A lot of time, people talk about REAL MUSIC and how people dont recognize it or care about it, etc.

I decided a month or 2 ago that instead of just bemoaning the fact that people dont appreciate or know good music, I would go and do something about it. I decided to talk to people about their musical tastes and what they like and just see where their heads are.
I was astounded at some things I was told.

One of my co workers is a fan of a particular artist(I wont say who the artist is because I dont want your thoughts to be immediately skewed). My co worker wanted me to listen to the song and ask me what I thought of it. My first question(as I was putting the headphones on) was "What is this song about?"
He looked at me and said "why does a song have to be about something?"
I paused for a moment and then said "why does a song have to be about nothing."

Nevertheless, I listened to the song and actually liked it but I thought it was interesting that he had no clue what the song was actually about though he knew all the lyrics to the song.(this is the same person who I asked to listen to one of my jazz Cd's and he said there's no way in hell that he would listen to ANY jazz music)

A few days later, I was talking to someone about a song that we both liked and I said "I LOVE the bass guitar part on that song." And he was like "whats that?"
He had NO idea what sound a bass guitar made. I was floored. Maybe its because the bass guitar is my favorite instrument..who knows..

a few more days later, after the whole IMUS incident, people were having a lot of discussions on the responsibility of music. I recall someone making a comment to me "Whats the big deal about song lyrics and music videos. Its JUST music."
I was floored again...

Lastly, someone was joking around with me saying that they wanted to make a song with me. So I was like "Who's gonna play the drums, who's gonna play lead guitar", etc...and he was like "all we need is a beat machine and computer. nobody wants to hear all those instruments in 2007."

At first I thought he was playing but when I asked him if he was being serious, he said "YES."

I'm 27 and most of the people I associate with are my age and younger(maybe a little older). So my question is this, how can you build up a desire in people for quality lyrics and an appreciation for good musicianship. We always talk about young people not knwoing anything musically but how can we build up a love for instrumentation and substantive music in people that knows nothing(and desires to know nothing about that). Its like the bar has been set so low for so long that people think that low is all there is..

comments plz.

LoveAlive said:

This is thus the computer age. Me (as a drum program guy myself) is just using what I have to do what I want.

I actually feel special that I am able to pick up on those bells 7 whistles of synths and bass lines. I think us being Prince fans make us more AWARE of music internally. Dont blame people for really not knowing especially if the artist that they listen to is not musically too appealing themselves.

It took me a good minute to actually HEAR the bass lines and pay attention ot them..it was all about the hi hats and snares for me

Just to add to this.....my co-worker who's a very intelligent young man is a songwriter and musician on the side and he has never heard of Lou Rawls! Now this young guy is black and his own father is a musician, but he has never heard of Lou Rawls - WTF? I asked him if he knows Al Green and he said yes but only because Al's a reverend of something like that. He doesn't think he knows even one Al Green song. I was floored! So, I lent him a few cd's and he's starting to educate himself

paisleypark4 said:

Right, but how can you get someone to understand why an Eric Clapton is so well regarded....or understand why you dont have to be 60 to like/listen to jazz, etc


Or is it just the changing of the guard. You will not believe how many times people have heard me listening to Jimi Hendrix or Wynton Marsalis and people say "you need to get with it.."

and Im thinking...Im listening to REAL instruments by musicians and Im the one that has the problem?

Empress said:

One thing I notice about a lot of people(regardless of age) is that a lot of people are very UNaware of the fact that music existed before they came into the knowledge of it...

there's nothing wrong with researching!

If you think about it, back in the day, probably up thru the 70's, everybody played SOMETHING. Or if they didn't PLAY, they were a serious listener. An appreciation of music was something most people GREW UP with because their folks appreciated it. They liked to dance to it, but they actually knew a little bit about it, either because they played or because they listened a lot.

Fast forward to today, we have so many other things that compete for the moments in people's lives that used to be occupied by music. Cable tv, internet, PlayStation, cell phones...Whereas music used to be the thing that drove culture, that pointed the way to the future, now it's technology. So for that reason, people don't have the appreciation of art and music that folks back in the day used to because there are more options now. It's a double edged sword.

That, and the business itself doesn't seem to reward good and talented artists as much anymore. It's all about how much titty can you show, or how much publicity can you dredge up.

Far as your co-worker not knowing who Lou Rawls is, well, he could, in a way be rebelling against his father. If that's the music his father likes, he may have tried to push it on him, leading your friend to purposely go out of his way to ignore it. Then again, not everyone knows who every artist is regardless of how big they are.

guitarslinger44 said:

Very true! You could be right.

guitarslinger44 said:

I agree with you, the majority of the younger generation know nothing about music or music history. Occasionally, I'll come across someone who prefers listening to classical music and classic rock, but it doesn't happen that often, which is really sad.

Also, to add to your above point, most singers don't even sing anymore. They either lipsync or use autotune, which makes it impossible to tell if they actually have 'talent.'

LoveAlive said:

its all about your area of music too.

