[NewMusic] Book Review - Alex Ross = Gannicide

[David Slusser]

On Nov 3, 2007, at 4:30 PM, matthew at matthewgoodheart.com wrote:
> George said:
>
>>> But if it's presented to them as "weird," or "angry new music"
>>> or something (like a Terry Gross cute-ified Sun Ra), they are more
>>> likely to use that as a filter for their experience.
>>
>> And of course, that *is* how it is presented. Sure, things would be
>> different if things were different, but I'm talking about how things
>> are, and how things are is that what I consider serious contemporary
>> art is almost always presented with a bunch of bullshit qualifiers  
>> and
>> excuses.
>
> Yup. But this is a criticism of the presenters, not the audience.  
> So this
> is what the NPR staff think themselves, or think that their listeners
> need. The "laity," as it were, are responsive to how things are  
> framed.
> That is why I'm far more critical of those who present things in a  
> stupid
> way than those who don't understand that the unfamiliar stuff  
> they've been
> presented with has been framed in an bogus way, which was basically my
> point.
>
>> I'm glad that Fox-watching Republicans can appreciate Xenakis. That
>> soothes my misanthropy a bit. But the larger question is, will  
>> those folks
>> get curious enough to go back on their own, or is the one time  
>> they are
>> prodded into going to a Goodheart show the one time they'll do it?
>
> My experience has been that there are few converts, but a greater
> willingness to "live and let live" and respect that that kind of  
> music is
> serious and should be presented, which I think is what we should  
> hope for
> at the moment. On the other hand, several of their kids (whom I have
> taught) have gone on to do some really cool stuff, both listening  
> to and
> performing all sorts of good music.
>
>> Or will they spend the next ten years patting themsleves on the back
>> for being so adventurous that one time, while religiously watching  
>> every
>> episode of 24 and the West Wing and America's Top Model?

The point I tried to make in my Transbay review of Daniel Levitin's book
was that most people are not ever going to recognize these challenging
sounds as music.  Intellectually, maybe yes, for the tiny percentage of
Americans that think, but getting pleasure from it, probably not.
Practitioners may be the only ones familiar enough to enjoy the nuance.
Anger about this is misplaced.  So are feelings of superiority.  It's  
early
exposure, some kind of individual curiosity and nerdy study that lets  
you
delight in uncommonly heard sounds.  I fit Mr. Goodheart's description
perfectly:  white-male-over-55-state-school-in-Ohio-in-the-70s (and to
top it off, he caught me going into Ace Hardware this afternoon to buy a
toilet seat), but, still, I prefer the "outside".  Being in the NPR  
demographic
does not make you of the NPR demographic.