[Dixielandjazz] Re - the Who lectures.

Tue Feb 9 13:40:56 PST 2010

I missed the game because I had a gig but some of the comments are 
interesting.  I was listening to the PBS radio the other day and they were 
reviewing a performer and his music.  The reviewer talked about the depth of 
the music and the intense meaning blah blah blah.  The tune had one chord 
all the way through along with most of the words being unintelligible!!!

I too grew up with both swing and Elvis.  I have played with many rock bands 
and before the wedding band that I worked with folded did a lot of rock.

I started to lose interest in a lot (not all) of pop music in the 70's.  I 
just started to not like music that was shouted at me and musically wasn't 
very interesting.  I also didn't agree with many of the lyrics.  I prefer my 
music and my religion to be non political.  There are other trends that I 
don't particularly care for and that's the use of foul language, destructive 
behavior and treating others badly, particularly women.  We don't do these 
things in my home so why should I want listen to it?

I'm not mad at anybody, I like women, have nice friends and I sort of like 
my life.  I simply don't have time for those who have some sort of axe to 
grind or who are having a problem in those areas.

The problem for me is that unless I am listening to a jazz station I will 
hear a mix of OK tunes and plain junk that isn't worth my time.  Trouble is 
when the junk is played more than the good stuff, I just hit the dial.

Those of us who have the perspective of the bands and music of the big band 
era and before were drawn in by the musical complexity and beauty and not so 
much by the words.  You can listen to Armstrong for instance and each time 
you will hear something different and marvel at his genius.  I think that's 
true of a lot of Trad Jazz and trad musicians.

Actually I came to Trad Jazz late in my life because I just didn't care much 
for the newer music.  Here was a music that was complex and new to me.  When 
I say new I mean that I started to hear musicians exploring tunes in ways 
that were different than the three chord, or less,  pap of the rock and 
country band culture.

I find I enjoy instrumental music a lot more than tunes with words.  I tend 
to not get tired of it.  The other problem is that I find a lot of the words 
to be un intelligible at least on first hearing.  I am not usually willing 
to listen to tunes over and over to get the words.

This is a problem with all vocals.  I went to hear a Christmas concert by 
the St. Louis Cathedral Choir.  This is a top rated choir but even the 
Christmas Carols I knew were not very understandable.  For this reason I 
don't particularly care for congregational singing in church or choirs in 
general.

All eras have produced their share of just plain dumb, bad music.  I don't 
think that I am an old fuddy duddy when it comes to music.  If the pop 
culture embraced actual music I would be all for it.  I guess I just don't 
care for music that's trying to deliver some sort of a message.

The other problem is that there is a lack of musical color with many pop 
groups playing guitars and drums with an occasional keyboard.  This is what 
everyone has heard for the last 60 years.  I don't care how many sound 
effects or pedals the guitar player has it's still a guitar and drummers 
today have a sameness that just plain bores me.  This is not true of the 
Bass players who often are the most exciting instrument in a band versus 
older music where the bass lines just plodded along.  FYI - I played guitar 
with bands for about 20 years as a second instrument.  I did it because most 
of the newer tunes just didn't work with a horn and the young people liked 
it.  If it weren't for that I would have never carried all the extra stuff 
that a guitar needed on a job.  And yes, we cranked up the volume too.  I 
never cared much for that but you do what you have to do.

I want to enjoy music, not be indoctrinated, screamed at or just plain 
dumbed down to.

Now where is that on/off switch?
Larry
StL
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Don Ingle" <cornet at 1010internet.com>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010 9:17 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Re - the Who lectures.

> Barb Jordan wrote:
>>
>> Well said Dave! I guess I include myself as one of the "younger" members 
>> of the list, so thanks for your thoughts as mine are not too far off from 
>> yours.
>>
>>
>> Barbara Jordan
>>
>>
>> Burlington, Ontario Canada.
>>
>>
>> P.S. Had a good time singing with The Fig Leaf Jazz Band in Barrie 
>> Ontario last Sunday.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> From: tubaman at tubatoast.com
>>> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 23:03:22 -0800
>>> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Hard To Believe
>>> CC: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
>>> To: jordan_barb at hotmail.com
>>>
>>> Sorry Bob, and this may be kind of OT for a lot of you,
>>>
>>>
>>> As one of the "younger" members of this list I have to disagree with 
>>> your comments. I grew up in the Rock and Roll generation and was exposed 
>>> to Elvis, The Beatles, The Coasters, The Beach Boys, James Brown, and 
>>> hundreds of other major and minor "Rock" artists from the mid 1950s to 
>>> the early 1970s. I also knew about Swing, Jazz and popular music from 
>>> earlier decades, but "Rock and Roll" is what I heard most of the time on 
>>> the radio.
>>>
>>> I thought the halftime show was somewhat interesting because the lyrics 
>>> of "The Who" songs were so anti-corporate and anti-big government that 
>>> they never should have been "approved" for such an event. Maybe we have 
>>> somehow all forgotten the power of music to make changes in society, 
>>> maybe we have been overwhelmed by the corporations, but I always have 
>>> hope for the musicians who keep on playing (even if they seem to be 
>>> bought out by the Superbowl Masters, as it were.)
>>>
>>> maybe I am just falling back to those Hippy-Trippy days of the 1960s 
>>> when "the kids where all right," but for me, that band was still saying 
>>> a lot - even in the belly of the beast. Yes, I am sure they made a lot 
>>> of money doing this, but that is the way it is. Now.
>>>
>>> So, what does this have to do with OKOM? I am not quite sure. Rock music 
>>> has direct roots to early jazz and blues, most of the UK bands of the 
>>> 1960s were certainly inspired by the Trad Revival of the 1950s - so 
>>> where is the line drawn? What is Jazz, What is Rock? When a band that 
>>> has been popular for almost 50 years plays for the Superbowl, what is 
>>> "Traditional Music?"
>>>
>>> I don't really need a lot of answers to these vague questions - but it 
>>> probably has something to do with how what is now considered "Old- Time 
>>> Music" is understood by most of the younger generations...
>>>
>>> Dave Richoux
>>>
>>> On Feb 8, 2010, at 5:43 PM, Robert Ringwald wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> I was listening to the game on the radio. At half time, the announcer 
>>>> kept bragging about what a great show the Who was putting on. They were 
>>>> so loud, you could hardly hear him.
>>>>
>>>> Things have really sunk to a new low...
>>>>
>>>> --Bob Ringwald
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --Bob Ringwald K6YBV
>>>> rsr at ringwald.com
>>>> Fulton Street Jazz Band
>>>> 916/806-9551
>>>>
>>>> Check out our latest recording at www.ringwald.com/recordings.htm
>>>>
>>>> "I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the 
>>>> government
>>>> from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care 
>>>> of them."
>>>> --Thomas Jefferson
>>>>
>>>>
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>>
> Before everyone comesdownhardon Bob, re=read his comments. It appears that 
> he was commenting onthe Volume - not the content of thematerial. I agree 
> that it was loud and lyrics hard to understand from the sheer speaker 
> overload, but I enjoyed the light show.
> As for the anit-government, anto-establishment backgrond of theWho, they 
> are hardly free of the label pro-estabvlishment. Not withe the royalties 
> they get fromhaving two of their songs the main themse for two lonf 
> running TV show and seemingly endless re-runs. They are hardly 
> non-capitalists.
> Good gried = dosagree with the man but spare the long esotaric lecture. 
> Opinions ae just that, and Bob merely expressed his.
> Don Ingle
>
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