Tony L
Administrator
It would be interesting to know the respective ages of posters in this thread, as I'm fairly sure that we generally get less radical as we age.
Im 41 on Sunday. My theory is that peoples taste changes largely due to laziness, many people who once had a firm finger on the pulse seem to relax and fall into what I see as soft and bland music. The current trend of truly insipid female singer-songwriters carefully targeted at middle aged men seems to highlight this perfectly. I have no interest whatsoever in this kind of music and make the effort to find out who is pushing the boundaries. As Ive grown older my taste has definitely broadened, and Ive found whole new genres to explore. There is far too much good music out there to accept blandness.
But I am no longer an idealistic youth, and while I still like most of the music of my youth, I have learned to appreciate the worth of true virtuosity as well.
Virtuosity is a pretty vague term IMHO if I were forced to name some true virtuosos in the rock field Id pick the likes of Amon Düül II or Can as both were able to play as a totally organic, seamless whole whilst producing music of absolutely stunning originality. Going widdle widdle widdle really fast on a guitar is a) not very hard to do, and b) has very little intrinsic value. It is unwise to assume those who choose not to do it cant! The goal is to create something truly new and to do exactly what is needed to realise the idea. No more and no less. Musical history is written about the originators, not the copyists.
Anyone here who likes classical music must agree with me by definition, as classical musicians spend their time 'polishing', (although I prefer the term 'interpreting'), music which has been done numerous times before.
Classical music has no real connection to any other musical form, by its nature it is interpreted and reproduced, almost every other form is created by the musicians playing it. There is no original, just a written draft, there is no improvisation, just rules. The skills needed to play it are completely different to rock or jazz, which is why IMHO people who are vastly skilled at one almost always stink at the other. Interpretation and improvisation are radically different skills.
Tony.