A correlation in search of a Topic Sentence

[arrangerx]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evYgJ9We60c#t=852

Moderators, I'm sure there's a place for this.

The intent is to start a conversation, or at the very least, recognize the similarities we have with other types of musical entertainment.

And yes... I've been discovered. I had all the KISS albums as a kid.

Chuck Naffier

[Stu]

My favorite quotes:

Listening to the opinions of others concerning the creation of music: “Part of it is about the focus group. The idea of doing just what you want to do, whoever is telling you that and is successful is really not telling the truth….. There is no solitary; no man is an island is actually so. Nobody does it just for themselves because you need the feedback; ultimately we want to communicate with other people.”

Listening to the ‘unqualified consumer’ as opposed to the ‘qualified judge’: “Nobody is going to tell Steven Spielberg what to do, how to think, or how to edit. But he does a strange thing. After he gets his movie exactly the way he wants it, he will take his movie and go to…. Ypsilanti, MI… and he will sit down with people who are completely unqualified, especially how to edit his movie, and he will listen to ‘them’ on what is wrong with his movie. Then he goes back and changes it. He listens to the most unqualified people because ultimately You, PBS, KISS, everybody is in one business: the people business. And no matter what we think of them, the masses, ‘they’ are the bosses and we just work here.”

What about Art: “Anybody that calls what they do Art should have a sign that says,’ Shut Up, I don’t have a right to say anything about what I do, it is up to ‘them’ to tell me it is Art.’ You can do anything you like, but you are not the one who determines if it is Art, ‘they’ do. So, throwing up on a canvas is throwing up on a canvas and if ‘they’ call it Art it is Art; it is not up to you.”

And on a personal note: I completely agree with him when he talks about the philosophy of his mother, as opposed to the existential philosophers he references, and I also agree when he talks about how he treats his kids, and how he views drugs and alcohol.

[RContra]

There was some fantastic stuff in there. Though I'm not a fan of KISS' music (other than maybe Strutter and Detroit Rock City), Gene Simmons is someone who seems to have a solid grasp of the audience mentality. Nice find, Chuck!

My flipside bit that kind of rubbed me the wrong way, though I think I do agree with it to a certain extent: Even though "they" are our bosses, "they" often like total ####. It's difficult to sift through the different "they" strata, particularly since teenage musical interest drives so much of the music economy. Much like any other job, I'd really love to tell the boss off for so many of his/her poor decisions. Heck, dogs will eat their own poop until you tell them no. Maybe the bosses need to have some good stuff crammed down their throats every once in a while.

And now a somewhat-related side note that I'm curious to see how you DCPers feel about: We haven't had any angry music in the mainstream for quite some time. Historically, we had the 60s fighting the man, we had punk in the 70s rallying against the bloatedness of rock and the general class system, then we had Nirvana come around and destroy the 80s with one Louie, Louie-esque tune. The torch was kept alive by groups throughout most of the decade and somewhat into the 2000s with groups like Audioslave (and p.s., their "Like a Stone" worked beautifully on the field a couple seasons back...).

Is there anyone now that's culturally relevant that I'm missing? It seems as though everything is either mindless, happy, or irrelevant due to super niche appeal.

[fsubone]

Is there anyone now that's culturally relevant that I'm missing? It seems as though everything is either mindless, happy, or irrelevant due to super niche appeal.

Music works on a pendulum, we're just on the outside swing of it. Remember, between punk and Nirvana was hair metal, new wave, synth-pop, and teen stars. Even punk was pretty fringe for awhile, and remains so today. If you search hard enough, you can always find good music. The reason most people see older music as so great is there's been enough time to sift away the terrible music from that era. So you're just left with the good. For every Pink Floyd or Hendrix, you've got 20 bands that were terrible and instantly forgettable.

[Stu]

My flipside bit that kind of rubbed me the wrong way, though I think I do agree with it to a certain extent: Even though "they" are our bosses, "they" often like total ####. It's difficult to sift through the different "they" strata, particularly since teenage musical interest drives so much of the music economy. Much like any other job, I'd really love to tell the boss off for so many of his/her poor decisions. Heck, dogs will eat their own poop until you tell them no. Maybe the bosses need to have some good stuff crammed down their throats every once in a while.

Gene Simmons did address this issue with pointing out that while Steven Spielberg is unwavering in making movies 'his' way, he will listen to the unqualified consumer (ie those who consume 'his' product, not John Watters product, but 'his' product) to make any final adjustments and not the qualified experts in the field. And he also pointed out that this process is also the same with those who throw up on a canvas as well as the sadomasochist who ultimatly end up being successful at what they do. This does not mean that he, or Steven Spielberg, choose to engage in a deprived vein or seek out those types of consumers as bosses. But what he was doing was showing that all who are ultimately successful at whatever they choose to do will always adjust their behavior to the ‘unqualified’ consumer of their product; that the consumers are the bosses and not the so-called experts in the field.

[RContra]

Gene Simmons did address this issue with pointing out that while Steven Spielberg is unwavering in making movies 'his' way, he will listen to the unqualified consumer (ie those who consume 'his' product, not John Watters product, but 'his' product) to make any final adjustments and not the qualified experts in the field. And he also pointed out that this process is also the same with those who throw up on a canvas as well as the sadomasochist who ultimatly end up being successful at what they do. This does not mean that he, or Steven Spielberg, choose to engage in a deprived vein or seek out those types of consumers as bosses. But what he was doing was showing that all who are ultimately successful at whatever they choose to do will always adjust their behavior to the ‘unqualified’ consumer of their product; that the consumers are the bosses and not the so-called experts in the field.

Yep, I saw him addressing the issue. That doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. lol

And fsubone--sounds like you're right on that one. I would agree, though maybe I'm just fatigued from being on this side of the pendulum for so long. I was really encouraged when groups like Muse broke out, but that didn't turn out to be the paradigm shift I was hoping for (though they still made some awesome records).

[fsubone]

Yep, I saw him addressing the issue. That doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. lol

And fsubone--sounds like you're right on that one. I would agree, though maybe I'm just fatigued from being on this side of the pendulum for so long. I was really encouraged when groups like Muse broke out, but that didn't turn out to be the paradigm shift I was hoping for (though they still made some awesome records).

They're still around and making music. Just depends on what the kids want, and how the record companies can exploit that. They're the ones with a most disposable income and control over the music scene, which is why EDM is becoming so popular. It went from fringe to massive in a few short years, and pushed a lot of other things out on the way. It's even taking over Coachella, which has been a pretty indie-centerd festival for its existence.

Edited April 15, 2014 by fsubone