Peak Music and Global Noise
This article is to draw your attention to the twin challenges facing our culture, that of Peak Music, and Global Noise caused by the impact of Cumulative Emissions of Rhythm.
All natural resources reach a peak, and music is not an exception, after approximately half of the talent has been used up it is predicted that annual production of music will decline. While experts argue as to when this peak will be reached, few now disagree with the overall hypothesis that music is, or will soon, be in decline.
Our culture faces several challenges in coping with this crises, which can broadly be divided into two categories. Mitigation and Adaptation.
Mitigation is the art of reducing our environmental impact through the reduction of the extraction of the key resource - musical talent. This can be achieved in three ways.
The first way is Efficiency - i.e. the production of more music from less talent. Numerous ideas have been suggested to increase efficiency, most focus on reducing the consumption of percussive talent. Early approaches to this realised that percussion is purely a repetitive beat, and could therefore be handled by a loop, reducing talent requirements to a single bar.
Developments have progressed in two directions since then, some marketed under the name "Techno" have used computers to synthesize the first bar, while others such as "House" or in Australia "Doof" have realised that the use of a single beat all night could reduce consumption even further.
The other Mitigation approach is Conservation, i.e. reducing the actual consumption of music. Approaches to reduce consumption will probably require legislation, the first step will be the progressive crack down on musical performance in public, after all drum-circles, busking or other community generated music give the impression that there is an abundance of talent. Some cynics have suggested that this crackdown is really because such events do not allow for the generation of profits (or taxes) from its consumption.
Instead consumption will be required to take the form of either large commercial events, where a minimum of talent can be shared widely, Concerns that the impact of such events will be widespread are dismissed as unfounded.
Alternatively, the mass consumption of identical music through personal-stereos, should reduce the talent requirements even further.
In addition the government is considering the purchase and distribution of a large number of personal-sonic-reducers (commonly known as Ear-Plugs) which while having absolutely no impact on the problem are likely to ensure they stay in office until the next election.
For further information please contact the Association for the Study of Peak Music on +1-00-11-00-11-00-11
Posted by mitra at April 1, 2008 12:01 PM
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