Seeing Music For What It Really Isn't

Seeing Music For What It Really Isn’t

or, “‘Reality’ is the only word in the language that should always be used in quotes” This is cross-posted from cyborgology. __ I get really nervous when people start making claims about what is and isn’t “real” music. Like Princess Leia in The…

Why does Plato hate the flute/aulos? And what does this have to do with women?

Why does Plato hate the flute/aulos? And what does this have to do with women?

These people, largely uneducated and unable to entertain themselves over their wine by using their own voices to generate conversation, pay premium prices for flute-girls and rely on the extraneous voice of the reed flute as background music for their…

Music Making & Bodily Discipline

I’ve been prepping for my summer Philosophy of Music course, and this includes developing some basic music/sound-making exercises. The course is almost entirely philosophy students, and I’m not assuming any familiarity with music practice or theory. But, because it’s important…

I'm Teaching Philosophy of Music This Summer

I’m Teaching Philosophy of Music This Summer

Syllabus coming soon. My summer 2013 course in Philosophy of Music is open to both undergrads and grad students from UNCC & elsewhere. Registration opens in a month!Students from outside UNCC: if you can locate yourself in Charlotte for 5 weeks…

My Life Would Suck Without You/Where Have You Been All My Life: Tension-and-Release Structures In Tonal Rock and Non-Tonal EDM-Pop

In this post, I contrast the formal elements in the song and video for Kelly Clarkson’s “My Life Would Suck Without You” with the formal elements in the song and video for Rihanna’s “Where Have You Been All My Life.”…