The Day The Music Really Died

[Jahfin]

From Lumberton, NC's "The Robesonian"

By Tim Wilkins - Managing editor

I'm trying to figure out the exact moment in history when music went
to hell.

I know it has to be there somewhere, when the mighty wave that was
popular music crashed against the rocks and left a high water mark
that it never again touched, leaving behind a miserable mess of
modern melodies flopping around in the muck like rotting baitfish.

The problem with asking this question is the answer is so
subjective, especially when you query people of different age
groups. Most college-aged kids and those younger think we're
actually in a golden age of beats. They believe to their misguided
souls that such artists as L'il Kim, 50 Cent and Coldplay are truly
the matrix of all things musical.

But what do kids know?

Ask them about Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, and you'll get
that same 1,000-mile stare they flash on their teachers when asked
to name the capital of South Dakota. Mention Bob Dylan and the
tiniest of sparks lights in their retinas only because they know
he's that old, off-key geezer in the Victoria's Secret ad.

Let's face it, today's kids are musically illiterate. I believe this
as surely as my parents believed my generation was clueless and
their parents in turn thought their kids were blathering idiots. I
think it's imprinted into our brains - right there next to the
chromosome that tells men they actually drive better after drinking
four or five beers - that the older you get, the smarter you become
and the better your generation's music was. My grandfather, for
example, believed music - and American society - never recovered
from the 1964 invasion by the Beatles. He was a Frank Sinatra man,
through and through. I, on the other hand, believe the Beatles were
the alpha and omega of popular music, the likes of which we'll never
see again. My wife feels the same way about Clay Aiken, but then
again, she married me, so her judgment tends to be a little suspect.

To get to the bottom of when music began its slide down the slippery
slope, I conducted an unofficial poll in the newsroom of The
Robesonian. With the diverse group of characters we have, I thought
it would be a nice sample of society. By the way, I also believe
that most men are pure of heart and there really was only one gunman
involved in the JFK assassination.

I'll give the first vote to our publisher, Lynn McLamb, as she signs
my paycheck and has the power to break my career like a cheap watch.
Lynn thinks music went south when the "hair" bands of the 80s
actually cut their Rapunzel-like locks. Lynn believes such bands as
Poison, Cinderella and Great White were the apex of rock, and when
they disappeared from the charts and were replaced by shorter-
haired, non-Spandex-wearing performers, modern rock was essentially
neutered - sort of the rock 'n' roll equivalent of mighty Sampson
being undone by Delilah's clip job.

Oddly enough, our editor, Donnie Douglas, and copy editor, Bob
Sloan - a pair of fortysomethings - both spit out the same name when
asked to describe the demarcation line separating the age of good
music from bad: Culture Club. I can see their point. The Club's
androgynous leader, Boy George, along with Duran Duran, were the
poster boys for the early days of MTV, which has gone farther than
any other form of media to push forward the philosophy of style over
substance and flash and fashion over genuine talent. Could these
bands have made it on FM radio without a booster shot from video? To
paraphrase the Dire Straits ditty "Money For Nothing:" "Now that
ain't workin' that's the way you do it/You play the guitar on the
MTV/That ain't workin' that's the way you do it/Money for nothin'
and your chicks for free/Money for nothin' and chicks for free."

Not that Boy George was ever really interested in chicks.

I also got duplicate answers from a pair of newsroom
twentysomethings, Mike Humbert and Roxana Schaefer, who said that
boy bands such as NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the
Block have been the ruination of music. This reminds me of a riddle
my Deadhead sister posed to me at a Grateful Dead concert in 1989:
What do you call rabid fans of New Kids on the Block? Blockheads.

Curt Vincent, our sports and features editor - and yet another
grumbling old fortysomething - takes it back further to 1979, with
the introduction of the Sugar Hill Gang and the first hit rap song -
"Rapper's Delight." This logic is really hard for me to argue with
as I believe rap has degenerated into the musical equivalent of
shouting "fire" in a packed theater. It incites and invites
impressionable young folks to disrespect women and police and the
human race in general, to bust a cap in someone you disagree with
while embracing the thug life. Some might call my hatred of rap and
hip-hop culturally biased or even racist. But I counter that
assertion, offering as Exhibit "A" in my defense a CD collection
brimming with Motown, Muscle Shoals soul, down and dirty Mississippi
blues, and, of course, the undisputed king of the electrified six-
string, Jimi Hendrix. If you younger folks don't think music can be
melodious, have soul and lay down a powerful message, you need to
check out Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" or Edwin Starr's "War" ...
good God, y'all.

Of course, at least one of our staff, Mark Locklear, 26, says
there's nothing wrong with today's music, just my perception. He
says he considers rap to be not so much a musical form as a form
of "entertainment" akin to professional wrestling. He thinks I take
all the mayhem and maliciousness preached in rap's typically raunchy
and often racially incendiary lyrics way too seriously.

Mark's entitled to his opinion, however wrong it may be. Besides,
this is MY column.

And for my closing tune, I'm going to take the wayback machine far
back into time, before the birth of rap, before disco, before
grunge, to the day I truly believe the music died.

