Sound Philosophy
88 episodes - English - Latest episode: 16 days ago -A podcast exploring philosophical and interpretive approaches to the history of popular music.
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Episodes
089-Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Book 2, Chapters 3-4
April 07, 2024 13:23 - 1 hour - 93.5 MBEric Taxier and I discuss Book 2, Chapters 3-4 of Aristotle's celebrated Nicomachean Ethics. We explore how one enters the circle of learning, the monkeys typing Shakespeare thought experiment, consequentialism, and more.
088-Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Book 2, Chapters 1-2
April 03, 2024 14:34 - 1 hour - 78.1 MBEric Taxier and I explore the opening two chapters to Book 2 of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. We discuss the two types of virtue (virtues of character and virtues of mind) and spend some real time on the learning paradox--if you learn to build by building, how do you get started if you don't know already how to build?
087-Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Book 1, Chapters 12-13
March 18, 2024 14:32 - 1 hour - 76.4 MBEric Taxier and I conclude our discussion of Book 1 of Aristotle's Nicomachean ethics.
086-Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Book 1, Chapters 10-11
February 22, 2024 19:43 - 1 hour - 62.4 MBEric Taxier and I discuss Chapters 10-11 of Book 1 of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. These chapters ask the rather odd question of whether we can truly say someone is happy before they are dead.
085- Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Book 1, Chapters 8-9
February 22, 2024 17:22 - 1 hour - 84.8 MBI'm joined by Eric Taxier to continue our discussion of Book 1 of Aristotle's celebrated Nicomachean Ethics. This episode covers chapters 8-9 of Book 1.
084- Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Book 1, Chapter 7
January 23, 2024 20:42 - 1 hour - 105 MBEric Taxier and I discuss chapter 7 of Book 1 of Aristotle's celebrated Nicomachean Ethics. This is arguably the central chapter to the first book and provides the initial "outline" of Aristotle's take on happiness and the human good.
083- Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Book 1, Chapters 5-6
January 12, 2024 16:20 - 1 hour - 84.5 MBEric Taxier and I discuss Chapters 5-6 of Book I of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. We discuss various candidates for happiness and what they are lacking and then examine Aristotle's critique of Plato's Form of the Good.
082- Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Book 1, Chapters 3-4
January 05, 2024 16:07 - 1 hour - 87.7 MBEric Taxier and I discuss chapters 3 and 4 of Book 1 of Aristotle's celebrated treatise, Nicomachean Ethics. We discuss the differences between two forms of attaining or justifying knowledge (demonstration and dialectic), the nature of proof and whether ethical thought can be proven or demonstrated (and to what extent), and many other things.
081- Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Book 1, Chapters 1-2
January 04, 2024 15:27 - 1 hour - 75.3 MBI'm joined by Eric Taxier in the first of several episodes exploring Aristotle's celebrated treatise, the Nicomachean Ethics. This episode carefully examines chapters 1 and 2 of Book 1.
080-Ambivalence in Neutral Milk Hotel and Nana Grizol
November 27, 2023 19:12 - 41 minutes - 38 MBThis episode examines the relationship between ambiguity and ambivalence and looks at two indie rock songs: "Oh Comely" by Neutral Milk Hotel and "Mississippi Swells" by Nana Grizol.
079--Punk Wordsworth: The Smiths
November 19, 2023 15:37 - 38 minutes - 36.1 MBThis episode looks at the issue of ambiguity in art and then examines "William, It Was Really Nothing," by the Smiths, looking at the ambiguous nature of the lyrics and the music.
078-MF DOOM and the Materiality of Language
November 06, 2023 18:02 - 34 minutes - 32.4 MBThis episode looks at the materiality of language, particularly in the use of rhyme and examines MF DOOM's idiosyncratic approach to rhyme and what is sometimes termed holorime.
077-Agency and Fate in the Narcocorridos of Chalino
October 30, 2023 17:45 - 42 minutes - 39 MBThis episode continues to explore the narcocorrido, now focusing on Chalino Sanchez and the theme of agency striving against fate.
076-The Rhetoric of Law and the Narcocorrido
October 23, 2023 19:47 - 36 minutes - 34.1 MBThis episode looks at the border genre of the narcocorrido (a Mexican folk music genre based on drug trafficking) in relation to the rhetorical nature of borders, the law, and the self.
075-The Fictional Real in Edith Piaf
October 16, 2023 17:52 - 40 minutes - 37.3 MBThis episode explores the role of suffering and self-developed narrative in the forming of a self in the music of Edith Piaf.
