"Today's Music is #@$%!"

pete

pete

Brassica Oleracea
Staff member
Administrator
I've mentioned elsewhere that I generally work alone on Saturdays. That also means that I crank up YouTube or Pandora and listen to some tunes. This weekend, I listened to a lot of The Beatles and The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger (that's the band that Sean Lennon is in -- I'm going to abbreviate the band's name as "GOASTT," which is what a lot of the YouTube'rs do). I noticed two things:

1. In most, if not all, of The Beatles clips I listened to, there was at least one comment in the form of, "Today's music is #@$% in comparison to this!"

2. In most, if not all of the GOASTT clips I listened to, there was at least one comment in the form of, "Sean Lennon will never be as good as his father!" (It's also amusing how the posters ignore the other vocalist in the group, Charlotte Kemp Muhl.)

In the first case, I think that the complaint of, "Today's music is #@$%!" is a) uttered by every generation and b) stupid. Hey, I was listening to our local classical music station and heard the comment, "In the late 18th century, JS Bach's music went out of style, while CPE Bach's was on the rise."

In the second case, I think that Sean Lennon is an excellent singer and songwriter and I like a lot of the stuff I've heard on YouTube -- so much so that I'm going to ask for their "La Carotte Bleue" album as an inexpensive gift idea. Is he John Lennon? No, but I don't think that's necessary, just like CPE Bach had his own style that I find easy to listen to.

Let's get back to the "Today's music is #@$%!" comment. I have an incredibly eclectic taste in music. However, I do not care for rap, hip-hop or country. Additionally, I find most jazz no more than listenable (major exception is jazz bass clarinet or flute: I really like that). However, I can recognize, to an extent, when a band/group/soloist is good -- even in those genres. I also don't have a band/group/composer that I like all the music from.

A long way of saying, "If you don't like it, just say that. There's no real reason to say that any music is #@$%!"
 
It's too late to make good sense, but I'll try

It's a function of changing tastes, but society as a whole influences those tastes in some subtle ways:

• What your parents liked

My folks liked Jackie Gleason, Sergio Mendez, Broadway stuff, and Enoch Light. I appreciate all of this, but never really had a preferred genre as I grew up. Starting in playing commercial music at an early age meant that I was also exposed to the pop and jazz standards.

Having said all of that, I also appreciated Joe Cocker and Simon and Garfunkle. But, as to my listening tastes, I'd have to say for the most part there were none. I had two cars without radios, never really cleaved to the "I've gotta have a sound system" creed until I was in my 30's, and generally wander around in silence save only the constant ringing in my ears.

(That's why I'm up so late tonight - I have to work to exhaustion in order to fall asleep.)

• What you are bombarded with in society

For the last fifty years, "mainstream music" has meant three guys with guitars, a bass player, a drummer and perhaps some melody from the keyboard. The melody in a piece of music is usually carried by the vocalist.

With this sort of "thin" music being the norm, people are conditioned to accept it, and generally are wary of accepting any "new sound" unless it catches them off guard. Take the slight resurgence of "big band/swing" from a few years back. People tired of three chords and a bridge welcomed the "fresh" sounds of the likes of Connich and Seltzer, but they were really only fresh to them, having existed in the undercurrents of music for many years.

Also note that the "resurgence" is now pretty much over.

• The economic realities of the musical world

Back in the day, groups could tour with twenty bodies and still make a half-assed living. Not any more - with musicians expecting a livable wage, the number of players that can be supported in the "live music" world has at least dropped by half, if not more.

All of this combines to alter the "accepted" styles of music when viewed from an individual's perspective. But, when it comes right down to it, it's still a matter of personal taste.

I know very little of skaw, or thrash, or heavy metal, or rap, or even jazz and modern art music (for the most part), simply because I don't enjoy any of them. I do enjoy "hot", music from the 1920's, and a lot of what has passed over the Broadway stage. That doesn't make them wrong, or me wrong. It's just a matter of taste.
 
Skaw: a combination of ska and western music invented by Terry. :p

I used to listen to my car CD/MP3 player for one main reason: practicing vocal parts. Hey, it's convenient and I have 2 hours of driving time every workday. As I'm rather retired from doing vocal stuff, I listen to the CD/MP3/radio to keep me awake on said drive.

-> Brief aside: I have a Mustang convertible. The convertible had the "upgraded" audio system, called a "Shaker 500." This system is one of my two complaints with the car: it's got great bass, great treble and no midrange. Other people on Mustang forums have complained about this, too. (My other complaint is that it is a tad too small.)

