bloggedy blog: the personal weblog of a music lover and aging punk wannabe

:: Wednesday, April 30, 2003 ::

Postironicism
Interesting review on the fall of irony in pop music, from Culture Is Not Optional. The author cites trends in music -- from U2's 2000 epic to more modern offerings by Nas (God's Son), Springsteen (The Rising) and Billy Corgan (Zwan) -- to argue that pop musicians are moving away from its pre-9/11 irony. This is nothing new -- plenty of stories proclaiming the death of irony cropped up after 9/11, and recently RelevantMagazine.com addressed the same issue (in "The Spiritual Side of Rock," by Steve Beard -- but the CINO piece, by Grant Elgersma, focuses more on reasons behind the changes rather than simply report on the increased seriousness of pop music.

U2 had a conversation with Wim Wenders that made them think too much irony is not good for a society. Nas was affected by the death of his mother. Bruce Springsteen was encouraged to get back into the ring when a man yelled “We need you, Bruce” a few days after the attack on New York. Beck broke up with his girlfriend and probably just exhausted his mocking attitude during Midnite Vultures. Pearl Jam was affected by September 11 and its aftermath. Trent Reznor got older and busier. PJ Harvey found a great guy. The Chili Peppers have kids and became more reflective. Mick Jagger wanted to do his own record his way.

Elgersma continues:

Whatever the reasons for this apparent spiritual movement in music, it is important that we see it, that we recognize something’s going on here. There does seem to be a trend toward renewing a sense of unbridled positivity in society and restoring euphoria to its rightful place as an acceptable emotion. As with all cultural changes, there is a temptation to immediately jump on board with the new. But in these times, as much as any other time, it is still our task to separate the wheat from the chaff, to distinguish between that which promotes life and that which leads to death.

Link via Gideon Strauss, who recommends a visit to CINO's message boards. (And who mentions that the latest issue of Comment, the journal he edits, is now online.)

:: Andrew 13:45 + ::
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