Re: [Harp-L] Re: The Wonderful Internet

[Zvi Aranoff <zviaranoff@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hey Robert, I didn't post it on Youtube, I just found it there. I  
believe that if you contact Youtube, they'll remove it for you.

As to your main point, I disagree. While the internet enables the easy  
dissemination of mediocracy, at the same time it enables the easy  
dissemination of great quality. If it weren't for the internet,  
particularly Youtube clips, I would have never been exposed to  
virtually all of the contemporary masters. I'm willing to bet many  
folks on this list would attest to that as well.

Perhaps your statement, "most of the good performances are from times  
before the Internet or by players who were established before the  
internet" is factually true, but not because of the nature of the  
internet, but because the internet is relatively young. There's no  
doubt in my mind that the internet a) helps masters that weren't all  
that known beforehand gain much greater notoriety (what kind of  
following would someone like Howard Levy have without the internet?)  
b) helps advertise new talent (where would Jason Ricci be today if it  
weren't for the internet?) c) helps to introduce a large number of  
people to the harp, of which, some might turn out in the future to be  
great players, and finally, d) helps dissemination of a great deal of  
information (such as Harp-L!!).

In a word, I'm not ready to shut down the internet because it breeds  
mediocracy..




On Oct 11, 2010, at 1:45 PM, Robert Bonfiglio wrote:

> I don't think you all got the point;  the subject was the "wonderful  
> internet," not Buddy Greene whom I've never met and whose name I did  
> NOT mention.  The point was that before the Internet, this stuff  
> would never have seen the light of day.
>
> This is the point and that INCLUDES the stupid encore in Mexico my  
> guitarist decided to do of James Brown "Sex Machine" (which I have  
> never played) after an entire show of music from my CD Harmonica  
> America.  I tried to get that removed from the internet but Zvi  
> managed to post it.  The weird thing is that this the only thing  
> posted from that concert!!!
>
> The whole point is that there is no control over what goes out; I  
> had no idea that the Carnegie Hall performance was just a good  
> natured joke.
>
> Would be interesting to me what the response would have been from  
> this list if it had been Little Walter and not Bach that had been  
> the butt of the joke.  Of course the masses wouldn't know the  
> difference between bad LW  and good - and "they were enjoying  
> themselves" so you can see how that argument is kind of hypocritical.
>
> But I am only trying my hardest in my area to the Harmonica to the  
> highest standards; one's that are judge by my peers, other musicians  
> in classical music.   I use the blues harmonica as my encores, my  
> little joke, and never claimed to be a great diatonic player.
>
> BTW, I listened to Mr. Greene and he is a wonderful diatonic player,  
> especially in the blue grass style and country.
>
> Harmonically yours,
>
> Robert Bonfiglio
> http://www.robertbonfiglio.com