This Machine Still Kills Fascists

originally published at SAY WAM...

Say, What Is Music About?

Alright, I know this is being posted on Say What About Music, so if you can ignore the tremendously trite pun in the title, this article may have a chance at holding your interest. However, I'm not making any promises, because this is the internet after all…

So what the Hell is going on with music, and don't worry I'm not going spit out an excruciatingly long diatribe about the deteriorating state of the current music industry, and how everything you thought you knew about selling music is completely wrong, and how the major labels are picking on the little guy and ruining it for everyone, and why my personal opinion of the business is the only correct view, and everybody should bow down and worship me as their new buzzword spewing guru. When I say music, I mean exactly that, just music.

One evening during my daily commute courtesy of Metrotransit, a discarded newspaper sat next to me. Some dude in a GQ shirt stood in front of an expensive microphone on the cover. Apparently this particular dude won American Idol. I decided to take the article's word for it because I had no idea. I don't own a properly working television, and I am quite comfortable with that fact. The article had some pretty harsh things to say about the dude in question, and I blindly agreed because I think American Idol is an utterly inane dog and pony show designed to perpetuate corporate greed, but then I began to think. Why do I hate American Idol so much?

A lot of time goes into making American Idol. All of the singers, promoters, mixing engineers, session players, lighting technicians, and producers are hardworking and skilled at what they do, so how could that gigantic pool of talent create something so vapid? The answer may be in a words of a philosopher I somewhat despise named Immanuel Kant. "There are two things that don't have to mean anything, one is music and the other is laughter."

In the past century alone, music has evolved and changed into so many appreciated genres that the theory of a universal aesthetic has been thoroughly debunked. Proof of this is evident by the existence of the atonal era, avant-garde jazz, no-wave punk, and Kenny G. All of those examples are not exactly everyone's cup of tea, but they all have legions of listeners.

Now there is a perfectly good reason for this; music is split into two categories: art and entertainment. These two factions make up what I like to call the Personal Preference Venn Diagram. Each personal preference will vary.

Don't panic people, not all music is meant to have a deeper meaning, and believe me, most modern pop music doesn't, but that's not to say all pop music is devoid of artistic merit. With that on the table, not all music intended to be art is all that great either. To me, labels like art and entertainment are not measurements of quality; they are descriptions of intention and nothing more. I'm not saying that the categories are rigid or polar opposites, because that is simply not the truth. Art can be entertaining, and entertainment can be artful. There are no absolutes. Some music comments on human emotion or contains a sharp political statement, and some music just wants to make people dance. There is nothing wrong with any of it.

People need to stop caring about what other people think. Just because I loathe American Idol doesn't mean other people can't love it. If you don't dig the latest and greatest buzz band that all the indie snobs are drooling over, that's fine. If you want to belt Lady Gaga lyrics at the top of your lungs while driving, go for it. If all you want to do next weekend is listen to Sgt. Peppers in a room by yourself, be my guest, but most importantly, if you can't stand a certain song, don't listen to it. Find your song. Find what pulls your heartstrings and cherish it. Don't let anyone else tell you what to like because that, my friends, is what music is about.

Written by: Pat Dougherty for SayWAM