Lu wilsonMar 12
— yaxu, 2024
Show threadJordan B. L. Smith

@TodePond When I was applying for faculty jobs, my first interview was with a music tech department. At my job talk I explained the work I had just published on jointly performing loop analysis and source separation. The first panelist, trying to understand the limitations of the method, asked me: "So it relies on repetition? So it would only work on '1-2-3' music?"

I'd never heard that epithet before, so it took me a beat to understand. It still boggles my mind that he asked that.

Mar 13 at 2:43pmWeb
Show threadJordan B. L. SmithMar 13

@TodePond Maybe you've heard some "1-2-3" music before; it's that niche style of music that you can count to! Toe-tapping is often involved. It's that subset of music sometimes called "music".

I didn't get the job, and I was glad. Maybe they noticed my soul briefly leave my body in that moment, and the way I couldn't quite settle back into "enthusiastic applicant" mode.