When I listened to jimi hendrix in college. I actually had a young Asian kid tell me what the song I was listening to meant (it was about Aliens coming to Earth or somethin)...I was really surprised and I learned somethng from somebody younger than me. And alot these suburban kids listened to real musicians alot of them rock or country).

One thing I know is that old music and old music is all good. I dont discriminate. And I will bump some Dorthy Dangridge "Ive Got Rhythm" followed by "Encore" by Jay Z in a minute. And people respect me 4 that

guitarslinger44 said:

or maybe he just doesnt care to know? i mean who says you have to like everything considered "classic" or "real music".

LoveAlive said:

You can't build a desire in people to explore any art form. Just keep playing your music and see whether they like it. if you approach it from the standpoint of, "don't you know who [blank] is," then they may write you off as an elitist, when all you are is a "disciple," so to speak, trying to spread the good news.

Take, for example, jazz. Many people THINK it's hard to understand, monotonous, etc. But when my grandfather played his jazz records for me, I was caught up in his stories about hearing the legends play live, etc. It was HIS response to the music that piqued my curiosity. Gradually, I took to it, and, after years of listening, and re-listening, I began to have the same appreciation for it. Jazz isn't above or below anyone's head, it's all about perceptions. If people read positive perceptions from you, then they may be more inclined to try it. Maybe.

And, sometimes, it just has to hit people at the right time. I really didn't care for Prince until I played Purple Rain all the way through, for the 1st time, at thirteen. The time, the place, the circumstances, they ALL had a lot to do with why I connected with him.

I think if you keep enjoying what you enjoy, without trying to "build" anything, people will notice and a few may follow up.

Nice post.

It's also important to remember

LoveAlive said:

People are such retards.


Oh and, I didn't know you were only 27

namepeace said:

Classical music is the same way.

Sadly, I'm not shocked or astounded at any of the things you discovered. Even among people with a wide range of musical tastes and styles, I have found at least one of the things you stated to be true....that they have no idea what a song is about. They only like the sounds. Even among music whores, this is the case. Some people simply need more from music than just the music. I'm one of them. I always need to know what is being said or to find out lyrics to understand a song better

The rest is a generation raised on nothing but pure garbage.

LoveAlive said:

I fail to see how this is "doing something" about it.

LoveAlive said:

Well I had a similar issue but with a singer. Check out this thread:

http://prince.org/msg/8/223116

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

from the above thread
HARLEPOLIS SAID





She has the voice of.....my god that voice. Patti, Chaka are outstanding. One day I think Mary J will get to be up there with thme if she just chooses the best material and stop giving too much of herself on her albums.

Chaka though....JESUS!!!!! Her voice shakes and quivers and moves in all types of different ways..its almost scary as if she might be strangling! When she just belts out..its PURE ...no whisper like Mariah...although I enevr heard her hit a really high note...she does what almost no other female can do (other than patti that's a voice there too )

99% of the worold isn't as hardcore into the analysis and appreciation of music as people who devote hours of their day to posting on internet forums devoted to musicians.

yeah, i think it's weird the taste or notions some of my friends have, but those people are the majority. "it's got a good beat, and i can dance to it" really is all most people care about. it's been that way for a long time, and it will continue to be so. so don't be so shocked. analyzing it to death has its own value, but on the other hand, all of us should take a step back and just enjoy it sometimes, no matter what it is. top 40, country, hip hop, crunk, soul, funk, house, metal, jazz, blues, whatever. sometimes we get so wrapped up in appreciating music that we close ourselves off to actually enjoying it on the level that it's meant to be enjoyed. the visceral reaction is more important than the purely mental one. I love James Brown and the Beatles, but that doesn't mean i don't dig the odd Britney Spears song or album from time to time.

that's not really addressing the original poster. it's just something that's been on my mind lately, and this is as good a place as any to unload it
[Edited 11/30/07 9:12am]
[Edited 11/30/07 9:14am]

There's nothing we can do to change it. Shit hop has dominated for way too many years. It's not like it only dominated for two or three years. It has dominated since the early 1990s. The majority of the new generation only knows shit hop so they have no desire to know anything else and even if the major record labels and Clear Channel collapsed, the damage has already been done so severe that it can't be fixed.

I think we should hit the younger generation with insults to their music to the point that they get embarassed to listen to it. What does every teenager fear the most? Being unpopular, geeky, or a nerd. It was the same in my generation and it's even moreso in this new generation since they seem to want to be thugs and shit. The last thing they want to be is a dorky Waldo. That's why I compare their slow ass music to another form of slow music that is the absolute stereotype of stereotypical dorky geek.....classical music. Nobody from my generation wanted to mistaken for listening to it and this generation doesn't want to be mistaken for listening to it either. That's why I love comparing this generation's slow music (which NEVER gets uptempo) to classical music. If you really think about it, their music is the same tempo. If it pisses them off....well, mission accomplished. Of course, most of them are too stupid to get my point.
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[Edited 11/30/07 0:04am]

Aside said:

guitarslinger44 said:

"Classical," like jazz, was the innovative music of its time. Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, were like, the Dylan, Hendrix and Prince of their day(s).