the moonlight auteur

unsuccessfully avoiding the great cliche #2: popular music

2010-08-11T14:08:00.002+10:00

A friend of mine once described rock music as a "vacuous and infantile cultural commodity". I'm certain many 'music-lovers' in the world would be offended by such a notion but still more would, I dare to suggest, agree with it after some consideration.

Many can argue that art in all it's forms has been subjected to a universal 'watering-down' in sophistication and complexity over the past century as advances in technology and worldwide social connection have made art accessible to all and the creation of art a much less labour-intensive activity.

As such we are faced more than ever with a problem of quantity without quality. Surely this is not all a bad thing? And surely it is also a product of greater mass appeal and therefore greater profitability?

Well, considering the somewhat short history of modern western music (arguably emerging circa 1500s), this current era promises no greater fiscal return on art than in previous eras. Yes, many of the great artists of old were only posthumously recognised but many were greatly rewarded during their own lifetime as well.

Art, in particular music, was a very lucrative prospect for those who were talented and intelligent enough to play the royal game. The likes of Mozart, Haydn, Bach, Beethoven and so on were richly patronised by wealthy and influential members of society and their music familiar to the masses to whom it was exposed (yes including the lower classes who though not directly involved in the spotlight were still under it's influence).

Yet prior to the explosion of rock, and it's even more basic derivative, pop music these artists were master-craftsmen whose entire lives and beings were devoted to the study and exploration of music, what had gone on before and what was yet to come. Their works frequently took years to complete and often required up to hundreds of musicians to perform. Many composers were incredibly prolific, even those with very short lifespans. The complexity and magnitude of such music, while expected and welcomed in those days, would be, indeed is, lost on most general public today.

To place some context around my opening statement, in his discussion my friend was actually comparing the complexity of Romanticism (the era stretching approximately 1820-1900) to Classicism (1750-1820), arguing that while Classicism could be deemed harmonically, rhythmically and structurally 'perfect', Romanticism, by pushing and often breaking the limits of 'perfection' was a much clearer reflection of the complexity of humanity. In this light, his comment on rock music seems even more accurate.

That it is infantile is clearly proven when laid beside the 'popular' music that went before it. At the most basic level it's harmony, rarely straying from chords I, IV or V, is child's play compared to the likes of Wagner and his tonal ambiguity. That it is vacuous of course depends on the artist but can generally be accepted, again when contrasted with the depth of thought and expertise of previous eras. Even when modern lyrics are compared to librettos of operas and operettas, song cycles and lieder, or even the poetry former times, rock music is found lacking in grace, description, artistry, even grammar.

That it is a cultural commodity is the main explanation of it's infectious prevalence and influence on society. And also the main cause of unease in the cultural conscience. It is a commodity as food is a commodity, a huge source of revenue and economic return that has grown so steadily and and so completely over the past century that modern society could almost not function without it. It's popularity is due to the appealing nature of it's sound and meaning to the masses. But only by gaining a momentum of widening influence could it become so successful. Why? Because as popularity and exposure grow so it steadily shapes and moulds the education of it's listeners until the music and it's audience are imbedded in a cycle of manufactured desire.

In other words, because the loudest voices in society, those with the greatest exposure and wealth, have told us what to listen to we now know no better than to crave more of the same.

I would argue that my friend's statement is as true as it is menacing. That vacuity and infantilism has become our popular desire and music has thus been shaped to fill that desire.

These things are not necessarily bad but unless balanced by some depth of education and sophistication of taste, they become a damning measure of society's devolution.

unsuccessfully avoiding the great cliche #1: music snob

2010-06-30T14:23:00.008+10:00

Imperialist Musical Snobbery

IMS seems to be a disease that develops over time and constant exposure to others with the condition, and seems most prevalent in the Education field of musical learning, specifically among young musicians frustrated by the lack of performance opportunities in culture-starved nations and those in particular desiring some level of expertise validation (subjects trained in private secondary institutions seem most at risk).

Despite the many rational excuses for the onset of such a condition (*see note below), the contraction of such a disease is completely the fault of the sufferer and many early warning signs can be heeded to avoid such an eventuality.

