so I got Ewell's book and am looking forward to reading it

given all the stuff IRL I haven't gotten far into it but I read the preface and it is crammed full of acknowledgments.  Poundie Burstein shows up and that reminded me that Journeys Through Galant Expositions is a magnificent book.  I saw Joshua Clement Broyles get a nod and that reminded me of a commenter who commended Beyond Schenkerism to me, which I "do" have but IRL stuff got so rough in the C19 period and since I have it "started" but temporarily on hold.  I know that McWhorter did some kind of write up about the book but since I think McWhorter was and is foundationally wrong about ragtime (longtime readers don't need to ask why) and that Don Baton had a harsh appraisal but ... 

Four moveable goalposts--four canards some musicologists and philosophers got from Theodor Adorno to use against the idea that "pop" can be "serious"

I have been thinking about this for a while but have not, as yet, written anything about the matter but I have been considering how defenders of tradition, or The Great Tradition, who may have all sorts of things about the timeless and transcendental nature of serious music (or "serious music" depending on your perspective) have four core arguments (or fallbacks) on why some music is more worthy of consideration than others.  Much as I love a lot of music that has been situated in the "tradition" I have not been able to avoid thinking about how there are four arguments against American popular song and dance idioms as "serious" music that were essentially formulated by Theodor Adorno that have been taken up by men who might otherwise vilify Adorno as one of the great villains of the 20th century where music, and specifically classical music, is concerned.

Without trawling through the half dozen books in which Adorno presented his canards, I'm opting at this point to merely present the canards themselves.  Specialists will most likely already know where they are found!
 

Mississippi Fred McDowell - When I Lay My Burden Down

Because, as great as his version is, John Hurt's isn't the only version that's great.  Fred McDowell's version is pretty great, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYr6vI_sib0

Kicking off the series on Wenzel Matiegka's guitar sonatas doesn't mean I stop posting blues musicians covering gospel tunes. :)