it isn’t possible to create something that doesn’t serve a purpose. what “good” artists and other art professionals have that makes them experts is 1) an understanding of this fact, then 2) knowledge of semiotics and history among other related areas that afford as deep an understanding of potential meanings as possible — this is the tricky part, because it requires real work
that has less to do with japan and more to do with the fact that niche music doesn’t attract laypeople. you can find the same kinds of shows all over the united states for example
For the local music scene in my city (Kitchener ON), if you want a quiet, respectful, focused environment in which to enjoy, skip the pub sets and go to the house shows instead. Almost all the local artists play them, and there are a lot that are pseudo-public. Like, they're not advertised openly, so you need to ask the artist to find out, but you also don't necessarily need to know the hosts— it's very much a friends-of-friends type affair, and in my experience very welcoming.
I think Japan might actually be different in regards to music performances. I know folks from a few lesser-known punk bands, the kind that might get 50 or so folks at a typical club show on a good night in the US, that did tours in Japan. They described the same kind of reverence at their shows in Japan, and punk isn't exactly known for reverent crowds. This was 10 to 15 years back, so things may be different now?
If it was just because of the genre, their brother would notice that anecdote everywhere and not just Japan. The drummer in my current band plays with several groups (very common for a skilled drummer in NYC), and he just got back from a 2 week tour in Japan and had the exact same things to say. Crowds were way more respectful and focused on the music.
I agree though that in general niche music is more respectful than more mainstream music, at least in the USA. Harsh noise and stoner sludge/doom shows have had the most polite people in the mosh pits in my experience.
I disagree, I think the keyword is $1, because at least for me as strictly a user (not a stakeholder or business owner) generating a meme is simply not worth that cost no matter how easy it is to pay it.
Modern "EDM" producers actually receive a lot of criticism for these practices from both critics/academics and laypeople. I think the massive commercial success and general enjoyment of this music actually comes from the spectacle of the "live" events, and so as an extension even just listening to it at home, the spectacle is implicit and can be experienced vicariously to some degree. On top of this, this music as a product is obviously extremely easy to produce in comparison to other genres/processes and is thus lucrative to profiteers.
Another reason why such utterly cheap production habits have been wildly accepted is because of the already established history of house music and techno, which was originally revolutionary, because those sounds and the contexts for which they were experienced ironically represented newfound human feelings of liberation, from a youth movement to escape a bankrupt Detroit to the fallen Berlin wall. Techno was a way for people to grab the rising technocracy by the horns so to speak and make something specifically human out of it.
Seems like you're criticizing the powers that be that act as authorities for what should be considered art. The importance of this kind of criticism has been historically recognized by many artists and cultures for a long time [1][2][3][4][5][6], and will obviously continue to be relevant, so it's actually constructive that you brought it up even if you didn't mean for it to be so. But I think the most important thing to realize is that "art" isn't a monolithic thing — it means different things to different people. For some artworks are profitable commodities and socioeconomic status symbols, and for others its an anti-positivist exploration of what it means to be human. What it "really" is is an ongoing struggle between such differing points of view.
Don't know if I agree with this assertion, but food for thought:
“…as far as power is concerned, the streets are dead capital! Nothing of value to the power elite can be found on the streets, nor does this class need control of the streets to efficiently run and maintain state institutions. For [civil disobedience] to have any meaningful effect, the resisters must appropriate something of value to the state. Once they have an object of value, the resisters have a platform from which they may bargain for (or perhaps demand) change.” http://www.critical-art.net/books/ecd/ecd2.pdf
Yeah if anything /pol/ is driving the success of it as a catalyst for thought, they're keeping it relevant and worthwhile. Idk much about Shia's intentions but never underestimate an artist's awareness of how such things can play out.
I dunno, he seems pretty unhinged - just look at that photo of him at the diner. Apparently he's also been spotted prowling around at all hours of the night carrying a baseball bat, someone spotted him with their drone.
Well that's kind of like going to a library and complaining that nobody wants to chat. Art goes to the MoMA specifically to be "taken out of the world" and isolated.
I think it's more like going to a zoo and complaining that it's not a safari.
Logistically, it makes sense to sometimes put up with the artificiality of a zoo, but I think it's the superior option to appreciate animals in their natural context when you have the option :)
