Re: OT: why musicians can't eat -- and why radio is so bad

["Stephen P. Goodman" <spgoodman@earthlight.net>]

I think we all have our selectivity factors when it comes to music.  My 
most
massive music purchasing period aside from my CD initiation, when I
basically replaced my vinyl with only the occasional new material (Eno, 
PiL,
Fripp, a few newer bands) was in the late 70s.  I was in college, and as
everyone is I was exposed to Other Music than I was used to - and dug it to
the max.  UK, for instance, though I'd liked King Crimson for years; Peter
Gabriel, Genesis, and so forth... But three particular artists/bands stick
out as a matter of [1] not hearing them on the radio as an inticement to 
buy
the album, and [2] not having to hear ANYTHING from it before purchase to
know that it would be a good listen.  They're Steely Dan, Roxy Music, and
David Bowie.  Paradoxically perhaps, when Roxy's "Dance Away" hit the radio
in '79, I faded off of them for a few years - it seemed so... disco, I
dunno... or perhaps I just hate sales pitches, hm?  Which makes me other
than a standard radio listener, I guess.

Over the years since 1980 I've thrown out more recordings I made because I
thought they sounded like other peoples' work - but now regret that, having
seen how much money U2 makes doing the same basic thing.

"Peter Shindler" <shindler@mediaone.net> put forth:
> RE: OT: why musicians can't eat -- and why radio is so badCertainly a
point
> to be made here.  I brought a bag full of my CDs into the office last
week,
> and one of the girls I work with took a look; it was mostly "outside"*
stuff
> like Eno, an Afro-Pop sampler, some Nusrat, Glenn Branca, etc.... and my
> coworker (whose musical tastes range from Dave Matthews to Ben Harper**)
> just noted that she didn't recognize any of them, and that was it.  No
> curiosity, no interest, nothing.
>
> And I realize now that most of my friends and acquaintances who aren't
> musicians still won't buy a CD unless they've heard a few songs from it 
>on
> the radio.  I can't even imagine how limited my listening tastes would be
if
> I adhered to that rule.  So maybe most people don't Want to go looking;
> maybe they figure that if it's good, it'll end up on the radio, or on 
>MTV,
> or on the cover of Rolling Stone.
>
> Didn't John Zorn say something about this?  I read a quote wherein he
> expressed his exasperation that most people who own four recordings of 
>the
> Brandenburg Concertos would sooner spend their money on a fifth recording
> before they'd take a chance by spending that same money on something
> unfamiliar to them.  Hmmm...
>
>
> Peter
>
> *- I meant "outside" compared to what she'd normally listen to on the
radio;
> I know that Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Eno, and Branca are pop music compared
to
> some of what you guys would bring in to work!
>
> **-That said, there's nothing wrong with Dave Matthews or Ben Harper, or
any
> pop music for that matter.  I may be stoned to death by the rest of LD 
>for
> admitting this, but I even appreciate what NSync and the Backstreet Boys
do.
> And I still listen to the first Spice Girls album every now and then.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Liebig, Steuart A.
> To: 'Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com'
> Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2001 4:02 PM
> Subject: RE: OT: why musicians can't eat -- and why radio is so bad
>
>
> i was discussing this sort of thing last night with a friend. people have
to
> *want* to search out the "good stuff"  - - and i'm not convinced that
> anybody wants to search out anything unless it's the color of their next
> car.
> besides, maybe the are listening to the "good stuff" - - maybe we all 
>need
> to get over ourselves. or maybe there have always been people who listen
to
> music as "entertainment" and those who listen to it as "art."
>
>
> stig
>
>
>
> others wrote:
> >I have faith that people can make their own choices.
> interesting comment, given that there're already **all** kindsa myriad
> avenues lined/caked/soaked w/'good' music (-that which is outside the
> 'mainstream'-) that folks do not seem inclined to 'seek out'.
> eh?
> to some degree:
> people chose milosevic. people chose hitler. people chose jim jones.
people
> chose, well..... you probably follow my line (via these rather extreme
> examples) by now.
> best,
> dt / s-c