MD4214 Political Economy Notes
Political economy 27th SeptemberÂ
All about critical thought and analysisÂ
Where is music and technology taking us?
Environments create outcomes & outcomes create environments
âHow music worksâ - David ByrneÂ
âPaid in fullâ - means that they are getting what they earned out of the music industry because at the time of this album, the industry was mainly whiteÂ
If this image was two white men in their position then the picture would have a completely different meaning
Denotation - what you see / what is being portrayed
Connotation- the meaning behind what you see
This is the white equivalent of the previous image
The fact that there is a musical instrument and an open book suggests that they think they are better than everyone elseÂ
The lute also suggests âdiscordâ which suggests between the church and the merchant sector, there wasnât total harmony.
Years ago, music was a ritual and part of cultures existing and was a key part of religious ceremonies.
In the early 20th century, âmodernismâ in art and music was all about
perfecting form, content and meaning
Experimenting with form, content and meaning
Experimenting with new methods of creating art and music (new materials, new sounds and new technologies etc).
âFather of electronic musicâ
Brought the Theremin into public eye
Created a scored concerto using just percussion
During the later part of the 20th century, Art and Music became more playful and less purist eg, Andy WarholÂ
Things changed but did it changed for the worse?
The medium is the messageÂ
Gutenberg printing press changed how music was made, similar to auto tune nowadays, this outcome of auto tune changed the environment and it made music different and created odd sounding vocal linesÂ
Tv was the to them what Internet is like to us, they thought it was bad. But it was the medium that was going to change the way people communicated not the messages that were being shown on it.Â
Decentralisation - the lightbulb liberates peoples time as it puts them in control of the light and they can work all day and nightÂ
CDs last 78 mins meaning that artists had more options to choose with their musicÂ
To fit all of the 9th symphony is the only reason itâs 78 minutesÂ
Bands such as âWolf Aliceâ are still making 45 minute albumsÂ
James brown released 6 albums and 12 singles in 1966Â
The Beatles lifespan was only 7 years but produced a whole lot of musicÂ
These days it can take an artist 7 years to make one albumÂ
The medium can be more important than the media because it changes our behaviour and how we listen.Â
âThe defiant onesâ on NetflixÂ
The content of any medium is always another mediumÂ
YouTube, mobile phones, cassettes changed the music businessÂ
The internet is the main one, it created streaming which involves playlists etc...
There is always one medium inside anotherÂ
McLuhan describes the world as a global village after printed word became popularÂ
