From: Steve (scatanzaro4_at_cox.net)
Date: 2004-05-28 01:52:47
Oh goodness! A BBP (baby boomer production) about how life sucks 'cuz
they don't write 'em like David Crosby any more?!?
To be fair, haven't seen it, but I'll check it out tonite (thanks for
the tip off Bob); but just reading some of these ideas;
First, leave it to *public* broadcasting to be a little late. The
"perfect storm" thesis has a flaw in it, as music sales are up, thanks,
so says this BBC report, in large part to *downloading;*
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3743849.stm
US Sales in 2004 are up close to 10%!!!
Second; the music business "heyday." Post Woodstock 1970's?!?!? Hmm,
someone should tell that to the engineers who worked on Nat Cole's
"After Midnight" sessions at Capitol Records. Or what about the many
Frank Sinatra / Nelson Riddle - Billy May recordings? Or the Duke
Ellington orchestra, etc?
The point is, many old timers would say that the music business heyday
was 15-20 years before Woodstock... and some would go back even further.
To arbitrarily decide that the music you grew up with is the sine qua
non of recorded music is so childishly self-centered as to be ... well,
they are "baby" boomers, right?
And what was so great about the way the business "once operated?" The
music business has always been full of crooks and thieves... before the
60's, during the 60's, and now... and it probably always will be.
BTW, as for the music business being "dead..." didn't that happen around
1984, and wasn't it only *saved* by people buying reissues on CD?
As for MTV making "everything about the 3 minute single..." Hmmm. I
remember (I mean, I remember reading) about Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody...
which, at 6 minutes and something, went against ALL radio standards and
barely got on the dial...
Heck, in the early days of the music industry, 3 minutes was all you
could fit on a recording. People criticized Duke Ellington for trying to
go beyond 3 minutes back in the 30's!!!
There are probably about as many "great" albums being released now as
were then. The problem is, there are also a lot of crap albums being
produced now, where as the sifting process has already been done for the
music produced "then." (Led Zeppelin good, Mott the Hoople not so good,
and so on...)
I mean, the Beatles, Neil Young, all those guys... yeah, they were
great, but get over it!!! The beat goes on...