Here's a cutout from an interview I did that is related to this subject:
Here's the whole Interview: https://steemit.com/music/@gunternezhoda/one-of-my-favorite-interviews
Who are your favorite bands and performers from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and now?
There are way too many to list, but I would like to say something here. What's up with so many musician buddies of mine who say in interviews that there is nothing good out there? They complain about electronic music and that it's all computers that make the music.
They say it's not honest. I get really upset about those statements. Every musical performance uses a tool unless it's vocals only - and even that's changed over time. The first band ever (I think they where called 'Meet The Homo Sapiens') had only a couple of rocks and some wood sticks.
Now compare that to anything that came afterwards. If we play an electric guitar we look like we use very advanced tools to the guy who plays the rocks. I'm sure you saw 'Back To The Future' where Michael J. Fox plays that red 335 Gibson in front of an audience that has never heard anything like that.
There are always changes in tools and techniques and you have to accept and respect it. I don't like rap either but there is some good stuff out there and if somebody sells millions of records the music must be pleasant to the fans and that does the job.
I remember when my parents generation rejected John Lennon. Today he is an icon and in 100 years he will have the same place in history as Beethoven. They said the Beatles and the Stones don't play real music and sound like a bunch of animals in heat. They said rock creates violence. Just compare the Lyrics. How many songs can you name that promote violence - of course there are some but the majority are about peace and love. Even the oldest Book of all promotes violence if you wanna see it that way. "Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth", remember. If you are at peace with yourself, you don't need to be violent, no matter who or how many people tell you to be. Motivation is the key, not restriction. If we as parents f!&#$ up, (and we all do, don't we?), then how do you expect our kids not to? So be a good example and motivate your kids, then they will be invulnerable to bad outside influences. Nowadays these kids use lots of computer chips but they are as much creative and talented as we are. I have a 19 year old son who is into that stuff and sometimes he comes up with things that blow my mind. And it's not all made by machines. Led Zeppelin used all kinds of technical tricks to achieve certain sounds and effects. Listen to Pink Floyd, how they where using effects. I would love to hear 'Brain Damage'in a completely dry mix. Maybe I wouldn't like the song anymore. That's the way we used electronics in our music. How many Heavy Metal guitar players do you know who can actually get something decent out of an acoustic guitar compared to Al di Meola or Paco de Lucia? The majority of them, if you take their distortion pedal away, they are done, and I don't mean that in a negative way, it's just not what they do. They are good in their genre and deliver lots of enjoyment to their fans but they need their tool.
What's wrong with taking computer software and create beats, write lyrics, sing, or rap, and make that all into a song. These are the tools of a new generation. It's all music, whether you like it or not. Musicians use the tools of their times. The art is to deliver a message in a song and entertain the listener. If somebody does that, don't ask how it was done. If you don't like it, don't listen to it but respect it. Music is always honest. It's all about soul. There is no backwards in art. Let art grow. LET THE CHILDREN PLAY.
Wow! Love this part: "The art is to deliver a message in a song and entertain the listener." Also, I fully embrace the way technology enables art, in this case music, to grow and thrive. Thank you for saying it so well above. Would you say that the "soul" in music is the key to motivating the innovation of art?
gunternezhoda said:
No matter how hard I try for the sake of some of my friends, I cannot get into hip hop. I was concerned for awhile because I enjoy Rage Against the Machine, a little Limp Bizkit, and I've always been a fan of Mike Patton of Mr. Bungle and Faith No More who released their single Epic. All these acts have elements of rap, but I still enjoy them. One night when I was talking about this to a friend he started razzin' me calling me racist! I got a little concerned for a second until I said, that's not true because Eminem and Rittz suck worse than all of 'em!
Anyway, I would sometimes think about why it is that I just can't seem to appreciate the rap/hip hop style. The answer I came up with is 1; Pure rap is just to lightning fast on the words. It's frustrating to me when the artist is actually thoughtful because, by the time it registers in my mind when a rap expresses something worth pondering, the artist has already moved on to another thought. And 2; It's the inverse of traditional "music." in that it's the words themselves that carry us through the song. Traditional music and singing can both be what carries a song. Plus, a complete song can be written to include the use of one or the other, or both to create rhythm, melody, and harmony. Most importantly, none of it requires any words at all to convey a message and/or evoke an emotional response. Hip Hop on the other hand is very limited in it's musical capacity. First, it is the words themselves that carry the song, and without the beats it's just listening to a rhythmic talking. Can you imagine listening to someone machine gunning their opinions in your ear all day with out some fresh beats to keep it interesting? The same goes for the dj. Without the rapper, he might as well be spinnin' some trance or break beat, because you just can't have one without the other.
This is true, but if anything has taught us anything it's the fact that popular music is created with the intent to attract as wide a range of an audience as possible. To this end it must be simple in form and base in message. Therefore, it could be said that popular music is objectively the worst kind of music! Nutshell, Pop is to music what fast food is to cuisine.
I don't know. David Gilmore could probably pull it off. I don't know if "pink Floyd: Unplugged" would go over very well though. They were pioneers with experimenting with electronic sounds, so it just wouldn't sound right.
edit: I hit the post button accidentally before I was finished so, here's the rest:
Here, here! Classical snobs are the worst of the lot. The ones I've encountered have no use for any music that requires anything to be plugged in no matter how creative the arrangement or how difficult to perform. It's that pure sound that is all important. I respect this, but I find it strange how this utter devotion to sound blinds them to the fact that modern tech makes it possible to create music with any and all sounds that exist! If it can be recorded, it can be made into a song. I think that's amazing!
LOL!