The passing of Prince has me thinking retrospectively. There is a lot I would like to write, more than is appropriate for a Facebook post. Probably just the right amount for a blog post, for a blog that doesn't exist, because people don't ordinarily care about what I think.
Video Killed the Radio Star. I brought that up with my wife tonight. I feel like the prophesy came true- just a few decades later than prophesied. The great talents of the 80s and 90s mastered the art of the music video, but they were still on heavy RADIO rotation. Great artists of the 80s and 90s were able to attack from two fronts, radio and video.
But right now, music videos only exist on youtube and vimeo. Where you search for what you want to watch. Gone are the MTV days where, for better or worse, you watched the videos that MTV decided were good. The music videos where curated for you. And the top ones where placed on heavy rotation.
So far this year we have lost David Bowie, Merle Haggard, Glenn Frey, and now Prince. 2015 saw the loss of B.B. King, Lemmy Kilmister, Scott Weiland. Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson have been lost within the decade. Most of these artists left an indelible impression on society, for most in the form of music video.
I find that I keep using the word "artist". I look at the current pop starts of the charts, and I am not sure if that word can apply anymore. We have a few treasured relics. Bob Dylan, who shares a home state with our current inspiration, Prince, survives as a reminder of folk/activist music/singer-songwriter days of old. Bruce Springsteen is currently touring providing his one-of-a-kind live experience. But what happens when we lose Bob, and the Boss, and the like? What is the future of music?
These are the credits given to Prince on his "Purple Rain" album (according to AllMusic.com): Arranger, Bass, Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background). Obviously Prince was one of the most prolific musicians of his era, but all of the other musicians that I named earlier are also intimately tied to the music that they create.
Where is this generation's Prince? Where is this generation's artist? I feel that this generation is only able to produce acts, and not artists. It is a generation of artisans reproducing art so skillfully in that way that they are told will make everyone the most money.
There used to be album artistry. "Purple Rain" being a perfect example. An entire piece of work to take in, not a collection of pasta singles being thrown at the wall to see what sticks.
The only exception I have seen in recent times is Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp A Butterfly" I am not ordinarily a rap fan, but even if we pretend that the feel of incorporating free-form/be-bop jazz into rap and actually using it to mimic the pace and flow of the rhymes isn't revolutionary, we are still ignoring the cohesiveness of the album. Yes, it CAN stand alone track by track, but anyone that has heard it front to back would never want it to be.
I am nervous to see where the future of music is headed. The sun is setting on the current stable of music heroes. Will new heroes-- new 'artists' emerge, or will the definition of 'musical artist' be redefined? Will society be celebrating the career of Taylor Swift's smattering of brainless pop songs when she dies?
Video Killed the Radio Star. I brought that up with my wife tonight. I feel like the prophesy came true- just a few decades later than prophesied. The great talents of the 80s and 90s mastered the art of the music video, but they were still on heavy RADIO rotation. Great artists of the 80s and 90s were able to attack from two fronts, radio and video.
But right now, music videos only exist on youtube and vimeo. Where you search for what you want to watch. Gone are the MTV days where, for better or worse, you watched the videos that MTV decided were good. The music videos where curated for you. And the top ones where placed on heavy rotation.
So far this year we have lost David Bowie, Merle Haggard, Glenn Frey, and now Prince. 2015 saw the loss of B.B. King, Lemmy Kilmister, Scott Weiland. Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson have been lost within the decade. Most of these artists left an indelible impression on society, for most in the form of music video.
I find that I keep using the word "artist". I look at the current pop starts of the charts, and I am not sure if that word can apply anymore. We have a few treasured relics. Bob Dylan, who shares a home state with our current inspiration, Prince, survives as a reminder of folk/activist music/singer-songwriter days of old. Bruce Springsteen is currently touring providing his one-of-a-kind live experience. But what happens when we lose Bob, and the Boss, and the like? What is the future of music?
These are the credits given to Prince on his "Purple Rain" album (according to AllMusic.com): Arranger, Bass, Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background). Obviously Prince was one of the most prolific musicians of his era, but all of the other musicians that I named earlier are also intimately tied to the music that they create.
Where is this generation's Prince? Where is this generation's artist? I feel that this generation is only able to produce acts, and not artists. It is a generation of artisans reproducing art so skillfully in that way that they are told will make everyone the most money.
There used to be album artistry. "Purple Rain" being a perfect example. An entire piece of work to take in, not a collection of pasta singles being thrown at the wall to see what sticks.
The only exception I have seen in recent times is Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp A Butterfly" I am not ordinarily a rap fan, but even if we pretend that the feel of incorporating free-form/be-bop jazz into rap and actually using it to mimic the pace and flow of the rhymes isn't revolutionary, we are still ignoring the cohesiveness of the album. Yes, it CAN stand alone track by track, but anyone that has heard it front to back would never want it to be.
I am nervous to see where the future of music is headed. The sun is setting on the current stable of music heroes. Will new heroes-- new 'artists' emerge, or will the definition of 'musical artist' be redefined? Will society be celebrating the career of Taylor Swift's smattering of brainless pop songs when she dies?
