One of us! One of us?

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

'The institution of music -- all music -- is more conservative than any individual examples. Hearing sound, or finding new contexts in which to play music, is what seems more interesting than any argument about certain musics being right or wrong, conservative or progressive. I don't have a theory to resolve any of these thoughts; simply the desire to maintain an open way of listening.'

David Toop, The Wire issue 261, November 2005, p.114.

Is this a poptimist position? Discuss.

Comments

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think so, it's probably a 'position' born of frustration at the direction the Wire has taken, as much as anything. Toop's always been fascinated by contexts of hearing tho, he's one of the people who took the famous Eno/ambient invention story to mean "let's invent new contexts for listening" rather than "wow let's get this crazy feeling down on wax".

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

I tend to assume a static context for listening and look for the performer/composer to do all the work - to create new contexts in which the pitches or the rhythm can exist. Again this isn't a genre-specific way of evaluating music. On paper it might favour certain musics above others though.