[MD] Learning Point

[Matt poot]

Hi all,


I've been meaning to get to this for quite some time, and since 
procrastination has not led to anything substantial , I thought I would at 
least put in some effort here to give more detail into the very diverse 
musical sphere which exists in todays cultures.

Before discarding current music from your listening repertoire, consider the 
following.


There may seem  to be a lack of "quality" , or insert your equivalently 
important value for musical judgement , in todays popular music.   However, 
this is a facade.  The large part of the music you can tune into on radio or 
television (music videos) is very ..... commercial (for a better lack of 
wording), and is not a proper represantation of  the music scene around the 
world..

I know we have discussed such people such as brittany spears, etc., but 
rather than name names, I thought I would list some NEW genres created 
within the 20th century that have (to me at least) substance, quality, 
musical skills, lyrical skills, and many other valuable assets.  A new trend 
seems to be a fusion of any and every musical genre , from any point in 
history.


Here is a small list of genres spawned in the 20th centuryin which can be 
found many extremely technically, and otherwise skillled musicians and 
artists;

(not in alphabetical order)

World Music (a blend of anything and everything)
Hip-Hop (Grandmaster Flash, Buck65, Sage Francis, )
Rap (Tu-Pac, Mos Def,)
Rock (pink floyd, led zeppelin, the beatles, Jimi Hendrix ***
Rock & Roll (Elvis , Buddy Holly for example)
Progressive Rock (Yes , King Crimson, Alan Parsons Project, )
Jazz ( Miles Davis, Mike Murley,)
Blues (B.B. king, Otis Redding, etc.)
Funk
Electronic
Funk-Rock(Red Hot Chilli peppers, The Police(reggae)
Reggae (bob marley & the wailer for popular example)
Calypso (Harry Belafonte)
Electronic (deltron 3030,
Country ( Marty Robbins, Neko Case, Johnny Cash)
Bebop
Soul
R&B
Hardcore
Folk (Neil Young, etc.)
World Folk (celtic, african, etc.)
variable (Broken Social Scene, Bjork)
other (radiohead for some albums)
minimalist music (Phillip Glass )

I really have very little time, and this list exempts alot , but its worth a 
try.    If you have examined any of these genres thoroughly, than it is easy 
to see that there is more dynamic quality than has ever existed in the 
musical world.  there is an entire world to listen to..... and lots of 
exciting new things happening that are worthwile.

the popular radio plays about 1-5% of this selection for about 90% of the 
regular airtime, and a large part for enhancing the capital gains of the 
companies involved being the main motivation.


Commercial radio is not a viable medium for enhancing your musical 
repertoire for the most part, at this point in time (at least from my 
experience).  Commercial radio is also not a measuring stick with which you 
can accurately judge todays musical sphere.  College radios are very good at 
playing a lot of unkown music, and are a good starting point (and are ad 
free!)


as usuall,

Have to run....POOT