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For Nietzsche, the great divide between cow and man is our attentiveness to historicity. While I am not a flautist, something about Lizzo playing James Madison’s crystal flute struck me. You’d have to be dense to not get a sense for what Nietzsche refers to as the monumental and antiquarian aspects of history in the performance. The former — a line was drawn connecting one of the major names of American history to one of the best selling artists in the world. The latter — life literally being breathed into a 200 year old artifact in such a way that youths could be inspired to fan flames both musical and historic. Some of the more outspoken political commentators of the right have had much to say about Lizzo’s performance that was more critical — Ben Shapiro and others are frustrated with her playing, much as Madison may also have been had he been alive to see it.
But not all conservatives are as critical with Lizzo’s playing with history. Take, for example, Christopher J. Scalia, a son of the relatively well-known jurist Antonin Scalia.
There is poignant symbolism in seeing one of the nation’s most famous performers—and a black woman—demonstrate some reverence for an instrument that once belonged to one of our nation’s most important founding figures—and a slave owner. The moment signals both America’s imperfect progress and a healthy, though flawed, appreciation of our past.
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Another important detail that’s getting lost in all this: It’s remarkable that a pop star like Lizzo works the flute into her stage show. In a 2019 interview with CBS, Lizzo explained the work she put into flute practice: “I remember in the fifth grade, I just wanted to be really good. I was, like, ‘I want to be really good at the flute. Everybody else is so bad.’ And it was so hard to be good at it. It’s a very difficult instrument. I became, like, obsessed with being good.” This is an impressive work ethic, directed toward an admirable end. It’s unfortunate that she almost always diminishes these solos by twerking or cursing, perhaps because she feels pretentious, elitist or simply incongruous when she plays the instrument.
Given how refreshing the general sentiment of the piece is, one can look past Chris Scalia’s common refrain of finger wagging at Lizzo’s potty language and booty shaking.
With any luck, Lizzo will incorporate the flute into her singles. There’s precedent, albeit only slightly newer than Madison’s flute: Bands from the Beatles to Beastie Boys recorded great songs with a flute, and Jethro Tull based its entire sound around the instrument. Lizzo could inspire more young fans to take up the instrument and develop their own musical abilities.
In the meantime, we should see that despite the shortcomings of Lizzo’s concert performance, she demonstrated some reverence for American history—and this was even more clear in her performance at the Library of Congress. Let’s praise her for those positive moments and be glad she encouraged, albeit imperfectly, her millions of fans to share her awe.
You should give it a read! Yes, it is dripping in respectability politics, but come on — it is Scalia after all. In the meantime, take it away Lizzo!
Two Cheers for Lizzo and James Madison’s Crystal Flute [Wall Street Journal]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
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