[Dixielandjazz] Validity of Opinions

[Steve Barbone]

I will answer Paul off list tomorrow. If anyone wants a copy, write to him.

Cheers,
Steve


"Edgerton, Paul A" <paul.edgerton at eds.com>

> Steve, you've said some things I question...
> 
> "Agreed, one has the right to say what one wants about a
> player/performer.
> However, when one walks out of a performance, not hearing most of it,
> one's
> views about the entire performance being good or bad, are invalid. The
> LA
> Time review of that particular performance should be proof enough of
> that."
> 
> What percentage of a given concert must one hear to have "valid" views?
> In what way does a newspaper review offer "proof" of anything?
> 
> 
> "I can recall similar threads about Arturo Sandoval being terrible and
> 'nobody should go hear him,' and 'Pee Wee Russell can't play clarinet,'
> Monk
> sucks, Bird sucks, and on and on and on. Those opinions also are invalid
> regarding what other people, potential ticket buyers or CD buyers think
> about these musicians.
> 
> One's opinion could be well-informed, or not, and that may well affect
> another's interpretation of that opinion. But what makes one opinion
> more valid than another?
> 
> 
> "Point is that what you, or I, or anybody else 'hears' or does not
> 'hear'
> with regard to a particular musician or performance may be, and often
> is,
> completely at odds with what others will hear. Therefore we might
> carefully
> consider what our responsibility to others is regarding trashing
> someone."
> 
> Elsewhere, you've said musicians shouldn't be openly critical of one
> another--especially by name. That's probably a good rule of thumb, but
> it is hardly a law. The original poster, Judi, was expressing her
> opinion as a paying member of the audience. She voted with her feet and
> let us know what she thought.
> 
> 
> "Opinions are like rectums. Everyone has one. And they are very
> personal."
> 
> I'm not sure what you're suggesting. Do you mean that all opinions are
> personal and invalid? Or does the fact that a newspaper published an
> opinion make it somehow less personal or more valid? Or do you mean that
> the opinion of some "expert" is valid while the opinion of a layman is
> not?
> 
> In other threads, you've observed that the public expresses its opinion
> by buying CDs. If they buy CDs, that implies they like the music. So is
> that a valid opinion? What if they buy the CD but don't like the music
> and never play it--is that a valid opinion? What if they pay for seat at
> a concert, find the music irritating and leave--is that a valid opinion?
> 
> 
> "Regarding the price, Tickets to see Woody Allen in concert range from
> $35 to
> $65. IMO, that is not a high price. Ken Peplowski tickets at Lincoln
> Center
> in NYC run as high as $137.50. Allen is no Peplowski, and the difference
> in
> pricing reflects that, even though many may go just to see Allen up
> close
> and personal and not particularly to hear him play."
> 
> The price of a ticket is dependant on several factors. The cost of the
> venue (Lincoln Center is an expensive place to give a concert), the cost
> of the performer (which may or may not correlate to the performer's
> skill), the usual and customary fees paid for tickets to similar shows,
> the number of hands in the pot and, of course, greed. I don't have the
> figures handy, but I'll wager that it costs no more to hear Ken at one
> of his NYC club gigs than it does to get into one of Woody's.
> 
> Steve, sometimes it seems you've absorbed the lessons (follow the money)
> from your business career so well that you may forget people are
> motivated by many factors. Money is not always the number one factor
> driving the things people do. It's certainly not the only thing they
> value or talk about.
> 
> I think some people here are hearing your message like this: "If you
> like something, buy the CD and tell everybody. If you didn't like it,
> shut up and your opinion is invalid." I don't think that's what you
> really meant. Can you help me to understand?
> 
> -- Paul Edgerton
>