On Our Taste in Music and Sociological Explanations with Michael Walsh

Dr Michael Walsh, Sociologist at the University of Canberra

Dr Michael Walsh is a sociologist at the University of Canberra. I asked Michael how sociology explains our musical preferences, what our preferences say about us, and about the future of music in a market-driven, high-tech world.

Michael mentions two sociological greats who have waded in on the discussion of music in society, Max Weber and Theodor Adorno. 

When it comes to sociological explanations of music in society, I was curious about the following:

• What is sociology? What does it mean to be a sociologist? How does music fit in with sociology? Is there such a thing as “Sociomusicology” and what is it?
• What did Max Weber have to do with the "Sociology of Music"?
• Pierre Bourdieu argued, “nothing more clearly affirms ones ‘class,’ nothing more infallibly classifies, than tastes in music”. Bourdieu was like an individual publishing machine. Can we trust his judgement or is it true? I like Rose Tattoo and AC/DC, but I love John Adams, Mahler, and Brahms, not to mention Woody Allen soundtracks and Bob Dylan. Does that all mean I am a cashed-up booner?
• Why did you get into the sociology of music, and what music do you like and why? Do you see yourself enjoying the music you like on the basis of the European critical theory, or is it based on rational choice theory? And if someone listens to Katy Perry, are they an economist’s persona waiting to buy the next contrived musician? Or is that just my new-found class status speaking?

The curly questions about European critical theory and rational choice theory and how these relate to music were ring-ins. In my Google searching (not research) about the sociology of music, I found these two terms and just threw them into the interview. Michael took this in his stride.

On Narcissism or: How I learned to stop narking and love other narcissists

Echo and Narcissus by John William Waterhouse, 1903.
Public Domain via Wikimedia.

Rethinking Narcissism: The Secret to Recognizing and Coping with Narcissists by Craig Malkin

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I discovered Craig Malkin’s work in Psychology Today. On subscribing to the magazine, I couldn’t help but think political science might have done the same thing. Psychology Today is a model for other disciplines of how to get their research out into the broader community in an easily digestible way. That’s not to say that I enjoy reading research results that are all presented as lists, i.e., “if you have these five characteristics you are an arsehole” – this becomes rather dull at times – but it does enable me to apply tools and learn about concepts in psychology that I would otherwise not have the training to comprehend appropriately.

Rethinking Narcissism is useful for self-analysis and for coping with others. The Narcissism Test was useful. I recall the first time I encountered the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test in 1992, during a semester of “Character-Building”, a third-class module at the Royal Military College, Duntroon. I scored an extreme ENTJ (extraversion-intuition-thinking-judgment) – “The Commander”. I undertook the test again in 2001 and found I was slightly less extreme, less again in 2007, and since 2014 I occasionally score as an INTJ (introversion), but the NTJ types are still quite strong. Over time I have learnt to relax, to hold my tongue (when I am not ramming it down my throat), and to be patient, less aggressive, and less competitive. So, when I scored 7 on the narcissism spectrum (this is not too good – a five is ideal), I was not surprised but it made sense that from my teens until my forties I was easily in the extremely unhealthy narcissist range.

Malkin’s idea of narcissism as a spectrum was quite useful. When I left the military, I recall saying to my former CO, then a colonel, that I was sick of everything being so ego-driven (so said the young man who had been top of his cohort since Duntroon until leaving the Regular Army, a complete “thruster” if ever there was one and all at the expense of everyone around him). But the good colonel said to me that there was a bit of ego in everything, and it could be good. But off I went to join The Salvation Army, thinking it was circumstantial rather than me that was the issue (as you do). There have been several others who have recognised my philosophical struggles over the years and their insights were enlightening. Likewise, Malkin speaks to me in a way that makes it OK to be a narcissist sometimes, but to find a healthy balance in doing so.

On reading Malkin’s work, I can see I have much work to do. But now I also have a few tools to deal with the narcissists who surround me. Reading this work was similar to reading BIFF. One feels awkward reading about a scale of something rather than the binary “you suck – you’re awesome!” nonsense that drives most things in contemporary society. But Malkin echoes the words of the good colonel and for that alone it was worth the read. As for Goodreads’ rating system, I find it difficult to give such books a high score. Were they useful? Yes. Will I use the concepts? Yes. Does this strike me like Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice or Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast? Not really. So while my rating of this and other books is low, it is only in the company of the great literature I am reading. A separate ratings category for classics versus self-help books might be useful; regrettably, until such time I must rate books in the company they keep. But don’t let that stop you from reading this favourite from Oprah’s Book Club!

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Trivial nonsense, or: Work will dominate your mind if you let it...

Frankie at Pawtails Rural Retreat (and Frida in the background)
When she chewed my Nokia recharge cable, I bought a smartphone. But I survived.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had heard so much about this book from Ryan Holiday, Art of Manliness, and also the NPR podcast The Hidden Brain I just had to read it. Newport is Associate Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University and he has given me a ton of confidence about my earlier approaches to my work, and several new ideas to try. I went on a hiatus from mobile phones from 2009 to 2015. Only when we moved an hour out of Canberra was I given an ultimatum by my wife that if I insisted we live in the country, I had to have a mobile phone. For a while I resurrected the old Nokia I bought in Amman, Jordan in 2009 while on sabbatical there. But when my (then) puppy Frankie chewed the recharging cable, it didn't make much sense to make such a statement so I updated. I had learnt the value if being unplugged. Over time, I have ebbed and flowed with social media to the point where now I seem to have a handle on it. I can recognise when I am going down the rabbit hole and self-rescue. But I don't think this is enough. Newport's work is interesting in that he is an academic, so his stories are instantly recognisable. The tips are clear and the advice is sound. And it obviously worked. Fortunately, I already have tenure, but I have to build a citadel around my deep work, or the shallow work will destroy me. A recent stint of long service leave gave me the break I desperately needed, and I have been productive. But I need to upset a few more people by avoiding the trivial nonsense that saps my time. I have always done this, but only jokingly outlined my theories. Newport gives me a new sense of resolution, so watch this space. If you are struggling to cut out endless, nonsensical, shallow work, read this book.

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