MUSIC - FIRST THOUGHTS
Music is important to all of us, whether we realise it or not. It is there in out lives everywhere…we hear it in lifts, supermarkets, on the radio, TV, movies, at sports events… we really cannot avoid it… and it there for a purpose… to create a mood, a feeling, make a statement…
TV and Movies use music to point us to an emotion that the film is aiming for us to feel… the dramatic crescendos preceding dramatic events.. the music prepares us for the emotion to follow… the jaunty strains that lead us to feelings of happiness or the sultry romantic themes that tell us the love/passion interest is coming… in each case the use of music is preparing our senses for what is to follow.
Good writers of film scores, tv scores and the rest, are musical genius… a progression from the cinema pianist of the early silent films… a group of musicians who deserve far more credit than the ever receive.
Advertisements also use music to make their products more saleable… using famous tracks which are aimed to make us think of the product whenever we hear the track, whenever we think of it by word association. Other adverts use music composed to create the mood required to make the products memorable.
In lifts we hear bland music to have a calming effect, shops will use the same sort of thing, to make sure the shoppers are relaxed and accordingly more likely to spend their money. Similarly at Christmas time we are bombarded with Carols and Christmas songs… all aimed at heightening the Christmas hype and encouraging more spending.
We are not always conscious of these uses of music, and much of it is infinitely forgettable, as a piece of music, but simply creates a mood,
the writing and performing of which in itself is a skill.
The value of music is clearly shown in the care of the elderly, especially around dementia care, where many patients can be uncommunicative, but introduce a singer, or recorded music, and they will respond, often singing along, almost word perfect though they cannot really communicate at other times, This is so important but not only does it help to develop a sense of community, but also reintroduces half-forgotten memories which can help to stem the development of the condition. It will not be a cure, but may make life easier for a time, which is something to value.
Similarly the singing of hymns in church, whether at a wedding, funeral or Sunday service will also create a bond, a feeling of community. There are other contexts where singing together will build a camaraderie and, at least temporarily, override the damaging feelings of isolation, however informal the singing. The obvious examples are the terrace songs at football matches and the singing of peace songs or political protest songs at marches and rallies… this is all music.
However, I want to concentrate on music made to be heard… whether recorded in any form or live, in person,. regardless of genre… music made to be available to everyone who wants it.
The majority of us will listen to music by choice at one time or another… for me I maintain the CD format, for others it will be vinyl, on line downloads, DVD or TV.
By far the most “listens” will be to major artists who will now fill stadiums and arenas… who are world famous and most of us will have heard of them even if they are not to our taste.
More and more these artists will play a number of live shows each year, in arenas or stadiums., The concerts become events… the event and spectacle overtaking the importance of the music.
I haven’t been to a concert hall gig more than a handful of times since the millennium, but friends have, and I have seen some on TV. I have to say here it is a fact that TV reduces the impact of a concert dramatically compared the the live event, so criticisms need to be accepted with that in mind.
Let us consider an arena show… first off, the cost of putting on the show is massive, the ticket prices are, in my view, totally out of proportion to the value. If we are lucky enough to be close to the front we can actually see the artists… for those further back we can see the stage, the lights and small unidentifiable figures (sometimes). The reality is if you are towards the back at a stadium gig you are going to be up to 150 yards from the artists.
So we have the big screens to watch the performers on… watching the moments that the directors choose to let us see. The excitement comes from being in a huge crowd at a major event. I have often spoken to friends and random people about these shows… they always wax lyrical about the moment that everyone shone their phone torches, in the past of course cigarette lighters, they rave about the overhead light shows, the opulence of the stage set, the atmosphere… very seldom will they talk about the music being played.. why is this? Although they may love the albums, the thing is to be able to say I saw “WHOEVER” play live… I was at the event… Never that the band played superbly, built and paced the show to perfection and proved their musical ability…
Indeed back in the 80’s a friend went to see Michael Jackson at Wembley… came back full of enthusiasm… said that he is a brilliant dancer so I’m buying all the albums… never a mention of the music or singing…
My question is always were they there for the music or the event?… maybe a bit of both, but I think predominantly for the event.
Music is of course very subjective… I personally dislike Ed Sheehan and Coldplay but love the Warner E Hodges Band and Cinelli Brothers… and I bet I am in a minority there… we all have artists we admire and artists we have no time for and I would never criticise anyone for having different tastes to me… it’s what makes the world go around.
I recently applied for tickets for a show by a multi million dollar artist for next summer… they sold out several arenas within hours, but the price was way out of what I would ever pay…
Arenas, Stadia, theatres sell thousands of tickets… people turn out in force to these shows… among people I know they go to maybe a few major gigs a year… always to shows by the artists overexposed on the air and media, multi million album selling artists.
Of course there is much to be said for seeing your heroes live.. I have done more than my share of that… but it is limiting…
These artists may arrive by limousine, helicopter or whatever… demand all sorts of things for the dressing room… come on stage, play then return to the backstage and dressing room areas with the VIP’s.. they are as remote from their audience so their music is to the crowds there for the spectacle.
I love music… especially live music… to be able to watch a full tilt rock’n’roll band, or a bluegrass band, or a singer-songwriter or any sort of artist delivering their music with passion, a direct rapport with the audience is a buzz like very little else.
