Behind the Music

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Further on my fav topic: purely social criticism saps the work of its meaning, & end result = dull academic prose which is of use maybe to a sociologist but not to a listener. Purely personal crit describes emotions but not how they arise & thus is useful *only* to the author. Thus all crit does both to varying degrees, if it is at all useful. But crit made self conscious of its own role as an examination of a nexus of social engagement between individual and society and author -- now *that* is where things heat up.

― Sterling Clover, Tuesday, 30 October 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

maybe this belongs on the Contrary threat, but i rather love the syrupy early Bee Gees, like First and Odessa... "Melody Fair" may be my favorite song by them, just for fond memories of how it burrowed into my brain before i knew who it was by.

i might attack music i secretly enjoy, in the attempt to talk myself out of it, but i never champion anything i dislike.

And while i wish that there were more videos, and more variety, i don't care how i think i feel about the music, i'll watch any video, no matter the genre now.

― badger, Tuesday, 30 October 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

nice distillation of your point, Sterling.

― fritz, Tuesday, 30 October 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

but I still have a problem with your "a good critic always works against his gut reaction" rule. My gut reaction to this statement is that it's wrong.

― fritz, Tuesday, 30 October 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

purely social criticism saps the work of its meaning, & end result = dull academic prose which is of use maybe to a sociologist but not to a listener. Purely personal crit describes emotions but not how they arise & thus is useful *only* to the author. Thus all crit does both to varying degrees, if it is at all useful.

Sure, but technical criticism seems conspicuous by its absence. I find that criticism that at least touches on the technical is far more interesting to me than criticism that does not -- especially in music, but also in other fields as well. Engaging the actual material of the work is one of the ways in which a critic can show that his/her theses have some foundation in reality.

― Phil, Tuesday, 30 October 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I have close to zero interest in technical criticism, but that may be one of the reasons I'm feeling confined or confounded by intellectual/experiential criticism.

― fritz, Wednesday, 31 October 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Good point Phil. I don't discount technical criticism, but it just hadn't come up in the discussion thus far. I'd add purely technical to purely social as an academic dead end, and also note that I agree completely that the intersection of the manner in which various people respond to a work must be based on a comprehensive understanding of the actual traits of the thing itself.

― Sterling Clover, Wednesday, 31 October 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

fifteen years pass...

Behind the Music is my ultimate nostalgic hangover binge watch these days. so easy to dial up any band on youtube and watch the VH-1 spin masters tell a tale as old as time.

anybody have any favorites? the hair metal bands tend to be the most fun. as much as i hate Guns N Roses as a band, there's a pretty awesome story there.

also i love the Red Hot Chili Peppers one mostly cos the narration by Downtown Julie Brown. everytime she calls them "The Chili's" it's so great.

― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 14 May 2017 14:57 (six years ago) link

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