BAN POP MUSIC NOW!

[koganbot]

Have been pointed to the Webpage for musoc.org, an activist site with avowed political intent that supports, among other things, the following ideas and policies:

--Art music is objectively superior to pop music.

--If you disagree you are a relativist.

--Anything that is not art music is pop music, so minimalism, 'total' serialism, musique concrète, etc. are pop music.

--Pop music should be BANNED from all public and work places that are not licensed entertainment venues.

--Pop music should be BANNED from children's television and other media.

(h/t Josh Kortbein)

Comments

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

hahahahahahahhahahaha, bless. the silly sausages.

i feel slightly dirty for clicking on the link...

ETA:

JEEBUS but that's a badly laid out website, what's with that middle column that goes on forever?

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

The Department Of What The Fvck is having a busy afternoon, I see.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Also incidentally I'm not sure he understands the PRS music licensing policy re: 'entertainment venues' correctly. Workplaces DO have to be licensed to play pop music. And art music actually but y'know.

[koganbot]

You mean, like, you need to be licensed to have the radio on at work? Or is the license for having the radio pumped through the workplace's soundsystem? What about stores that play Muzak? Does that require a license? I'd never have expected that.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, hairdressers and shops and workplaces and things have to. Dunno how you'd catch a workplace if it was closed to the public or how big a workplace it'd have to be before you needed a license but yeah, everywhere that's conceivably benefitting financially from its use of music.

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

This may well not be the same in the US, or indeed any other country -- licensing and copyright law changes wildly from state to state...

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Oh I know, I was just joking about the dude but it is a fair point.

Actually I think they do have it in the US tho. I do not know much about our copyright sistren and brethren across the sea except that we have to liase with them about Beyonce.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I am fairly sure I looked at this page, or something VERY LIKE IT, in 2000! I am also fairly sure it was Josh who sent me the link.

From the style I suspect that if anyone did agree with him he'd be a bit baffled and verging on upset.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

srsly, i'm going to be looking at this all day now:

http://www.musoc.org/classtraitors.htm

what music-lover can forget the assassination of John Dowland's songs last year on 'Songs from the Labyrinth' by 'Sting', an inexplicably famous popster who can barely sing by pop standards, let alone those of art music;

got to love those scare quotes.

[koganbot]

I'm sure that there are many people who agree with him on points one and two. It's when you get beyond there... (But there's a certain logic, in that if you want to make sure that what you're calling "art music" can be absolutely, clearly one hundred percent differentiated from pop, and with good reason you don't trust standard usage to do this, you have to get rid of any possible hybrids - he'll sacrifice any number of babies to get rid of the bathwater. This is one of my favorites (in his def'n of art music): "It must be written for acoustic instruments and/or unamplified voices (Mechanical and electr(on)ic devices may be employed for textural effect, but not as the main 'instrument'. Technical amplification, for recording purposes or to enhance performances in arenas of poor acoustics, are not part of the composer's effects or intention, and are not counted.)")

My impression from Josh's email was that this was a recent discovery, though actually looking at the email now, Josh doesn't imply this one way or another. He does say, "The amount of helpless resentment on display here is impressive."

[(Anonymous)]

found it on jonathan mayhew's blog, wouldn't be surprised if i had stumbled onto it years ago.

[hoshuteki.livejournal.com]

According to the Wayback Machine, the site dates back to Feb 2001. It certainly doesn't look very modern, quite apart from the opinions expressed...

[koganbot]

It does say, "Site last updated: August 3rd, 2009."