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    Mcclary, Reveling in The Rubble

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    138 1 Conrrional Wid “To emain wit “purely musi” accounts even of “absolute” music rmiimizes our appreciation of why and how thee piees have exerted so much influence, haw they negodated the tensions oftheir times, why ‘hey sll mater, Anditcontinesw overlook the ways those underlying strucutes we often resve a bedrock do caltaral work, even when ‘hy purport to speak to from the efioge of counteronvention From Conventional Wredonn Susan Me Clergy awernty of CaliGynte Meee — 2800 Cuaeran 5 Reveling in the Rubble: The Postmodern Condition "To jg fom the eremias that have circulated in eset year cone ‘cettng our owa moment, we Bind ourselves now in the aftermath of clued hinory—a period often refered to (or beter of wore) ab Posanodernism. Even those wio do not use this word arrive at similar agnor: music theorist Robert Morgan for instance, mourn the dis sppearance of Donald Toveys mythological main steam, and Leonard Meyer cals ours a culture of state where belie in linear progress has ranished! In one of his most esses exays following World ‘War ll, Adorno declared that "to wit poetry afte Avschwte i bare ‘ci and many hisworians intacpret he poverty of postwar culture as confrming his fatale prediction. Ie would seem that we are con dered fo reside in the detritus of history, where nothing of any iat ‘orance willerer again happen within the cultural aena-—at least not in he foreseeable fare. Decactors of Posuoderitn like to deery what they regard asthe arate nature of recent culture. For much of taday’sartinvelves he ‘suring of signs and conventions lifted from eae syler—a charae- tersic expecially noteworthy afer the fastidious avoidance of public odes under some of the dominant strains of Modernist, Fredsie Jameson refers tothe dizaying nieuces of reyced codes in the at of 19 49! Consentiona Wire ‘our time as pastiche or blank parody parody that hae loti sense of humor")! while Jean Baudrillard lable he products fear age" laera"—eopes that lack originale’ Given the fact. have long since ben understood a petrified clement no longer capa ble of partsipating in expressing anything new, many crite have taken thee returm as prima faci evidence ofsurtender, the rfusl of contemporary att to keep up the god Bight again coopaton ‘This is expecially the cave with the resurgence in music ofthe mest iexportaot convention of them all—namely, tonality. The linear narra tive of muse history reprodced in textbooks and tach excel writ- lng races he gradal erosion of onal harmonic sytax over the course ofthe sor andes oerehrowrby Arnold Schocaberg ithe early years ofthis cencury. Just as Modernist painters banished reprerentation ia favor of abstraction, so avant-garde comporers of the early twentieth centuey came t teat semiotic code and the principles of harmonic tonality as anathema, Over the course of che lve hundced years uemendous amount of ftllectal energy has ben expended on pre- ‘eating insdverent lapse back into tonality lehough they nay seem diametrically opposed philosophically, both serial and chance opera tions served as precautionary measures, designed to ensure thatthe Aleeply ingrained habits of tonal thinking would aot ereep back into ‘Ye despite these Modernist stems at weeding out all traces of ts (Other the paradox remains that atonal projec themsves derive thei _meaning fom tonality. Throughout the year ofits exe, tnalisy was Jeep simultaneously at bay and i its place of privilege by what Jean- Francis Lyotard deren ar negative theology: ie regaed a the se- ductive idol sguinst which comporers and listeners were expected to practice apostasy To be sure, some twented-century composers (commonly dismissed as reactionaries wh filed to participate in the ongoing progressive history of mesial innovation) never disavowed tonality or its codes. Bu it could be argued that those who continued Rev inthe Rae J tat casually to employ is procedures were invested les intensely a oma ity than those who bred thee workon circumventing iatall oe ‘The proliferation of wiadic sonorte in rent music has thus been teceived by the faithful tothe premier of stony at backing st icalture had departed suddenly fom the rules of strict ditt ea sage in a Hiagen-Dazs binge laterday Moderne vice thei ih trout indigntin in tones that resemble thove of ladies from the Te perance Union witnessing the end of Prlubition. Cerny the lshly rchearated harmonies of, #3, David Del Tredils Alie places offer an clement of ict pleasures indulged in with abandon. His Edwse ian themes tanepor us back novell, bedonsially othr time before the ban on tonality: he suture late Romantic pst and Pertmod- cern present renmlessly together, as though the incrvenig years of Modernist austerity had simply been snipped out. AS it says in che Bible, the dog ruins to ite vomit andthe sow that wat washed ois wallowing in the mir, And the