Music Theory and your Degenerative Lifestyle

Is there a place for musical theory in modern music journalism?. I know I'm a little late to this particular internet call-and-response circle jerk party but hey, it never hurts to prolong the life of an engaging subject, especially when it is one that I am (and you should be) interested in. Last week a one Ted Gioia published an essay on the current state of popular music criticism and the general lack of any actual musical theory within. You should take the time to read the full article here. Gioia is a heavyweight jazz critic, musican and historian who has edited encyclopedias on jazz music and was a founder of the jazz studies program at Stanford University. In short, he knows his shit. In the piece he is essentially lamenting the loss of the inclusion of any sort of proper musical theory by modern music critics and jounalists in their reporting on today's popular music offerings, which is an understandable annoyance from someone of his position. His post has generated a couple of