How The 20th-Century Avant-Garde Committed Musical Suicide

Our current musical era is sometimes described as "post-modern" (whatever that means) or maybe "post-post-modern," but however you characterize it, the period of wild, self-described "avant-garde" experimentation that occupied much of the 20th century is dead. Originality, if that is the composer's goal, has to be achieved by other means. Here are some thoughts on the matter for your consideration.