Ro-Coco Channel up your gangstar p!nk pussy.

[nfotxn]

I always talk to the cabbies on my way home from work when I close the restaurant. I've always got along with people older than myself and to this day I have trouble relating with the majority of my generation. The taxi driver last night was an interesting fella who was playing his 80s mix CD. We got talking about pop music and how it indicates the cultural zeitgeist. More and more people seem to agree with me that the sounds today indicate a culture in decline. There's an excessiveness and yet no substance to the sound or the ideas behind the music. I'm sure if I were more schooled I could co-relate this to the spoils of the Rococo movement or the final days of the Romain Empire or something. But I can't and I wish I could.

Anyhow, all the cabbies tell me that I'm wasted here. It's happened four times so far.

Comments

[jawnbc]

The same things were said about 80s music back in the 80s.

[dizzi-d.livejournal.com]

I was just about to say that :)

And 70's music before that...

[kmon.livejournal.com]

And the 90's after about '94...

And the first part of the 60's...

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

Sorry, my writing was unclear. It wasn't a decades thing, the 80s mix was merely a catalyst for the discussion on music. We talked about the disaggregation of talent, image, personality, musicianship and marketing. Maybe it's some sort of wonderful post-modern synthesis and I'm just behind the times but there was an obvious longing for authenticity that I think lots of people share.

[kmon.livejournal.com]

So you could make the comparison with the arts of decline, and could probably even do a good job of it, but would it really be a fair comparison?

Arts for the "masses" (marketing) almost always seem less evolved than arts that are on the developing edge. When the two are compared together, the music/literature/visual arts for the masses seem like a giant step backwards... or directly into fluff.

To make this even worse, yesterday's cutting edge, though ignored by it's contemporary masses, has a way of making its way into the gestalt of today... so people look back and think "Yesterday was so much more creative and meaningful," but the situation then usually wasn't any different. The Velvet Underground had no smash records during their time. Rembrandt was not recognized during his day; in fact the artist whose art becomes popular after his lifetime has become cliche. You know there is good, creative music being made right now, you listen to it... and some of it will filter to tomorrow's masses, and someone will look back and say "see how creative the 00's were, why are we so decedent?"

Besides, it's all been downhill since the popular musical focus moved off of classical and onto jazz. (kidding)

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Why do I keep forgetting this?!

[kmon.livejournal.com]

It's easy to become frustrated with the state of popular entertainment and forget...

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

You're telling me. I wish I could be so easily placated, it'd make life so much easier.

[bearzbub.livejournal.com]

Like DISCO never happened!

[clauditorium.livejournal.com]

The cabbies tell you you're drunk??