<
https://theconversation.com/tired-of-hearing-men-talk-to-men-about-music-this-womans-work-changes-the-narrative-brilliantly-177742>
"I wanted to start this piece with the Laurie Anderson quote, “Talking about
music is like dancing about architecture”, but it turns out that Laurie never
said it. And the adage has been through so many versions and origin stories
that the harder I think on it, the more my head hurts.
Why can’t we write about music? Is it because we experience it in the body?
Because we can’t see it to describe it? Is it just that we can’t write about
music without writing about everything else?
In one of his last interviews, John Lennon, weary from years of scrutiny and
over-interpretation, said
Listen, writing about music is like talking about f…ing. Who wants to talk
about it? But you know, maybe some people do want to talk about it.
Historically, men have done most of the talking and writing about music.
Publications of women’s music criticism exist but they are few and far between.
In the last decade, more female voices have emerged, most notably in the area
of memoir.
Often these are works of correction – Tracey Thorn’s
My Rock’n’Roll Friend
about Lindy Morrison’s pivotal role in the Go-Betweens comes to mind – but
there is room for more.
This Woman’s Work, a collection of essays by women
about music, edited by Kim Gordon and Sinead Gleeson, is a sharp reminder of
what we could have been reading all along."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
