i didn’t see a thread for sharing articles or vids or podcasts or other things that talk about music in an interesting way, so figured i’d make one.
it’s also an excuse to mention my friend David’s newsletter Penny Fractions which is about music streaming/music labor issues. here’s the link to the latest one he did:
and also here’s a link to a classic from a few years ago about why Spotify is terrible for artists called “The Problem With Muzak” by Liz Pelly:
been poking at arnold schoenberg’s theory of harmony a little, fascinating stuff.
Someone who teaches musical composition is called a theory teacher; but if he has written a book on harmony, he is called a theorist. Yet a carpenter will never think of setting himself up as a theory teacher, although of course he, too, has to teach his apprentices the handicraft. He may very well be called a master carpenter, but this is more a designation of his proficiency than a title. Under no circumstances does he consider himself anything like a scholar, although he, too, undoubtedly understands his craft. If there is a distinction, it can only be that the technique of musical composition is ‘more theoretical’ than that of carpentry. This distinction is not easy to grasp. For if the carpenter knows how to join pieces of wood securely, this knowledge is based no less on fruitful observation and experience than is the knowledge of the music theorist who understands how to join chords effectively. And if the carpenter knows which types of wood are required by a particular job and selects accordingly, he is thus taking natural relationships and materials into account, iust as does the music theorist when, appraising the possibilities of themes, he recognizes how long a piece may be. on the other hand, whenever the carpenter introduces flutings to enliven a smooth surface, he exhibits bad taste equal to that of most artists, and almost as little imagination; even so his imagination and taste equal that of all music theorists. If, therefore, the carpenter’s teaching, just like that of the theory teacher, rests on observation, experience, reasoning and taste, on knowledge of natural laws and of the requirements of the material - is there then really any essential distinction?
btw Holly Herndon and her partner/collaborator Mat Dryhurst have recently launched a podcast about music. i guess the full episodes are on their patreon but if you’re like me and already support like 10 people on patreon you can google and find several partial episodes available for free
currently listening to the partial episode with the writer i linked above, Liz Pelly:
making good on my user title, really good article here about the history of Third Eye Blind. it’s a sad sordid tale of ego/fame/narcissism cancerously overwhelming a humble (and excellent) 90s alt rock band. Stephan Jenkins is a remarkably phony douchebag who stole the intellectual property of the band from its real creators and fired everybody, and now takes credit for all of it, touring the country playing in what amounts to a Third Eye Blind cover band. the interview with him does a great job making all that clear.
https://twitter.com/KevinCadogan/status/1512871886828441601
The singer-songwriter played around the Bay Area scene with a rotating cast of bandmates, all of whom apparently either bowed out due to substance use issues or joined other groups. Third Eye Blind started fitting together when Jenkins met guitarist Kevin Cadogan, bassist Arion Salazar, and drummer/percussionist Brad Hargreaves. The four worked on demos in local studios and garages, each member bringing something crucial to the music. Third Eye Blind had the big chords, intuitive storytelling, and hypnotic noodling that could command a room. The songs were blissed out and cynical at once. Jenkins boasted his wit, drive, and a selectively useful sense of grandeur. Salazar brought a powerful groove and Hargreaves offered rich jazz stylings. Cadogan’s deft, complex guitarwork is the spine and soul of the band’s debut.
Third Eye Blind is front to back with heavy hitters. Album opener “Losing a Whole Year” crashes in like a desperate mission statement. Cadogan’s reverb swirls around Jenkins’s coarse shout, “I remember you and me used to spend the whole goddamn day in bed.” Contagious riffs equalize Jenkins’s charming melodrama throughout. The band operates in measured extremes, alternating between scenes of suicidal ideation and snorting coke under golden skies. It was a perfect transition piece, between the garage grunge that came before it and the radio pop rock that would come after. Not only did the album showcase each members’ distinct strengths, the sound happened to be exactly what the industry was looking for at the time—vibrant, melodic pop rock à la Goo Goo Dolls and Counting Crows.
When I brought up the ’90s rock scene, Jenkins made it clear he doesn’t want to get lumped in with the decade. “We’re not even from the late ’90s. I just don’t identify with that. It might be put on me, but I don’t wear it. I’m interested in how [my music] enlivens how people feel now,” he argued, winding himself up. “I just don’t think that’s something that gets said about Radiohead. Somehow, they didn’t get saddled with ‘Creep.’ They’re a band from the ’90s. Are they a ’90s band?” He posed the same thought experiment for Foo Fighters. He’s not wrong, but the difference is those other bands have released a string of critically adored releases over the past quarter-century. Radiohead, to use Jenkins’s example, has been putting out well-respected albums for decades, while Foo Fighters won three Grammy Awards just this week. By comparison, Third Eye Blind’s biggest and best appears to be decades behind them. This isn’t to say TEB’s more recent works are completely void of value. They just don’t hold much space in public musical memory. “I’m happier now. I say these are the good old days,” Jenkins said, unprompted, after a lull. “I’m not much of a back-looker. I don’t listen to old music.”
it’s been awhile since i posted in this topic but - i have a new music podcast (with a cohost)! it’s called Kitschfork and it’s about the music website everyone loves to hate, pitchfork media, and the indie music of the 00’s. here’s the first episode
