Before Music Dies? [Documentary]
Posted by Dan | | Posted On Oct 25, 2009 at 9:00 PM
Okay so there is this documentary I'm watching called "Before the Music Dies" posted over on The Blues Report. Well basically it's an hour and seventeen of people complaining about how superficial music is today. They even go through all the motions of showing how easy it is to create a pop artist today, much like Miley Cyrus (ask your kids). More things they complain about include radio, and Mtv.
What interests me about all the old people complaining in this movie, including Eric Clapton and Bonnie Raitt is that they assume that the generations growing up in todays mass media marketed music scenes will have no taste and then let music itself die for a newer faux music. I honestly don't know what they want from us? My grandfather laments everyday that Rock & Roll killed Sinatra. Music changes, period. Jazz killed the light Orchestra and Mozart killed Bach. You can't get mad at my generation for what they like today or else you all hypocrites. It's not like I listen to what they do and their are a ton of people my age into tons of music but to say that all the popular music is designed by comity and not by artist is true but it has a long history. Do you think that Neil Diamond liked writing songs for the Monkees? Remember every generation has their manufactured music and The Monkees are no different from Hannah Montana.
My favorite complaint from the documentary is the complaint on the Modern record industry. This is frankly bullshit. It's not as if they were good before; hell Leonard Chess stole from Muddy Waters and everyone stole from Wille Dixon. People need to be honest and say hey it's always been pretty bad. In fact I'd say the music industry of today is the best it's ever been purely based on technology. Digital distribution and the ability to record anywhere changes how music get's recorded. I know a guy who set up a studio in his basement that is pretty awesome. Sure it's not major but how is it any different from Stax which was set up in an old movie theater?
If feels as if most of my complaints about the film is not the film itself but that it is all people complaining about change. Recently I found a quote that I think sums up my thoughts on change pretty well "Nature does not know extinction. All it knows is transformation." The quote is by Wernher von Braun the father of modern rocketry. Braun saw his inventions go from being used to kill to being used for man's crowing technological achievement, the of landing men on another world. Forty one years ago people could look at the moon and say "Man hasn't been there." but one year later they couldn't say that. Okay so nut jobs still say it but who want's to be a nut job?
What interests me about all the old people complaining in this movie, including Eric Clapton and Bonnie Raitt is that they assume that the generations growing up in todays mass media marketed music scenes will have no taste and then let music itself die for a newer faux music. I honestly don't know what they want from us? My grandfather laments everyday that Rock & Roll killed Sinatra. Music changes, period. Jazz killed the light Orchestra and Mozart killed Bach. You can't get mad at my generation for what they like today or else you all hypocrites. It's not like I listen to what they do and their are a ton of people my age into tons of music but to say that all the popular music is designed by comity and not by artist is true but it has a long history. Do you think that Neil Diamond liked writing songs for the Monkees? Remember every generation has their manufactured music and The Monkees are no different from Hannah Montana.
My favorite complaint from the documentary is the complaint on the Modern record industry. This is frankly bullshit. It's not as if they were good before; hell Leonard Chess stole from Muddy Waters and everyone stole from Wille Dixon. People need to be honest and say hey it's always been pretty bad. In fact I'd say the music industry of today is the best it's ever been purely based on technology. Digital distribution and the ability to record anywhere changes how music get's recorded. I know a guy who set up a studio in his basement that is pretty awesome. Sure it's not major but how is it any different from Stax which was set up in an old movie theater?
If feels as if most of my complaints about the film is not the film itself but that it is all people complaining about change. Recently I found a quote that I think sums up my thoughts on change pretty well "Nature does not know extinction. All it knows is transformation." The quote is by Wernher von Braun the father of modern rocketry. Braun saw his inventions go from being used to kill to being used for man's crowing technological achievement, the of landing men on another world. Forty one years ago people could look at the moon and say "Man hasn't been there." but one year later they couldn't say that. Okay so nut jobs still say it but who want's to be a nut job?
