I favour a sociological approach to rock (criticism).I'm not concerned with rock-as-art, not really. I've always been far more interested in the effect that rock music has upon its audience - specifically, me. I don't see what I do as a consumer guide. I'm about placing music within the context that it's being experienced, specifically the way I experience it. That is sociological, right?
A few weeks back, I was interviewed for a dissertation concerning the way rock critics are perceived by other critics, bloggers, musicians (etc) and I was the only expert who felt that notions of honesty had nothing to do with my craft. Commentators are too confused by the similarities between journalism and criticism. They are not the same craft. The latter is taught at QUT under the guise of 'creative writing', and the more I think about that categorisation the more I like it. 'Creative writing'. Is that all criticism boils down to?
And I really don't see that what I do has anything to do with 'Gonzo' either.
A lot of everything boils down to creative writing. Question: have u ever critiqued the band Vanlustbader?
ReplyDeletebut what does 'Gonzo' mean?
ReplyDelete(i'm feeling lazy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzo_journalism#Origin_of_the_term)
I also like the 'creative writing' categorisation. Unless you are basing your criticism on demonstrable criteria you are expressing a subjective approach to something that is (hopefully) written in a creative and engaging fashion.
I just read Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" and was quite amused by the way he portrayed the interactions between the lead male character and a 'virtual' research assistant. These interactions are essentially expository exchanges that flesh out the background of the central problem posed within the novel. It is also (in a very 'meta' way) outlining the research process that the author may have undertaken to flesh out the problem. Mark Danielewski's House Of Leaves uses a similar approach.
I would say you definately have approached rock music from a sociological perspective. Your exploration of Grunge and Riot Grrl identifies you as an ethnographer exploring a particular demographic. I'd say you make it quite clear that your perspective is as an observer - whether you are engaging in participant observation could be up for argument. And that to me is where the difference between 'Gonzo', Tom Wolfe and Charles Bukowski lies.
What level of participation do you quantify with regards to your engagement with the topic?
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With regards to my level of participation, I'm basically going to treat myself as one of the case studies (from a 'distanced' perspective, of course). Indeed, one of the reasons I've set up this - and my music - blog is to gauge direct audience interaction with music critics in web 2.0. I am interested, though, at the fact my music blog seems to be (partially) turning into a consumer guide - whether through tiredness, or the physicality of 'performing' a blog, it's hard to gauge. But if it's the latter, then that's pretty darn interesting as well - because it indicates one of the possible ways working within web 2.0 is changing traditional taste-maker criticism.
ReplyDeleteSimon Reynolds, on the other hand, is forging ahead full-throttle on his Guardian blogs.
Hey Jerry, don't want to unduly stress you - but with regards to:
ReplyDelete"I'm basically going to treat myself as one of the case studies (from a 'distanced' perspective, of course)"
I'm interested to see how this goes re: method - you have stated in your Stage 2 that you are adopting a "third person" approach. Interesting in that you don't normally write in 3rd person do you - yet ET is a fictional entity. But is 3rd person enough distance for a case study?
I'm interested in that - i've pretty much ditched the idea of using myself as a case study as I can't really justify it. Instead I will case study 3 practitioners and then use Action Research to validate the results in performance experiments.
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well. basically, i'm just gonna do whatever Julian tells me. um, that should read ADVISES me....
ReplyDeleteNice drawing!
ReplyDeleteUm, yes. Drawn by the estimable Eric Reynolds, in fact. Sorry Eric! You can find more of his art here http://www.comicartcollective.com/reynolds/
ReplyDeleteWhat other kind of writing is there? Destructive writing?
ReplyDeleteI think 'destructive writing' would be incredibly entertaining, actually. Can you think of any good examples?
ReplyDeleteOh absolutely. Music writing is WRITING - it's fiction writing (interviews are edited, moods thrown upon them, shows not reported in order or in toto, etc). I'm trying to bring that to the fore stylistically in my music writing, but it's hard to marry with accessibility.. I tried with my Bjork review, but it was all a bit too rapturous. Any tips?
ReplyDeletemy ears were burning so i dropped by... i guess the reality is that few critics can lay claim to the title of 'tastemaker' - fortunately or unfortunately as the case may be, most people would classify Jerry as one. Accepting this, the task of dis-implicating yourself and pretending that you have no interest in the discussion seems a more problematic path than tackling this issue head on from a research design/method point of view.
ReplyDeleteThe trick in using yourself as a case study is to be up front about it, then firmly and convincingly situate your own work in the field of practice. You also need to develop a way of signaling the change of perspective from your own to a distanced critical one, which attempts to balance multiple perspectives.
at least that's what i am ADVISING anyway...
'that's my story an i'm stickin' to it..'
No, I quite agree Julian (heh heh). I'm not trying to disengage with who I am or what I do, but I am trying to map the ways that intersecting with web 2.0 environments is affecting my own style of criticism. It's nowhere near as obvious on this blog as it is on the music blog...where I've taken to lifting archive material in an effort to redress the balance.
ReplyDeleteIs that last quote from 'Story Of The Blues'?? NICE!!!
why does everyone start commenting just when i'm ready for bed?
ReplyDeleteHa, thanks, Jer...
ReplyDelete