The slow death of intentionality in contemporary music: Implications for societal cohesion

Abstract

This article will explore whether; in this postmodern era, where secondary sourcing is in the ascendant, where double-coding trumps coherence and where appropriation and sampling signify the triumph of the accidental or the archival; I. Kant is winning the argument that intentionality on the part of an artist is not a prerequisite for aesthetic response. Furthermore, I will explore whether the joyous inclusivity of the punk and post-punk eras has actually led to a counterproductive cultural relativism; an eschewing, on the part of composers or song writers, of the traditional aesthetics and purpose of musical composition; a Baudrillardian distancing from a direct emotional engagement with an audience; and consequently to a cultural dearth in society at wide. I will draw upon my own experience as a songwriter and occasional film score composer as well as my observations of peers in the business to posit that this state of affairs is an alienating one that has contributed to a climate of social disengagement.