Sociological criticism
Kendra Smith (bassist/vocalist), former member of the Dream Syndicate, released a solo EP called The Guild of Temporal Adventurers (1993). From “Stars Are In Your Eyes:”
Come to me you are my own
And I’ve been waiting for so long
I’ve been waiting for the dawn
The only stars are in your eyes
Lying in your desert it is wild
So go to sleep my slender child
And we shall walk the twisted miles
The only stars are in your eyes
Candles flicker, veils removed
And I am waiting in my room
And if you’re calling from a tomb
The only stars are in your eyes
The moon descends into the night
We press together, kiss and bite
But oh my love, please take flight
The only stars are in your eyes
Kendra Smith lives in the woods.
20th Century musical artists are at an advantage because pop music (“Anglo Saxon” pop music) follows an avant garde based on technical equipment while maintaining something of a traditional pop music tradition/rulebook. The reason why institutionalized avant garde music has failed is because the focus has been on unconventional sounds at the cost of pleasing and/or relevant sounds. With sonic technology at a standstill, or at least the potentials of sonics having been exhausted, what is left is sociological musics.
Based on a summation of extramusical pieces, sociological musics isn’t new at all insofar as the golden age music of the 20th century also had a marketing/demographics/advertising basis. While the basis of the progression of music was based in unheard-of sounds, limited as it was by technical circumstances, the new basis is based on a summation of signs. It could be said that music art has finally caught up to real life, much like photography in visual art. Thus the success of music in capturing “the moment” is assigned to scenes with dedicated communities of highly connected artisans. If you know you know. Music, rather than being that which ascends, is that which complements your ascent. That is to say, music is part of a series of signifiers; music is power.