallica and Philosophy is, at long last, the book which finally gives everyone’s favorite headbangers due credit for being intelligent, questioning, and even cerebral.” Joel McIver, author of Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica “Not just heavy metal, not just rock n’ roll, not just angst or anger or conceptual analysis, but a monster in a category of its own that shows us something dangerous about ourselves and our post-industrial culture.” Dale Jacquette, Pennsylvania State University "Intellectual snobs and proud low-brows alike may dismiss this as a joke- though obviously not respected academic publishers Blackwell ... as an introduction to some of the major schools of thought, it is no less worthy than popular books like Sophie's World that have also sought to bring philosophy to the mass market." Tommy Udo, Metal Hammer A “provocative study” on one of metal’s greatest bands, this paperback examines the connection between Metallica and highly regarded philosophers like Aristotle and Nietzsche, and “uses themes in Metallica’s work to illuminate topics such as death, metaphysics, epistemology, the mind-body problem, morality, justice and what we owe one another.” Edited by a college professor, chapters include “Alcoholica: When Sweet Amber Becomes The Master Of Puppets,” “To Live and Die: Metallica and The Meaning Of Life” and “Boys Interrupted: The Drama Of Male Bonding In Some Kind Of Monster.” Metal Edge Magazine Table of Contents Who's Who in the Metal MiltiaHeroes of the Day: AcknowledgmentsHit the LightsDISC 1 ON THROUGH THE NEVER 1. Whisper Things Into My Brain: Metallica, Emotion, and MoralityRobert Fudge2. This Search Goes On: Christian, Warrior, BuddhistWilliam Irwin3. Alcoholica: When Sweet Amber Becomes the Master of PuppetsBart Engelen4. Through the Mist and the Madness: Metallica's Message of Nonconformity, Individuality, and TruthThomas NysDISC 2 EXISTENSICA: METALLICA MEETS EXISTENTIALISM5. The Metal Militia and the Existentialists' ClubJ. Jeremy Wisnewski6. The Struggle Within: Hetfield, Kierkegaard, and the Pursuit of AuthenticityPhilip Lindholm7. Metallica, Nietzsche, and Marx: The Immorality of MoralityPeter S. Fosl8. Metallica's Existential Freedom: From We to I and Back AgainRachael SotosDISC 3 LIVING AND DYING, LAUGHING AND CRYING9. To Live is to Die: Metallica and the Meaning of LifeScott Calef10. Madness in the Mirror of Reason: Metallica and Foucault on Insanity and ConfinementBrian K. Cameron11. Ride the Lightning: Why Not Execute Killers?Thom Brooks12. Living and Dying as One: Suffering and the Ethics of EuthanasiaJason T. Eberl13. Fade to Black: Absurdity, Suicide, and the Downward SpiralJustin Donhauser and Kimberly A. BlessingDISC 4 METAPHYSICA, EPISTEMOLOGICA, METALLICA14. Believer, Deceiver: Metallica, Perception, and RealityRobert Arp15. Trapped in Myself: "One" and the Mind-Body ProblemJoanna Corwin16. Is It Still Metallica? On the Identity of Rock Bands Over TimeManuel Bremer and Daniel CohnitzDISC 5 FANS AND THE BAND 17. Metallica Drops a Load: What Do Bands and Fans Owe Each Other?Mark D. White18. The Unsocial Sociability of Humans and Metal GodsNiall Scott19. Boys Interrupted: The Drama of Male Bonding in Some Kind of MonsterJudith Grant20. Justice for All? Metallica's Argument Against Napster and Internet File SharingRobert A. DelfinoThe Phantom Lord's Index