FW: [Dixielandjazz] Popular Music is Changing

[Mike Durham]

Sadly, the other recurring factor in most of today's "MTV music" is that the 
lyrics, when not actually offensive (as in some gangsta rap) tend to be 
rather basic and/or banal - but then it is marketed primarily at 12-15 year 
olds, or so I understand. Not a good idea, I guess, to try and sell 
sophisticated songs about love, life and loss to people who have scarcely 
attained emotional maturity. Of course, there are exceptions, quite a lot of 
rock and pop music is written by and for adults, and come to that we had a 
lot of pretty vapid "Moon/June/Spoon" stuff in the 20's and 30's. However, a 
general (and massive) loss of quality does seem to have occurred - makes me 
nostalgic for early Beatles (now there were some good melodies and quite 
acceptable lyrics!).

Yours with a sad shake of the head,

Mike D.



>From: "James Kashishian" <kash at ran.es>
>To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
>Subject: FW: [Dixielandjazz] Popular Music is Changing
>Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2003 22:55:49 +0100
>
>Nancy wrote:
>
>Thanks, Steve,
>I do hope popular music will swing back towards melody. To me, rap music
>and
>its emphasis on rhythm is not so much art as it is a math lesson in
>fractions.
>
>And, I will comment......
>
>It's not just rap that is rhythm based, rather than melody based.  It
>is, in general, all the music that is "happening" now.  I prepare the
>music for a producer that puts on 400 modelling shows a year in my
>studio.  That is, I take the popular music he chooses (he's a dancer &
>choreographer), and cut the songs in little bits, overlapping/blending,
>etc., into one long piece of music for the shows he does.  It is
>all......save for the odd ballad......rhythm based.  That's the way
>things are going, and I see little sign of change.  It's not all bad, by
>the way.....but, there is very little melody involved.
>
>A few years ago, I assembled & mastered a series of 22 CD's of
>Contemporary music.  I craved for the odd few bars of melody, and
>occasional was treated to such (not often, though!).  Now, I crave for
>the odd bit of melody, and savour the little bit I get with the pop
>stuff.
>
>It's just the world we are living in now, and the odd melody, the odd
>smile, the odd bit of pleasantness must be enjoyed to its fullest.  No
>sense in sweating about the rest.
>
>Nancy wrote "Forgive me for having thought too deeply about this".......
>Well, Nancy, I just went a bit deeper!!    :>
>
>Jim
>
>Jim
>
>
>
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