That would be Feb. 12, 1968: The day William Shatner, commander of
the U.S.S. Enterprise, ventured where no one should have ever gone
and released the album "Transformed Man." Included on the LP was
Captain Kirk's remake of the Beatles' "Lucy In The Sky With
Diamonds." The horror of that moment taints music to this day like a
36-year-old hangover.

Scotty, you really should have beamed him up.

[Margarita Will]

What a great article, Jahfin!

Thanks for sharing!

I'm still laughin'...

-=mw=-

[live2ski]

Were they singing bye bye miss american pie?

[CaptainP]

Included on the LP was
Captain Kirk's remake of the Beatles' "Lucy In The Sky With
Diamonds." .

I actually have that on a CD. He also does "Mr. Tambourine Man".

Along with Leonard Nimoy doing "Proud Mary", "If I had a Hammer", and "The Legend of Bilbo Baggins"

[RhumChum]

Not that Boy George was ever really interested in chicks.

Damn!

[chalksoperations]

For me it was August 1, 1981. What was supposed to bring music to the masses more directly actually eliminated virtually all artistic input to the music industry. MTV made it too easy to get exposure without really having talent on your resume. Sure, there were a few sparks of life here and there in the early days (who could forget the ZZ Top videos) from groups that had proved their talent in the pre-MTV era. To date, it is my opinion there are as many groups that have appeared on MTV as there are lights on Broadway.

The talent pool does have a bottom, but MTV has tried to make it deeper in the name of self-preservation. Just led to groups feeling they don't need to try as hard to make it, and in m opinion it started on Aug. 1, 1981.

[Key Lime Lee]

The music hasn't died at all - it's constantly evolving and morphing and growing. It's as vibrant and alive now as it has ever been. In fact, as home studios and internet distribution erase the gap between individuals and labels, thus minimizing the importance of broad commercial appeal, many would argue that we are entering an age of music unlike any that has come before.

The rub, of course, is that the burden of responsibility is on the listener to seek out the music. You have to look beyond what ClearChannel wants you to hear, beyond what MTV and VH1 have in heavy rotation, beyond what BestBuy is pushing in the endcaps this week. You have to scout out the indie webzines, listen to college or independent radio, request the advice of your local indie music store, go see the bands you've never heard of at the local clubs. In short, you have to be willing to try new music.

It's easy to look backwards through the filter of time and pick out some of the musical greats who WERE in the mainstream - Dylan, the Beatles, Aretha - because we've forgotten the hundreds of other mediocre acts that were being peddled at the same time. We have Nick Lachey - Mr. Wilkins had Fabian. We have Nickelback's "Figured You Out" as a musician embarrassment - Mr. Wilkins had "Leader of the Pack". We have rap and hip hop that older generations can't appreciate, Mr. Wilkins had rock and roll that older generations couldn't appreciate. What's the difference? Simply the passage of time and perspective.

In the entire history of popular music it's been exceptionally rare for "popularity" and "talent" to intersect for any significant amount of time. A case can certainly be made to suggest that it's even rarer now, as a handful of multi-national conglomerates control the bulk of music industry decision making and distribution. These companies didn't purchase record labels with the desire to release significant music - they did it to make money. And in today's competitive business environment where shareholders expect companies to increase their profits every quarter it's exceedingly difficult to believe that anyone would invest millions of dollars and several albums simply because they believe in the significance of the artist the way Columbia did in Bob Dylan before he finally broke into mainstream popular music. It's easy to imagine that were he starting today, Dylan would be a cult favorite, someone working outside of the major label system but significant none-the-less to those who took the time to find him.

But was it ever really that different? The musical landscape is littered with "significant" artists who never broke through. If anyone serious about music limited their choices to those presented by the majors they would have missed numerous major talents - I mean, just insert the names of your favorite underappreciated underground musicians, whether it's John Prine or Jerry Jeff Walker. Mainstream popular music has occasionally been a source for finding the brightest and most talented artists, but often well after the independent scene had recognized them and helped bring them enough grassroots popularity to convince the majors that they could make money from selling the record.

And while it's easy to blame the labels and radio and the video channels for the homogenized nature of a lot of modern music and the emphasis on marketability over musicality, it's extremely important to remember that none of these entities CREATES trends - they simply try to market them. As much as I can't stand Nickelback's cheesy, predictable songs with their rock-poseur riffs and infantile lyrics, the fact is that SOMEONE is buying that crap because they like it. And when they continue to buy it, the music industry gives them more of it.

Sure, marketing and constant media exposure play a role in the band's success, but the fact that we're not all talking about the continued success of O-Town and Flickerstick suggest that something in Nickelback's emasculated rock honestly resonates with the consumer.

Maybe we get the music we deserve - modern consumers may gripe about the cookie-cutter bands, but when presented with something truly innovative they dismiss it because it's not what they're used to. While they get upset that their artists isn't growing creatively, they are the first to complain when the artist changes his style of music. And while they decry modern music as dead, they refuse to listen to anything outside of their chosen genres because it's not the kind of music they like.

