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| From | Michael Coxe <audities@gmail.com> |
| Subject | Re: Are professional music critics losing their clout? |
| Date | Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:11:02 -0700 |
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Stewart Mason wrote:
> This argument assumes that we ever had clout to begin with, which I
> don't think is necessarily true.
I agree with Stewart. For example, back in the late 60s/early 70s I
never read Rolling Stone for its reviews, but for the stories. Like
Cameron Crowe's real Almost Famous article about the Allman Brothers.
That was epic. Mostly what I looked for in reviews pre-internet was
information, as facts about the performers/bands/artists were always
hard to come by. Once the musicians (& fans) could set up shop
themselves via mp3.com, myspace or their own site, information was
generally easy to find.
I did find reviews in Audities and PopSided informative, & Audities
"Not Unlike" comparisons especially helpful. Now-a-days, who buys
music w/o sampling first?
For further dancing about architecture, a review from tomorrow's NYT
(heh) of Daniel J. Levitin's new book, "The World in Six Songs (How
the Musical Brain Created Human Nature)".
---
"Levitin divides his book into impressionistic chapters that address
the six categories he believes all songs (or at least those possessing
lyrics) fit into: songs of friendship, songs of joy, songs of comfort,
songs of knowledge, religious songs and love songs. There’s a nice
parlor-game feel to the book as Levitin sets up these distinctions and
the reader tries to figure out which groupings his or her favorite
songs belong to. Is the Mothers of Invention’s exuberant “Take Your
Clothes Off When You Dance” a song of joy or a song of comfort?
---
Review url: http://tinyurl.com/5tx82z
Book (Amazon): http://tinyurl.com/5ohhgf
Tho Ann Althouse (where I first read of the book) asks: "What about
songs of mockery, which is how I always heard "Take Your Clothes Off
When You Dance"? My rejoinder would be that Zappa reverently loved the
musical side of his creations, that those first four albums (or so)
could act as his tribute to pop, and that mockery was only contained
in the lyrics.
I didn't read Levitin's previous book, "This Is Your Brain on Music:
The Science of a Human Obsession". Any observations from the
Audities/Pop Underground clan?
- Michael
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