My grandparents can't feed their dog dry kibble; it just doesn't eat it. However, not only can't they afford to feed it purely the sausages and other such meats that it will eat, it's completely unhealthy for the dog. So, instead, they try to package the kibble into the sausage, sliding it in where the dog might not realize until too late that it has consumed something nutritious. If the dog realizes, it eats around the kibble, leaving it in the bowl. (I know there's a similar story somewhere about how the dog is enlightened for doing this, but don't buy it--the dog is slowly dying from its "enlightenment." My point is different.)

My grandparents are artists. Like any artist, they package something important (a message) into something desirable (a work of art). If you realize the message is there at all, they have failed; if you absorb the message subconsciously without ever noticing it, they have done their jobs.

Even music "in and of itself" says something about the perception of sound. Note that I am talking specifically about "awareness." Not politics or philosophy. If you are a refined listener, then you are aware of these things on at least a subconscious level. I also hate it when artists and musicians spout muzzy-headed nonsense. But there are others who have had their awareness informed by what they practice. Sometimes they even have something good to say in interviews. Sturgeon's law applies here as well.