How do you tell a bunch of old guys that they've become stagnant in a field where progress is law, tradition is sin, and innovation is the only path to success? Using an old musical gimmick is like a socialite wearing the same dress to two parties. These men, at some point, all began going to the same tailor, requesting the same cuts and colors, and eventually ALL ended up wearing the same dress.
Okay, so the metaphor has gone too far. This isn't about men in dresses, this is about music, damnit. But you see my point.
Part of the point of my paper is that the field of electronic music started out with the avant garde, the rock-n-roll sensibility of doing the weird shit, knowing it's awesome and edgy, and having that devil-may-care attitude about the opinions of others, rebelling against the status quo. Where did that go? How did we end up sitting in darkened concert halls, staring at the little blue lights on the stage monitors and listening to the same "swoosh, floop, pop!" sounds from every piece? Other fields of art have managed to blend their newfound academic credibility with the above-mentioned qualities. Electronic music, on the other hand, just rolled over, said "Oh, we're legit now!", and promptly began going to bed early, listening to music more quietly, and hanging out with people who wear ties.
To be fair, not everyone in the field is like this. But those who aren't, those who still try to capture the excitement of tinkering with things we shouldn't and writing whatever music they feel like writing, they are shunned. They're considered immature, unrefined, not academically suitable. There will be no university jobs for them unless they're willing to squeeze into the mold and keep their dirty habits as quiet weekend activities in the privacy of their garages.
I'm trying not to fall into the same trap, I really am, but this school is trying desperately to force me down. I'm thinking the solution might be to get weirder, to stay up late, to be louder, and to wear my tie around my head. If they want to keep me from getting my degree because of it, so be it. You can't stop the signal.
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For an humorous, self-disparaging account of the concepts discussed in this entry, check out Mark Applebaum's piece entitled Pre-Composition, which you can listen to on DRAM.
