20 Mar To what extent is pop music, as analyzed by Noe, already part of the “Give All” culture advocated by Lethem?

Readings: Jonathan Lethem, ‘The Ecstasy of Influence: A Plagiarism’ (New Humanities Reader), Alva Noe, ‘Air Guitar Styles’

Jonathan Lethem asks us to let go of worries about originality and instead plagiarize ‘ecstatically’. But his essay suggests a different style of art, based on collage, sampling, reworking fragments of other’s work. Noe suggests pop music is essentially about style, not music in itself. Pop stars perform ‘style’, and we learn this from them.  For your third essay, I’d like you to think more about the importance, and danger, of our culture’s reliance on ‘style’. Using examples from both of the essays, answering the following prompt.

To what extent is pop music, as analyzed by Noe, already part of the ‘Give All’ culture advocated by Lethem? Or is it instead better suited to the consumerist ‘copyright’ culture he is opposed to? 

Further questions that might help you answer the prompt.
1. Is style elitist? Does it lead to hierarchy, or it is potentially more egalitarian? (As the song goes, is it true that ‘You’ve either got or you haven’t got style.’ Why would this matter?)

2. Do we focus too much on style? What could we replace it with, and how would it change our world?
3. Should we be worried that focus on performance and ‘style’ might undermine the serious pursuit of music?

4. How does ‘style’ change how we relate to other people and how we form groups? Does pop music encourage creative communities, or does it impose ‘style’ on those who consume it?

5. Does the phrase ‘style over substance’ accurately reflect much of our world, or are we simply paying more attention to style’s importance?