Site Repurposing

So I’ve had this site for some time, but I haven’t done much with it. I’m hoping to begin using it as a central location for various projects that I’m involved with, as well as occasional pretentious musings about the future of rock music. I’ve got a little tab up there that that will serve as a temporary home for Calle Debauche-related material, and I’ll be adding info on other projects shortly.

Pandering and meandering a path to audience approval

So I’ve been thinking about a few interrelated points lately. Partly as a reflection on this discussion between Morton Feldman and Iannis Xenakis. One is the differences that exist between pop/rock music and classical. It often seems that each allows for different types of exploration. New Music from the classical tradition is quite open in terms of tempo, structure, and dissonance. Rock music can move in the direction of intense repetition and dissonance, but with a rather limited tolerance.

This leads directly into a discussion of the relationship between artists and their audience. Well-established rock musicians can generally remain successful even while moving in more experimental and less commercial directions. The audience gives them the benefit of the doubt, but with the expectation of something more palatable to come. Musicians without that built-up reputation aren’t likely to find an audience patient enough to hear them out. Niche audiences exist for all types of music, but it is not exactly common for artists working in these spaces to achieve a more general success.

I’ve never wanted to go out of my way to play to a crowd, at least that’s what I’ve told myself. But I have written music and come up with ideas that I didn’t think would work in a rock context and would be more suited to a classical type of audience (quieter, slower, structure-less, atonal, etc.). I’m gradually getting the feeling that I may be underestimating these audiences. This same-sounding, vintage rock revival stuff that is simply played louder than before is starting to bore me a bit. I’m sure that I am not alone.

Musical Tendencies

Shouldn’t rock bands be more like jazz bands? Imagine the classic era of jazz. Think of a band name. Can you? There aren’t many to choose from; jazz groups of that era were short-lived, shifting ensembles brought together by a band leader. Each tour, each album, was a different collection of musicians. This variety led to new musical ideas and innovations.

Rock music, on the other hand, is rooted in the history of bands. Bands are expected to provide the full realization of a musician’s vision. In many cases, once the band dies, the musician’s career in the public’s attention is over. I say that any musician worth their salt could never be fully represented by a single band and that few bands should ever live as long of lives as the “classic” rock bands. Rock musicians should treat their craft more along the lines of their jazz counterparts. Constant collaboration should be encouraged. Bands shouldn’t have the expectation to last for years when they may serve their artistic purpose after an album or two. In an information age, music listeners can easily follow the creations of artists even if they are not all under the label of a single band. Hell, it might even make music consumption that much more interesting.

A Note

It wasn’t so long ago when rock music did not exist. Perhaps we will see that day return. What shall we do while we wait?