Posted on 05/22/2017 11:28:23 AM PDT by Snickering Hound
Bought right
Good ol Oil Field Hand that did better than the drillers that hired him in the past.
Love his Story, Music and History
I really don't care what EJ has to say about commercial (popular) music, for me good music died back in the late ‘70 when disco came on scene and killed Rock, which in Cleveland was not the same commercial claptrap played on the Top 40 AM and FM stations.
Fortunately, the rise of the PC has given anybody the necessary tools to make whatever kind of music they like without being beholden to corporate music companies. I myself have whole sampled orchestras at my disposal along with the ability to write musical that these samplers can play as well as very capable multitrack digital recording software that rivals if not exceeds the capabilities of commercial recording studios of the past. I can also distribute my music via Youtube, Soundcloud and a hos to other self-publishing sites to folks with like minded tastes and the same paradigm allows me do discover new artists that suit my tastes, music which I dare say was never offered on MTV.
My favorite musical genres include Vocaloid, ProgRock, FolkRock, Opera Metal/Orchestral Metal, EDM/Dubstep/Chillstep, Experimental Electronic, Polka, Classical and Modern Indian, Hot Jazz from the early 1900’s to about 1940, and Big Band from the 30’s and 40’s, along with Classical.
I can listen to something new every day for the rest of my life and not be disappointed by the quality of what is being produced.
Elton's premise is so last century. Time and music have moved on, for the better.
> Time and music have moved on, for the better.
Except for rap-crap and hippity hop, of course !
Billy Squier is very bitter about that video. I read something about it, some fool talked him into doing it and it absolutely did destroy his career because everyone thought he was a faggot. He isn’t, he’s been married to the same woman for years.
Bruno Mars was on one of those stupid awards shows and he killed it with “Runaway Baby.” He and his band were wearing gold suits and they LOOKED GREAT and sounded even better. I never watch awards shows but was flipping channels and caught that one. It was nutty good.
While there have been “tribute” bands for a few decades now, in recent years, a few bands have really taken it up a notch. Particularly Beatles tributes bands who make it a point of pride of playing the later songs as they sound on the albums.
My parents and in laws live in giant retirement communities in Florida, and these bands can make a good living just touring that circuit - 1000-seat theaters at $35 a ticket or what have you. Play a few corporate events and conventions and you are suddenly a professional musician making 6-figures a year.
I don’t know if that’s the future of music in any real sense, but it’s something that will certainly be a part of the industry for a while.
Having said that, a lot of Baby Boomer rockers in general - though Elton John in particular - like to pretend that it was more pure when they were young and beautiful. Which is perfectly natural, I suppose.
But let’s really look at what people listened to in Elton’s heyday.
The #1 song of the year of my birth (1973) was “Tie a Yellow Ribbon.” In 1974, the #1 song was “The Way We Were” and the #2 song was “Seasons in the Sun.”
1975 was dominated by the freaking Captain and Tenille.
I’m sure Fats Domino was looking at this and shaking his head at the time.
Music is weird, man.
Kevin Rowland - the “mastermind” of Dexy’s Midnight Runners - is something of a cult hero/musical icon in England.
I think the best American comparison is Aimee Mann. She was famous for a weird haircut and an MTV hit with “Voices Carry” by Til Tuesday.
Today, she is beloved and worshipped.....in a really small circle of music snobs.
Colin Hay from Men at Work may be the Australian example.
Apparently, every country took one “MTV” flash in the pan and actually allowed them to have a career afterwards.
I will say, MTV was really important in its early years. The music industry was dying as all those dinosaurs from the 60s and 70s just wouldn’t go away, but also would not make good music either. Since they were all opposed to music videos (expect Rod Stewart), MTV had to find other stuff to play.
And that’s how you ended up with all these weird new wave and art rock bands from England.
Adam Ant: underrated!
Fun Fact: Steve Earle is a filthy, wealth-redistributing commie!
I’ve had that goody two shoes song going through my head since I’ve posted that :)
Right — LOL. What’s up with that? Some things I’ll never figure out.
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