The Human Condition.
We need passion again.
So, what can be done to create interest in music again? I mean, real interest - such as learning the art of how to play an actual instrument, practicing that instrument every day, wanting to get better and having a passion for it. Is social media the only reason listening, (not hearing) to music has declined so significantly over the past twenty years?
I don't just blame social media.
The whole thing is a very complicated puzzle. I also point the finger at the entire digital revolution. I mean, the fact that today’s music sucks, doesn't mean that it only sucks now or has only sucked in these past twenty years. Music has always sucked. Believe me, there was a time when some of the stupidest music ever recorded became popular in the 1970's. It was absolutely absurd garbage, but somehow it made it to the radio.
If you're old enough to remember, there might be a few song titles that will prove my point. Remember "Disco duck?" How about "Convoy"? How about "Seasons in the sun" or "The night Chicago died"?
How about the entire genre of disco? I was a teenager when disco was at its peak. I hated disco then; but for some reason, I still remember the songs to this day. As it turns out, disco wasn't so bad after all. In fact, the musicianship of that genre was pretty incredible. I didn't think that way at the time. Now, disco to me is really nothing more than a memory of a novelty. I don't have any real meaningful memories attached to it.
You see, every generation has music that sucks. The only difference is that back before the digital revolution, music that sucked didn't last very long. Why? Because only good music lasted. How? Because we voted for good music with our hard-earned money every time we purchased an album or a cassette or an eight track. If you have ever seen pictures of large storage warehouses filled with tens of thousands of vinyl records, do you honestly think that every one of those albums is good music? I would bet that maybe 20% of it is good music. The rest is probably just tons of obscure recordings that never again saw the light of day. Maybe that music didn't suck for the people who recorded it.
So, what do I think is the most significant difference in today's music compared to the music I grew up with?
It's an easy answer - "Passion". Passion comes from human feeling, and experiencing empathy, sympathy and caring for something or someone. Today, people don't truly listen to or care about music. They hear it. Music is now just a meaningless white noise in the background that might have repeated catchy hooks, but possesses little or no real substance or feel in the music.
Can you move to it? Well, yes. Music itself is defined by the combination of rhythm and melody. Most people who are not musicians, enjoy music so they can learn and sing the melody and the lyrics in their car as their driving their kids to soccer practice. They move to the rhythm. Once the “jello-neck” head-bobbing and the rhyming of nonsensical verbiage begins, the rest of the music is merely an afterthought.
Something's missing.
If you go back, way back to when disc jockey’s played those two and half minute-long songs, these songs were being written and recorded with only enough room for one or two verses, choruses and maybe some sort of short instrumental solo. This was what songs did back then. Instead of words to a third or fourth verse, you'd play a guitar or piano or saxophone solo. This gave the listener something to "listen" to. It gave you eight or sixteen bars of music where you didn't sing lyrics. You had to shut up and just move and listen to the music. Musicians wanted to highlight their talents by playing memorable guitar licks or piano lines, or saxophone solos that would be remembered just as strongly as the singer singing the lyrics. None of that exists in today's music. That's what's missing!
I recently wrote an article about a made up story where Wolfgang Van Halen meets up with Taylor Swift, and they discuss putting guitar solos in some of her songs.
I think that it would take something like that to change today's music. Imagine the millions of Taylor Swift fans suddenly being introduced to some of today’s amazing young guitar virtuosos in some of her songs. Maybe it wouldn't catch on right away, but a whole new generation of “Swifties” would finally hear something much more interesting than a four-chord rant about it always being the boyfriends fault.
Go back and listen to piano introductory pieces by Elton John, Barry Manilow or Billy Joel. Now imagine those songs without those piano parts in those songs. Go back and listen to the pop-jazz music of the 1970's. Bands like Earth, Wind and Fire, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Chicago or any of the other thousands of rock and pop artists who used to incorporate horns in their songs as a ritual. It is almost non-existent to hear real horns in today's music. Oh sure, horns can be easily emulated through computer technology, but they aren’t human. Today's music isn't human. It isn't about the artists or the band or the group anymore. It's about the producer using cookie-cutter techniques to assembly-line one crappy song after another.
The young, amazing new musicians are out there.
Unfortunately, the only way they can be heard is through social media. They are nothing more than flashes in the pan. There is no lasting music that stands the test of time anymore. There is no real music industry. There are no more talent scouts, there are no more A&R managers to mold a band or artist into stardom; and there are no more record labels to take chances on investing into new artists.
Do people like Taylor Swift have the power to change that? Yes, absolutely. Will they ever try to change it or will they just keep making meaningless, redundant, repetitive music until the money runs out when A.I. takes over?
Bring back the real musicians. Bring back the artists who toil and struggle everyday because of their passion for their music. There is no way to substitute this human endeavor for expression. Music is a human experience. Creativity is a human experience. Passion is a human experience. Without any of these, the human condition does not exist.