[Dixielandjazz] Cartoon Music one more time

[Steve Barbone]

"Robert S. Ringwald" <robert at ringwald.com>

> Steve Barbone wrote, regarding "cartoon music":
> 
>> Gee Whiz guys, you unfairly paint Wiggins and me as dissing cartoon
>> music, (snip)
 
> Steve,

> As an advertising man, you must see that classifying really good 1920s Jazz
> as Cartoon Music could be construed as demeaning.

Yes, I can see that, but only with those folks who classify "cartoon music"
as a demeaning genre. (for reasons which escape me) Point being I don't see
it as demeaning and have said so more than once.

> Sure, it was used as background music in cartoons but to call it cartoon
> music belittles it.  It was good Jazz that just happened to be used to back
> up cartoons.

It was music that happened to back up cartoons in some cases, and in others
it was specifically written for cartoons. Some is good jazz, some is not
good jazz and some is not jazz. If, as you say, it is good jazz, then why do
you think "cartoon music" as a description "belittles" it?
 
> By the same token, Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" written in 1902 and some
> other of Joplin's compositions were used     in the 1973 film "The Sting."
> But you would not classify Joplin's music as movie music or film music.


That presents an interesting discussion point. Many people who saw The Sting
call the theme song "The Sting". To them it was indeed movie music. The
Movie was a period piece and Joplin's music was perfect for it as far as
Marvin Hamlisch was concerned, even though not accurate historically because
the movie was set in the 1930s (maybe late 20s) and ragtime was well past
its popularity peak by that time.  If memory serves me right, Hamlisch, not
Joplin, won an Oscar for the music in the Sting.  That would seem to make
his "adaptation" (or rip off) of Joplin's music, "Movie Music". Hamlisch
probably also took co-composer credit since he was not faithful to the
original score of "The Entertainer."

What do I call Joplin's music? "Good music". Like Ellington, he is
impossible to categorize in a single genre. He wrote Marches, Rags, Operas
and Waltzes to my knowledge. After his early works were published, he
specialized in Ragtime, probably because that's where the money was.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

PS to Charlie Suhor. If you were not imprinted with cartoon music at say
ages 6 to 12, then you are either the exception that proves the rule, or did
not go to the movies back then, or you've forgotten about it. I didn't say
you had to like it, only that it was probably your first exposure to jazz,
pre jazz, jazzy, (or what ever you wish to call it) music. :-) VBG.