Talking Heads mainman David Byrne is arguably one of the most original and innovative musicians of his generation. However, whilst I'm familiar with his music, I had no idea that he was now dabbling in academia.
In this short lecture at a technology conference, Byrne suggests that all art is created with a specific venue in mind. This, he claims, can be applied to choiral music (whose long notes are enhanced by big spaces such as cathedrals), U2 (whose mid-tempo anthems sound best in stadia) and even birdsong (with different species of bird developing a tone that is best suited to their environment). He explains how contemporary pop music is now being created in such a way as to sound superior when listened to on an mp3 player.
Byrne even goes on to argue how other practices such as voting might be connected to this phenomenon of noise and space. He claims that engineering a sound of sincerity - whether heartfelt or not - is what wins politicians elections, which seems scarily true in the case of former PR man (and therefore adept liar) David Cameron.
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