Ben pointed out this Marketplace clip by Ian Svenonious, who DC hipsters will know as the lead singer in the bands The Make-Up and Weird War.

In it, Svenonious explores property’s relationship to music, particularly contrasting rock ‘n’ roll with electroclash and what he calls the “semi-acoustic psychedelic folk revival.” He begins by arguing that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s policy of low, low interest rates caused property prices to dramatically appreciate and, therefore, push low-income people into cramped quarters. To deal with constraints imposed by space and neighbors, the noisiness and size of bands (compared to rock ‘n’ roll) declined significantly. Musicians turned to electronic drums to replace drum kits, which are too big for apartments, and bands evolved into groups of one or two only. This downsizing of the rock ‘n’ roll sound can be found, Svenonious argues, in electroclash and the folk revival.

Svenonious’ argument is both interesting and generally accurate. In fact, the argument’s problem is not the relationship between property and music, but a result of its self-imposed limitations. Greenspan’s role in the shift toward smaller dwellings is irrelevant and it’s odd that Svenonious, a noted political radical, would pin larger economic and cultural shifts upon a single person. Both before Greenspan’s tenure and in countries outside the US, populations have been moving to the city for some time, particularly since the post-war era. Focusing on Greenspan is an injustice to the argument because it is much more generalizable then Svenonious gives it credit.

A second self-imposed problem is the focus on electroclash and folk revival. While this, and the Greenspan dimension, are probably done to appeal to the wannabe hipsters of NPR, many other genres fit the argument, if not in a better way. Consider electronica and hip hop, both of which rely on equipment (e.g., turntables and a microphone) that low income people can afford and people with small apartments can house. In fact, the combination of low income and cramped housing led hip hop to move to the streets and basketball courts where it evolved into a (lyrical) battlezone; this is particularly true on the East Coast where the two underlying conditions were and are most chronic.

Not only should these other genres be included in the argument, but also they support it better. If we focus on electroclash proper, and not so much the glitz branch, a noise foundation exists that’s rooted in the early punk era, and, therefore, is consistent with the “expansion and settlement” motifs of rock ‘n’ roll. We can even understand electroclash as taking the new wave label from the pop synth sounds of the 1980s and returning it to its original home of late 1970s punk (thanks to Michael for this bit of history many months ago). Therefore, the noise issue is mute (pun intended) but the instrument/drum-size dilemma remains.

Again, neither of these two criticisms detracts from the either how interesting Svenonious’ argument is or its validity. If anyone has additional thoughts or reading recommendations along these lines, let me know.