Guitarman Wrote:
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You keep on bringing up ticket sales as being more important than record sales. Exactly why? They're both sales.
I never said ticket sales are more important than record sales. I never said sales was more important than anything, matter of fact. The whole emphasis on sales over creativity is a symptom of the disease that is the music business.
>
They're both the results of marketing. If you go by ticket sales, then Madonna is the
> greatest artist ever, That's right, the top grossing artist in '05 was Madonna. Go back a few
> years and you get N'Sync and Brittany Spears. So is that the yardstick you wish to use? Because if
> it is, well then I guess Madonna is a hell of a lot more talented than the rolling stones.
I have never liked Madonna's music, personally. And no matter how many records or concert tickets she sells, I doubt if that is going to change. I refuse to have my personal tastes dictated to me by the media or by the record business. That is why they are my personal tastes, and not some record labels, or yours.
I don't judge music by what sells, I judge it by what I like, and what I want to hear. And I want to hear music that is played with passion, stuff that moves me, stuff that reaches out and grabs me, that has intensity, and integrity. Not stuff that puts me to sleep.
Madge has never been known for the excellence or artistry of her music. I admire her business acumen, and consider her the first true media @#$%&. I think her greatest ability is the way she has been able to turn minimal talent into maximum financial return. She has paved the way for those such as Courtney Love (who put her to shame at the max return for even more minimal talent/media @#$%& category) and Jessica Simpson, et al.
Saying that Madonna is musically talented or a great musical artist is like saying that Bill Gates is the best coder ever, or that Windoze is a great OS. What a joke. I admire Bill Gates for being a shrewd businessman, period. And Madonna is like him, she is a barracuda among the tuna when it comes to business. I still can't stand her music and never will. Musically, it is all style and no substance, IMO. It does not move me, and it does not reach me. And that is fine. Besides, I don't fit her target demographic.
I have taste and I know what I like. If you judge music based on what sells, tickets or records either one, then you don't have taste. That is exactly my point. And I still say you don't know a poser from real talent.
The problem is that you appear to be judging music based on what sells, based on what gets on eMpTV, based on what the "cool" kids are listening to, and then you are quick to jump on the bandwagon, to be "like" others, to fit in. I judge it based on what _I_ like, not what someone else thinks I should listen to, based on my standards for the art of music. Not based on sales, profit, number sold, or proliferation in the media.
And N'Sync and Britney Spears are horrible, BTW. Nice examples.
The music
business is filled with bean counters and
producers who judge musical artists based on what they think will sell, bottom line profit projections, and demographic figures. Most of them have no musical taste or ability whatsoever. They are the problem. They are not interested in cultivating the career of truly talented artists, or educating the audience. All they are interested in is taking advantage of a situation, and making short term profit. That is why the music
business is so messed up. It is filled with and dominated by pimps and @#$%&.
The music
business is filled with "music" that is created for the sole reason of making money. And it will never rival music that is created by truly creative artists for the love of music. I guess you don't understand the difference.
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>>
Just because you may understand the music business doesn't mean you know anything about music.
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> I'm sorry, Allen Toussaint who is possibly a lot older than the stones and mccartney sounded
> incredible. Herbie Hancock who is in his 60's sonded wonderful. So i'm not anti older artists.
>
> Paul McCartney sounded like Lawrence Welk only out of breath. His band, which was very young, sounded
> great. It reminded me of seeing those old Big Bands with a leader who was so old he couldn't
> even stand up and the rest of the band was the top of the class from North Texas State. I like music
> that is in tune, and well done, and innovative. A lot of the production today is incredible. Just
> because you're too old to enjoy it, don't take your lack of understaning of it for it being no
> good.
Guess what? Personally, I don't listen to music that was out when I was in high school, or stuff from when I was growing up, my musically formative years. I like to hear things that are brand new, stuff that isn't even on the radio yet, it is so new. That is all I like to listen to. And I am not hearing much that sounds like the
future. But I am always listening for it.
Most of what comes out is stuff that rehashes what has been done before, over and over.
New music, ideally, should build on what has been, so that by using some of the existing framework it can be understood and related to by the listeners, but it should also move forward strongly with vision into
uncharted territory, forging a new path, establishing that new vision, creating a new sound, one that has not been heard before.
That is what Hendrix did, and that is why I admire him, and not Madonna. And that is why music lovers of discerning taste will always gravitate toward true creative artistry, rather than worshiping the cult of celebrity or at the altar of the almighty dollar.
I hear very few artists with any kind of artistic vision, or any kind of sound that is actually new. Most of the few relatively original artists I hear basically just combine old or existing sounds in new ways. That is valid, and all good and fine, but I want to hear something that I have never heard before, is that too much to ask?
That is why Bill Gates will never
get it. He just doesn't have the
vision for the future of a Steve Jobs, and he never will. And that is why the big record labels will never get it, either. If they could, they would write a computer program that would churn out the next generation of creative art in a minute.
Guess what? I am not interested in hearing music that is creatively driven by
accountants or a musical vision that is hatched by some "producer" because they think that high school kids will buy it. That stuff always results in music that is inferior, that sounds like what is popular now, not what [i/will be[/i] popular in the future.
That is why the next artist with
vision and a truly new sound will probably not come from some producer's million dollar studio, but from some garage down the block where some kids get together to play music. Yes, actually play actual instruments, sing, and write songs themselves.
