Practical Criticism No. 62: Art-Pop

In episode 62 of the Podcast for Social Research's "Practical Criticism" series, Rebecca Ariel Porte plays Roxy Music, Kate Bush, and Kanye West as examples of "art-pop" for Ajay Singh Chaudhary, who, as usual, doesn't know what the object of the week will be. Their conversation ranges over what exactly "art-pop" is, rhythmic and historical time, blurred genres, ascending complexity, Marcel Duchamp and avant-gardes, cold (and cool) modernisms, philosophical vs. musical naturalism, Mark Fisher's speculative definitions, the rare encounters of pop music and New Music, interesting failures and self-indulgence, the emptiness of "pop-art", art-song in the nineteenth century, the crutch of hippie punching, the quality of "againstness," and the search for the oppositional, abrasive music of today. (Plus, don't miss Rebecca and Ajay spontaneously engage in and fail modestly at ear training exercises along the way.)

Originally published on February 18, 2022.