[Harp-L] RE: Why Intelligent Music is Dying

[philharpn@xxxxxxx]

When I was in high school, one of the girls --who had a figure like a coke bottle--got a pixie haircut. 


Some wise guy remarked: "You don't look much like a girl anymore."


To which, her boyfriend added: "You're not looking in the right places."




Same is true with live music. It hasn't gone away, it's just a little harder to find. There was a time when jazz was popular music. Times change. Serious music is there if you look for it.


I catch the DSO pops concerts monthly series  and small bands/ singers at the Ark in Ann Arbor.


I saw Muddy Waters and James Cotton at the Royal Oak Music Theatre many years ago and BB King at the Fox Theater.


I've seen several national touring blues acts at Callahan's Music Hall  in recent months. And I saw Charlie Musselwhite at the Macomb Center several years ago, along with some other blues acts. 


Once a month I drive 90 miles to Lansing to sing and strum along  with 35-50 members of LAUGH) the Lansing Area Ukulele Group the h is silent) for 90 minutes.


But mostly, I missed out on a lot (and I mean a lot) of concerts due to my 33 years working nights, weekends and holidays on the newspaper copy desk. Nowadays, when I attend a live concert I am gratified not so much because of the performance but that I am able to attend at all.


The only time when technology creates a barrier between me and live music is when my car won't start.


Phil




-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Hazen <bluesmandan76@xxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wed, May 20, 2015 8:48 am
Subject: [Harp-L] RE: Why Intelligent Music is Dying


Doug said, "Technology is becoming a barrier between musicians and
the
experience of live music.  That is another topic..."

I think it may
actually be THE topic. 100 years ago, if someone wanted to
hear music, they had
to listen to the live music that was available to them
in their locale. And if
they wanted to hear music every day, then they
either had to play music
themselves or make sure someone in their house
played an instrument. So there
was always a NEED for live music and
motivation for MANY people to learn
music.

Not so much today. With the ubiquity of MP3 players and other such
devices,
and the DOMINANCE of recorded music over LIVE music, everyone can
choose to
listen to or play just a few select recorded groups they consider
best.
There is no need for live music from this technological perspective.
No
need for live music means that less people feel the need to learn to
play
music.

I think early on, recordings stimulated an increase in music
education. But
at some point it reached a critical mass and began to replace
live music
rather than stimulate it.

It's simple really. Approach a local
restaurant/bar and offer your band's
service to play at a price that is
actually reasonable for you to make a
little money. Or they can play an MP3
playlist over the loudspeaker for
nothing. Almost EVERY restaurant you enter
has recorded music playing all
the time. A few restaurants will have live music
on Friday and Saturday
nights. The pay will generally be minimal. The bands
will be fairly small.
Even in the music industry today... not so many real
bands... instead the
"live" music is a recorded track with a dancer
lip-synching to it. And that
person is called a musician. Ugh.

Live music
just isn't as important in our culture today. So... it's pretty
hard to make
money with music, and so Dad doesn't encourage the kids to
learn it as much.
So... when budgets run tight and cuts need to be made in
an education program,
it's music that gets cut. Less enrollment. Poorer
program. Down, down, down it
goes. Intelligent music dies.

I think it's also symptomatic of general
intelligence declining, too.
Listen to lyrics of the hits today.

Here's the
current #1 song in America: Wiz Khalifa, "See You Again". The
music is so
simple it could be called retarded. A piano playing single
notes. Then
electronic drums with bass. That's it. The lyrics are
thoroughly unimaginative
and lacking in all poetry. And this is #1.

It's been a long day without you,
my friend
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
We've come a
long way from where we began
Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you
again
When I see you again

Damn, who knew?
All the planes we flew
Good
things we've been through
That I'll be standing right here talking to
you
'Bout another path
I know we loved to hit the road and laugh
But
something told me that it wouldn't last
Had to switch up
Look at things
different, see the bigger picture
Those were the days
Hard work forever
pays
Now I see you in a better place (see you in a better place)

Uh
How can
we not talk about family when family's all that we got?
Everything I went
through you were standing there by my side
And now you gon' be with me for the
last ride

It's been a long day without you, my friend
And I'll tell you all
about it when I see you again (I see you again)
We've come a long way (yeah, we
came a long way) from where we began (you
know we started)
Oh, I'll tell you
all about it when I see you again (let me tell you)
When I see you
again

(Aah oh, aah oh
Wooooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
{Yeah}

First you both go
out your way
And the vibe is feeling strong
And what's small turn to a
friendship
A friendship turn to a bond
And that bond will never be broken
And
the love will never get lost (and the love will never get lost)
And when
brotherhood come first
Then the line will never be crossed
Established it on
our own
When that line had to be drawn
And that line is what we reach
So
remember me when I'm gone (remember me when I'm gone)

How can we not talk
about family when family's all that we got?
Everything I went through you were
standing there by my side
And now you gon' be with me for the last ride

So
let the light guide your way, yeah
Hold every memory as you go
And every road
you take will always lead you home, home

It's been a long day without you, my
friend
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
We've come a long
way from where we began
Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you
again
When I see you again

(Aah oh)
{Uh}
(Aah
oh)
{Yeah}
(Wooooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
{Ya, ya}
When I see you again
{Uh}
See
you again
(Wooooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
{Yeah, yeah, uha}
When I see you
again

Look at the music and the lyrics going back over the top songs of
past
years... examine the complexity of the music and the poetry... You
should
notice a general and gradual increase in musical complexity and
lyrical
depth as you move backward in the timeline.
2010: "Tik Tok" by
Kesha
2000: "Breathe" by Faith Hill
1990: "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips
1980:
"Call Me" by Blondie
1970: "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" by Simon and
Garfunkel
1960: "A Summer Place" by Percy Faith
1950: "Goodnight Irene" by The
Weavers and Gordon Jenkins Orchestra
1940: "I'll Never Smile Again" by Tommy
Dorsey Orchestra with Frank Sinatra

The populace is declining in
intelligence. So the music is, too.

You can do the same thing looking at top
selling books. The spectrum of
mindless amoral sensationalism versus
thought-provoking paradigm-shifting,
and introspective moral and intellectual
depth...

2010: Mockingjay (action packed dystopian revolution)
2000: Angels
and Demons (mystery to make fun of religion)
1990: Jurassic Park (dinosaurs
eating people)
1980: The Bourne Identity (spy thriller with complex
plot)
1970: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (female coming of age story
and
religious inquiry)
1960: To Kill a Mockingbird (moral inquiry regarding
racial inequality)
1950: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (complex
Christian allegory of
faith)
1940: A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (triumph story of
impoverished immigrants
overcoming adversity)

Weigh the sum depth of the
first four with the sum depth of the last four.
Come on. Really? No
contest.

What to do?
The next kid you see with an MP3 player... snatch it
out of their hands,
throw it in the road and give the kid a harmonica instead.
I think that
will make the world a better place.