You are absolutely right about the complaining (not that I don't complain from time to time--ha!).
The world changes and it's hard to adjust at times. People who have become successful during a particular era sometimes find these changes particularly bewildering.
For Bonnie Raitt and Eric Clapton, getting record contracts and excellent management were the keys to success.
But for a musician like me, who just plugged along over the years, having access to relatively inexpensive recording and self-distribution has been a godsend.
Best thing you can do when the old folks complain is say: Keep on rockin', grandpa! Keep on rockin'.
Upon actually finishing the video they did turn it positive on all the good changes that I brought up. I guess I jumped the gun a bit.
This is not just confined to peoples views on music. Once you reach a certain age, rose coloured contact lenses seem to kick in whenever you look at the past. (I suspect it's some sort of pre-cursor to cataracts!) Also, it is the duty of the old to become grumpy. It is a role I find I slip into all to easily now-a-days. If you didn't have grumpy old people, what would teenagers have to complain about? I think we provide a useful social service by being grumpy. :-)
Also, as you point out, there has always been disposable music, designed to give a quick hit and then be forgotten. However, your example of the Monkees and Neil Diamond is brilliant because it shows that you can't always predict what will stand the test of time. It shows that someone, against the odds, can still make a lasting impact - talent has a way of slipping though the cracks in the defences. However, will Milie Cyrus be remembered long after Clapton's work has been forgotten? It's possible... but I wouldn't bet on it. :-)
Finally, it's not true that one style of music kills another, or that video killed the radio star, or that home taping killed music... All the forms of music are still there and their influences can be heard in the most unlikely places. Blues into Hip Hop, Metal into Pop, Classical into Progressive Rock, ...
{On reading before posting, it seems I've gone all "grumpy old man" about people being grumpy. Oh the irony!}
The thing is its all about skill. For me its not about the music itself. But how dumbed down it is. Meaning how easy it is to duplicate. That equals "skillz" And the more dumbed down it gets.... the less the next generation will learn and the less skillful they will be. And the less innovative talent will be found in the future. I can see where they are coming from and understand their complaints.
One example of forgotten music is old country blues. I haven't seen this docuemtnary yet. But i've seen all 7 videos of martin scorces docuemtnary on the blues recently. And it seems they were more interested in trying to make a connection to africa and to how it influenced later rock and roll. Then the real details of the roots of the music itself.
They did not mention once, in any of the 7 videos... how the rhythm of the blues was inspired by the sounds of the american railroad. The sounds of the train rolling on the tracks, and i'm sorry but this is more an american heritage then african. The sounds of the whislte blowing and playing to the beat of the train is where 90% of the old country blues comes from.
another little tidbit about the piano players of the 30s. If you were a man playing the piano back then you were considered a pussy and a fag, cause the piano was a ladies instrument. So the piano players back then when playing the blues would play real gangsta tunes. Talking about killing people, and killing their woman, or having sex. I remember some underground radio statiosn here in nyc when i was a kid lsistening to smoe of these old recordings... and some of the lyrics would be like "i fucked that bitch in the grass" and these recordings actually exist believe it!!
i could make a real blues documentary...
but the reason why the old coutnry blues is forgotten. is cause most people cannot reproduce the sound. in fact any modern person who claims to play old country blues... eric clapton or bonny raitt in included will admit they cannot reproduce that rhythm. What happens to people like us born after that time... is we end up subsconsicoulsy swinging it. Playing more of a shuffle then a straight rhythm. That basically sounds like a train rolling on tracks. Meaning these old guys like son house or willie brown on charley patton etc.. old delta dudes will play a melody lke BOP BOP BOP BOP BOP BOPB straight 1/4 rhythm. And us modern people will find that unatural.... and play it more like be BOP be Bop Be BOp be Bop.
best way i can explain it. Since Son house and skip hames ahve died. so has that music been lost forever!! i''ve got the blues now :(