Chomsky, Katy Perry, and the Algorithm God (w/ Adam Neely)

YouTube music educator Adam Neely joins us for an oh so welcome respite from politics (sorta). We talk about the importance of storytelling (and click-bait) in YouTube creation; music theory's relationship to white supremacy; the relationship between music, language, and culture; and the absurdity of copyright. And make sure to listen to the end, when Adam takes us along on a mini journey of music creation.If you haven’t already, please subscribe to Uncertain Things wherever you get your podcasts.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, and Stitcher. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice.On the agenda:* Demystifying music — or what quantum theory and polyrhythms have in common [7:12]* On film scores and storytelling [13:00]* Live music lost [15:02]* Living the YouTube life (and serving the Algorithm God) [18:55]* “There’s always a patron” [32:22]* “Music Theory & White Supremacy,” the backlash, and the “critical mistake” [34:44]* Music as language, music as language-like — and a hat tip to Victor Wooten [47:14]* Chomsky chuntering [56:24]* The metaphor of pitch [58:13]* America’s obsession with copyright [1:08:50]* When labels attack [1:20:23]* Putting Adam on the spot [1:30:25]You can follow Adam on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Vanessa M. Quirk and Adaam James Levin-Areddy. For more doomsday thoughts, subscribe to uncertain.substack.com Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe