JPF Home Page Forums Lyric and MP3 Feedback Lyric Feedback Forum 3 Wicked Good Woman Child

Hi Skip,

I have no time right now, but I want to look closer at your lyric when I can.

From the way you desribe "wicked good", as "wicked" PLUS "good" as opposed to
"wicked" OR "good"---it does seem to mimic the Eastern concept of "Tao" which has a physical representation of a circle with two intertwined parts. one black, one white.

The concept of "Tao" was appropriated by Jungians, who believe that life (and especially the human personality)can be broken down into "seen" and "shadowed" parts (of a whole). "Shadows" that surface and share time and space within a person--that can be healthy OR NOT depending on the actual case. It does seem to be a common trait in both nervous breakdowns, and epiphanies or peak experiences.

I think the "literalizing" of your idea would make a great SF story:viz. A combination of words changes a town into depraved killers, or something to that effect.

More generally speaking, your question reminds me of the idea of the "meme" which was a proposed concept of Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary theorist and ethologist.

His idea is that words, phrases, and the ideas they generate are self-propogating units of information, in the same way that "genes" are in biology,

I personally would answer yes to your question, if I am understanding you correctly. Propoganda (and more specifically, the "slogan")does infect gullable minds; at the other extreme, truly innovative idea can spring from a pregnant combination of words.

I don't think any of us would be writers, if words had no power to affect a listener. They affect in ways we haven't even begun to understand.

I will look closely at you interesting "piece" later!

Mike



[This message has been edited by closemike (edited 08-10-2006).]