My thesis keeps evolving. It's no longer just about the "rock star" because, well, there is so much more to talk about. Now I'm getting worried that my topic is too big for my own britches, and that I may only be able to skim the surface of my intended idea. But you know what? I think that's important too. We need to break the surface before anyone can delve deep into the subject.
One book is really helping me formulate ideas about what to cover (and what not to cover) – that being Simon Reynolds' Rip It Up and Start Again, which I mentioned in my last post.
This text talks about a neglected time in music, the post-punk era. It's not neglected in musical interest, but in coverage of it. Reading about this time is forcing me to make connections between what is going on now in the music world and what happened back then. The splits into independent labels, managers, producers, fanzines, etc. helped to vary the market back then, and the same is happening now, but with viral medias. (Think of blogs instead of fanzines, for example.) But, of course, these similarities are formed through different cause/effect combinations.
According to Reynolds, the end of punk/beginning of post-punk led the music world to a sort of "Where to now?" feeling, whether that be of worry or forward-looking ambition. Sound familiar, music industry? Musicians? And as Reynolds says in the Prologue to his book, "The by-product of all this division and disagreement was diversity, a fabulous wealth of sounds and ideas that rivals the sixties as a golden age for music." (pg. 11)
Perhaps the age of the viral medias provides another catalyst leading to this diversity, this "fabulous wealth of sounds and ideas." But I'm not going to argue that today is the newest "Golden Age" for music...yet.
And now a break from serious thought: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – "Young Adult Friction"
And check out another video by the band (also shot on a Super 8 camera) called "Everything with You".
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So interesting to think about the fact that while post-punk is huge huge huge in its influence musically (and what NYU Artsy Boy does not wear his "Unknown Pleasures" shirt with pride when he's at That Cool Bar He Frequents On The Weekends) it wasn't actually covered/documented. Also, I think musically/societally we're at the sam place as the post-punk pioneers were, that "what to now?" question that looks forward and backwards and tries to create its own thing out of both. YAY Pre-Apocalyptic Millenial Living!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, as always, love this topic.