Bob Dylan, Boston Herald page 3 8/23/06

[Titanium Dome]

Then this morning I discover this, which I found to be hugely humorous given this thread.

http://www.apple.com/ipod/ads/dylan/

[Ducatista47]

Well, Dome, the visuals are typical corporate post 90's tripe for the attention span deprived. Looks like a commercial, which it is. The dancing listener's wild inappropriateness is very funny indeed. The singing, however, sounds very much like some of my favorite classic Chess Records artists aka Chicago Blues. So does the beat. I'll buy it from Bob. Now Britney Spears or Jessica Simpson, that would be technicolor yawn time.

Thanks for the link, Clark

[moldyoldy]

....Sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll was the cultural backlash to the agenda of our parents. Money, fame, and power is the backlash to the agenda of our generation. Can't wait to see what the backlash is to this generation's agenda.

Speakers, hi fidelity reproduction, and music did not peak in the past. They're better, more prevalent, and more evolved today than ever. Avoid making the mistake that one particular genre defines music, regardless of its apparent popularity. There is a greater proliferation of great music, musical recordings, musical performances, and musical broadcasting than ever before.

Hi, TiDome,

I thought money, fame, and power WAS our generation's (current) agenda, not the backlash to it? When I try to subjectively compare the merits of conciousness-expansion, 60's music, and a new girl every week vs Wall St, gangsta rap, and soccer moms, well, it just don't add up.

As to the "peaking" or lack of, regarding new music, I'd really love to believe like you, that everything's just gettin' better and better, but what I hear just doesn't convince me. Mebbe I'm lookin' in the wrong places. Suggestions?

[Titanium Dome]

(snip)Suggestions?

The Classical repertoire is larger and livelier than ever, with new recordings, new artists, and new composers abundant. Not only that, but Classical music is a growing force in music sales, especially under the "new" music economy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/28/ar...rssnyt&emc=rss

I'm still a member of the BMG Classical Music Club, and I could spend $1000 a month on new stuff.

The jazz scene is bigger than ever, with wider acceptance of jazz in all its forms than ever before. New, smart musicians are all over the place. I went to 14 jazz concerts last year alone and heard more that thirty artists. I ended up buying music from more than half of them within the year. Check out the mix of old and new artists here:

http://www.jazzreview.com/

It's a smorgasbord of fine listening.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but fill my Thermos® with dance track, electronic, and trance music. It's innovative, sensual, moody, motivating, soothing, driving, dreaming, and it's tearing up the music world in Europe, Asia, and Metro America. It's truly international, almost completely outside the mainstream music establishment, and full of innovators of all ages. When I was a teenager, Beatles, Beach Boys, and Bee Gees tunes would play in my head all day. Now it's 4 Strings, Madelyn, and Sasha.

http://electro-music.com/

http://www.moodbook.com/music/trance.html

There's a whole lot more to cover, but these are great places to start.

[moldyoldy]

Wow, TiDome, Thanks a lot! You have me swaying my position by your enthusiasm alone. I aleady can tell I'll be spending some time at jazzreview, and I guess I'd just been ignoring classical (that probably goes way back to childhood piano lessons from a mean old German lady). I love blues most, and must admit to liking several of the "kids" that are trying their hand at it now. I have doubts I'll ever be able to do the techno, I've just got this hangup about thinking music should at least use a few real acoustic musical instruments driven by a spark of emotion. Maybe I just need to think of another name for it. I'll give it a fair shot though for your sake, I hope to never become such an old dog I can't learn new tricks.

I've tried to plant some seeds of musical interest with some of my friends' kids, by fixing up and giving away 4 old Wurlitzer electric pianos (the old student models). I stipulated to the kids and their parents that lessons wouldn't be forced on anyone, they could just mess around and see if they were interested, give 'em to others if not. So far, two have begged their folks for lessons, and are both showing considerable promise. Both want to play boogie-woogie and ragtime.....no idea where that came from....maybe there is hope for the future.

Thanks Again!

[Titanium Dome]

(snip)I have doubts I'll ever be able to do the techno, I've just got this hangup about thinking music should at least use a few real acoustic musical instruments driven by a spark of emotion. Maybe I just need to think of another name for it. I'll give it a fair shot though for your sake, I hope to never become such an old dog I can't learn new tricks.(snip)

Thanks Again!

I understand your feelings.

When the saxophone came along, there was a lot of resistance from the music establishment toward this bastard instrument: woodwind? brass horn? Alpen horn?

The electric guitar and electric bass were considered unnatural and soulless (or if they had souls, thet were evil). Electric piano? Synthesizer? MIDI keyboard? Samples? Rhythm machines? Whoa!

I think it's all part of the continuation of musical evolution. The neat thing about the evolution of music is that its origins remain alive while the species keeps expanding.

Great job with the kids and the organs.

[Ducatista47]

Dome, thanks for the new sources. The press has been letting me down for a long time. Whenever I read enough about an outfit being hot and get pumped up to the point of checking out the goods, it is almost always a real come-down. Is that all there is? That is what the fuss is about? Never mind the lyrics, the singer's attitude, the girl's midriff, what about the music? They stink!!!

The one popular band that came out since the Pretenders that delivered for me was and is U2. For me, they have it all, and great gobs of it. I was a rock listener in the sixties, seventies and early eighties, but I have fled to jazz, blues, twentieth century "classical" (Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, etc.), Bach, Hayden, some new age-ish things, Santana, older Fleetwood Mac, Dr John. The nineties didn't make too big a dent in me, except Pearl Jam (especially), STP and Alice in Chains. NIN is like the new art rock. They come off like Yes to me, and that is not a good thing. The vocabulary has changed, but the content and intent is otherwise the same. More pretention than art; music in the service of substandard goals.

The stuff I checked out usually reminded me of the tripe on the Disney Channel. Soul-less, synthetic and too many former Mouseketeers. I wonder if these poor kids know they don't really have any musical talent.

I'm still waiting for another Pretenders, U2, Carlos Santana or Peter Green. In the meantime, thanks for the leads on other stuff that exists right now.

James Honeyman Scott, rest in peace.

Clark In Peoria