Flavorwire does some equal-opportunity cheerleading for ten of the lady composers who charted on WQXR’s crowd-sourced 100 Composers Under 40 list. Words like “innovators” and “fascinating” are thrown around and no one utters a peep lamenting the lost composerly skills of Beethoven.
There are sample tracks, videos, and attractive head shots scattered all over the internet related to this story. Could this democratic recommendation list represent the tipping point/spring board to a broader public the industry has been hunting for all this time? In a networked world, was a virtual recommendation from a collection of music fans what it took to demystify contemporary classical music and introduce it around to new and curious ears?
[via my Google reader pal/life co-conspirator brian]
You ask, “Could this democratic recommendation list represent the tipping point/spring board to a broader public the industry has been hunting for all this time?” The answer would lie in the amount of money these folks are receiving from “the industry” — probably more of a tripping point than a tipping point. We would quickly see that Justin and Brittany do the industry just fine. If there is any change, it is that the listed composers are managing, at least in some small way, to circumvent the industry.
I think “industry” was poor word choice on my part. I meant the music makers and supporters that surround this work, all the folks here in ArtsJournal land and the like working to bring this music to new/more ears.
Why do commenters on classical music blogs hate Britney (not Brittany, unless you’re thinking of someone else) Spears so much? She’s becoming irrelevant anyway.
Perhaps this is because, like me, they have a secret soft spot for the slutwave stylings of Ke$ha’s “Blow” and cannot bear to hear her mocked? Personally, if I was going to pick a radio hit to bitch about, it would have to be Bruno Mars’ “Grenade,” the lyrics of which make my eyes roll back so far into my head they risk staying there.
I should mention that I don’t hate Britney, though her music isn’t to my taste. Mainly, I just believe in a concept of culture that is more locally oriented than the mass media allows. These monolithic marketing machines consume massive resources and dominate publics thus reducing the choices for what we can hear. Technology is easing this problem, but still not to the extent I would like to see.