That is why music keeps drawing kids toward it for year after year. That potential to make something out of nothing, to come from nowhere and actually go somewhere and do something, to escape the humdrum of daily existence. That
potential is the true driving force of actual music. And I don't think you get that.
The driving force of the
business is money, and that is exactly what is wrong with it. True artists play and sing and write because they are driven to do that, they cannot do anything else. It is not about the money. From what you say, I don't think you get that at all. From what you say, it gives me the impression that the money is what is important to you, not the music.
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Maddona has been arond now for around 25 years. LL Cool J is still around after 15 years. A large
> chunk of the hip hop audience is pushing 45 now. I think you just haven't been out in a while. Queen
> Latifah is singing jazz now. Alicia Keys and John Legend are going to be around for a very long
> time, and quite possibly so will Kanye West.
>
> I forgot to mention Mary J Blige who just had her biggest record in years. She's been around for 14
> years now. And Mariah Carey has been around now for 16 years.
That is fine if that is the kind of music you like. I have never heard one single song by Mariah Carey or Madonna that I ever wanted to hear again, personally. That is because it is
my personal tastes and preferences and I will not be dictated to by the radio, by MTV, or by the music business when it comes to what I want to hear.
>
Just because a bunch of tin eared baby boomers are willing to shell out $134 a ticket for a stones
> show does not mean they sound good.. If that does, then it also means that millions of record sales
> and radio spins means that the pussy cat dolls are just as valid and good. Money is money.
The Stones are still commercially successful now not because they are artistically creative now, but because they have decades of musical creativity behind them, that is their legacy and their body of work. They combined and integrated many styles of music into their own sound, and many people could relate to it. Many of those people still relate to it, mostly based on what the Stones did years ago. That doesn't mean that you have to get it.
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The Stones may not sound good every time, but at least they can play their own instruments and
>> aren't so afraid to play live as to use an entire PT studio to do so. They can cut many styles of music.
> Play their own instruments? Well maybe hold them and bang on them and use their sound system and
> amps to make it all loud. Charlie watts can play. The associated side musicians can play. But from
> what I heard, Keith can't play his own songs in time or in key, much less try and play some other
> style. Ron Wood is just barely hanging in. And mick sounded winded and like he was just shouting
> with no attempt to actually sing.
>
> Many styles? You mean they can play bebop and r&b and country and .......... they can't even
> play their own songs. Where do you get that from?
>
> As far as using Pro Tools to sound better, ever notice how recent stones albums sound way better
> than they ever sound live in performance. Why do you suppose that is?
Keith Richards is one of the most influential guitarists of the last 50 years, whether you like what he does or not.
The Stones were never known for being polished, or sounding "nice" on stage or even on record. I don't think that is the sound they were going for. They were always known for their raw and unpolished sound, that is what they did, similar to the blues and R&B artists they admired and imitated. That is what they were striving for. Apparently you just don't get that, so fine. Personally, I do get it.
I have always placed a premium on passion and intensity in musical expression, over polish and technical prowess, personally, that is just what moves me.
If you want to know what I think about the Stones, what I thought about them when I first heard them when I was five years old, what I have thought about them over the years, and what I think about them now, then read this:
[
forums.dealmac.com]
>
Finally, it's funny that Keith was on Puffy's case years ago regarding sampling, while the person
> sampled, Sting, actually went to puffy to remix one of his songs, Roxanne. But also think of the
> fact that the Stones themselves were trying, and the emphasis is on trying, to copy black blues and
> early r n b musicians themselves.
The Stones, like most musicians when they are starting out, tried to copy and imitate the artists they admired, the music they loved and listened to. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And the Stones loved American blues and R&B styles popularized by black artists.
The whole American music business was basically built on the concept of copying the artists who actually created the sounds, quite often primarily black performers, and repackaging and selling those sounds as copied by white artists who were more "marketable". What do you think that Elvis was the originator of Rock and Roll? Far from it. Rock was born of the cross pollenization of country, blues, jazz, gospel, etc. And those styles, with the exception of country, were primarily created and proliferated by black artists and performers. So why shouldn't the Stones play what they love, play what they admire, play what they want to pay homage to?
Personally, I am not a big fan of electronic sampling. But as a musician myself, I acknowledge that part of being a musician involves mentally sampling other artists. When you are learning to play, you imitate others as part of the learning process. This is what programs your mental computer. Then when and if you ever get to the creative phase yourself, your influences are always with you, and filter and shape your vision as an artist. That is just how it works.
But electronic sampling, I consider it cut and paste "word processor" music. It is fine if that is what you like, but it is not my cup of tea, personally. Although there are some who are actually creative in the way they use it, I basically consider most who employ sampling as using it as a crutch for lack of creative inspiration themselves. When there are no more artists left who actually create anything new, with any actual artistic vision, who will you sample then?
There are those who only imitate. And there are those who innovate. There is a difference between a truly creative artist and a poser. And there is a huge difference between "music" that is created solely for the purpose of making money, and music that results from true artistic vision.
The real question is, can
you tell the difference? Or do you even care? We know that a large percentage of the music buying public can't tell the difference, or doesn't care. The question is, are you one who takes advantage of that fact to sell inferior product, or one who strives with integrity to create artistic content with real vision, to change that status quo for the better?
hwystar