Tuesday am

At first glance, Wikipedia appears to be a post-structuralist construct. Clearly, though, the editors have some very traditional notions of authority and the notion of 'the original'.

Note to self: examine network theory, with regards to the shift in power from a relative handful of empowered individuals ('critics') to a vast, way more levelled, playing field ('bloggers'). The playing field isn't entirely level, however: power still resides with a handful of immensely influential nodes (Pitchfork, Mess And Noise etc). So is it a mistake to assume that critics have been replaced by bloggers? Doesn't the power still reside in the places it's always resided: there's been no fundamental shift, even though the medium has changed. Shouldn't blogs be equated more along the lines of lower-level conversational taste-making down a pub or venue or refectory (etc)?

How To Become A Musical Critic

"It is not so easy to cite instances of writers who fail because, being critics, they have neither literary skill nor musical culture. A man cannot become an expert in criticism without practicing on art of some kind; and if that art is not music, then he naturally confines himself to the art he is accustomed to handle, writing about it if he has the necessary literary faculty, and if not, teaching it." (George Bernard Shaw, How To Become A Musical Critic, The Scottish Musical Monthly, December 1894, reprinted by Da Capo, 1978)

"I could make deaf stockbrokers read my two pages on music." (same source)

The first post

The idea behind this blog is to create dialogue (argument, discussion, comment, rancour) around my ongoing PhD topic - "Is there anything left to say about music?". The idea is to run a blog in parallel with a blog being set up by a group of QUT students, helmed by myself. I would like a uniformity of design, and to regularly update this page, otherwise I feel it lacks validity. The design needs to include hypertext links, visuals, audio. The uniformity should spread to the written entries. The blog will be used to test out ideas and theories, hopefully to shoot every last one down in flames. The blog will be based in and around Brisbane, but is not intended to be limited by any boundaries - real or imagined - imposed by my location within this fair city. The blog is intended to add colour, not lessen texture.