Four Plays And The Music Goes Pop

Pop music gets something of a tough time these days.  It's not enough for a song to be vaguely tuneful, entertaining and cheery, it has to have a serious message and guaranteed longevity if it's going to be appreciated by anyone "in the know".  Otherwise it faces being labelled "disposable", as if that's the very worst thing music could be.  Well, striking a blow for ephemeral music everywhere comes Yashas Shetty, a Bangalore artist who has crafted a piece designed to embrace rather than avoid the transience of modern music appreciation.

From inside a wood and glass container a small circuitboard plays, when activated by a knob, a finely crafted pop song from the speaker on the top.  You get around four chances to listen in all, after which the sound degrades into crackling fuzz.  It's an interesting idea – I wonder how many people would dare crank it up for that final time, knowing that after which the intrinsic purpose of it is spent.

The piece was auctioned on eBay recently, selling for approximately $35.53.

eBay [via Music Thing]