Such symptoms include, but are not limited to the following:

1. arguing over the meaning of the word 'musical'

2. believing yourself to have a more intimate knowledge of the stylistic implications of Mozart than the man did himself when he was composing the crazy stuff

3. judging a colleagues' character purely based on the substance of their pedagogical training (and including or excluding in completeness based on that assumption)

4. creating and maintaining an alternate reality wherein work (that is, the practice of teaching) becomes THE ONLY priority in a person's life to the exclusion of all other activities such as relationships, personal development, social balance, eating (but drinknig never seems to be a problem) and of course the ever-disposable act of sleeping.

5. spending an inordinate amount of personal funds on school resources

6. believing that genuine musical experiences are limited only to those whose aural skills are equal to or better than your own

7. forgetting that Kodaly was actually all about music for the MASSES not music for the MINORITY

There is an ethical responsibility laid upon those of us exposed to or in contact with persons afflicted with IMS. In order for us as a society to avoid cultural genocide, some awareness as to the dangers of this disease must be raised.

JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST IMS!

* NOTE: Many of those afflicted by IMS will be so affected by delusions of grandeur as to believe that they and their collegial minority hold the key to the salvation of the musical world. Whereas the education of our future generations in the art and discipline of music must only be entrusted to trained professonals, we must also avoid the inevitable sterilisation that comes from such elitist inbreeding.

rating: 1 star for being counterproductive

in: well-trained music educators, Kodaly's system of pedagogy

out: those who use their specilised training as a means to elitism

review: sleep

2010-06-29T19:14:00.006+10:00

I once absent-mindedly commented to a friend that the world is a different place at night time.

He asked me why.

I was lost for an answer. I thought it was such an obvious statement, perhaps worthy of some comments of agreement, but not an explanation.

So I thought: why? Why is night such a different place to day?

Well, how do we differentiate, how does our mind receive these differences? Through our senses.

The light is different, casting objects in a new and sometimes alien picture. Shadows loom larger, the illumination is colder, contrasts are sharper, but oddly perimeters are dulled and landscapes are deceiving.

Sound is transformed. Different social activities, different life conditions mean less traffic sounds, less background noise, sounds travel further, rustles and creaks are more distinctive, the wind becomes an identity and takes on life.

Scents are colder, sharper, clearer. Warmth stands out in contrast to the coolness of night-time dew.

Less reliance on sight means touch becomes hyper-sensitive. Bark is rougher, grass is multi-textured, stone is hard and dense, air is clean and cold.

Taste-buds are purified by the uncluttered air.

Night is a different world. A more beautiful, mysterious world. A world of different possibilities, different braveries, different opportunities.

So why do our bodies require us to sleep through it? Why are we designed to sleep at night and work during the day?

Different customs call for different hours of labour. Farmers need to rise early to accomplish their work, as to trade workers for whom labouring in midday sun is less preferable to early, cool hours of day. This necessitates an early bed time.

Many European nations make the most of summer nights, siesta-ing in the midday sun and staying awake until the late night or early morning.

Midnight masses and many cultural festivals celebrate through the night.

Stars can be seen best at night. The moon is stand-out against the dark sky. The sky itself can be seen in its true form without the atmospheric refraction of the sun to make it seem blue.

I love night time. I'm inspired by the atmosphere, the suggestion of mystery, the new possibilities, the peace and the activity. Food tastes better, grass feels cleaner, the air is more fragrant, the light is beautiful.

I work better at night. And yet I cannot fight the human need for sleep. I am tired, too much. I should sleep more. But I wish, really wish that my body would survive on just a few, maybe four, hours of sleep. Or that my days could run like the Italians, sleep late, break at noon, work into the night and party until the morning.

I love the beach at night, the path to the moon across the water. The clean fresh air. I love trees at night, so large, dark, mysterious and whispering.

I wish we could control the urge to sleep, and hibernate through winter like bears do.

Or sleep through the day and come alive at night like cats.

There must be some reason humans are made to sleep at night, or human society is designed to work during the light and sleep during the dark.

Maybe too much of a good thing would take the mystery away. It's better this way.

rating: 5 stars for necessity, 2 stars for fun

in: lying on the grass under the stars, watching the shadows of branches wave across the moon

out: five a.m. alarms