The "three guys playing three chords on guitar" argument against "modern" pop music has been made before and I do get the idea, but I can also go back to the Beatles and point out such chord wonders as "Let it Be," which has about three chords (a few inversions of each, mind you). Also, the "three guys playing guitars" isn't on all pop music, unless you define pop music as that -- and some folks agree with that definition. I'd be willing to bet that the GOASTT CDs would be in the "Alternative Music" bin, next to the jazz CDs. Another recent group I like is Cake. That group has a core of drums, guitar, bass and vocal. However, they also have a lot of songs with additional brasswinds. They're considered "pop."

Terry's pointed out the financial impact of traveling with a lot of musicians before. I don't know if it's a "chicken vs. egg" argument, tho: band trying to get by slims down the group, because they can't afford to travel to gigs with 10 members. They get popular and keep their "slim" group. Other aspiring bands see that this group is popular, thus they start with the same "slim" group.

There's another way at looking at "slim," too.

I also rather like Pink Floyd. They generally have guitar, bass, keyboard, and drums. However, when they tour, they put on a spectacle of a concert (see this, for instance) and they generally top the list of highest earning band every year. Also, note that Pink Floyd was formed in 1965, so they were contemporary with the Beatles.
 
I guess they couldn't spring for renting a bass saxophone to fake the solo. Perhaps they figured no one would notice?
 
Helen said:
I guess they couldn't spring for renting a bass saxophone to fake the solo. Perhaps they figured no one would notice?
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Yup. Most people can't tell the difference between an alto and a tenor sax, even by sight. So I get it when they don't know difference between bari and bass sax. The bass sax really is a rare instrument.
 
Gandalfe said:
Yup. Most people can't tell the difference between an alto and a tenor sax, even by sight. So I get it when they don't know difference between bari and bass sax. The bass sax really is a rare instrument.
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"No, I don't play the same horn as Kenny G. You've seen Kenny G a bazillion times. Does the thing he plays look like the bari I play?"

Then again, I bet people ask Kenny G what kind of clarinet he plays.
 
Gandalfe said:
Yup. Most people can't tell the difference between an alto and a tenor sax, even by sight. So I get it when they don't know difference between bari and bass sax. The bass sax really is a rare instrument.
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...ooops, but I must confess that, at 64 and after ages of playing saxophones, I never saw a bass sax "in person".
 
Gandalfe said:
No worries but maybe Ben can make a suggestion as to where you can see a bass sax in a live performance in Switzerland?
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Would a shredder count as "live performance"? ;-)

Heck, I'm an exotic with my bass and - gasp - alto clarinets. But a bass saxophone?
Hmm, actually, I think I know someone. He claims he's bought a bass in (of all places) Madagascar. Hung there in a music shop window, doing nothing.
(He then told me what the Missus thought of his idea to buy (and bring home) that thing, but I shall spare you this)
 
Do not read this posting if you value your mental health!!!

pete said:
"No, I don't play the same horn as Kenny G. You've seen Kenny G a bazillion times. Does the thing he plays look like the bari I play?"

Then again, I bet people ask Kenny G what kind of clarinet he plays.
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Here's something for you all to mull around in your Étude-addled minds:

Kenny G Plays Aker Bilk!

Don't say that I didn't warn you...
 
No... No... No.... Not Heino man... Ben, what were you thinking... :emoji_astonished: This is a G rated forum... And no, not "G" for German. :D

Is this guy even still alive? :geezer2:I thought he was like in his 60s already, when I was a kid living in Germany during the 1970s.
 
It's nothing more than...

...German country-western, if you will. Poorly done, music wise, with a highly synthesized set of instrumental tracks to back the guy up, but the one thing that is truly authentic (the looks on the faces of those witnessing this spectacle) lets you know that they are most likely being entertained. And, that's what it's all about - if the customer is happy, then the entertainer has succeeded, no matter what the "level" of the music.

Then again, he could have paid them all off...
 
tictactux said:
Would a shredder count as "live performance"? ;-)

Heck, I'm an exotic with my bass and - gasp - alto clarinets. But a bass saxophone?
Hmm, actually, I think I know someone. He claims he's bought a bass in (of all places) Madagascar. Hung there in a music shop window, doing nothing.
(He then told me what the Missus thought of his idea to buy (and bring home) that thing, but I shall spare you this)
Click to expand...

Switzerland might be too small to accomodate such a huge instrument.
 
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