074- The Elliptical Nature of Subjectivity in Björk
October 04, 2023 17:45 - 40 minutes - 37.6 MBThis episode explores the nature of the subject position in popular music (the implicit or explicit "I" in a song). It posits that most songs ask us to identify (or disidentify) with the subject but that some songs, including Björk's "Bachelorette" question the very notion of what it means to be a subject in the world.
073-Tom Waits and Melancholy
September 27, 2023 16:48 - 34 minutes - 32.3 MBThis episode examines Tom Waits's debts to Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski, and the notion of melancholy. It examines "The Piano Has Been Drinking" and "Invitation to the Blues."
072- Randy Newman's Off-Kilter America
September 20, 2023 14:30 - 45 minutes - 42.5 MBThis episode looks at Randy Newman's vision of the American as essentially out of balance. I examine songs including "I Think It's Going to Rain Today," "Sail Away," and "Rednecks."
71-Cole Porter and the List Song
September 13, 2023 18:13 - 39 minutes - 36.2 MBThis episode looks at Cole Porter and the comic list song as exemplified by "Let's Do It."
70- Aristotle's Rhetoric and Cole Porter's Wit
August 18, 2023 00:36 - 53 minutes - 49.2 MBThis episode uses Aristotle's Rhetoric to examine the use of wit in the music and lyrics of Cole Porter. I begin by considering general characteristics and functions of wit. Then I turn to Aristotle's three elements of rhetoric and his notion that rhetoric is central to human experience. Finally, I analyze the verse of Porter's "Just One of Those Things" in light of my discussion of Aristotle and wit.
069- Lyrics as Material and Museme
August 11, 2023 14:45 - 51 minutes - 47.8 MBThis episode continues my discussion of lyrics, now by paying attention to the lyrics in their materiality (rather than semantics), focusing on rhyme, repetition, and the notion of the lyrics as museme (that is, as a musical element--not a linguistic center of gravity).
068- Twelve Open Questions Concerning Lyrics
August 11, 2023 14:43 - 1 hour - 69.3 MBThis episode begins to explore how we might think about lyrics beyond considering them as a "key" to the meaning of a song.
067-Seneca's On the Shortness of Life, part 2
March 09, 2023 15:10 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBA continuation of my conversation with Eric Taxier on Seneca's On the Shortness of Life.
066- Seneca's On the Shortness of Life, part 1
March 09, 2023 14:22 - 1 hour - 61.4 MBThis is the first of two episodes in which I'm joined by Eric Taxier to discuss the Stoic philosopher Seneca's letter On the Shortness of Life. In this episode, Eric and I discuss some themes of the letter and introduce the larger context of Stoic philosophy and Seneca's place within that tradition.
065-Video Game Music
February 27, 2023 19:43 - 1 hour - 77.6 MBI'm joined by Ade Fielder to discuss video game music. We look at different approaches to understanding video game music, ranging from "narrative transportation theory" to film theory to theories of interaction. We also consider games in which music plays a more featured role, including Zelda, Guitar Hero, and Grand Theft Auto.
064-BTS, Carl Jung, and the Psyche
February 13, 2023 17:36 - 1 hour - 88.4 MBI'm joined by Laura Nunez to discuss BTS's Maps of the Soul releases and how the group adapted ideas espoused by Carl Jung to suit their ongoing pursuit of questions of identity, belonging, and self-love. The first segment explores BTS's concerns with self-love; the second examines Jung's ideas as adopted by BTS, particularly in the song "Intro: Persona," and the third segment looks at "Interlude: Shadow" and "Outro: Ego." We explore issues of memory, hope, self-doubt, and the ways we can ho...
063-Death Grips and Accelerationism
January 21, 2023 01:39 - 1 hour - 82.6 MBFor this episode, I'm joined by Christopher Vogt to discuss the experimental hip hop group Death Grips and how they might relate to the philosophical/political views described as Accelerationism. The first segment discusses the early career of Death Grips and focuses on the notion of the post-human, using "Full Moon (Death Classic)" as the main example. The second segment dives into accelerationism and dissects the music and video for "Guillotine." The final segment looks at the album No Lov...
062--The Early Beatles and the Artistry of Fun
January 09, 2023 19:52 - 1 hour - 73.3 MBThis episode looks at the early career of the Beatles and their emphasis on both fun and artistry. I employ a perhaps unorthodox reading of Kant to buttress the idea that fun is a gently subversive intrusion of an unknowable Outside into the acceptable "inside" of society. Then I look at the use of Girl Group music in the early output of the Beatles to suggest that this participates in their sense of the artistry of fun.
061-The Aesthetics and Ethics of Taylor Swift's Re-recordings
December 05, 2022 19:51 - 1 hour - 64.1 MBI am joined by my stepdaughter Iris Smith to discuss Taylor Swift's re-recording project, its origins, the problems it seeks to solve, as well as its aesthetic and ethical implications.
