do you hear the same things that I do?
Last night I went to a small, very local production of the musical that had been derived from the biopic The Buddy Holly Story (1978). A good friend's wife had directed it, this was the last night of a succesful run, and a whole troop of us had come from a celebration of my friend's birthday. This energetic distillation of the movie of the same name, which was a fictionalization of Holly's life, was... well, I am not planning on reviewing the production.
I sat, watching this "musical" and pondered about how I imagined my perspective might be different, which lead to further ponderings on our experience together in society. In the last fifty-sixty years, the Rock & Roll era, as music became such a successful, pervasive commodity in itself, it also became a prime tool for marketers to help define and accurately target their intended victims.
Following are opinions, thoughts, a certain brainstorming, I have no empirical evidence:
A deep sensitivity to music is nowhere nearly as widespread as we tend to assume, maybe spread out on the old curve like most things, such as sex. And yet, the thought of a young person without a music playing device and some collection of musics of which the person would identify with, would be very rare, indeed. I am a music person since I was four years old, but I could imagine many an adolescent at an early social event, feeling a quiet desperate lack of understanding when their friend turns to them with gleaming eyes, saying "wow, is that music great, or what!". "Yeah, I love it!", the adolescent allows, making a mental note to try and quickly develop this taste in the immediate future. Some relationship with music must be established, whether it has any effect or not, for social reasons. So people use that which does effect them, by utilizing a nonmusical sensitivity that can be applied. Those of a more verbal tendency may become deeply involved with the lyrical content, others may pay a special attention to the visual aspect of the performers and their particular fans. Maybe there is a dressing style connected, or a certain dance performed to the performers music. Some may talk about the performers videos, the possible narrative interpretations, or the graphical style and content of the packaging. Most people will be a combination of average intensities on most of these areas, but as there will be a small percentage that is overwhelmingly involved with the music, their will be some who are just as involved with some other aspect.
I think this as I watch a depiction of a, fifty year past, musical performer. I am at first surprised at how little of the musical aspects are accurately understood, all remaining after the distillation is the most obvious foreground effects. The background is lost but replaced with an extra attention to the dress, and accoutrements of the period, also heavily cliché. Much attention is paid to a vigorous dancing and smiling routine that has almost nothing to do with the subject and his period, and all to do with recent musical production styles. Ohhhhh, I get it, this is what an average cross section sees/saw in a musical performer!
10 comments:
As a young person, I chose music that most of my friends wouldn't have dared listen to. I think that while my tastes really were different than theirs, part of it was that I simply didn't want to be like everyone else. Now I'm sure I'm dating myself here, one way or the other, but my friends would try to convince me to go see Peter Frampton (just much too pretty a boy, and that waaaah waaah synthesizer junk bothered me), Billy Joel (just too mainstream), and the like. I always went for something altogether different (what 15-year-old 70's girl love blues and/or jazz?). So I'm thinking that rather than "making a mental note to try and quickly develop this taste..." I made a mental note to reject the popular music of the day. And now, thanks to you, I see that perhaps my love of what was then considered by friends alternative music, was not due to my exquisite taste in music, but in my desire to be contrary. I can still be like that today.
Elsie, that is really interesting. We might pick "our" music as a social statement, a flag of alignment, and then find some way to accommodate it. Kind of like us pot bellied fifty year olds who still will wear Red Sox clothes, no matter how silly it looks! Or someone who once decided "I am a bow tie kind of guy", and proceeds forever that way. This flies in the face (a bit) of the idea that music has some absolute affect that we would all respond to if we just weren't... so... vulgar!
Yet it behooves the marketing forces to keep the specific characteristics of these distinctions in good definition. Perhaps, a contrarian is easier to quantify then a "mainstream" Billy Joellian, who might consist of a broad spectrum of relatively average.
I would imagine a young ladies determination to like blues and jazz would be an expression of the desire to be intelligent, well schooled and worldly (compared to her cohort). This may be the second half of the twentieth century's version of the drive to love classical music which was prominent in the first half, showing the effect of the burgeoning civil rights movement etc.
