Members BlueStrat Posted February 5, 2011 Members Share Posted February 5, 2011 Wow. I think I just realized how different my perception of the current music landscape is from most musicians. I will say, however, that the whole "Music is terrible now" sorts aren't doing a damn thing to raise the bar any. I agree. I don't think all new music is terrible. I think a lot of it is great. I do think, however, it's unfortunate that now we're forced to go look for it as opposed to having it handed to us like we used to, but it's there. Were it not for my kids, I wouldn't have discovered a lot of guys I really like- Avett Brothers, Muse, Band of Horses, and about a dozen others. But like the younger guy I work with said when we were discussing music- it used to be almost all the great bands were popular bands- Hendrix, Cream, Who, Santana, Van Halen, Aerosmith, Yes, AC/DC, the list is long and goes from the 60s into the early 90s. They were beamed into our living rooms on network TV shows and on our car radios. But then it shifted, corresponding with the decline in the record business. Now, the best bands labor in obscurity after a divergence began to occur between greatness and popularity, with increasingly smaller overlap between the two. He also wondered who would take the place of the 'Dinosaur Bands' still touring today and still selling out stadiums and arenas, who were both great and popular. I thought it was a profound question from a kid who is not a musician, just a music fan. We listen to XM Satellite radio all day at work, and hear lots of great music on some of the stations like Outlaw Country, The Loft, Alternative, etc depending on what we feel like on any given day and almost all the stuff I like is by someone neither of us has ever heard of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted February 6, 2011 Moderators Share Posted February 6, 2011 Daddymack, You think it's "chimpanzee simple" to write and perform songs that audience members find so emotionally satisfying that, after the show, they are so excited that they each tell five friends about it? I think you just overlooked Step 1: "Be able to provide a live performance that always MOVES people emotionally so much that they go out and tell five friends after they first see your show." No, I didn't overlook it, I was using exaggeration as irony, attempting to point out how simple it is to say something that is, let's face it, the most difficult part of the equation. Here, let's apply your advice to a different model: Want to be a famous movie star? All you need is to be able to bring every character to life in its own unique way...see how simple that sounds? Want to be the greatest anything? Do it better than anybody else...sorry, your advice is basically a platitude, not a guideline, nor a plan. I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just saying that you make the most difficult part sound so simple....that I think you missed the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flatfinger Posted February 6, 2011 Members Share Posted February 6, 2011 No, I didn't overlook it, I was using exaggeration as irony, attempting to point out how simple it is to say something that is, let's face it, the most difficult part of the equation. Here, let's apply your advice to a different model: Want to be a famous movie star? All you need is to be able to bring every character to life in its own unique way...see how simple that sounds? Want to be the greatest anything? Do it better than anybody else...sorry, your advice is basically a platitude, not a guideline, nor a plan. I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just saying that you make the most difficult part sound so simple....that I think you missed the point. The average free-nista doesn't fathom the intricacies . ( or want to exert themselves in the attempt to do so ....). If you are going to do analogies between the movies and music , consider this ; Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't much of an actor , but he is a movie star most extraordinary. To me the equivalent in music would have to be KISS. Most of their material isn't real sophisticated but the glamor of the things surrounding it were part of the recipe ( Which is now the recipe to sell soft drinks !!) The point is that an actor needs a writer to come up with a compelling story , a screenwriter to adapt it properly , and a crew and director to put it all together properly . People don't realize that allot of mechanical licensing practice is still a legacy of rules that were provided for player piano rolls !! It started out back then at something like a cent or so for the composer ( who's composition was the "played " by the piano ) . It took a battle royal for decades to get it up to something like four and a half or five cents a play . I imagine that there may be some actors who could also write as well as act .. but it would be only a few who would do both with great levels of accomplishment. The pirate makes the non-performing songwriter extinct...( and the majority of them weren't making much to start with ....) So basically , the currency of the music business .... the song ... has lost one of it's primary benefactor... the ones who specialized in generating more currency for the entire business are gone. I hope that the performers can pick up the slack ... but it would seem improbable. The other side of the coin is that if we have folks who aspire to be great singers, they can't wholly concentrate on that alone... now they must also attempt to master composition simultaneously !! Lot's of things are easier said than done !! Well done is BETTER than well said !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GlennGalen Posted February 6, 2011 Author Members Share Posted February 6, 2011 No, I didn't overlook it, I was using exaggeration as irony, attempting to point out how simple it is to say something that is, let's face it, the most difficult part of the equation. Here, let's apply your advice to a different model: Want to be a famous movie star? All you need is to be able to bring every character to life in its own unique way...see how simple that sounds? Want to be the greatest anything? Do it better than anybody else...sorry, your advice is basically a platitude, not a guideline, nor a plan. I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just saying that you make the most difficult part sound so simple....that I think you missed the point. I just wrote the two things you need to do, as I see it. Didn't mean to imply it was simple just because there are two *difficult* and skillful things needed for success. I tried to make the POST simple. That's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flatfinger Posted February 6, 2011 Members Share Posted February 6, 2011 I just wrote the two things you need to do, as I see it.Didn't mean to imply it was simple just because there are two *difficult* and skillful things needed for success.I tried to make the POST simple. That's all. Simplifying things has it's place and is a laudable goal , as is delegating authority instead of being a power monger !!. This has been a good discussion , But alas , There are no simple answers to the problems !!! ( Or at least any that I don't care to keep to myself ; Muuuhhaaaaaaa:lol:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.