Post-Modernism is something that I first gained exposure to through literature. I am a huge fan of writers such as Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Heller, David Foster Wallace, and Thomas Pynchon. Meanwhile in terms of music you have post-modernism associated with minimalist music and in later times, ambient music such as that made by Brian Eno. In this respect, post-modernism is directly associated with a reaction to the excess, and a retraction from that to something that is very basic. In the same sense you can look at the shift from modernist pieces of literature such as that by James Joyce to post-modernist pieces. Some of that shift seems to be from an excess of language and a certain verbosity for the sake of description to more of a focus on ideas and using language in different ways. To me, the general concept seems to be that of throwing out what you already know, keeping the ideas and seeing what else you can do with them. It is a rejection of the grand, of the maximization of everything in society and delving into a more obscure path to try to find a meaning hidden behind a garbage can or something of the sort.
However, it seems to be a very broad and overarching concept, and is either ill-defined, very complex to define, or both. b_b's post in the Political View thread got me thinking:
What is Post-Modernism to you? Is it something you have thought about before? Is it a concept that Hubski can reach an agreement on?