The Seriousness Paradox
Entering an age where what we thought mattered most is cared about least. I wonder where this has happened before.
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Some of the best Substacks I have subscribed to hark back to the early oughts when blogs and online music zines recommended new music.
, for example, is one. Another is , or the fantastic . , who writes about technology, politics, and society, has been recommending music (such as the new album, which is fantastic). There’s care and dedication put into each of these and many other posts, which I, as a reader, appreciate, especially since discovering new music is more of a chore than it used to be. Despite my best efforts, I have often succumbed to what’s served to me by DSP algorithms, which are most often sponsored or tilted to favor particular artists or themes (to learn about that, I recommended Liz Pelly’s Mood Machine). I find a seriousness to these and other Substacks that is, admittedly, refreshing and reassuring. Here are people providing honest, forthright, and researched opinions about something they take seriously.In my last post, I wrote about my belief that music can be used to warn us of the expanding ‘enshittification’ of our politics and the actions of those who are supposed to, at least on paper, work for us. In most countries, music is not considered a basic economic good. It has been ‘enshittified’ for years. This is the act of intentionally, either through deliberate policy or simple ignorance, making a system meant to serve individuals worse, from root to branch. The systems that should exist to facilitate opportunities to make money out of music do not work in most countries. Yes, you could put your album online for $20, but that does not mean you’ll see any money from it. What happens, for example, in a country that lacks copyright management processes is no matter how seriously one individual approaches their music (such as having the gall to believe that they could earn a living from it), the systems that are needed to support such activities have either never been constructed or, in many cases, been degraded by bad policy and a lack of care. This leads to and enforces the age-old trope of being told to get a real job when you want to pursue something artistic. It doesn’t matter that every road sign ever created is a piece of design or that every anthem sung at a sporting match was written by someone. That’s already been made anyways.
I’ve said this before (and will repeat it) - music is something none of us need to live, but most of us would struggle to live without it. Imagine life without it. Same with art and design. Now, think about how seriously music, or graphic design, is treated as a vocation, a job, or something that truly matters in society. Maybe it matters to you, but in most places, it doesn’t. Anyways, AI can do it now.
So, what does this have to do with what’s happening in our political discourse? I think we’re seeing many governments treat all of us in the same way that music - as an economic pursuit - has been treated in many places for generations. We’re seeing a fundamental elimination of seriousness. The reasons for it are different and far more insidious, but I have heard this song before over and over again.
Aspects of life that were once afforded a collective duty of care - our environment, access to healthcare, international law, the United Nations, women’s rights - are now inconveniences to those in power. The command to obey - do not take them seriously. Because if they are not serious, we need not worry about what happens to them.
Take the new United States Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, an imbecile (and former fracking CEO) who stated that climate change is a side effect or trade-off of building the modern world at a conference of oil and gas executives. Translation: Pollution, natural disasters, and clean water aren’t serious. Don’t worry about it, and let us make as much money as possible from ruining it because it doesn’t really matter, right?
I look forward to the impacts of this ‘modern world’ he envisions on his grandkids’ children. Or take the equally culpable Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rawlins, who believes that the best way to combat the price of eggs is not to tackle the Bird Flu pandemic seriously, but for regular folks to buy and raise chickens. I am sure she has no issues accessing an omelet, so why should you take the cost of eggs seriously?
I know this is all deliberate - diversionary tactics to hide the truth that we’re witnessing one of the world’s most coordinated rip-offs of the public purse to benefit greedy narcissists (and I haven’t even mentioned crypto), but what is beneath this, what makes this work, is that what we have taken as serious is being altered. It is the same belief that has pervaded music for eons. You’ve heard it before. It’s okay to play for free for exposure, or just getting your music online is good enough, or why would you expect people to pay for something they can get for free? Music isn’t serious, right? We all agree there. What’s the issue with it being extended to the price of food, an impending natural disaster, the incoming climate emergency that will make our lives uninsurable, or a crumbling hospital? Just pray more and rent a chicken. You’ll be fine. Oh, and ignore the fact that we’re stealing from you.
I am unsure if this lack of seriousness correlates with an increased seriousness or dedication to the discourses and work I am reading about music (and food, such as the brilliant
) right now, but I feel it is worth contemplating. Because this is what I am seeing. If we’re living in a real-life reality show I’ll call Enshittification with Donald Trump and His Cronies, I think we need to find ways to see things for what they are - and the tactic to deliberately remove the seriousness from something that should be taken seriously has been done before, time and time again, with music (and art, and design, and the humanities). Welcome to the seriousness paradox.I believe, and hope, that the fightback will happen soon - not just in the United States, but in Israel, Russia, Sudan, North Korea, and other authoritarian regimes (the ones that voted against Ukraine in the latest UN resolution, for example). The Economist reported this week that 39.2% of the world lives under such politics; 60 countries are classed as authoritarian. In many of those, what was once serious - our health, safety, and fundamental human rights - once stood for something. I wonder if music - and the broader arts and cultural industries - can teach us something about why these things are the way they are and what we can do about it to bring seriousness back to society.
Until then, at least we have some terrific music writing emerging to take seriously. That’s something, because everything else is, well…enshittifying.
P.S. I know that this post is a bit of a departure from the theme of how we can make places better. I’ve decided to write more personally on this blog, which may include more political posts occasionally. As always, all comments and feedback are welcome.
P.P.S. Thought I’d recommend some music.
Thanks for shouting out The Music Directory!! I also appreciate how you weaved various important topics together to show how everything is connected on both micro and macro levels.
Thanks for the shout out, and thanks for writing this! Sometimes I feel silly about how much I care about what I care about. But you’ve connected the dots for me. The caring is an ethos ✊