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lucifer_sam · 06-03-2009, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by popsounds

You think I don't know this? The last three people I listened to on iTunes were Fela Kuti, Albert Ayler, and the Fall. What I'm trying to prove here is that my musical tastes are not somehow "narrow," which again, people are misinterpreting my statements as saying this. What I meant by "I have little chance of seeing a great band that doesn't fit into certain genre lines live" is that, though this is true for every era, it seems maximized lately: that if one wishes to see a band live - i.e., a band that currently plays and makes music, not one from history - the band tends to fit in a few categories - namely "indie," "metal," "emo," what have you. Yes, great bands come around in at least one of those genres (I'm not a big fan of metal, but I do respect some of the work), but what if someone wants to see an ol' fashioned loud blues band that actually knows how to play? Or if one wants to see a real non-bull**** country singer? Or a soul act not caught up in nostalgia? Not going to happen unless you live in a huge city, and even then, it'll be limited. What I'm saying is that it's all about diversity. Has this been different in any other decade? I don't know, I haven't been around that long. But even if it hasn't, I can hope it will happen.

No, again, you don't understand what I'm saying. I know that great albums and bands come out every year, but what I'm saying is that when a genre expands so much that it has little to do but burst, there creates this huge musical void, and I fear that that will come soon with the typical "indie" genre. And there is something we can do about it, a lot. You could start your own band, but not everybody's musically talented. Fans make music go round, and if there are fans who want great music, it'll happen. lol. This has been actually true for pretty much the entire history of rock until the internet and mass communication which has diminished the role of the rock community geographically, turning it into something going over oceans perhaps. I can't exactly say what this has done to the "quality" of music - probably little - but I do know that this has greatly reduced the role of the actualy city, the neighborhood, on bands, creating a lack of scenes - everyone becomes molded into one big amalgamated mess. Throughout that mess comes some great music, but I think it's possible to create some organization - useful organization, mind you - but organization nevertheless from this chaos, which, hopefully will reduce that "lag" period, caused when one genre goes and everyone's waiting for another to come in, causing, as I said, this void.

personally, i don't know what you're getting worked up over. the indie thing has been around for a few years or so, and it'll continue to be around a few years later, but it all falls within the broader scope of the changing face of music. and this pontification you're referring to? that's just a falsehood, the entire 'indie' label is just something that musicians use to work with emergent music fans. suggesting that it's a one-sided die is pretty silly; the whole concept of new music is to take existing styles and blend them until the boundaries for generalization become arbitrary and the distinction between genres fades. that is what encapsulates the beginning of new music.

and while you might consider there to be a 'lag' (which i don't really agree with at all), it's been years since music has entrenched itself in a particular style. what's out there today is one of the most diverse scenes in music.