Also, very curious to me, once a style of music is chosen, what schema are used by different people, to find an artistic, emotional relationship with the music, physiological/emotional sensation of the rhythm/harmony/melody, respect or identity with the lyrics, biographical knowledge of the performers, the opinion of reviewers or perceived experts.
Second thoughts about sharing my opinions. Sorry. Peace.
I am sorry Elsie, I hope you don't feel this forum too dangerous. In anycase, I appreciate your comments as they seem to be honestly given. Combined with a good normal taste in music, this helps my thinking.
I'm more musically influenced too although I don't play anything anymore. I used to play keyboards.
I find the most interesting music is the kind that makes you pull over the car, turn off the motor and desperately scribble down the artist and song when the radio anouncer back anounces the song. Filippo Gambetta is one example I can think of where that happened. Either that or music that you still find nuances, subtleties that you hadn't heard before and other assorted surprises on the 100th listen. The Beatles are good for that as is Anton Newcombe of Brian Jonestown Massacre(a recent discovery.
I suppose it comes to listening to what musos listen to and not what the public does. There are tales a plenty of influential musicians who ended up relatively poor but their records seemed to be in musicians record collections.
The Bell curve is filled with dirge in the middle and songs of angels on the outer limits IMHO.
I listen to, and enjoy, a huge variety of musical forms. (At least I think it's huge but it's all fairly mainstream and safe.)
But try as I might I cannot get jazz. I have a (younger) friend who loves it and I go with ehr to the local jazz club. She can differentiate the sounds, say who is technically good and who is naturally brilliant, and enjoys some more than others; it all sounds the same to me!
It's the same with poetry: I can't get it. I'm a writer but I say I have a gap in my brain where poetry appreciation should be. I can't even tell if it's good or not.
Writing this now and thinking about it, I wonder if there is, in fact, a 'gap' in my brain, if I am lacking something, something that I would guess that you have, Pete. Just as dyslexia and autism are recognised conditions, maybe some of wires are connected wrongly.
Or maybe I'm just boring!
Well speaking of "wiring", Liz, there is much discussion about plasticity in our neuralogic development. That is, as we are exposed to musics in our youth, our brains adapt in a process of growing and shedding neurons (the very "wires"you talk of, or really more of a transistor as they function somewhat like a logic gate). This process happens much less as we get older, which is why language becomes much harder to learn after a certain age. So maybe you weren't exposed to much jazz or poetry in youth. This, of course, means you probably have stronger abilities and tastes in other areas, maybe of a more visual sort, design, or spatial as in engineering. As those French would have it, "viva les differences". Yet, I would admit to a certain kind of frustration when I just don't get something that I can see clearly, that someone else does. It is a wonderfully complex mess, this life experience, but that is why I like it :-)
Thanks so much for sharing that. I would be curious as to a few examples of the music you do like, and why? And remember, there are no wrong or bad tastes.
Reminds me of an ex-girlfriend, who commented one morning on watching me in my usual breakfast, a camel straight and strong black coffee, "Geez, you really have ALL the adult habits".
Peter, I don't find this forum too dangerous, it's just that I have a "reputation" to protect (after all, I AM a mom) and feel I was a bit too forward with my last comment. Best to leave some things unsaid and to keep certain memories to myself.
I'm with Liz on the poetry thing. And about her comment "it all sounds the same to me," that's exactly how I felt years ago when a friend was extolling the virtues of Sade. What ever happened to her?
Hmm, that information about 'wiring' is interesting. I shall have to think some more (and write on my blog) about this.
I love The Beatles - I went to hear Paul Macartney read some of his poetry a few years ago and he had a standing ovation at the end. Afterwards in a cafe I overheard some people saying how dreadful it was, but as far as I was concerned Paul deserved the ovation for all the pleasure he has brought to millions over the years. That's a digression.
Debussey's Girl with the flaxen hair - it's evocative, it speaks.
Bruce Springsteen - makes me feel alive.
Gogol Bordello - ditto.
Sinatra and Ella - wonderful songs, lyrics and music.
Elvis, soul, Irish folk, the Pogues, Madeline Peyroux.
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