060-Spotify, Star Texts, and Taylor Swift
November 29, 2022 18:31 - 58 minutes - 53.8 MBThis episode examines Taylor Swift's battle with Spotify and asks why that battle and why then? What did that fight have to do with Swift's career at that moment and what she was attempting with her transition from country to pop music?
59-Anti-Capitalist Hip Hop
November 24, 2022 02:41 - 47 minutes - 44.3 MBStarting by reviewing some basic concerns about capitalism and the need to emphasize desired values rather than focus on direct personal harm, this episode then examines the anti-capitalist work of hip hop artists including the Coup, dead prez, Immortal Technique, Lowkey, and Bambu.
58-Hip Hop and the Romance of Capital
November 14, 2022 19:42 - 58 minutes - 54.5 MBThis episode explores certain 90s hip hop groups and artists who embrace and glorify capitalism. The first segment discusses Strain Theory, the idea that the American Dream encourages its realization even through criminal enterprise. The second segment discusses the Mafioso Rap of Kool G Rap, Raekwon, Jay-Z, and Big Pun; while the last segment looks at Puff Daddy and particularly at "It's All About the Benjamins."
057-Neo-Soul and the Body
November 08, 2022 18:13 - 59 minutes - 54.8 MBThis episode explores four understandings of the relationship between the soul and the body (from Descartes, Marx, Merleau-Ponty, and Fanon) and applies that thinking to readings of songs and videos by India.Arie, Jill Scott, Maxwell, D'Angelo, and Erykah Badu.
056-Neo-Soul and Temporality
November 01, 2022 23:01 - 1 hour - 59.5 MBStarting with a review of Marx's ideas concerning temporality in capitalism, this episode then explores how the notion of genre involves a temporal understanding--particularly the genre of 90s neo-soul, a term coined by producer Kedar Massenburg. Finally, I apply thinking about temporality to the musical and visual elements of neo-soul in songs and videos by Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, D'Angelo, and others.
055- Hardcore Punk and Ronald Reagan
October 24, 2022 16:33 - 1 hour - 56.2 MBThis episode opens with a thought experiment: just what might have Ronald Reagan have understood (all-too-well) in Chapter 2 of The Communist Manifesto. In particular, I examine Reagan's and neoliberalism's take on class struggle--and what class deserves to prevail. Then I turn to Reagan's policies (particularly his economics, foreign policy, and alignment with the Christian Right) and how those policies were viewed by punks. Finally, I look at Rock Against Reagan, bratcore, and some explici...
054-Politics and Hardcore Punk
October 18, 2022 17:13 - 56 minutes - 52.4 MBThis episode examines the political side of hardcore punk. Starting with a discussion of the distinction between the first generation of punks and the new generation of hardcore punks and their differing relationship to style and politics, the episode then considers the implicit politics of moshing, the influence of Marxism on bands like the Dils, anarchism on bands like Crass, and the politics of the straightedge movement.
053-Reggae Confronts Babylon
October 11, 2022 00:56 - 59 minutes - 55 MBThis episode applies Marx's thinking in Chapter 1 of the Communist Manifesto regarding the corporate nature of the evils of Modern Industry to the situation of the Rastafarians in Jamaica. The episode then considers reggae's move from a local to international culture/genre and how that impacted the proliferation of Rastafarian ideas.
052-Economic and Political Violence in Early Reggae
October 04, 2022 14:05 - 45 minutes - 42.2 MBAfter discussing the ambiguities of the Marxist position on violence, I discuss subjective versus objective violence and the linkages between the two. I then proceed to an examination of the fraught political and economic landscape of Jamaica, concentrating on the 1960s and the era of independence. Finally, I explore the notion of violence in the sound system culture, ska, and rocksteady--the genres leading to reggae.
051- Gospel Music and Surplus Value
September 12, 2022 16:55 - 48 minutes - 44.9 MBUsing Karl Marx's notion of surplus value, I ask: what is the felt surplus in Golden-Age Gospel music (Thomas Dorsey, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Mahalia Jackson)? I suggest various ways in which it may emerge.
050-Early Gospel Recordings and the Ecstasy of Suffering
September 05, 2022 16:59 - 48 minutes - 44.7 MBStarting with some of Karl Marx's thoughts on religion, we turn to the rise of Pentacostalism, the emphasis on entire sanctification and speaking in tongues as well as the ecstatic nature of "getting happy," and then examine the recordings in the mid-20s by blind singer and pianist Arizona Dranes.
