Musical aesthetics - a rant

Following on the theme of using this blog as a way of dumping some stuff that has no other natural home, here's a rant I wrote in response to my good friend Big Jim's view that there is no objective 'good' in music, and we each have our own 'good' - a dangerous view, in that it suggests that musical discussion and "musical education" are redundant.

The problem (a problem which is as old as aesthetics itself) is the widespread disagreement between people about which music is good. How could someone claim to get the 'right answer' when there is so much disagreement in the world and no obvious way of arbitrating it? My answer is one germinated in both Plato and Hume: I might not be able to explain why the music *I* listen to is better than the music *you* listen to, but I can explain why I'm better placed to judge than you are. Anyway, here's what I wrote:

Faced with a world in which what the supposed 'experts' and the alleged 'masses' say is 'good' seems neither good, pleasant, effective, worthwhile, or any other positive adjective you might throw at it, we have OPTIONS, to whit:
1. decide there is no such thing as 'good'; there is only each person's own preference
2. decide that the 'experts' and/or media are right about what is the good stuff, while we are sadly mistaken.
3. decide that, largely, there is such a thing as the difference between good and bad product, and moreover we're right about it more often than not.

When I think about it like that, it seems that option 3 is clearly the right explanation of the situation. After all, I can tell a pretty good story about why the people who disagree with me approve of what they approve of - to whit, they're either paid to talk it up, or they have never experienced anything better. (If they have even HEARD anything better, they probably haven't taken the time to get inside it in the way you need to with proper music.)

Whereas, I can't imagine that any of the gurning frogs at the NME who try to tell the world that 'The Jisms' are the best band ever could point to any cognitive deficiency on our part which makes us prefer mid-period Miles. (Moreover, I wonder how anyone can take seriously a magazine's claim to have found 'the best X ever' unless they think the editor is possessed of impressive precognition or are sure that the End is Near.)

That's not a manifesto for musical absolutism, by the way. It can also force me to revise my opinions and listening behaviour - for example if someone who I know to have a superior range of experience in music starts telling me about some killer recording I haven't heard, or have only listened to without paying attention, the same logic will force me to give it a go. On that count alone, it seems like a better account of our behaviour as listeners. After all, it's pretty clear that an theory of aesthetics which justifies our habit of deference to other peoples' opinions is preferable to one which leaves it a mystery why I should ever listen to anyone else...

more linux madness

this is for my own benefit more than anything else, to save hours of googling around when I next need to solve this problem: to force Ubuntu to rescan for new hardware and update its config automatically (eg. when adding a new USB keyboard), you need to do this:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Nice. Shiny new keyboard working now. Hulk happy.

"Wock Woll can Wescue the Wold"

I was worried that music might have lost its way recently... then I realised that I just haven't been listening to enough Japanese heavy metallers playing flying Vs with nude drummers.

Oh yes. It's all here. And here.

london licensing mayhem

So.. I find myself sat at home in front of the computer at 12am on a Saturday night after trying to go out for 'big drinks in town' with an old friend. Unfortunately, it turned out that the pub we were in shut its doors at 11, sharp, and so did every other hostelry within walking distance. So I reluctantly came home, since the only other options were clubs with entry fees, 'bangin' tunes, and no decent beer.

This doesn't feel unfamiliar at all. In fact, it was exactly what it was like to go out drinking on a Saturday night in Aylesbury in 1997. The question is, why is it that an 11pm closing time for pubs is still more-or-less universal in central London, but you can easily drink until 2 or 3 in pubs in supposedly 'residential' areas like East Dulwich ('home' for me), and even in other cities (Oxford)?

I'm not convinced that the opening hours revolution is being implemented consistently, is all.

Mind you, if I hadn't come home early, I wouldn't have got to listen to this.

My guitar has holes in it

...mostly in the places I intended to put them, but in some other embarrassing places as well.

The idea of getting a scratchplate to cover up all the damage I've done is looking increasingly appealing. For now, I've just filled up all the unintended holes with plastic wood. Maybe that'll do the job.

urgh.

R Kelly is Trapped in the Closet

It's true. R Kelly's Hiphopera is the best thing I've seen in music for a while.

'Oh God I'm trapped in the closet!'

Check it out here

Did I really have to do this?

Emails are cheap, and someone had to keep Radio 4 on its toes. I quote their response in full:

"Thank you for your e-mail regarding 'Redonda - the Island with Too Many Kings'.

I understand that you found it unacceptable for a BBC continuity announcer to
use the word 'Less' when the word 'Fewer' should have correctly been used.

I can inform you that our staff newsreaders and announcers, over whose speech we
have direct jurisdiction, undergo a period of extensive training and are only
confirmed in their appointments if the required standard has been reached.

Your comments have been fully registered on our daily audience log. This
internal document will be made available to Senior BBC Management.

Thank you once again for taking the time to contact us.

Regards

Marie Therese Gibson
BBC Information"