- Reflections on why a little pretentiousness can be healthy.
I think I've been told that being able to admit you're wrong is a sign of maturity. Regardless of whether this is true, I think it's a good idea. At the end of last year I was wrong. In my piece "5 Alternative Top 5s for, but not necessarily related to, 2012" I suggested that Holly Herndon's Movement was one of 5 albums "I just did not get" that year.
To say that I now
really "get it" might be a step too far, but I think I'm starting to
understand what the album's about. I think that the record represents music as art
in its purest form. It's not about relatable lyrics or melodies. It's about trying
to tune into the exact plain on which the music exists and not only listening
to the sounds available, but registering and reflecting on whatever effect they might have on us as listeners. Given that the record's name is Movement it's perhaps not too far a stretch to
suggest that this is partly what Ms. Herndon had in mind. Movement is definitely a right place right time record, but I'd recommend listening to it on a pair of
headphones. All the left-right panning and manipulated breath noises really get into your head
after a while.
[I was also wrong to attack her for suggesting that the emotional energy of her Skype calls can be heard in her music by virtue of having passed through her laptop. Her point was in fact that it would amazing if this could happen one day in the future. This, I guess, is arguable rather than completely insane.]
However, given that blogging by its very nature is horribly, intolerably pretentious, I'm not too happy with
the little paragraph that I constructed above. Anyone discussing "music as
art in its purest form" deserves to be punched in the face. Those volunteering
to hit me should comment below. While I won't deny I deserve it
for making my point as I did, I don't think that the point is any less valid.
Branding a record as "music as art in its purest form" is undeniably pretentious as balls, but it's not a reason not to listen to it. Shrugging off
music because it's "too pretentious" is just pretentiousness' ugly
redneck cousin. Prejudiced anti-hipsters are little better than hipsters themselves.
I hope that that explains why we shouldn't not listen to musicasart, but it still doesn't really support the claim that it can be genuinely interesting
to listen to the likes of processed breath noises instead of just accepting whatever immediately enjoyable Adele song is on the radio. I've toyed a lot with metaphors and
ways to explain it. I think - continuing on from a feature I recently wrote for anydecentmusic - that the best analogy I can come up with is something to
do with cars. Adele is a reasonably priced family car. She goes averagely fast,
she's reasonably fuel efficient, and you can also put golf clubs in her. She
might do all of the above quite well, but that doesn't change the fact a
Ferrari will go faster, an electric car is more fuel efficient and a truck
could take 100 sets of golf clubs. If money, space, the environment, and maintenance were no object, having 26 cars would be better than having 1. A Ferrari might take a little getting used to, but with a little perseverance the rewards are definitely there.
I have no idea if Adele has released a record this year, but for the sake of argument let's assume she has. It might be okay if you were stuck on a desert island with one album for the rest of the year. It'll probably have everything a pop album should have: ballads, upbeat numbers and hit singles,
but it probably doesn't excel at much. So far this year, Vampire Weekend
or Phoenix have arguably produced the best "pop" albums. For intimate
feminine tracks, Torres' eponymous album is peerless. Relationship-based musings have been nailed by The National. Then
there's everything else in between, below, and beyond that an Adele record simply wouldn't cover. My favourite records
this year are probably those released by (ever-more rock n' roll sounding) punk band The Men, and alternative R&B duo Rhye.
These are just quick examples collected by arranging my iTunes collection by year, but the
point is one about diversity. Scratching below the surface of whatever reasonably priced family music is available on the radio reveals a world of specialties, whether it's hardcore punk or "music as art in its purest form". Over the years of exploring music's weirdest fringes it's possible to gradually map out a specific and refined taste, picking and choosing the best parts from every genre and returning to each when the time is right. Whether it's music or collecting cars, the best results will only be found by investing a little time and effort, and not settling for things which are universally "okay". Listening to musicasart isn't about eschewing "normal" music in favour of weirdness for the sake of weirdness, it simply makes up a small part of a broad base of speciality music in which each part does what it is intended to do excellently.
Of course, I'm not saying that I like all music. I'll never get death metal, for
example. As seems to be the case with everything I've written in this
blog, I'm just stressing the importance of having an open mind. Maybe I should replace the banner at the top with "TL;DR - it's good to be a dick about
music, but only after you've given it a chance".
