A Response to Rob Horning’s PopMatters Article

“An approximate and complicated visualization of an idea invariably precedes the industrial discovery which alone can open the way to its practical use” — Andre Bazin

Comments by esteemed colleagues Wes and Kevin on a recent post of mine have spurred me to offer some specific thoughts of my own on Rob Horning’s recent PopMatters article on mp3 blogs. I posted a link to his article based on the fact that it marked the first time I’ve seen such an analysis of mp3 blogs posted that critically engaged with the subject matter. I don’t, however, agree with all, or even most of what Horning wrote. Let me explain.

First, it’s impossible not to take umbrage at the elitist tenor of Horning’s approach. By focusing too much on the superficial differences between the internet and the traditional model of music collection instead of the myriad, deep likenesses between the two methods of music accumulation and distribution, he misses the major point in the discussion; that any technological advance is only a reflection of established social processes.

Horning offers that the “prestige” of collecting is diminished now that the musical texts have receded into the realm of ones and zeroes, arrogance masquerading as critique. His leap into value judgment (file sharing is “worse” than the old style of collecting) is rash and falls back on the tired dialectic between “old” being better than “new.” Becoming a “curator to the world,” as Horning defines mp3 blogging, is only a reconfigured version of what music lovers (geeks) have done since the advent of the distributed/recorded musical form: we play music we love for other people, with the goal of them liking (or even just acknowledging the existence of) the music as well. Many mp3 bloggers are former Hornings themselves that have merely harnessed the technology. Sure, there are tons of horrible blogs out there [maybe this is one--sorry ], but that changes nothing of my opinion of the really good ones, which are important.

Elsewhere in his article, Horning laments the quick accumulation of music through p2p, bittorrent and mp3 blogs without really attempting to distinguish the first two from the third. It’s very important to note that mp3 blogs—the good ones at least—offer much more than decontextualized files for mass download. They offer, to varying degrees, a description of the music and, more importantly, some personal rationale for its appearance on the site. It’s important that Horning doesn’t mention any specific blogs by name, because it doesn’t appear that he’s spent any significant time thinking about them and the impact they’ve had not only on the distribution of music, but the opportunities for new and theoretically endless creation of meaning. I’m sure Horning would cringe at hearing what a Midwesteren college freshman kid thinks of The Sonics, but personally, I’m interested. It might be a crude, untutored reading to Horning, but it’s still important nonetheless, if for nothing else than to offer insight at the broad appeal of formerly “protected” musics.

Finally, the “gatekeeping” mentality of haughty record collectors is one that could disappear without being missed by most music fans. It’s ridiculous and counter-intuitive for an individual to hoard a cultural object that was initially created for mass consumption. I’ve said before that rock music is first and foremost commercial art and the vast majority of its creators wish it to be enjoyed by as many listeners as possible. Pop music is meant to be distributed, and the internet exacerbates that, adding myriad new and interesting meanings in the process. These old-school curators Horning writes about are attempting to ascribe aura to items whose material essence demands the exact opposite.

If the internet does anything to eradicate this mentality, which I doubt it will, it’s a good thing. Horning’s article was well-written and nicely presented, and I have no doubt of his intellect, but this piece is nothing more than a lament for an unfortunate sub-era in pop history that cannot disappear quickly enough.

Filed under: downloading  me ranting about stuff  Music/mp3 blogs  peer-to-peer  Rob Horning