I don't think current music theory is excessively academic, I think it's not academic or rigorous enough. Many institutions languish in studying harmonic theory

I don't think current music theory is excessively academic, I think it's not academic or rigorous enough. Many institutions languish in studying harmonic theory to the exclusion of many other modes of musical analysis. This leaves them equipped only to study archaic styles of European music and jazz where harmony was one of the defining factors. The expressive power and applicability of music theory would be served best by focusing study on areas that have been underexplored. Those areas are too numerous to even list, but standouts that apply to music more recent than mid-century are rhythm, timbre, movement (as driven by elements other than harmony), instrumentation, electronic techniques, and cultural aspects of music like references and interpolation.