OK, is this the worst piece of music writing ever?

It's a well-written piece with a terrible (and vaguely sexist) thesis. There's a fucking paragraph where the author tries to posit that Pharmakon must be influenced by Xenakis, despite having never acknowledged the influence? Why are these two completely disparate composers being compared like this?

If an "I wish I was in a Ph. D. program" dude wants to stencil "it's misogyny" on to comparative pieces about "why [x] and not [y]?" composers, he should write Cage vs. Olivieros and/or Xenakis vs. Ustvolskaya-- at least do a study where the composers have similar theses, bodies of work, outlook. (I would read either of these theoretical pieces, both Ustvolskaya and Olivieros deserve equal props as their more-established male counterparts.)

So the writer brings up gender, and how Xenakis' work has been portrayed as hyper-masculine and bro-y, but he doesn't seem to take note that the examples of contemporary music he is using to support his thesis are also way heavier on the bro-factor than others? ... of the musicians he cites, all are dudes, except for Russell Butler, Black Madonna, and Pharmakon ...

And Diamanda Galas, who is (in my experience) one of Xenakis's more ardent proselytizers

yeah that bit about Pharmakon is a real stretch -- I could bullshit that Holly Herndon must be influenced by Oliveros because she took a class from her in grad school.

also lol at citing the Nurse with Wound list as some evidence of the primacy of Xenakis -- I mean, Lemon Kittens are also on that list, and they are such a massive influence on like, a couple dozen weirdo arty noise bands that play to audiences of 30?

Contemporary women composers who cite Xenakis as an influence on their music are bros by association. To wit:

I’m also inspired by the abstraction of the late Beethoven string quartets, the power and uncompromising nature of the orchestral music of Xenakis, and the acoustic city landscapes of Varèse.

http://www.internationalartsmanager.com/features/qa-with-rebecca-saunders.html

Not to mention Chaya Czernowin and Unsuk Chin. And Natasha Barrett:

http://usoproject.blogspot.com/2009/01/interview-with-natasha-barrett-pt2.html

I am now ready to write a corrective article.

"this smacks of gender!" I holler as I upend the table and dump all my compact discs on the floor

But the biggest Greekbro of all is Oliveros herself:

Her many years of involvement in new music have given her an informed and open-minded perspective. Although her interests have changed, she continues to write music for other performers, such as a piece for violinist Malcolm Goldstein, and her interest in pure electronic music didn't end in the 60s either - she contributed to a computer music compilation in 1990. She has praise for artists who seem at first very different, such as Iannis Xenakis (although perhaps with Oliveros's interest in space and Xenakis's interest in architecture, the difference isn't all it seems).

"There is tremendous expansion in the so called new music scene. What used to be a village is now a metropolis. It's complex and asymmetrical. I like it. You never know where you will find a gem or in what style this gem will manifest."

http://media.hyperreal.org/zines/est/intervs/oliveros.html

there are plenty of Oliveros-influenced bros too

Yeah, I've certainly met more Oliveros bros -- or, if you will, Oliverbros -- than Xenakis bros.

the part of the article where he writes about the aesthetics and processes and how the ascribed masculinity is a bit arbitrary in that Xenakis' process is super nerdy -- i feel like that's kinda interesting

There's some worthwhile insight in that piece, for sure, it's just asphyxiated by the binary premise.

idk i can't really excuse this

Yet whereas Xenakis sought to apply complex formulas to emulate the stochastic rumblings of the natural world (human agency be damned), Oliveros sought similar affects from an opposite angle. To tap into these ecological systems, she privileged the very intuition, vulnerability, and receptivity to our surroundings that Xenakis's superfans find so mewling and weak.

it's just so icky and like "she was a woman and down with nature and her feelings"

I thought das Ewig-Weibliche was peak feminism?

accordions are not natural

But… it breathes!

Lol

https://aeon.co/ideas/why-are-pop-songs-getting-sadder-than-they-used-to-be

ok, i can't be arsed to read this, i don't care, it's probably terrible, but choosing to illustrate your "pop music used to be so much happier" argument with a picture of ABBA is so fucken stupid that i think we can save ourselves the time and effort

bet this person actually thinks "Happy Together" is a song about a couple being happy together

^I skimmed it, and that seems to be exactly how their analysis works!

Look buddy I've seen lots of TV ads for soda, bubblegum and adult diapers and that's definitely what that song means

analysing lyrics alone to judge the emotional content of music is maybe the stupidest fucking thing i’ve ever heard in my life

Wait so what is Happy Together actually about

a sad lonely dude imagining being together with someone who either doesn't know he exists or does and doesn't gaf about him

i mean the first word is 'imagine'

It’s the A-prime example of Songs where the singer/protagonist comes off as a serious dick without meaning to

Sentiment analysis is often nonsense

not to mention pop isn't any happier or more morose than it's ever been.

it's not like the charts are being topped by MC D-Pressed with hit single "I Ain't Shit"

How do you quantify the emotional tenor of having your horses in the back, horse tack is attached?

You could argue that Post Malone’s career is depressing but I doubt it would be because of his lyrics

I’m not going to read the article but it’s pretty unassailable knowledge that in the last 3+ years of rap have been incredibly depressive and pop quickly followed suit

not to mention pop isn't any happier or more morose than it's ever been.

it's not like the charts are being topped by MC D-Pressed with hit single "I Ain't Shit"

Their analysis stops in 2015.

Also, they seem to be just looking at instances of words like “happy” vs. “sad,” and major vs. minor key. Someone actually paying attn to pop trends could probably write a thing about recent depressing rap lyrics, but this ain’t it.

imo all “scientific” studies of pop music are bad because they’re all pretty much rooted in confirmation bias

i don't think this fits the thread perfectly but we need to talk about this

https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-guest-tour-north-america-mercedes-benz-sprinter-van-2020-3

How an LA band completed a tour around North America in a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van

...

This means the duo — and the two other musicians who play with them while on tour — need to share the three-passenger row Sprinter while on the road.

While they're on the road, Taccone takes the back passenger row while Compton gets the middle. The two additional touring members get the front row directly behind the driver and passenger seats.

how in the hell is that not marked as sponsored content

"SEE ALSO: This $150,000 off-roading camper van built on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter can stay off the grid for 7 days"

Business Insider, posting an ad thinly-disguised as an article? What is this world coming to?

the band has a member of lonely island

but what kind of IPA do they drink?

xpost his brother is in the Lonely Island ... not that that changes your point, I don't imagine

unless i don't know something ... which is entirely possible.

i am only paying attn to twitter a little bit right now (work at a hospital and day job is, uh, very busy) but i couldn't quite tell if ppl were clowning the publication or the band. or both?

if it's not marked as ad content that's pretty silly.

the whole thing is silly.

but there are a lot of old punks on the timeline touting their '94 tour in a brokedown econoline and acting like they wouldn't have jumped through fire at a chance to tour in that van!

asa has written some of the lonely island’s music. he also co-wrote that big song by portugal the douchenozzle

the band too ephemeral to be a real nemesis

I think it was the timing more than anything, just with everything going on it seems even more vacuous and stupid

I mean, it's Business Insider

A colleague sent me a Business Insider link today, and it’s a “BI Prime” story (behind paywall) – which means he must actually subscribe(!?)