Preface

Preface to the blog edition

Adam Hutchings

The essays contained herein have no exceptionally unifying theme, they simply can be grouped under the umbrella heading of cultural ponderings, however each in their own way transcends their cultural significance to address further issues. What fundamentals are there in relation to the habits of women when it comes to music consumption? Aldric Fournier surpasses expectation to give a damning yet reasonable overview of the issue. Do adverts create or destroy culture? A question few of us have asked ourselves. Many condemn adverts for their implicit manipulation, others enjoy them for their perceived creativity or expression of humour or art or quirkiness. Richard Morris examines adverts in an historical and cultural context to find out more. And finally, as global warming is used by all to sell products Aveline Barnett Wing ironically utilises this very habit while simultaneously critiquing it, and loosely directing her analysis towards the music industry . My own opinions of the issues contained herein are bettered solely by the individuals who are present here, which is why on this occasion I am mere editor of this collection, giving the main limelight to these experts on there chosen areas.

The renowned French philosopher and cultural commentator Aldric Fournier, well known for his outspoken, pessimistic stance on the role of women and his intolerance to people who are not him, gives an interesting view on the female music consumer in his chapter An Essay Concerning Human Understanding of Female Music Consumption. This essay follows from a series of essays from Fournier, many concerning the differences between the male and female psyche, and contains almost as many flaws as his previous attempts.

Adamant in his position and compelling in his argument, Fournier's viewpoint is undeniably an empirical gesture, stemming from his own unavoidable experiences and inadvertent studies; a response stemming from bitter rejection from the female population. Fournier holds a unique authority on the matter as a result of being inaccessible to women, yet self-aware and judging on this matter, and finally using this judgement in an analysis of the way he is treated, and others are treated, in the world. His appropriation of the Lockean Tabula Rasa is largely a rhetorical gesture used more for effect than for its theoretical suitability, as Locke's relevance largely ends after Fournier's emphasis on experience is shown. However, he combines this premise with notions of socially constructed citizens within the contemporary, culminating in a scathing generalisation of women and an Adornian polemic against the subtly dominating nature of the music industry in particular.

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding of Female Music Consumption owes more to Fournier's self-developed knowledge of 'the way women are' than his expertise on music consumption, although it must be said that by no means is he ignorant on this subject, having worked in a small specialist Parisian record store which exclusively sold music from everywhere in the world apart from France; such is Fournier's eccentric nature.

The English sociologist, poet and novelist Richard Morris explores the implications of adverts on culture in Adverts: Culture Created or Culture Destroyed positing himself in a fair and reasonable place, showing a critique of the purpose of advertising and the paradoxical notion of their acceptance into the cultural sphere, whatever that may be, while simultaneously refusing to get stuck in the role of advert-bashing and noting changeable situations, opinions and agendas.

Morris' background has its roots in poety, having won the 1984 'Best Poem in The World' Award for the groundbreaking I'd Quite Like a Rug (shown below). Since then he has had a continued presence in the poetry world and, as a result of his continuing prolificacy, consequently moved into novel writing, often taking on various humanitarian issues, such as exploring the hidden agendas of national news coverage and the various issues deemed unnewsworthy, and therefore hidden from the public, in his novel Abbey Guthrie's Plaque.

A natural progression led him into sociology, in which he lectures at Oxford and Cambridge Universities regularly. The subject considered herein primarily concerns the role of music as cultural capital and its appropriation in avertising whilst looking at the broader cultural importance of adverts.

I'D QUITE LIKE A RUG - Richard Morris

id quite like a rug

to be pushed around the floor

and occasionally replaced

in the centre

it slips under the bed

clawing towards the dark

i'l pull it from its goal

and tell it to stay put

my rug could be red

and blend into the carpet

or it could be blue

and do quite the reverse

id quite like a rug

but it would get lost

beneath the mess that time

never fails to bring

and so i'd feel a guilt

the rug cannot be kept

for I can never give

it life which it deserves

so rug, please stay put

hanging in the shop

wait for someone else

I'd quite like a lamp instead

Copyright © Richard Morris, 1984

Our final essay is Global Warming and Pop Music: "Fund my Record, It's Research!" by the famous San Fransisco-based hippie-slash-political commentator Aveline Barnett Wing. A veteran of the psychedelic scene, Wing's hippie roots are evident, albeit reasonably restrained, in her critique of the economic opportunities of the climate change 'fashion' within the music industry and elsewhere. Wing uses this as a foundation to explore authenticity and what could be considered misdirected musical ability in the music industry as well as the way 'green fashion' has has evolved over recent years - another marketing gimmick, so to speak.

Aveline Wing nowadays specialises in non-fiction writings of a largely left-wing nature, and is critical of such things as globalisation, corporate power, cultural decadence, R'n'B, and capitalism, although she concedes she is yet to come up with a suitable alternative. She is a regular columnist in the monthly magazine J'adoube which aims to see contemporary issues from an unbiased and objective point of view and to consequently make sense of some of these issues.