(NOTE: In lieu of italics or underlining, I will be using quotation marks to represent titles, as this format does not permit me to underline or italicize.)

“The Greatest Weight” is an album based off of an inspired by Freidrich Nietzsche’s ideas in “The Gay Science,” as tranlsated by Walter Kaufmann. The book, originally published in 1882, and released as a second edition with an additional fifth part and an appendix of songs, covers a variety of subjects across all of Nietzsche’s thought, and does so with beautiful, inspiring, and deeply emotional prose. As Kaufmann writes in his introduction to “The Gay Science,” it “mirrors all of Nietzsche’s thought and could be related in hundreds of ways to his other books, his notes, and his litters. And yet, it is complete in itself. For it is a work of art” (Kaufmann 26). More than any of Nietzsche’s other works, it expresses the suffering common to all humanity - the suffering that Nietzsche himself experienced in his life - and this is what makes it so profound and beautiful.

That, above all, is what I tried to encapsulate in this album: not just Nietzsche’s concepts, or even just his prose - but the fundamental human emotion and experience that he expresses, the tension, the struggle, the overcoming - the human-ness that he writes about and possesses. That is what inspires me most about Nietzsche, and indeed, all philosophy. It reflects and dicsusses something so profoundly familiar to all of us, and looks for ways to overcome it, or to minimize it, or to eradicate it, to cope with it, to understand it, to explain it. Philosophy is in this way the highest expression of human existence and purpose, and that to me is incredibly beautiful, and inspiring. This inspiration leads me, to, of all things, music - because, ultimately, to me, music is just as profound and important a way to deal with human emotion and human suffering, to capture the human condition, and to share it with others. It is how I deal with the bulk of my emotions, and how I move past the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, how I relate to my emotional self and even to other people. Music gives me a way, just like philosophy gave Nietzsche a way, to cope with or to explore the problems in life, to overcome existential dread and panic - so, I wrote this album.

More specifically, “The Gay Science” seemed like the right choice for this album because of not only its humanity, but its subject matter; it is more personal than Nietzsche’s other works, and it deals with art and music very directly. I borrowed as well from other sources about Nietzsche, such as “On Nietzsche” by Eric Steinhart, or online databases.

Each track deals with a different aspect of Nietzsche’s thought (except for the last two, which are different versions of other tracks), and some of them (“Poppies,” “Die Mohnblume,” and “Footbridge”) take from Nietzsche’s poems and songs in the beginning and appendix of “The Gay Science” - another reason why this book was the clear choice for this project. As well, with the exception of the last two, which, as I already mentioned, are merely different versions of other tracks, the tracks are numbered, because Nietzsche writes in many series of numbered paragraphs, each of which expresses a different idea. I highly implore you to, while listening, read the descriptions for each song, which will tell you more about the ideas they are based on, the correlation between the lyrics and the content, and where in “The Gay Science” I got the inspiration from. They can be accessed if you click on each song individually.

This album, and each song on it, is priced at 0 dollars, so that anybody can download and enjoy it. Do not be afraid that you will have to pay when, if you try to download the album, it asks for your email - you will not be charged, nor will bandcamp send you any emails except for the download link. The email addresses go to me, so that I can see who my supporters are! Also, although it is 0 dollars, there is an option to pay more, and I would really greatly appreciate anything you can contribute, if you have the means. It is my blood, sweat, and tears that go into this album and each and every piece of music on here. It is so validating as an artist to have your work valued conventionally, and, again, I would really appreciate anything you have to offer.

Also, if anybody has any constructive criticism, which I greatly appreciate, or questions about Nietzsche, or any philosophical figure or idea, there is a link in my sidebar to a google form where you can anonymously give me any feedback! Or, if you do not wish to remain anonymous, talk to me in person about it, or contact me through the bandcamp contact info, down at the bottom. Thank you so much for reading and listening, and I hope that you enjoy, and learn to love Nietzsche as much as I do!