Dionysos Rising: The Birth of Cultural Revolution Out of the Spirit of Music

Amazing book--informative and eye opening. You will never think about music or those who have influence in society the same way after this fasciinating read. E. Michael Jones "Rocks" --boldly revealing the truth about the music scene and Post Modernists

A very well researched book and work connecting Wagnerian ideology and modern (and post-modern) music. Many things are very revealing in this book and made me want to read the source material behind it. If nothing else it piques a much-needed discussion about modern music: what it is and why it isn't simply a matter of taste to dis-approve of it. While sometimes repetitive (especially during the Schoenberg chapter) Jones does an excellent job of portraying both the composers own ideas and feelings as well as the way in which their music was accepted by the world around them. All in all, an excellent read especially for those interested in musical history and origins.

Not a single example is given for the accusation contained in the first paragraph of this review. As to the material on the Bacchae - there is no inherent contradiction between what the reviewer says and what Jones says (very briefly right at the end of the book). Jones is chiefly concerned to portray impiety and is interested in particular in what Dionysus represents. He does not address the wider issues of the play but I believe nothing he says contradicts them - read again what Jones says. Perhaps the reviewer, instead of hurling around acusations of "fuzzy" thinking (+ re. the Medjugorje review - no evidence given yet again) should try to back up what he says and address the central theses of the books he claims to have read.

My difficulty with reading this book the first time as a Yale grad student in 1994 was that I had a conservative worldview when it came to everything but music. I knew deep down inside that Jones was onto something, but I couldn't bring myself to admit it, because I was so close to my music. Now that I am a bit older and have gone back and re-read the book--and now that I am further from adolescence and from my music--I see that what he was saying is on the mark. If you start with a more liberal set of cultural assumptions about culture and the arts, you will disagree with Jones. However, if you have a basic conservative worldview and don't like this book, it's probably because you're going with your heart and not your head.

Jones traces the work and lives of Wagner, Nietzche, Schonberg, and rockers such as Jagger to demonstrate the fall of culture and the rise of rock 'n roll. From the barricades in Dresden in 1849 to Woodstock and the death at Altamont in 1969, Jones shows that classical music and culture did not die a natural death: the demise was plotted by sexual revolutionaries as a direct attack on Christian morality. The Stones said it all: Sympathy for the Devil.