‘I don’t like your tilted stage,’ a song in 2017 went, in a pointed critique of the Saint Pablo tour by Kanye West. The songwriter was Taylor Swift, whose 2018 reputation tour I had the good opportunity of seeing in Wembley Stadium, London. It was a novel experience, fusing musicality and theatricality into a stunning … Continue reading Billie Eilish Concert Review: Hiding in the Spotlight
Category: Music
Fukuyama, the state of India, and SYL’s ‘Sidhu Moose Wala’
At the top of today’s list of trending music videos on YouTube is SYL’s ‘Sidhu Moose Wala’. The production is slick and the lyricism imitative of American hip hop, following the recent move in K-Pop from north of the South China Sea towards rapped, rather than simply sung, lyrics. Indeed, like K-Pop, Indian pop seems … Continue reading Fukuyama, the state of India, and SYL’s ‘Sidhu Moose Wala’
The market of music
Music is a peculiar fusion of emotion and technicality. The coldest of cold sciences, mechanics, is integrated with the warmest of warm poetries, music, to produce something lukewarm: the market of music, a unity of technicality and artistry. But the market itself threatens the balance on which it rests. As value is transformed into prices, … Continue reading The market of music
From Bach to Born: A philosophy of music
Recently I’ve been writing about music. The study of music from a philosophical perspective is often ridiculed, as it is traced to the work of critical theorist Theodor Adorno, who preferred Bach and Beethoven to Mozart and jazz music (preferring not to comment on the decrepit condition of popular music). Adorno played the piano, but … Continue reading From Bach to Born: A philosophy of music
Why Kanye West is a unique musical genius
The name Kanye West has wide-ranging associations, depending on who you ask. But what's for certain is Kanye West is a name, a noun — not a description, or an adjective. Because Kanye West is singular, perhaps the most singular artist in existence, or the history of existence. Let me explain. Kanye began by breathing … Continue reading Why Kanye West is a unique musical genius
On the poetry of purgatory
One of the best movies I’ve seen is The Pianist, directed by Roman Polanski. It reminds me of some other movies I’ve seen, like Moonlight and Parasite. The difference is that these brilliant films conclude with more-or-less utter hopelessness, while The Pianist ends with the ambiguous hope of music. Other films also do this, to … Continue reading On the poetry of purgatory
Spielberg’s West Side Story: A musical masterpiece
There is something entrancing about the idea of revival. Yet it is also deceiving, especially when what is being revived is itself a revival. Such is the case with Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, a revival of the original musical based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. In addition to classical composer Leonard Bernstein’s spellbinding score, … Continue reading Spielberg’s West Side Story: A musical masterpiece