I love Nico Muhly.
From the Gothamist interview today.
Speaking of the New Yorker, what do you really think of Sasha Frere Jones? Well, have you read my blog posts about his writing? I’m sure he is perfectly pleasant, it’s less him and more his writing that I object to (check here for details). I don’t like music writing that makes you feel like somebody has just cattily pointed out the references behind something; that isn’t what I would call “listening;” it’s more like those people who can’t hear a story without being like, “my mom went there!” or “I climbed that mountain too!”
I really, 100% agree with the statement about music writing becoming a list of references that end up making the reader feel less knowledgeable about things than the writer—and no more knowledgeable about the music they’re supposedly reading about. This is very present in blog music writing, which has basically become (or maybe it started out that way) a place to post bragging rights (be it learned information or personal experience) that end up getting regurgitated throughout the lifespan of the blog (“Band X reminds me of the first time I saw Band Y in a small club before any of you even heard their name, at the time they sounded a little more like Band A, but not in a derivative way…more as if Band A had a lovechild with Band B and spent about 8 months listening to Band C, but with a glockenspiel.”).
That said, I’m sure I’ve done something like that before, especially with personal anecdotes, which I find more enjoyable to read. Now I’m just lazy, and more of a “here’s a photo, here’s a song” kind of girl. Can’t go wrong with the A/V route.