narrative erjeetnry of near progress inte direton of ever- greater abstraction collapses, ur if fron the vantage point of high Modernism ll insancss of Postmodern rferentaity sound alike—all equally guilty of betraying the Catne—I want to arg thatthe pretces that have emerged over ‘he lst wo decades area vital and varied as those of anyother m= ‘meat in cultural history. For younger generations, today’s clrre does sotlack meaning, nor does tannounce the ead of history. Iour artis no longer heed injunctions aginst references to cultural codse past snd present thie aced not signal a pave return tothe salty of ne honored clichs, Since the watershed years ofthe 1960, many com- overs have come to believe that music shouldbe “com-pored”—ier- ally, put together—from elemens recognizable ro a subsantal community of lineners, that it should participate in a public arena ‘where interpretation isetvely provoked. Yer if ht attitude serves 6 an undeslying assumption that informs many musical practices, hele commonality eds there. In th chaper, will tke achster of very Resin ithe Rabble Example 51h, Glory, "Opening" Used by peemiion of Dunvigen Musi Pabies. of Palip even moe than most pieces by Cl i makes wre ofthe ag / Conentina Wars the cours of complete performance, But one can hhow manipulated one iby musical patterns ofthis in other words to take apar into components—t0 ‘hetorical devices tat ll persuade us of dir unmediated autbenic- ing in clase concerts or moves Alternativ Ines the experience of ime’ a way that differs marke covented trajectories within which we wwually Bnd thes Gauwork? "Opening" shes usawae ofthe prybolog tis materia; but while Cage arranged is nonstandard materials in cordance with chance operations, Glas selects panes most dear to ‘ur eal mythology of utonomous subjectivity and rearcanges them ite parpotfuly. Nothing here ileft to Chance, GI ever efi work wo produce the does may be even inare disconcerting to the ably to Resin inthe Rabble 45 are elatvly easy to identify: bur what they mea in semblage is wide open for debute—w raced itience Because ifyou gett something you dont ike, en secondo so unt ars into meting else fae than the pial machines we sed to ly eel something that young nsiians have, some os touch wih sou get elder. Tove bands ike alice, Black Fag, DieKreuze, Speed bandh tea whole new way of thisking, of ving Aad we've oct keep up with el probaly di ying ‘The disineprated subject to decried by Moderns theorists of Post: ¥Yeteven Zor, I hin, esis eligi ine with this cularl diag nosis: The tle Spine refers explicitly to the hatd-beiled detecting fms mir of 19408 Los Angeles. Toa listener armed with the sequence of events inthe piece makes sense—at least « ying that an act of voe Piece we rac the progress FReocing inthe Ratible gp saundeack fal that doe ely cedex Andra Seip of earrave cotniy froa uniy, andcloe i acd whe, tree quarter afthe may hwagh the pce snecher oes of sce ccury— his ine even ofthe, sede yea ‘cena aris of organ and sath chi, puncte by machine. Bieter this cas the oun invless sore ete ‘onveriaon n pao te clu anda ete ily pangs on dei gota mined hte wandering ‘nnen* Only he 0. ver familiar version of subject, Like Hector Berlin, who tended to present tries obliquely by means the musical gence encountered by hischaracter during thee ‘odyssys'™ Zoens cinematic imagination weaves his sucrares fem ‘asia types with rong public associations. Inthe ease of plene e eww on jazz of various son, blue, and country, all of which he fa ssxophonis of exceptional prowess) and his enemble of callaboratoet simlate with uncanny precision, ‘Their collesive virosty is far more evident ive concert forthe intaposions that ound on recordings ike mere splicings ee scaly Berformed. On a signal fo Zorn, the musicians switch rem pron ‘sing ia the syle of one genre otha of another, they hit the ground ‘unning without even the dightert hesitation for readjustmene, "Yet Zora emerged fom a standard competitions bicgrounds he rastesned ochink in terms oft theory and be ins a i ein formal in fuences Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Ives, Partch, Var, and Cage.” Bucthe manifen content and cnet qualities of i menieae- Koowledge his deb Afian American and pop culture. Ax be aye {grew upin New York Git asa media ek, watching movie and ‘TV cod buying hundreds of records. Theres loc of et ia ne, bet “Zocts msc announce his refusal to abide by what Andress Huyssen| vide baween so-alled high and popular cul- “Tobe sure, Zotn adopts here pop gente of the mo cry, eleewhere he grab onto the genres of Road Runt ationship with bands of the quotation above __ myriad jas and pop. tention, The world presents sao lange the world century social reconcliation or of nineteenh-ceatury ta evn in the Ruble 49 eveling inthe Ruble ast sional hearings on Zorn, but Iam struck by the differences in broad public reepson. this difference a result of raps fr greater clrral fom pbc sertiny, merely becouse it was id for comenicably