Re: [Harp-L] music

[IcemanLE@xxxxxxx]

Robert  Bonfiglio wrote:
> It's time for music to go somewhere else.  It's  not that the players 
> aren't good at what they do; it's that we've  heard it all before.  We 
> know where they are going before they  get there.  Everything is so 
> bloody safe!
 
At every junction in music (classical and otherwise), there are always  
those trying to push the boundaries - evolve into something new and different.  
These brave souls are at the front of the pack, and as such, open 
themselves up  to criticism and negative reactions. 
 
Miles Davis is a great example - someone who didn't listen to the critics;  
instead, choosing to listen to his own inner voice. He said "I have to 
change.  It's like a curse". Once he finished a recording, he very rarely would 
revisit  it. Fans have a tendency to like one facet or development of music 
and hold the  artist to that point in time - coming to hear the "hits" and 
style that they are  comfortable with and used to. Miles changed so radically 
that he would infuriate  his old fans with a new concept - not unlike Bob 
Dylan the folkie showing up  with an electric rock and roll band. One of 
Miles' fans came up to him after a  show and said "Miles, you are great. But, 
this new music you are playing, I'm  just not getting it." Miles replied "so 
I'm supposed to wait for you?"
 
Even critics who heard Beethoven's Ninth Symphony initially gave it a  
negative revue. Beethoven replied that "This was music for a future generation"  
- and he was right. It was not fully understood and appreciated until  
"later".
 
To hear new music these days, you may have to listen to college underground 
 radio. They have a tendency to play what is not on the "Hit List" 
developed by  music programmers for commercial radio.
 
Commercial success is a two edged sword. It rewards artists, but keeps  
evolution to a minimum. Too many producers will find an original successful  
song, analyze it, and repackage it in their newer projects. It is a money game 
-  they want to sell to the biggest general audience they can. The lowest 
common  denominator of a big general audience is the height a new revolution 
in music  may achieve with this philosophy.
 
Look to the innovators for inspiration - Miles, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits,  
Paul deLay, Cassandra Wilson, Pink Floyd, Portishead, Van Morrison, Edgar  
Varese, Frank Zappa, Peter Gabriel, Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, The Beatles, 
Muddy  Waters - the list goes on. 
 
Who would you call an innovator?
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