Age seems to exasperate this problem - it seems the older someone gets, the less likely they are to give new music a chance. It's always the older folks who "don't get it", whether it was Elvis' rock and roll, the Beatles and their mop tops, Dylan plugging in, Grunge, Rap....

Maybe that's what Mr. Wilkins is experiencing - he has crossed the transom from adult to elder. Perhaps he finds himself more interested in discussing his prostate exam than the intricate production and influences that can be found on the latest Outkast release. Perhaps Mr. Wilkins has simply grown too old....

Never fear - I'm sure that some Bob Dylan DVD box retrospective packed with video of live performances from the 1960s will be out soon. And when it arrives, Mr. Wilkins can smoke his Lucky's and revel in the wonderment of music's golden age.

That is, of course, if Mr. Wilkins managed to make the leap from VHS to DVD.

[PARROT HEAD MIKE]

When... Video Killed The Radio Star


Or when every band out there tried to copy Nirvana and Pearl Jam and the whole grunge thing was born. Couldn't they have just left well enough alone. Just Kidding I dont think music has died, the only shame is that there is so much music out there and so many great artists and songs that we will never hear just because that don't get play or promoted right.
Or how about on May 16, 1998 when Frank Sinatra passed on. There is something to be said for his music and others from his time. Here in Boston there is a radio station 99.1 that plays frank every day and a Saturday night show from 7PM to midnight called Strictly Sinatra, his music has stood the test of time and young people today still listen to him some 60 years after he started. In 2060 I'm sure that we won't be saying the same thing about the music of today.

[Ilph]

Wow, even though it's not going to be intelligent at all to try and follow Lee's post, I'll throw my two cents in. Good music isn't dead, more so in hiding. You still have your artists out there in every genre who still put out quality albums (George Strait in country music for example), but we live in a time where artists are more concerned with spins, exposure, marketing, ticket sales and album rankings than quality (for the most part).

People can look at Ludacris and say he'll never be as good as Run DMC, but he's selling albums like it's going out of style and is a hot act.... for now. The real test of an artist is where is their music ranked ten, twenty, fifty years from now? Jessica Simpson is definately no Frank Sinatra, but yet Sinatra is still getting a share of airplay (like in St. Louis on Sunday afternoons on "Frank and Friends" on our local swing/smooth station). Will Jessica Simpson still be getting such attention 40 years from now? We can only pray not.

I agree with the article and Lee, both to an extent. The popular music of today for the most part, sucks. But it isn't completely gone and hanging out in independent stores and college radio stations. No matter what the genre, there are a few artists out there carrying the torch of quality music, they just might not be as easy to find.

[CaptainP]

Music is not dead. Good music today is alive and well, and can be found anywhere but the pop charts.

Sure, occasionally something good slips in, but pop is more concerned with image than talent.

[Ilph]

Music is not dead. Good music today is alive and well, and can be found anywhere but the pop charts.

Sure, occasionally something good slips in, but pop is more concerned with image than talent.

It's not just pop music. Country music is filled with it. I can't speak for other genres because I don't know too much about them.

[Ilph]

Music is not dead. Good music today is alive and well, and can be found anywhere but the pop charts.

Sure, occasionally something good slips in, but pop is more concerned with image than talent.

It's not just pop music. Country music is filled with it. I can't speak for other genres because I don't know too much about them.

[Ilph]

Music is not dead. Good music today is alive and well, and can be found anywhere but the pop charts.

Sure, occasionally something good slips in, but pop is more concerned with image than talent.

It's not just pop music. Country music is filled with it. I can't speak for other genres because I don't know too much about them.

[bananawind]

-when they gave singers (can I call them that?) like Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys a microphone.

[PARROT HEAD MIKE]

No matter what anybody says here, George Strait is the best country artist we will ever see/hear!!!! and I am not a huge country fan....

[CaptainP]

-when they gave singers (can I call them that?) like Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys a microphone.

Call them PERFORMERS, not singers.

It's like calling pro wrestling a sport. It's not a sport, due to pre-determined outcome. But they are athletes, and they entertain.

[Ilph]

No matter what anybody says here, George Strait is the best country artist we will ever see/hear!!!! and I am not a huge country fan....

I think you'll have a hard time finding ANYBODY who'll argue with that. In October, Strait releases a CD of his 50 #1's. Strait is the act all new acts should be judged against in country music, IMO

[PARROT HEAD MIKE]

No matter what anybody says here, George Strait is the best country artist we will ever see/hear!!!! and I am not a huge country fan....

I think you'll have a hard time finding ANYBODY who'll argue with that. In October, Strait releases a CD of his 50 #1's. Strait is the act all new acts should be judged against in country music, IMO

You got that right. George is the best, I have been listening to him for a long time even though I am not a big country fan. A friend of mine from college actually his parents had a ranch next to his in Texas, thats how I beacme a fan.

[Key Lime Lee]

Well, to an extent, wasn't Sinatra just a performer?

I mean, he had a decent voice, but I've never heard that much range out of him and certainly never heard anything that made me think he was an EXCEPTIONAL singer. And he didn't write his own songs...

[a1aara]

I think Sinatra had such a great stage presance (sp?). Those old Rat Pack shows are great. Dean Martin may be the coolest man who ever lived!