emoe hin Ingen, nd ele widen wien neg ‘ay shield aise agenda from debate, but they trivialize thei effects for one would prefer the widespeead controversies that break out ‘over Hillywiod movies than the slencethathasgrete the premieres ‘of most new musiesinee Rite of Spring. ‘ns been asleep and chat singles agoniz- ingly with renewed circulation. As art music manages toatae public 12 Consentonal Wir xtention, twill have ro participate ia the josding and friction that sb Ine marketplace of compan ideas cor with very differen prio , ‘Sictad the ie, hegenony tha iad sae he ok td ‘While their expressions averse wo aew formal prac- fr any people to recogaize that this wasthe at so hocrendous was thee crime of drtvng fans avay fom rock —espe> large segment ofthe public moved away fom rebel rock and embrced the music of bac and gay dance clubs. One need only recall the inf mous “Diseo sucks" campaig, ia which Iiteaers were goaded by 2 eocingin the Rubble 53 (Chicago radio DJ to bring diso records to Teal sports arena fr & ke S. Bach, the Artist developed his ye Far fom the main centers of eltural production; bh acquired much ofthe muse that infuericed them through exmmercil dstibution actworks—Bach 154. Consents Wit dope this Affean American gene inthe 3960s Bug it ix preciely s0ck’s image of the masculine that he secks wo deat inthe course oF| homed up or more tense peur tanh ard snl re lest. I concinvallythrestens to crack downward into normal adult male range, and itisonly through the utmeststain,appareny, that he the harmonic progression turns out tobe tha of je may take a while forthe litenee wo detect his, slow sit unfold gz after the four-bar introductory vamp, takes the Ari cight a ued the song. Yet despite the gli ‘thythmie activiy ofthe song it never al, even ‘more local level thas that ofthe harmonic changes. The surface is constantly agitated by a seratehy {groove and a teasing guitar lick that hold itelf ambiguous with re~ spect to harmonic context “Kiss” sete up 2 world in which unpredicsbletllations, moans chords that guarantee 3c atenion in ther owarighe Yet the Ai elects ‘ot to eyle dough V and IV directly wo tonic, athe standard bloes Revcling inthe Ruble} 95 conveotion would usually dictate. stead of yielding immediatly to tonic arrival, he proceeds fom Vand IV to V?..then back agin to TV. By presenting the Veo TV progresion ewig elle greater atea- ‘onto cs form, He chereby undermines conventional certainty tha Vand IV musa fact lead automaticaly 1, which intensifies the ‘on TV and at the moment of greatest tension—the point where the blues progression should finally each it point of harmonic clonure (the final mesure of the 12 X achat ken us to get here)—the prevents it frm taking hold. Om the very lst beat before should testa, the guitar abraptly cates. And iat his 3c, the Arts drops che word “kis” with a coy slur that, touches on the keynote jus a split second before the inevicabledowne beat, The effec of ell hese setae isnot delayed gratification: it isa screech, leading ‘0. dramatic defaion. 1 isa fhe dtipline involved in maining ‘hat stoic igh nally proves too dificult and the peat-up energy ex- de wo i wig Ys th supesion anion what otal speaking ece—suppe, hat the tens artifice tha has characterize thie song—fllowed bya cove ple of measores of instrumental fade-out. He thus produces a gap be- ‘een the persona who sings, wh appeusto have been overwhelmed atthe end of che refrain, and the puppeteer wh teasngly sade be- hind the enactment, Even the instrumentals participate in this play of indeterminate ‘sede idence, Thus the jangng guitar lick which precedes the 156 J Conentina Wists introductory vamp, interrupts the would-be cadence tthe end of ech chorus, plays the firtpartoftheinstrutnenta chorus, and provides the fade-out atthe ead-—matches the sound and affet of the Artists pinched faleeu. By conc, aewd-sounding wab-wah gui Bing the Arts normal” you ange kes Up the scod parte ‘The video for “Kis” makes explic the ge song. Although the Arist actully playe recording, be presents himself inthe video in the mode ofan exotic singerldancer fronting « Band?” He displays his body with a bare ‘midriff and physial vocabulacy ypcally ideaied with seducive female entertainers, casts « woman guitar player Jong-time band- member Wendy Melvoin) inthe "purely musical” sole wally reserved for male musicians, has woman mouth the occasional Tow notes, and performs the cryptic hand gestares he as developed to repent fe- ‘male pleasure (the Arist may be the only male adh century who regularly express vaginal envy)" Alehough rein pantomime, they in effert—anything bot + somehow try somakea aew kindof sense by means of prev Reeling inthe Rubble | 157 place the experience of gender and sexuality as peformance—alvays Postmodern decentered ing codes. In her song "Sil Thrives Tis Lov,” for is trappings of «Lava ballad—a convention ‘omanteencounces butis heal laden with camp connetations. Too oon characters and dag queen have clamped ots between ‘ong continues, it picks up the hackneyed sounds of «sultry Patsian accordion and tits toward the Neapolitan sentiment sole ‘mio” And yer how does one speak oflove ina Postmodern univero— ‘pecially when not only love but alo gender and sexuality are peo- foundly unstable? 