049--The 1930s Musical Commodity Fetish
August 29, 2022 15:19 - 56 minutes - 52.1 MBThis episode uses Marx's notion of the "commodity fetish" to explore how music developed as a commodity in its own right during the late 1920s into the Depression era.
048-Tin Pan Alley and the Depression
August 23, 2022 15:56 - 52 minutes - 48.6 MBThis episode looks at changes in the record industry in the 1930s and, using the Marxian concept of base-superstructure, examines how the music of the era reflected the underlying economic infrastructure of the late 20s and 30s.
047- The Numbing Sublime of DJ Screw and Cloud Rap
December 06, 2021 17:47 - 1 hour - 77.9 MBThis episode proposes an expansion of Adam Krims's notion of a Hip Hop Sublime (as discussed in episode 46) beyond its application to gangsta rap and involving something other than terror. This is what I term the "numbing or immersive sublime" and it describes that feeling of oneness with infinity (rather than fear of infinity) and is linked positively to Freud's concept of sublimation. The second segment applies the "numbing sublime" to the work of DJ Screw and the third segment considers C...
046--Gangsta Rap and the Hip Hop Sublime
November 29, 2021 20:14 - 1 hour - 80.4 MBThis episode explores Gangsta Rap and the set of production techniques that musicologist Adam Krims described as the "Hip Hop Sublime." The first segment discusses the rise to prominence of gangsta rap and its social, political, and aesthetic place in the 1990s. The second segment examines the notion of the sublime as illustrated in the writings of Edmund Burke, Immanuel Kant, and Jean-François Lyotard. The third segment examines the notion of the "Hip Hop Sublime" and the manner in which ga...
045--Willie Nelson, Red Headed Stranger, and Murder
November 17, 2021 14:24 - 57 minutes - 53.5 MBThis episode looks at Willie Nelson's concept album of 1975, Red Headed Stranger. The first segment explores the interest in murder as a topic within country music--particularly examining the tradition of the murder ballad. The second segment examines the 1870 court case of McFarland vs. Richardson, concerning McFarland's murder of his ex-wife's new fiancee. This segment addresses the "unwritten law" that exonerated husbands killing their wives' seducers, the temporary insanity plea, and the...
044-Outlaw Country, Kant, and Low Down Freedom
November 10, 2021 18:03 - 1 hour - 60.9 MBThis episode examines the Outlaw Country genre of the 1970s with respect to freedom: both in the sense of the artistic freedom that figures like Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings sought within the Nashville system and in the sense of freedom as a topic within the songs themselves. The second segment comes to grips with Kant's ideas about freedom and all the potential ambiguities it presents. Then I turn to the issue of US rugged individualism and its impact on Outlaw Cou...
043--Kant's Critique of Pure Reason ep.3 Introduction
November 10, 2021 16:52 - 1 hour - 96.1 MBThis is the third in a series where I'm joined by Eric Taxier to discuss Kant's First Critique, the Critique of Pure Reason. In this episode we discuss the Introduction to the Critique. The first segment discusses Kant's conception of the collaboration between the object and our faculties for comprehending that object as well as the distinction between the a priori and the a posteriori. The second segment turn to the Kantian distinction between the analytic and the synthetic and examines the...
042--Bebop and Freedom in Play
November 01, 2021 21:01 - 1 hour - 56.8 MBThis episode examines the issue of play. What is at stake in play? How do "rules of the game" relate to the freedom of play? The second segment turns to the notion that aesthetic pleasure arises for Immanuel Kant from the "free play" of the Imagination and Understanding that exhibits "lawfulness without a law." I suggest that in both play and this notion of aesthetic judgment the "law" or the "rules" are emergent--they emerge out of the act of playing, they are in play. The last segment look...
041--Sapere Aude: Bebop and (Kantian) Autonomy
October 25, 2021 01:09 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBThis episode begins by examining historiographical accounts of the rise of bebop and places bebop within the context of Harlem and 52nd Street. The second segment discusses the famous essay "What Is Enlightenment?" by Immanuel Kant and unpacks his concept of autonomy as presented there. Michel Foucault's critical take on Kant's essay introduces the idea of autonomy involving working at the edges of one's being. The final segment presents Harlem and 52nd street as two zones of autonomy for be...
040--Kant's Critique of Pure Reason ep.2 Prefaces
October 25, 2021 00:46 - 1 hour - 97.6 MBEric Taxier and Chad Jenkins discuss the two prefaces of Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. We address the different goals and strategies of the two quite different prefaces: the 1781 original and the new preface for the 1787 revision. We discuss the way in which Kant describes Reason as insisting on going beyond what it can directly experience (and the trouble it causes itself in so doing), the notion of a critique, the things metaphysics can learn from other sciences, the importance ...