MUSIC IN REVIEW
2019; Wiley; Volume: 107; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/tyr.2019.0081
ISSN1467-9736
Autores Tópico(s)Music History and Culture
Resumo1 9 5 R M U S I C I N R E V I E W T I M O T H Y Y O U N G Rough Trade is a bricks-and-mortar store that stayed open during a fallow period of record buying to maintain a vital role in music consumers’ lives. The shop, o√ Brick Lane in East London, now functions as a prime organizer of musical genres – not simply by slotting CDs and vinyl albums physically into those familiar tiered stadium seating–style bins, but by separating them into genera and species. Musical selections at the store are parsed into thirtynine di√erent genres, from the antediluvian ‘‘Blues,’’ ‘‘Jazz,’’ ‘‘R&B,’’ and ‘‘Rock-Pop’’ to the more recent ‘‘Industrial,’’ ‘‘Techno,’’ ‘‘Bass & Dubstep,’’ and branching out to the bizarrely focused ‘‘Synthwave,’’ ‘‘Brainfeeder-beats,’’ and ‘‘Sahko-Raster-Mego-Touch’’ (which, according to descriptions of releases listed under this label, has something to do with ‘‘planes of symbolic human activity’’ and ‘‘arrhythmic and punishing drumming’’). The category that probably holds the densest concentration of subforms may well be ‘‘Modern Composition,’’ a name based on the activity of music creation, rather than born of rhetorical af- finities or historical nicknames. (Imagine categories such as ‘‘Guitar playing’’ or ‘‘Singing with piano accompaniment.’’) A scan of the black magic marker labels on the dividers in this section yields 1 9 6 Y O U N G Y Brian Eno, Jon Hassell, Beatrice Rana, Ahmed Malek, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Christina Vantzou, and Angèle David-Guillou. The naming of this genre is partially an attempt to break the megalithic hold of ‘‘Classical’’ over anything that is primarily instrumental (aside from rock or jazz) or composed by musicians schooled in historical and analytical modes. Of course, composition happens in all genres of music; what di√erentiates the category ‘‘Modern Composition’’ from other genres needs considered thought to be teased out. As soon as we ask about genre distinctions, we confront a fundamental issue: Why do we need them? Music as a form of expression has long experienced the push and pull related to identity. There is value in characterization – it may help a listener find similar works or lead to the discovery of peers – but labels put things in boxes that are often too narrow. What if music awards shows gave prizes simply for ‘‘Best Music’’ rather than dealing them out in categories? I always look forward to the end-of-theyear critics’ summaries that provide shopping lists for new sounds that have failed to hit my radar. The Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop poll, which ran from 1971 to 2017 (just before that publication ceased) performed the task of genre-dissembling (as was evident in the name of the poll) in a relatively catholic fashion. Even if the top choices tended to skew heavily toward rock and alt-rock, the listings of hundreds of nominees provided a roadmap toward new discoveries for dedicated readers. The broad expanse of Modern Composition presents more than just an opportunity to debate the rhetoric of genre. It o√ers multiple varieties of joy. One could start with works that map closely to the classical pattern, such as Anna Clyne’s The Violin (2014, VIA records) or Zoë Keating’s most recent, Snowmelt (2018, 020202 music; listed on iTunes under ‘‘Classical Crossover’’ – a hedging category if there ever was one). Keating contributed a remix track to the 2009 In-C Remixed, in which eighteen approaches were o√ered toward reimagining Terry Riley’s landmark work from 1964. For a more pop sensibility, listen to Planetarium, a collaborative work by Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly, James McAlister, and Sufjan Stevens. Folk-styled singer songwriter Stevens has always brought a symphonic sensibility to his recordings, from ‘‘Concerning the UFO Sighting near Highland, Illinois’’ (whose melan- M U S I C I N R E V I E W 1 9 7 R cholic opening piano chords served as the base of at least two memorable pop songs) to The BQE, a multimedia work celebrating the beloved but decaying New York City expressway. Nico Muhly, one of the four collaborators on Planetarium, is perhaps the most recognizable face of...
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