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September 02, 2006
Not cricket: All those tiny minds!
The Financial Times' Peter Aspden is one of the more diverting general cultural critics, and this weekend, 
his subject is his own disenchantment with pop music. In October 1993, he attended a converered at the then-Tate Gallery, on the "meaning" of Madonna. "Much more stuff and nonsense followed," Aspden writes. "What was almost chilling, putting aside the ridiculous language used, was the uncritic nature of the remarks. Because Madonna had played many roles in the various manifestations of her art, her true meaning was "endlessly deferred"... She may have appeared in pornographic poses; but because she was in control, that inverted the patriarchal structure implicit in most such scenarios. "My pussy is the temple of learning," she had memorably stated in her glossy, soft-porn book, 'Sex,' a remark that was taken entirely at face value by the assembled company, who, frankly, sounded like they had taken their degrees there." 
Pop, he concludes, "is generally drivel, not only failing to provide any instance of originality but celebrating its very dim-wittedness with retro styling... I don't entirely blame Madonna. She made a very good album, 'Ray of Light,' nearly a decade ago and remains a committed stage performer... But those people who write about her! All those tiny minds, flaunting their half-baked understanding of Semiotics-Made-Simple, urging us to take seriously any personality that combines shrillness, reasonable looks and obdurate ambition."
Posted by Ray Pride at September 2, 2006 12:04 PM
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