My choice is to support grass roots music. I know people who truly believe that if an artist isn’t famous enough, or big enough, to play concert halls, let alone arenas or stadia they can’t be worth hearing… such a sad view… where do they think to top bands learn their trade? In truth, however big the arena, you will never hear better guitar players than the likes of Matt Long, Warner Hodges, Ben Poole, Connor Selby… not hear better songwriters than the likes of Emily Mae Winters, Ian Siegal, Emily Duff, Rebecca Loebe… see any more totally diverse and exciting music bands as Dirty Cello, Baskery or the Hoooten Hallers… or anything more gloriously absurd than John Otway or Papa Shango… not only do you get a fully committed performance by the artists, but you are close enough to see every expression and move but you also have the chance to meet and chat with the artists before the gig, at the interval and afterwards…
indeed many of the artists have become friends!!
Grass roots music is crucial for musicians either learning their trade or older musicians who just love to play, love the buzz of regular live shows and engaging with the audience, so most grass roots venues will give a mixture of fledgling artists making their way and established artists who have shunned the trappings of celebrity to stay rooted and play for the joy of it… you see it in their eyes as they play… hear it in the voices as you chat after the show…
Sadly audiences at grass roots venues are often counted in tens… or less… and the venues are struggling to survive. Not only that, but the majority of the audience are now aging… as I am!!
I was lucky to be born at a time when rock’n’roll was getting going… grow up through the beat group era and like so many became hooked on the so called (in the day) underground/progressive music rather than the charts. Also like many of my peers hearing this music opened our ears to music from a huge range of influences… and we were genuinely interested in it all.
We took an interest in who played the bass on a particular track… who produced the music, which studios it was recorded in… and we would research the individuals and check out their other output… of course album covers were a key starting point for this as there was no internet…
I think we were also the last generation to take that much interest in the nitty gritty… todays audiences being happy to know that this is a Harry Styles track, a Dizzy Rascal track, a Paul McCartney track…
I believe that music magazines/papers are much less read than back in the 60’s/70’s… so the only exposure to artists is through playlists and the media… and the media will always cater for the lowest common denominator, the music most people will listen to… so there is little exposure for the unknown, the musicians who dare to be different, original… the exposure goes to those who have either a proven track record, which may be just one recent success, or have huge financial support from commercial backers to promoter them or be foisted on the world through the absurd so called talent contests. Remember when the X factor took a bunch of artists and however individual they started pushed them into singing all sorts of things totally out of their style or interest to make them all sound virtually the same… sacrificing their art for the money, before Simon Cowell spent millions to make sure they became huge, regardless of ability… I blame him to a large extent for dumbing down music!
The current generations in a world of social media seldom take the time to sit and listen to music for its own sake… so listen to that that is easily on offer from the downloadsites, Alexa and the rest and I guess from mainstream radio. Specialist music shows are confined to obscure hours (as has always been the case)… where now are the likes of John Peel, Stuart Henry, Emperor Rosko and the others who managed to have shows at prime times and strove to play music from outside the major charts and playlists?
I love to discover new artists… and the best way to discover then is to take a punt on seeing unknown bands at your local grass roots venue… so I go to countless shows by people I have never heard of… and happily the promoters at my local venue have excellent judgement, and having seen the better part of 250 artists in the last year, I could count on my fingers the few that disappointed…
I get to see bands hungry… clearly loving what they are doing and thriving on the rapport with the audience, however small… Bands who are playing because they love what they are doing, and are doing it often brilliantly… The contrast is seeing major artists who have been superstars for quite a while, going through the motions on stage and masking it with exotic shows around them.. Although they are not a band I like, I have to say the Rolling Stones are an exception to this, they still appear to play with a verve and commitment that belies their age…
The grass roots venues are still struggling.. covid was (as for many in the hospitality area) devastating to the venues, and many people are still reluctant to be in a crowd in a small venue due to covid fears.. the current financial situation, which will only get worse clearly restricts peoples ability to spend on luxuries…both of which must impact hugely on the venues ability to continue.
However, ticket prices are normally around the £10 mark… that remains terrific value for a great night out… most of the venues are small and friendly and the atmosphere is lovely…
It is so important that these venues survive and thrive… without them new aspiring musicians will have nowhere to play… nowhere to learn their craft… and without that, where will the next generation of Superstars come from?
Who will be producing the music that we buy, download or stream?…
As I said earlier, the standard of the acts on the grass roots circuit has never been higher… the quality is outstanding and the value immense… It is so wrong to think you see a better show if you pay £75 to see a top name at a major venue compared to paying £10 to see a show in a grass roots venue… in fact the grass roots gig will invariably be the better!!
Give it a try…look at the listings of your local venues… and come along and sample it… I am sure you will be delighted by your evening…
Here in Leicester we have one of the finest grass roots venues, with the very best sound anywhere… but don’t take my word for that… ask the Musicians who play at the MUSICIAN PUB.. and come down and check it out. Of course the Musician isn’t the only great venue here… try the Donkey… free afternoon sessions in the week and a guest band playing most Sundays, there is also the Soundhouse, Duffys and a host of others…. **
These venues are crucial for the ongoing development of popular music of all genres… it is vital that they are given the support they need to continue to thrive… please please please come and try it…
**Sadly both the Musician Pub and the Donkey became unvialble and were closed at Christmas 2024!!
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