a few weeks ago i finally got round to exploring Anthony Fantano’s youtube channel. Fantano (aka theneedledrop aka melon) is an evocative writer, and he has that je ne sais quoi, that “stage presence” that no aspiring youtube star can afford to lack. i particularly enjoyed the experience of watching melon’s videos. his transparent love for music and straightforward, “relatable” delivery create an instant sense of camaraderie.
probably the only reason i’m not a Fantano convert is that i generally don’t enjoy other peoples’ thoughts on music, the occasional pitchfork article aside. but i was intrigued by his video “How I Listen to an Album”: i found that there was an overlap between his method of evaluation and that of Theodor Adorno’s: one of my favourite theorists.
Adorno was a 20th century philosopher who wrote a great deal on music. among other things, he insists that good music is not “easy” to listen to—pleasant to have on in the background while you’re doing some laundry, say. good songs require active listening, and their parts only make sense in the context of the whole. these parts cannot be taken out of context, nor replaced. Adorno claims that the ‘culture industry’ churns out musical works that are palatable, familiar, and effortless to consume. his project is freedom: breaking the curse of mass-produced art and gaining listeners back their eroded powers of aesthetic judgement.
Fantano seems to be at least partially in agreement with Adorno. in his aforementioned video, he remarks:
there are some records that sound really good in the background … but when you dive deeper—what are the lyrics saying, how do the tracks progress, what is the structure of the song— … you find that the inner workings of [some songs] aren’t that great, aren’t that substantive … The record has to hold up as a main course, not just a side dish to whatever else i’m doing.
so much for me being a snob who sniffs at ‘aphilosophical’ analyses.
and while i haven’t yet joined his league of d̶e̶v̶o̶t̶e̶e̶s̶ fans, i’ll admit to sneaking a look at his ratings now and again. like a guilty pleasure.
Great article. Keep them coming. - Fellow Music Snob
Love this!