Please Choose My Next Video
Added 2021-05-16 11:50:03 +0000 UTCHey everyone. Below are a bunch of videos I'm planning at the moment. They're all going to happen... but I'm having trouble figuring out which I should focus on right now. Please help! Read below for a synopsis of each video and then vote on the one you want to see. Comments would be very welcome too!
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A video about elitism in music: I'd spend 50% of the video making fun of people who really are elitist, discussing how it is a problem... but not in the way most people think (this is not going to be a video about 'gatekeeping'. It will be much more about identity). The other 50% will be spent advocating for the importance of specialisations and deep knowledge. There is nothing wrong with being an expert in something.
A video about the problem with the concept of newness: this video would look at the idea of 'new' music from multiple angles. Apart from the obvious question 'how can something be 'New'?', I want to talk about how newness informs so many decisions that musicians make: a sense that they need to address contemporary topics; incorporating new instruments and techniques, etc. Sometimes these decisions are great. Sometimes silly. In particular, I also want to talk about the world of tech, which is obsessed with newness and fetishises it constantly.
Interesting links between design and music: I have spent years taking note of various ways that design theories and practices have close correlations with musical composition. I could make about 5 videos about this but I thought I'd start with something like "7 fundamental links between design and music'.
Politics and music: A look at how music is generally abused in politics - especially campaigns. I'd tease out common tropes and probably write some political music of my own too. A little bit in the vein of Corporate Music and Reality TV tropes.
In defence of music notation: This video would be about the myriad of different criticisms that have been thrown at notation and music theory over the last 20 or 30 years. In particular, I want to take aim at how technologists keep promising to create systems that will 'liberate' us from the need to study notation. Notation has persisted for centuries for a reason.
MIDI packs (Unison especially): We've all seen the adverts. They are unbearable. The product is close to being a scam. They insufferably misinform people about how to write music. I want to aim a bazooka at Unison. Even their logo is rubbish...