Good Art is Power. How come we don't have Power Art all the time?

"I am what they made me, yet I've always had control." - Vylet Pony, Monarch of Monsters // "Vitality Glitch"

Long time, no see! I'm sure you have missed me since I appeared last year...

Sorry, that was a bad joke. Let's talk about today's topic.

Empowering (and Petrifying) Through Art

Art is as powerful as you let it be. That is a quote I have especially been taking to heart recently, as the choice to listen to an album with a softcore explicit content cover has made me manic for the feeling that it has given me: powerful emotion, banger hits, and some emotional clarity. Given that I can't remember if I cited that from somebody else or came up with it myself... But the fact a piece of art made me feel so strong is already amazing.

And in that case, that might just be the point of that art. To evoke emotion and make you feel something. I can definitely say it worked, and some of my friends can also vouch on my behalf and say that this art made them feel something, too! Even if that's a little bit of discomfort, followed by wishing to help their favorite protagonist...

But that's why it works, because art is powerful. By letting art empower you, you let it release emotions in you. Or however the science works behind it, I'm not a doctor.

That being said though, we can draw such pretty pictures with powerful art. How come we don't always get to see art that affects people so intimately?

Normal Art: Anybody Will Make it

Well, the answer is obvious. Not every art piece has to be about the emotional intimacy! We have musicians every day making music for the aspect of being silly, not to emotionally scar you for every track.

Take for instances, any old Minecraft parody you heard over the years. Maybe an album like Fake Songs. Yeah, it's going to make you laugh and maybe you'll unironically like a song or two. But the value of that record, aside from sentimental, isn't really there. You don't feel emotionally attached to it, or cry upon hearing it like you would a record like Monarch of Monsters.

And there's nothing wrong with that! People just want to make art just because it tickles others' brains just right. That's all fine and dandy, everybody's pleased with that and there's nothing else to really do with that!

Sure, maybe on the off chance, you'll associate a record with a sad day. Say you had the most traumatizing day of your life and you were listening to Happy then. Well duh, of course you'll cry when you hear Happy. I think.

But Emotional Art Takes Effort

But you can't really hit a perfect mark always with emotional projects. I do get why people choose to make that kind of intimate art, you can't really stop people from making it.

But you can't force people to make it, either. I speak from experience myself, as somebody who pours emotion into my own music, but doesn't always find my album quite always invokes the feelings I want. It can be exhausting to make art like that, both emotionally and mentally.

Especially when you have to tackle such a dark topic... Can you see where this is going yet?

The Monarch of Monsters: Feeling Blue, In A Good Way

I've started my blog in 2026 by talking about this thing again. Can you tell what kind of person I am, yet?

When you come across a piece of art that you relate heavily with, and it's catchy enough that it isn't bitter to remember it, you tend to get attached to that art. At least, I think you do.

In my case, I happened to fall in love with Vylet Pony's 2024 effort, which released near the end of November and shocked nearly everybody that picked it up. It was noticeably difference from anything else she'd made before, and used a lot of Progressive Rock elements in it.

This is the very album I proceeded to make three people listen to, cry over with one of those said people, and managed to hook both me, and my best friend, on a pony artist. All of that, and even more good that I can't even begin to be grateful for, because I listened to one album.

But while I could talk more about this piece of art shaped the end of my year, I also have to talk about the other side of the coin: What it made me feel. Because that's the main thing here.

Everything.

What art is going to replace you..?

This album has made me feel a variety of things in the various times I've sat down and listened to it. Some of these things include:

It's just a powerful record for me. Loneliness is a killer for many, nobody is immune to any one thing. Everybody has a weakness, like it or not, and with enough fight, you could break the cycle of any past and improve, even if the people around you might think you can never change.

It's a pretty deep album emotionally. And that's why it works, because I find that this album just... doesn't compete with anything at all. It holds a monopoly on this space of albums, because it just has so much weight and power that no album ever has. Songs have come close, yeah. But no album leaves me confident enough to say "It's as emotionally powerful as Monarch of Monsters".

Because really, that's the beauty of art. You can make something adjacent and as powerful, but never the same. Because then you lose that charm of art!

Though that leaves me to ask: Is there anything that will ever make me this strong?