158! Conentinal Wit o,navoy "Stun Tans Tas Lor," agenue (192) ‘ed lng, “Sill Thrises This Lae” Werden tic by long and Ben Mink, © Copyright 953 by Polya Iteration! Publi. Inc, and avin Eseraimnen Ine. (ASCAP).neratinal copyright secured Used by perio, Al right reve ough ne spotter en's tat the n- Reeling inthe Radble 359 age she has chosen, but she also knows that she cannot speak from utide languages and eather than opting fr noncommunication, she sings on defiant, demonstrating mest poignantly the pathos, the ab- ordi the bari of tering rometing as shop-worn as an admit- sion of love love, which sil somehow lingers on long afer eysica ne heterosexual romantic kitsch, Yet she brosdcats ie nonetheless, singing on the botdesine between irony and since, berween ambivalence and hope. As she breaks open those obsolete bots for containing ob solee, woeilly clichéd feeling, she manages sornchow to infuse them | with new wine. “The musi gente that epitomizes the proces of fasion Thave ben de- serbing chat has taken it fr beyond anything tht could be consid- dea play of signifies and into politcal terrains seniive provoked censorship—is rap the musical component ofhip- 29005, cammunites of rap ards had emerged all constitutes pethaps the moet vial are of popular Incest technological development.” On the one hand the Ircs and their modes of performance trace hele Lineage back to the grit of ‘West Alia tothe vetosic competitive language games ofthe strets such as tonsts or the dozens But on the other hang, rp has alway ‘drawn much ofits creative energy from the mediating device of the recording industry. Whether this involves playing two urctbles ‘off each other in ways never envisioned by manufacturers, producing 1 Conetionl Wado Rowling inthe Rabble 1 163 runs up agunst a whole network of Afiean American practi: ‘namely the emphasis on powerfal physical rhythms, on al/response, on in tal vireuorityenflded in commit, In fst, one of the most important features of rap invol¥es its intense concern with refer- | Public Enemy's tne "Nightrin”(pocaipe gt: The Enemy Sits | Blac) tes i point of deparere a ong ofthe sae name by the m= sedan perhaps no inca, James Boor, Brownfien dete his owa sng "Ni 1. Rap is far from mona, howe criquethan any other genre group are quickly answered by othe piper but in rape chat challenge, for instance debated de- ions of women. But although I could cite do not wane to explain away the intent noi and confrontational aitude frequently voiced in rap they ae the expres instances of afir- 162 / Conentional Weds ightrsn” alo extend al for slf- lehaviors celebrated by the subg fal section, Chuck D identifies hinself Revi in the Rabble 65 ing sesightorward pros for she sake of spiraling puns and rapid-fire lusts of internal cymes. Even if doing this somesimes obscures the literal sens ofthe mestage, the muscular hecric such devices produce ‘comapensatest in hie ability wo contol ping, important keepin nin that by hoge numbers of Fans, white at well as black, to getonboatd,mied witha sample ofa wornan saying “sop the sil” oie ofa porter barking orders, Te grooves sipped down 0 suspended animation fr these sections, always in preparation for Chuck D's next onslaught A vaguely buck bas alternation a Sule he jusieresberween verse and rela, between refrain and break beencen important seganene of the production team lyers on noite: the note ote forthe sake of noise “Nights factors we usualy ace a musical are deliberately kept toa minimum, Bat the concentration of physical energy, rhythase virewosty, clea ‘efeence and social critique produced here is tuning, 154 | Comentina Wim unui Enasey: “Nocera,” Apocalypse 91 The Bacmy Saris Black 193) "—Bur head thingie anyone can side the tein And the eon 10 Forthat ‘came we ook the exe ook’ ll around at mys ald fiend Lightaia wo the brown Theblac Here we go again 15, Homey oer there knows Keith Bathe be hig’ ate tus him i ue ; The lack hing i ride Teall he nighin —Iesides the goo and the bad ‘Wecal the monkey tained 25, Tried w stack the Hack sue "Cans some ofthe look ju like you (REPRAIN] Saya’ o the seene Siti’ on thetraia| 430 Look abou the se ‘There go the sellout who's taki’ de like Cargo Cause he desl eoding inthe ale | 165 The ys om ey Largo Hislialeboy ard to tod he look wi tbat he all's oid "Cavs erin’ the in you thnk he down forthe ens jt ke youre Buethe bas oe 09 ‘Tost he talk, walk he wale ‘The king of New York Crack lack rick hela 5 Tocrack the back Once agin eta fiend wi incesity eocing inthe Ruble | 67 1 eared this book with an ancedoteconcering gurss and Tl con= de with another—this one from a cartoon by R. Camb that wae

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