I thought of another analogy that would describe the 'thin
description vs thick description' discussion. Think of your favorite musical
artist / band. Maybe you don't have a particular artist in mind, maybe think of
a favorite album.
"Is This It" the Strokes in my Top 3.
My point is, you love your favorite album it in its
entirety. Front to back, in your opinion it’s flawless and never gets “old”. It’s
impossible to choose ONE track that sufficiently represents the rest of the
body of work.
For instance, can you choose one song off of ‘The Beatles’
(album) or The White Album? Does it embody all the other songs or
the whole album?
Nope.
Thin description – one song / a single
Thick description – the whole goddamn album
Yayyy! Welcome back Kono!
ReplyDeleteI looove your tie in to music here. The whole album or one song? Great move! Thanks for that.
Also - great taste in music, buddy!
Kono,
ReplyDeleteVery cool post. I'd second what you've said, with a bit more of a qualification: I think that a more "thick appreciation" for an artist/band and their tunes would be to contextualize an individual song within the album itself (how it builds on/off the bookended songs, how it connects to the album's larger themes, how it represents the unique musicianship of each band member, etc.) and I'd even go as far as to pose these questions in relation to the artist's/band's entire catalog. What connection(s), if any, does this one particular have to earlier songs or albums? How does it show the trajectory -- for better or worse -- the band has taken throughout their career? This kind of (deep) knowledge is only possible with an intimate knowledge of the subject at hand. :)
Viva true/blue music fans!
Z