From what I can see, Marc Myers blog sets a pretty narrow definition for what is
Rock & Roll, and a high bar for its pulse. Musical inventiveness and integrity
survive even if the marketing engine that powered a few bands to fame and
fortune from the 1950s through the 1980s crumbled. Musicians today have to
support their music habit with a day job. I think this is okay. It doesn't
stop bands that are both talented and hard working from putting out a body of
work in which they can take pride, and in some cases building an enviable fan
base. In my city, Washington DC, I can think of a few examples, one of which is
Eddie From Ohio.
There certainly is a crying need for enterprises to filter out the garbage and
put good music where we can find it, though. I've found a few gems with
Pandora, but more from the streaming audio services of public radio stations.
Dick Williams
________________________________
From: Don Cox <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tue, January 4, 2011 2:19:13 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] RIP rock n roll
On 04/01/2011, Tom Fine wrote:
> Hi Dave:
>
> Sorry to disagree, but saying small-city club rocking means that a
> rock music business is "alive" is like saying just because a bunch of
> semi-literate loudmouths use free blog sites for no wages while
> newspapers die off means print journalism is "alive." There's a big
> difference between the big leagues and everything else. Using Bob O's
> analogy, the "farm system" died out and thus the big leagues
> eventually ran out of "players." It's happening in almost all aspects
> of Western culture, a sure sign of a rotted-out society collapsing
> upon itself. Sad to watch because it wasn't always this way in my
> lifetime.
>
In the case of both rock and jazz, it is a case of the genre running
through its life cycle. Young people are not in general very interested
in those old styles now.
Nor do they listen much to waltzes and polkas.
Obviously there is a minority who do take an interest in older music,
just as there are some young listeners to classical music. These tend to
be those with a more serious interest in music as such.
Those who just want a good night out are going for DJs and the many
dance styles, rap, etc etc.
Regards
--
Don Cox
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