Incomplete thoughts on a provocative subject…

What I find curious about music, art, friends, life et al, is that I never know what is going to strike a chord with me… jump out of the crowd and turn me on in one way or another. For me, music (and so much else of what I deem to be important in life) speaks to me on so many different levels that can range from the intellectual to the purely visceral. Equally, I think we can each extract such differing qualities from any given stimulus.

I find it fascinating one can be drawn to a particular artist that someone else is also into, and yet you can not see eye to eye on their body of work. The new Wilco might be a prime example of this. I cannot get enough of the album, while Kyle who is a die hard Wilco fan is less than indifferent about it. Could it have something to do with the fact that it’s my first Wilco album? Will I be disappointed with Yankee Foxtrot when I finally pick it up? Will my expectations of Wilco be formed by their latest departures?

We are all individual looking for different things in art at any given time. Interesting how it is possible to so pass things by at one point in one's life and then be so drawn to it months or years later.

The problem with music (art) review is many fold. Firstly, I think that the majority of readers are looking for the quick fix…am I going to like this album or not…should I buy it…am I going to get into it. I think that the majority of music listeners never go deeper into their music than that. Are they the ones reading the reviews in the Globe, probably not. They are more likely picking up a free rag like now or eye. Rag writers may well lose many of their readers at the mention of complex concepts and argument; besides if they were capable of profound concepts and arguments they would be going for a job that did not suck, like at the Globe. I think that people rarely listen to music in a profound way and seek out reviews that are as superficial as the way they think about the music.

I think that much of what is released these days is sophomoric and does not stand up to serious criticism or thought. It’s easy to write a dissertation on, say Moby’s Play, but try to find something meaningful to say about yet another release by a prolific artist who might have done better work?…it gets a bit harder.

Unfortunately, the way we see things critically in our society is by comparison…..”I like London. It’s such a cool place, but Paris is so much more romantic” …”Timothy’s is o.k but Starbucks is way better”...“Kerry’s frightening but Bush is worse”. Things rarely stand alone to be judged on their own merits without reference because that reference becomes the common ground for describing or understanding…at least superficially. It’s the easy way out.

As for Metabeats Blog reviews, I’m all for them, but how can Kyle possibly respect my opinion when we can’t even see eye to eye on the latest Wilco! and how can any body respect someone who's a pathological cleptomaniac!