I might even propose a very tentative thesis; as music collections and the devices that play them have become ever more portable I think many of us have altered our relationship with prerecorded music so that it now acts as a permanent background for our other activities. Of course this has been happening for many years, but the elevator music effect as I might term it has moved from banal corporate spaces into our most personal spaces. Once our listening was no longer ruled by radio station playlists and the discomfort related to transporting our collections, music became less a pleasure for which we were willing to make sacrifices, such schlepping tapes and CD’s with us. Furthermore, as earphones became acceptable workplace attire, we could listen discreetly to whatever we wanted whenever we wanted (within certain prescribed bounds). The result of all this being that I find myself limiting my musical selections more often than not to those pieces that do not excite, captivate, or intrigue me to the point of distraction. This makes me wonder if I might be dishonoring my musical purchases and the people who make them. Yes, this assumes that the artists in question took serious time to write, record, and advertise their output, but I will abide that assumption. After all, I prefer not to own the most commercialized and least personalized of popular music. But still, I am unsure if the changes wrought by the ability to easily transport and play my music collection are always for the best. What do you think?
I have been wrestling with similar concerns. And no doubt in our field, we do need some grading music. You provided one or both of my all time favorites: Lemonjelly and Ulrich. And I am back and forth on your concerns, the consumption of music has evolved and changed over human history (as well as genres, etc.) We seem to be living in a moment where the DJ is king/queen, as people go to clubs to dance for hours on end, no lyrics required. And on the other end, digital downloads have broken the idea of an album as single entity. We buy songs, not albums, these days. An honest admission more than an embarrassing admission, or maybe an honest indictment of our times? Everything is the background for something else these days, there is very little long term resonance or significance, here today gone tomorrow has never been more true. The sky is not falling, but I do have concerns. Yes, there might be dishonor, but musicians, artists have always been dishonored. But you have done one of the most honorable thing in these times, you have supported the artist with your purchase rather than purge. Maybe that means the bar is lowered.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, if I had the power to decide, I would find ways to encourage the album as king, not the single, and I would make sure the artist was fairly compensated. I do not have a mobile player, other than car CD player, but do you have ever increasing library on my laptop. So I am not sure how to respond, I like the idea of ease of access to music, because it has potential to reach more people, but maybe music should be harder to find, you have to earn it?