There has been a disturbing trend in recent music journalism pertaining to the classification of the unclassifiable music being created by an elite subset of musicians connected to the contemporary music scene. Two terms, in particular, have made an especially egregious entrance into the discourse: “indie-classical” and “bandsemble”.

Painstaking research indicates that the term “bandsemble” as it relates to the “new music” zeitgeist was first used in a September 12, 2008 broadcast of WNYC’s New Sounds in reference to the group Signal Ensemble though we credit the term’s meteoric rise to prominence in the lexicon of music journalism to New York Times and Time Out New York critic Steve Smith, who first used the term on his blog, Night After Night, to describe Missy Mazzoli’s girl-group Victoire. The term “indie-classical,” on the other hand, seems to have emerged from within the “scene” itself possibly as a ploy to attract more women in short skirts with small white tank-tops and black bras to shows.

Regardless of why these terms were invented—practical or perverted—they are illegitimate and need to be banished from contemporary musical discourse immediately. Sign the petition to show your support.