Re: "individualizing" music

["Mr. Tough" <electricfriends@hotmail.com>]

>From: "L Tremblay" <ltct@concentric.net>
>Reply-To: Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com
>To: <Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com>
>Subject: Re: more toys / "individualizing" music
>Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 23:30:08 -0500
>
>James' chronology of the events of the past 30 years is correct,
>and one that everyone involved in music should be familiar with.
>
>I usually boil down the modern "rock era" into four watershed
>epochs contributing to the DIY aesthetic: (much simplified, btw)
>
>1957: 3-chord Rock and Roll & Rockabilly - Elvis & the rock pioneers
>
>1967: the height of the singer-songwriter/Beatles era; electronics/
>       psychedelia
>
>1977: Sex Pistols/Punk - the Death of Rock n Roll via Rock & Roll
>
>1987: Post-punk fallout, affordable synths, Digital everything and
>       the rise of Hip Hop, Rap, etc.
>

I'd probably add another, more recent event to this continuum. That would 
be 
the rise of grunge bands and of the rise of "alternative" as a music 
genre. 
Although it's been my belief that these events were initiated by major 
record labels to make a then teen-aged Generation X believe that they were 
listening to something other than corporate rock, I think this unwittingly 
created the spark that led to the crazy fragmentation of music and the 
rise 
of so many independent record labels that followed in this decade.

If you compare the music of Pearl Jam and Nirvana to the music of the 
metal 
hair bands of the 80's, you can notice that aspiring musicians now have 
much 
easier role models to imitate. All you needed to be a musician now was 
minimal musical skill and the drive to do it. Before, it seemed that you 
had 
to have lots of money (for recording studios and stage fireworks), have 
been 
specifically bred for your instrument (having especially long, quick 
supple 
fingers), and guitarists had to have an astoundingly high A.P.S. 
(arpeggios 
per second) rate.

The whole fact that there was now a genre of music called "alternative" 
was 
also particularly inspiring, although not for the reason people often 
suspect. As us gen-x-ers began to develop musically, it became 
increasingly 
cool to say, "Alternative my ass! It's still corporate rock!" Thus the 
newfound energy towards indie and DIY record labels.

At the same time this was happening in the rock world, there was the whole 
rave music thing going to too. I think the ravers beat the rockers for 
being 
home musicians in the 90's. Lots of the huge rave hit songs (like "Speed 
Racer") were made by kids in their bedrooms with now-affordable drum 
machines, looping machines, and 4-tracks. I guess that's what you're 
talking 
about as what happened in 1987. These guys also worked against the norm of 
"album oriented music", as they often created one really successful song, 
then disappeared into obscurity. It would be also worth mentioning the mid 
90's phenomenon of DJ albums (without rapping) becoming really popular, 
both 
corporately and locally.

Oh, and also blah blah blah. I'm sorry that I wrote such an extensive 
essay 
about things that everybody probably knows already.

Uh.......I did some looping today too.

Mr. Tough

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com