On 29 Jan 2006, at 12:31 PM, John Howell wrote:
What is happening to that Popular Music in the early 21st century
would make an interesting study. Commercialism rules, of course,
but it always has. Modern communications simply makes it easier
and quicker for it to act. Already jazz--at least the cutting edge
of it--has lost its middle class audience and become too complex
for that audience either to understand or to enjoy. And enjoyment
is the key. People are attracted to music they enjoy. They always
have been and they always will be. Note that this is not a value
judgement as to whether the music they enjoy is "good" music or
"bad" music, a mistake which too many apologists for "art" music do
make. The market is the market, and the public votes with its feet
and with its credit cards for the music it enjoys. And in terms of
income generated and seats filled, "art" music is what, less than
one percent of that market? Sounds pretty close. A sub-sub-sub-
culture at best. That I happen to be a member of that sub-culture
is irrelevant. I can still see and interpret what is happening.
And no, I don't want to know that a new piece uses quartal
harmonies or the world's cleverest tone row or calls for the
Theremin in a new way, I just want that music to speak to me and
invoke a response in me. Some music's got it, and some don't!
Actually, the majority of indie rock fans roughly my age (let's say
21-40) are all in favor of timbrallly, structurally, lyrically
sophisticated music that challenges them as listeners. They don't
want simplicity or sugarcoated accessibility or stereotypically
pretty sounds, and they certainly don't want the vapid notions of
"timeless beauty" or "sublime relaxation" that the traditional
classical marketing campaign tends to emphasize.
Greg Sandow has had some good posts on this recently:
http://www.artsjournal.com/sandow/2006/01/
the_young_and_the_beautiful.html
http://www.artsjournal.com/sandow/2006/01/footnote_to_beautiful.html
Cheers,
- Darcy
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http://secretsociety.typepad.com
Brooklyn, NY
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