Testing Testing

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

At the EMP music seminar last year dubdobdee presented a paper in which he contrasted - or promised to contrast - the "test of time" and the "test of space" when analysing (not just pop) music. I can't remember exactly what the "test of space" is in this schema but ANYWAY I wanted to ask the question (for a P4K column most likely) of why an artform where instancy is apparently such a big element attracts so much 'test of time' rhetoric, and also which OTHER tests one might apply.

Comments

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Yes this is v true on the consumer's part. I think I might have noticed the recourse to the test of time more on artists' part though! People saying they don't care how much they sell, they just want to write songs that people want to listen to in 20 years' time. On the one hand this is sort of understandable, wanting what you create to endure, on the other it is most often said by people who aren't selling any records now.