Friday 17 April 2009

Review: David Stubbs, 'Fear of Music: Why People Get Rothko But Don't Get Stockhausen'

6 comments:

  1. Wow, this review provides perhaps more insight into the subject of the book than the book itself! One thing I might add - Stubbs seems to actually reinforce negative stereotypes of 'modern' music with his numerous personal anecdotes of failed attempts to convince non-initiates. Does he really think that passing an iPod around a roomful of people so they can hear a few seconds of AMM will convince them of anything? Of course they all say it sounds like 'tuning up'. You can't 'get' AMM in a few seconds. Stubbs has missed the point of his own argument - listening to and appreciating 'modern' music requires time and focused attention. But the apparent conclusion one might draw from his anecdotes is that it is simply a lost cause. Despite Stubbs' obvious excitement about the topic, his book feels like a step backward.

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  2. Yeah I totally agree, and much of what he writes re-enforces the low culture / high culture divide (myth?) that causes people to dismiss unconventional musics as 'pretentious' and thus forms an obstacle to appreciation. You don't have to be a highly civilised brainiac to be able to get something out of Stockhausen or AMM, it's just a matter of learning a different way of listening and appreciating. Sadly the book is far more orientated toward anger at people for not performing Stubbs's supposed elite intellectual feats of holy appreciation than showing people how they might come to enjoy experimental music in the less demanding ways certain art has been appreciated by the wider public.

    When people tell me that a certain art or music is too 'simple' or 'nonsensical' to be proper art, I tend to respond with something like 'What if all Rothko wanted to say was "Hey, have you had a good look at the colour orange recently?"'

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  3. shit! i was thinking about buying this book to make a present for a friend. but, after the reading of your review i'm full of doubts! hehehehe.

    my friend is a great fan of rothko and modern music, so i though she would like it... now, i don't think so.

    i must find another present!

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  4. excellent review, thank you

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  5. Rough and tumble! Lots to chew on in this review, and I have to say it has changed my mind about getting the book. Thanks.

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  6. Well, the question should be ''Do people really GET Rothko?'' I do not think so. And Stockhausen actually became fashionable for a while (at least in NYC and London) during the 90s among them ''electronica'' kids.

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