Wow. Quite a response you've typed up there, 'savant.
Thank you good sir...
Sorry if I came off a bit too...
too !
You actually make some valid points. I just think we are misunderstanding each other.
Perhaps I should clear my "point" up a bit!
I'm not actually arguing
at you, but
with you Peter...
My point was that neither you nor I can judge what is "art" and what is "noise". And no one knows what will, or will not, be remembered in 10, 20, 50 years' time.
Very true... art is (to some)
very subjective.
I do believe that there is great "art" (music, cinema, literature, etc) still being made, it's just that there really isn't a
culture that is (currently)
popular that is supporting it at this time. I think (and hope!) that this will change. The things I wrote about rock/pop music can be applied (with various changes/alterations) to almost all the things I love. Movies
mostly suck now. CGI is the auto-tune of movies. Television is beyond shallow. Nothing of merit that's being "produced" by "artists" (even the good stuff) is recognized or lauded because of the dumbing down of the masses (I'm mainly talking about America, since that's where my parents had sex and where I was born). There is no longer a valid outlet for the dissemination of these great works of "art" or even a community/culture to support the growth and development of said "art". Attention spans are just too short nowadays. People have become post-literate and are way too deluged with electronic diversions that are the equivalent of solipsistic onanism for the mind. Where's the soul? Nothing seems to "connect" on an emotional or visceral level. Why is that? Why are the majority of young people content with this situation? Are they so brainwashed by corporate propaganda that they think that this is the golden age? Reality just does not support that view at all. Just look around you! Do the youth (whose time it is to seize) have no fresh ideas to bestow upon the world? Are they so fu#king lame and disconnected that they themselves have nothing to offer that's new and innovative and, most importantly, their own?
I mean, if conformity and aesthetic conservatism are the "in" thing now and Kanye/Ke$ha/Bieber are the high water mark then, they (the young), are doomed and pathetic and I truly feel sorry for their lot. Maybe
their future offspring will realize how expendable and vapid this culture has become and will rebel (like the kids did in the 60's) and come up with exciting new music (and art) that will be considered classic someday!
We are just
deluged now by mediocre stuff. The next Hendrix or Beatles are probably out there right now but unless we sniff it out like a truffle, we miss out. There are too many fragmented "communities" for a real "culture" to thrive and great new music seems to makes no real impact in the here and now. That's sad, because the economy of scale is shrinking for these potentially great artist to really become truly great and make a decent living in this hostile environment.
Do you realize how many hours the Beatles played live before they even recorded in the studio? I work with a lot of young bands and artists and the majority have no understanding of paying dues. They are more interested in the
fame part, not the
creating something worthwhile to
become famous part.
Celebrity culture has overtaken
substance, and a lot of younger peeps seem to blindly accept this. That's
my biggest beef!
But I'm mainly lamenting about how the structure to support and promote the arts has died and how that affects the mainstream.
Vivaldi was a rock-star in his day. He was pretty popular. Then he died. Unlike Mozart, Vivaldi's works were mostly forgotten until they were rediscovered two-hundred years later...
I'm still leaning about classical and the history of symphonic music (I know much more about late 20th century art forms!), but isn't Vivaldi still considered a bit like Yngwie Malmsteen? All flash and no substance?
And classical music has become codified too. Most symphonies are being meagerly paid to saw through the "classics" that are as done to death as Stairway To Heaven! There is a lot of very great modern (i.e. 20th century symphonic) that is ignored because of lack of education and, again, no $ for it to thrive. So classical music is kinda in the same situation, only the old masters are played and heard and no
new music that is created is being appreciated or performed.
There are
tens-of-thousands of artists out there - real artists - who are creating new, innovative, or just plain good music. And that's part of the problem. There's so much to choose from. Sure, there's a lot of mass-market crap. Tons. But it's just like there's a McDonalds or an Applebees on every corner. People eat there because it's easy and it's what they like. Music is the same. There's a lot of mass-market noise out there because that's what many consumers want, and the record companies keep shoveling it in. But it doesn't mean that you must have a BigMac for dinner.
Look deeper. There's great stuff (even
well-mastered stuff) out there.
I agree with every word of that Peter, but that is my entire argument!!! For a short while we had a popular culture that thrived, not hidden away for just those of us in the know, and we were surrounded by music that inspired others to create original and great sounds themselves. Now it's become lopsided to favor the shallow and expendable. It's hard to blame the consumers when they are force fed plastic crap 24/7.
I truly hope that a renewed interest in diversity and quality will happen to all the arts!Peace
and love! I think we are much closer in agreement than you thought. Sorry if I come off a little hyperbolic and aggressive, that's just my obnoxious style.
The one thing I
do know is that, here on the Axiom forum, we all have diverse "tastes" and are passionate about music
and sound.
I'm just saddened by the
general population's seemingly lack of passion (and I do
mostly blame the "media") and concern for quality.
