I just had this brilliant idea. Think lit class for snobbish music dorks. Every week, a bunch of music nerds, hipsters, and people with beards get together, have snacks, talk about whatever, and then listen to three or four songs from a music player device. Then everyone talks about what they just listened to. Each track gets one or two plays. The focus would be on carefully analyzing each song in detail, championing it or tearing it apart, looking for influences, etc. Alternatively, the model could instead be a book club for music. Everyone listens to a specific album on their own each week or month or whatever, and comes together for dinner or wine or both, and talks about that album in detail.
I feel like much of the modern music experience is so passive, very personal, and perhaps underdeveloped. Like the best authors, there's a lot that music writers put into the songs they make, and you can easily miss it if you're not really informed about the music. A critical discussion can tease out the details you'd miss otherwise. Plus it could help figure out what music is actually worth spending time and money on.
I don't think I'm the only one who misses high school world lit. Right? Right?
