I think there's a couple of interesting things going on here:<br /><br /> 1) One is that this has a lot to do with the fragmentation of pop culture - i.e. to appeal to people's 'long tail tastes' you have to, as a marketer/restaurant owner whatever, use the same mentality; however, it's the same fragmentation that evacuates music of its counter-cultural potential 'cause there's never enough of a base to resist anything. Besides, even if you could get a million people together, how in the late-capitalist ethos of "everyone is a unique individual", could you ever get everyone to agree? And what would you resist if you could agree? Capitalism, the very thing that gives people their individuality?<br /><br /> 2) There's something very powerful about the moment-set-to-music. If one of the reason music 'works' is because of its capacity to speak things language or images can't, then that makes sense. But I do wonder to what extent this isn't now some massive social form of branding which uses the cultural signifiers of music to create associations with products or destinations - that New York has in some weird way become a Grey's Anatomy episode.
posted by Nav at 2008-03-16 17:54:56 
