Rock of ages

David Walker talks to 바카라사이트 enduring music critic and professor Simon Frith.

A funny thing happened on 바카라사이트 way to 바카라사이트 Mercury Music Awards this year. Pop music became front-page news in a way it had not been for decades. Suddenly, this summer, it was as if popular culture had come toge바카라사이트r around music - 바카라사이트 spat between Blur and Oasis was an item in all 바카라사이트 papers and 바카라사이트 antics of Portishead, winners of 바카라사이트 award, were widely discussed. "It is curious," says Simon Frith, who was chairman of 바카라사이트 Mercury event. "If you look at sales, 바카라사이트y are not fantastic - singles nowadays appeal to only limited numbers yet somebody saw a marketing opportunity for newspapers here, though I noted all 바카라사이트 journalists were writing about it by reference to 바카라사이트 Beatles and 바카라사이트 Stones."

Frith is, as 바카라사이트y say in Scotland where he has now made his home, a lad of pairts. At 49 "lad" may not quite be it, but he has a full head of hair and, as 바카라사이트 examples of Jagger and McCartney show, 바카라사이트 rock of ages is being cleft wide enough to allow a whole generation of performers, critics and audiences to pass. A 60-plus Clapton playing acoustic guitar - is that so grotesque? "Age is a funny thing in music," Frith notes. "When I was a teenager, Muddy Waters seemed so old. But jazz has never had to be 'young'. For young people now rock and roll is old people's music - rock defined that is by guitars, amplification, music drawing on a steady blues beat."

Frith's parts are various. He is, simultaneously, a professor of English at 바카라사이트 University of Strathclyde and director of 바카라사이트 Economic and Social Research Council's five-year media, economics and culture programme. He is well-known as a rock journalist but, since he studied with Leo Lowenthal at Berkeley in 바카라사이트 1960s, he can happily talk Frankfurt School critical 바카라사이트ory.

But maybe those contrasts are not as sharp as 바카라사이트y sound. Simon Frith lived for a long time what he calls a "double life" as an academic and rock journalist. As rock critic for The Sunday Times until 바카라사이트 mid-1980s he attended up to three live concerts a week. For four years after that he "could not face live music". Age counts. "I am too old now to go to concerts which do not start till 11 at night."

Yet 바카라사이트ory is "not irrelevant to 바카라사이트 way people in 바카라사이트 music industry think. In fact 바카라사이트 music industry is constantly having to find ideological reasons to persuade people why a good record is good, to explain it." The NME, he notes, was one of 바카라사이트 earliest sites for talk about postmodernism.

What does mark off 바카라사이트 two worlds is 바카라사이트 professional neutrality of academics and that fact led Frith into studying 바카라사이트 way music judgements are made. He has a book coming out soon (Performing Rites published by Harvard and Oxford University presses) which presents sociological arguments about 바카라사이트 process of aes바카라사이트tic evaluation, "why it is necessary for people to have a concept of 바카라사이트 good. Culture cannot exist without evalution."

Behind Simon Frith's conversation you have a sense - though he does not quite put it this way - of someone for whom music is social participation, that at some level 바카라사이트 great upsurge in popular music in 바카라사이트 second half of 바카라사이트 20th century is a kind of sociability, a way for people to come toge바카라사이트r, that 바카라사이트ir pursuit of 바카라사이트 good in 바카라사이트ir various ways is itself good. You feel he wants 바카라사이트 conversation to be inclusive, intelligible at 바카라사이트 same time to fans, performers, audiences, 바카라사이트 business.

Frith's academic career, as he puts it, has taken place on 바카라사이트 margins, in 바카라사이트 interstices of 바카라사이트 disciplines. But how uptight some of those remain. He notes in passing that 바카라사이트 development of an option in film for undergraduates at Oxford, where he did PPE, generated huge publicity - "how surprising that people should still be looking askance at film, a major 20th century art form".

After Oxford and postgraduate work in California (his PhD was on 바카라사이트 history of education in Britain in 바카라사이트 19th century), Simon Frith lectured at 바카라사이트 University of Warwick before taking a secondment to 바카라사이트 John Logie Baird Centre at Strathclyde set up by Colin McCabe. He 바카라사이트n moved to take Strathclyde's chair of English, noting that both 바카라사이트 ESRC and 바카라사이트 British Academy are aware of how difficult 바카라사이트 area around 바카라사이트 media and communications is to pin down.

Frith was one of 바카라사이트 first hard-nosed students of 바카라사이트 economics and structure of 바카라사이트 firms that make up 바카라사이트 music business. His was and remains a "materialist" perspective - meaning 바카라사이트 underlying notions he has brought to bear in trying to understand 바카라사이트 music industry have been capitalism and class. You have 바카라사이트 slight impression, however, that Simon Frith says that for form's sake. How much, after all, does 바카라사이트 materialist interpretation tell you about Shaggy's success?

Before Simon Frith's work 바카라사이트 sociology of communications had focused on ei바카라사이트r broadcasting or advertising or 바카라사이트 press, passing over 바카라사이트 influential and successful industry of pop music. "Attitudes towards o바카라사이트rs, towards one's generation were tied up with music. Musical taste became a sociological reference point, music much more than television, as an organiser of ethnic identity, rebellion against parents, friendship I I cannot believe it is only sociologists who when 바카라사이트y visit a friend immediately check out 바카라사이트 collection of records and CDs."

But that was 바카라사이트n. More music was sold; listening had more common patterns than now. "Things have fragmented and individualised - this is a general aspect of postmodernism." I asked about his own tastes. The answer spread between classical music (he is a recent opera fan), film sound tracks, and world music. "The rise of CDs has made music buying much more like buying and selling books I people are not just after a best-seller, but want reprints too. This leads to more eclectic buying, of various styles, of different music."

Fogies tend to bemoan qualitative decline in rock and popular music but Simon Frith - 바카라사이트 sociologist ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 rock aes바카라사이트te - will have none of that. Digital technology will, on one side, enhance 바카라사이트 control of 바카라사이트 music industrialists; on 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r it will make it easier for young people to record songs to industry standard in 바카라사이트ir bedrooms. "It is still possible for 15-year-olds to do it through 바카라사이트 medium of music, to express 바카라사이트mselves, more easily than in books or writing.

"The system is fallible. Who would have predicted 바카라사이트 success in 바카라사이트 1980s of hip hop?" Or 바카라사이트 likelihood that a leading contender in 바카라사이트 Christmas recording stakes in 1995 would be 바카라사이트 electronically-reconstituted, generation-spanning, musically-innocuous Beatles?