Angst

For other uses, see (disambiguation)}}}.

"The Scream" (1893) by Edvard Munch.

Angst is a Dutch, German, and Scandinavian word for fear or anxiety. It is used in English to describe an intense feeling of emotional strife.

A different but related meaning is attributed to Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855). Kierkegaard used the word angst (Danish, meaning "dread") to describe a profound and deep-seated spiritual condition of insecurity and despair in the free human being. Where the animal is a slave to its God-given instincts but always confident in its own actions, Kierkegaard believed that the freedom given to mankind leaves the human in a constant fear of failing its responsibilities to God. Kierkegaard's concept of angst is considered to be an important stepping stone for 20th-century existentialism.

While Kierkegaard's feeling of angst is fear of actual responsibility to God, in modern use, angst is broadened to include general frustration associated with the conflict between actual responsibilities to self, one's principles, and others (possibly including God). Still, the angst in alternative music may be more accessible to most audiences than existentialism. The term "angst" is now widely used with a negative and derisive connotation that mocks the expression of a common adolescent experience of malaise; in this sense it has become one of the most debased words in the current vocabulary.

Angst in contemporary music

Angst, in contemporary connotative use, most often describes the intense frustration and other related emotions of teenagers and the mood of the music and art with which they identify. Punk rock, grunge, emo, and virtually any Alternative Rock dramatically combining elements of discord, melancholy and excitement may be said to assert angst. There is an obvious connection to this music and the various subjugation of its proponent youth or racial or sociopolitical minority subculture.

Angst was probably first discussed in relation to contemporary music in the mid to late 1980s and 1990s. In the 1980s "teen angst" was expressed in music to a certain extent in the rise of punk and post punk with bands such as The Smiths. The word "angst" is currently more associated with, and was probably first used in reference to, the grunge movement and the band Nirvana. Nirvana themselves seem to have been aware of this, as evidenced by the first line of "Serve the Servants" in which Kurt Cobain describes the success of writing songs dealing with the subject (Teenage angst has paid off well | Now I'm bored and old...). The band Placebo (band) also has a song "Teenage Angst" which deals with many of these same themes. One of the many examples of describing the feeling of teen angst in electric music is M83's Teen Angst (from the 2005 album Before The Dawn Heals Us).

The band From First To Last has an album by the name of "Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has A Body Count", released in june 2004 by Epitaph Records.

Angst in subculture stereotyping

Sometimes, the term may be used derisively, such as some observations that many members of the "goth" subculture may seem to outsiders to be in competition with each other as to who can give the most tragic account of his or her circumstances. These sorts of perceptions can produce a backlash in the general public, who accuse the members of the subculture of exaggerating the normal frustrations of life to ridiculous extremes in an attempt to solicit pity from listeners and to provide excuses for their situation. Thus, the description of such a person as "angst-ridden" may involve a note of sarcasm on the part of the speaker. Similar negative characterizations have been made of other subcultures, such as the "Beat Generation", the Grunge Rock movement, and various literary and artistic movements.

The term is also sometimes used to negatively stereotype the very wealthy and well-to-do, with the implication being that angst (and occasionally ennui) are the only problems that they face. "Of course, my money solves the problems that you face daily, and I don't have to subject myself to the backbreaking labor that you do every day, but you mustn't think I live a life of ease. I suffer from such terrible angst!"

Angst

Angst in contemporary music

Angst in subculture stereotyping

See also