Sunday, October 16, 2011

From a Diary I:vii

Anarchists don't do theory well, but they do practice superbly. Every time people manage to work, create, cultivate, or collaborate in ways not foreseen by the prevailing system or state, it's anarchy and it's ubiquitous, not exceptional. (See, of course, Feyerabend on method.) What is an anarchic music theory? Provisional, pragmatic, open but not not ambitious (hegemonic). An anarchic music theory might usefully jettison the "theory" word altogether, as it's just practice; doesn't this usefully create an opportunity to question the degree to which or in what sense conventionally ambitious "music theories" are, in fact, theories as well?

1 comment:

Taylan Susam said...

I think we are safe as long as we remain faithful to the original meaning of 'theory'. It should arise - if at all - from practice. I do believe that theory can be useful in an anarchic context, if only to restore common sense. I (like most people?) am poisoned to a degree that I cannot be truly anarchic. Here, a theory would be useful for creating a domain in which I can.

After all, you did bring it up! - so we are already theorizing.