Or it's just a fun way to let the other list members know what releases we've enjoyed this year. Damn, dude, it's not rocket science.
Hello list,
I think that the 'best of 2003' concept is not a productive thread topic,
and as such would advise list-members to forgo writing one.
As some of you may recall, I once ran a site devoted towards 'reviewing'
electronic music and was very much a part of the whole 'rating albums'
schema. Since that has ended, however, I have had time to reflect on the
status of music in contemporary society and have found that even in the
'underground,' it is viewed as and expected to be an industry. This should
not be surprising considering that 'popular' music is an industry that we
are constantly exposed on a daily basis; what transpires, then, is a
connection with music as pertaining to some 'industry,' whatever it may be.
The purpose of most music 'reviewing' today is to provide, then, a
consumptive schema for what is being reviewed; what ultimately comes to the
fore is whether or not the album is worth purchasing. Partly as a result of
this, critical interpretation is limited or ignored altogether, and the
significance of any one piece of music is dissolved into exchange value
instead of use value.
'Best of' lists must be viewed in this context as they are, typically, lists
of recommendations to purchase based upon someone else's abstract notions of
worth. The most one usually receives is an artist and album, along with a
sentence or two of why the album is 'good,' which essentially translates
into why it should be consumed. Thus, 'best of' lists are nothing more than
advertising (as much as we would like to believe they are expressions of
personal aesthetic) and contribute to a standardization of music. This
occurs because the small descriptions become templates for further
production (this word was chosen explicitly for its meaning) of music in the
future. In popular music, a conservatism develops regardless of artistic
endeavors in part because of the limited forms allowed by the culture
industry; all else is regarded as 'alien' and thus 'not good.' Of course
this effect is minimal in the lesser-known musics as they are less dominated
by a hierarchy of public opinion and culture industry dissemination; still,
we can see the early fragments of this developing here as well, as many
yearn for the 'good old days.' This is why I feel 'best of' lists are not
useful in the least, and a new way of expressing opinion must be created.
I would like to present the idea of a collective listening and discussion of
albums that members feel are excellent (not necessarily exclusively from
this year). While I am not sure what the exact result of this would be, it
most likely would disrupt the pattern of 'this is good so consume'
mentality, bring participating listmembers closer, and potentially return
thoughtful listening and discussion to the music. If enough are interested,
I will be happy to set up the framework for such an endeavor (others would
be welcomed to lead, of course).
Regards,
Robert
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