undefinedRecently I was asked why I named my blog decadent life in light of some of the connotations around this word. No, I didn’t choose the blog name because of the one definition of the word that is ‘moral decay.‘ No, the word decadence has a much different association for me.

We have all heard of decadent chocolate; opulent, lavish. This is closer to the connotation; the European context. 

The Decadent Movement

“In his lengthy introduction to Baudelaire in the front of the 1868 Les Fleurs du Mal, Gautier at first rejects the application of the term decadent, as meant by the critic, but then works his way to an admission of decadence on Baudelaire’s own terms: a preference for what is beautiful and what is exotic, an ease with surrendering to fantasy, and a maturity of skill with manipulating language.

Wikipedia: Decadent Movement

Charles Baudelaire is often viewed as the father of the Decadent Movement with his writing; 1857 edition of Les Fleurs du Mal. During this time the word decadent came to refer more to excess than to decay. 

  For those not familiar with Charles Baudelair, some great reading awaits you. For example:

“I can barely conceive of a type of beauty in which there is no Melancholy.”

― Charles Baudelaire

Elegance and Decadence

For anyone familiar with the classic group Kraftwerk, the lyrics form Europe Endless:

Life is timeless
Europe endless
Life is timeless
Europe endless

Europe endless
Endless endless endless endless
Europe endless
Endless endless endless endless

Parks, hotels and palaces

Europe endless
Parks, hotels and palaces
Europe endless

Promenades and avenues
Europe endless
Real life and postcard views
Europe endless

Europe endless
Endless endless endless endless
Europe endless
Endless endless endless endless

Elegance and decadence
Europe endless
Elegance and decadence

Europe Endless, Schneider/Hutter

Songwriters: Schneider / Hutter (Kraftwerk)

And now onto Kraftwerk:

Kraftwerk is a German band formed in Düsseldorf. They are innovators and pioneers of electronic music, they were among the first successful acts to popularize the genre.

So clearly the term decadence is associated with elegance for some us and the imagery of old world European beauty…. elegance and decadence-excess as in the Decadent Movement.  Incidentally, in 2016, when I started this blog, I was listening to a lot of Kraftwerk and consciously or not, I chose Decadentlife.net.

As this blog evolves, this luxury is not just limited to the finer things in life, but also for internal decadence, the one that is around personal growth and self-valuation.

So I have my own version of the meaning of decadence, more aligned with another meaning from another world.

Anthony Bourdain’s Budapest episode describes the decadence of Budapest – where I grew up.

“It’s beautiful here. They said that of course, that Budapest is beautiful. But it is in fact almost ludicrously beautiful.”

Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown, Budapest

“If there was such a thing as building porn, it would be this. Just looking out the window as your drive or trolley by you think, ‘I want that. Who lives there? Who lived there? What’s it like inside? And where did they go?'”

Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown, Budapest


https://www.eater.com/2015/6/8/8743617/parts-unknown-budapest-just-the-one-liners