"There is also a subliminal equation of cerebration and masturbation: the thinkpiece as a massive wank, a sterile squandering of life-force."

the missing sentence from my Frieze survey of theory's influence on music criticism over the last forty years

some things that slipped my mind: Carducci (although perhaps he's more of a theory-maker than a theory-reader)... the influence (direct and filtered-down)of Bourdieu on popism (especially with Carl Wilson's Celine Dion book)...