Jay-Z & Coca-Cola

I found it interesting that Downie (2003) chapter we were assigned this week began with a description of the future of the music listening, just as Kusek & Leonhard (2005) did. Could this be an intentional choice on the part of the instructor?

I found Downie’s way of organizing the chapter very compelling. Breaking down the essence of music into seven facets helps introduce MIR in an easily digestible way. I find myself wondering how many of my classmates read music or have a classical music background. My knowledge of music theory has so far helped me with the denser readings of Downie and Orio (2006). I wonder how accessible this literature is to non-musicians. A good portion of it seems like it would appeal to people interested in Information Retrieval, but not necessarily music. Audio certainly complicates IR, but music seems to compound the complications tenfold.

I really like Downie’s (2003) observation that the incompleteness of early MIR systems makes them more effective than a more complicated system. Really, in the end, isn’t part of IR or librarianship retrieving the desired information or knowledge in the easiest way? My cello teacher in college often told me, and I have repeated this to students I have taught that being lazy is in some way good. He would tell me that I should expend the least amount of energy needed to get something (a shift in the hand, a bowing or a fingering) done so the playing does not sound or feel labored.

I was very happy to see Kusek & Leonhard (2005) mention Jay-Z. I really like Jay-Z, and have enjoyed seeing his name in the press so often since his release of DOA (Death of Autotune). I felt their mention of him was especially interesting in light of the controversy or beef around the song DOA. The rapper the Game is saying Jay-Z’s objection to autotune means he’s old or irrelevant, which I interpret to mean as not open to new technology. Kusek & Leonhard’s mention of Jay-Z actually shows he has not only adapted to new technology, but embraced it in a way that furthered his fame and interests. So, keep it up Jay-Z.

In the same chapter that Kusek & Leonhard (2005) mention Jay-Z, they also make a very big generalization that I object to. They speak about the reasons people are driven to make music, asserting people make music for the same reason: emotion or creativity drive them to it. I agree this to a certain degree, but I think music creation is more complex than that. Yes, people are generally drawn to music innately, but I do not think generalizing about the reasons people use their musical ability is a good argument. Some people write music for money. That may not be why they learned how to play or write or create music, but it may be their primary motivation for continuing to create it.

I do not wish to give the impression that I am not enjoying the Kusek & Leonhard book, because I am. They just present several assertions that I disagree with. For example, satellite radio. I do not believe satellite radio is going to play a part in the future experience of listening or finding music. I feel the merger of XM and Sirius radio signaled how they are struggling, along with the traditional terrestrial radio stations. Much has been made about HD radio by terrestrial radio, and I don’t think this is going anywhere, either. So, it surprises me that Kusek & Leonhard, who seem quite savvy, felt satellite radio was worth discussing. Similarly, they mention Coca-Cola as a giant, but Coke has seen some of its dominance slip since the introduction of energy drinks. It seems to me that Coke is in danger of facing some of the same problems as the music industry. I guess I agree with much of what Kusek & Leonhard have to say, but I just extend it to other non-music industrial giants and they either are unaware of it or just do not mention it.