CONCEPT
How great is humanity’s intelligence STUPID MUSIC places a focus on escapism, examining how people take flight from unsettling news and the role that music plays in this: music that makes us dumb, dull, without sensation, that is “stupid.” Drinking songs, music meant to relax us, functional sound, and sound as a decorative element are all looked at. And yet clichés are interrogated as well, taking a closer look at purportedly “stupid,” escapist genres like the Schlager, the polka, or the arabesque, and questioning supposedly “quality” genres like jazz and classical music.
If the first parts of the festival trilogy: INHUMAN MUSIC (Compositions by Machines, by Animals, and by Accident) and EVIL MUSIC (Odes to Violence, Death, and Demons) explored the importance and intention of the human, STUPID MUSIC will examine the intelligence of the main protagonist of the Anthropocene, his ability to learn and develop.
Doofe Musik is the final part of a series of thematic weekends at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt on the fringes of musical cultures in the 21st century:
Part I: Unmenschliche Musik/Inhuman Music (2013)
Part II: Böse Musik/Evil Music (2013)
Part III: Doofe Musik/Stupid Music (2014)
COLLABORATOR
Detlef Diederichsen
FUNDING
Haus der Kulturen der Welt (2013/14)
WEBSITE
COOPERATIONS
PUBLICATIONS
Doofe Musik. Lieder zum Betäuben, Vergessen und Entspannen – Ein thematisches Wochenende, Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin October 2013 (together with Detlef Diederichsen)