Pat Metheny : American Garage

SUBJECT:	Appreciation of quality jazz Back to Subjects
patsfan Apr 12 2011 at 12:10 AM	After reading the demographics on this site, it comfirms somewhat my general experience. The fans here are special. First of all, i feel a majority of people are clueless about music. Like junkfood, inferior music permeates the population. Appreciation of Pat Metheny and other exceptional jazz musicians is rare among those i encounter.What are your opinions on this?
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From:	Message:
MarcNebo Jan 21 2021 at 11:33 PM	patsfan : Check out my list of great Jazz records from 2020 at the "2020 Highlights" Post of mine. Many should help get you through 2021 until live music returns.
MarcNebo Jan 12 2021 at 10:15 PM	I went back into the archive at American Garage and you have suggested more Subjects than I have and I found this one of similar interest to me. We are living in a time where we are bombarded by mostly mindless popular music while working, shopping, television shows and programs and more. Most people have an attention span of several minutes (average time of pop song). Then we have shows like American Idol (Idle) that make stars of vocalists who have little original talent. Jazz gets very little airplay and requires dedicated listening. My father was a huge Classical music fan and loved anything J.S. Bach so I was frequently hearing great music. After a short Rock & Roll phase I got into Jazz. I have great ears for Jazz music. I have huge CD collection of all the Masters from Louis Armstrong to Pat and many that came after Pat. It has grown to be a huge part of my life and who I am today. My life would be very dull without it. It would be great to somehow communicate with you with another format to discuss our favorite Jazz musicians.
patsfan Jan 10 2021 at 8:55 PM	Marc... thanks for reviving this topic which has been a question for the past 40 years ..... why, of the dozens of people I meet and talk to about music, Metheny jazz and great modern jazz is not popular. How can this be ?. Pat’s music is the most diverse and exploratory jazz ever. . Is it that I’m just in a distinct older generation ? But obviously Pat is popular around the whole world, maybe with a small minority. Pats music has led me to really appreciate all the artists he has collaborated with. My life has been truly magnified ... Hope we were more geographically closer re concerts .. enjoy the Detroit venue, I’m looking forward to Sacramento in the fall. Cheers Marc !
MarcNebo Jan 04 2021 at 11:50 PM	patsfan : I thought this would be a great Post of your’s to dust off and reopen discussions. I believe to really appreciate Jazz you have to closely listen to the music. It’s not meant to be backround music. You have to open your ears and brain. I appreciate the technical aspects of Jazz but more important to me is how it affects me emotionally. I have experienced a full range of emotions listening to live Jazz or recordings. I believe that Pat has made a lot of his fans explore more Jazz musicians because of all the excellent Jazz musicians he has performed or recorded with and it is a long list. Thank you for starting this conversation and hopefully more will continue the post.
patsfan Apr 25 2011 at 11:35 PM	Well, TWU has been playing in my car for the past week. It’s not background music, believe me. In fact, in the confines of the car, I am really able to appreciate music.... and loud.
dsahadi Apr 24 2011 at 8:23 PM	We have an NPR station here in Phoenix that plays Jazz (KJJZ). It is well intended but I rarely listen to it. Not because I don’t appreciate the fact it is there......but it plays traditional Jazz (the greats...Miles, Trane, Hawkins, Jazz vocalists, as one of the DJs is vocalist) but the same stuff gets played over and over. I called the DJ about this and she her main goal was to introduce and educate listeners to Jazz. I think she starts 60percent of the shows with either So What or All Blues. With no disrespect intended, it turns turns that mucic into "Top 40". I can only hope that Blaze Lantana continues introduce more people to Jazz, but I can’t listen to Jazz radio here in the valley. KCSM in the Bay Area really has the right mix of old and new material the peaks interest. As a player I have pretty defined tastes about what I listen. What is interesting is that it varies greatly from what I play.
thirdwind Apr 24 2011 at 4:58 PM	Foper said, "I can never have Pat’s music on as just background music. Sometimes people put it on and they’re yip yapping away and all I want to do is tell them to shut up and listen." That’s a strong statement that explains a lot. Many’s the time I think of listening to PMG and think, "No, I don’t quite have the energy to bring to it just now." Listening to SS or TWU is an event, a gig, that will claim an hour or more. I don’t listen to it while driving to the grocery: the visuals would be too mundane. Long ago, we of Pat’s generation were fond of gathering in dim basements to audition the latest album from The Moody Blues, Zappa or Hendrix. The Beatles’ White Album, honest to God, was about as big a deal as Harry Potter! Now, with music everywhere, our attention is spread too thin. I know quite a few folks who know of PM, and listened way, way back when, but haven’t kept up with anything he’s done in the 21st century (to be fair, those odd, edgy albums like Song X and Sign of 4 may have thrown some of them off track). Denver is blessed with a jazz FM station, but they rarely play Pat. They prefer straight-shead stuff, classic and modern, some of it quite good... good enough to turn on background music, anyway.
MarcNebo Apr 22 2011 at 8:52 AM	In 2010 I saw thirty six different bands and this year will probably see over sixty. Every show has been worth my investment. Every Jazz musician I have talked to after the show or between sets has been very appreciative and nice to me. They have thanked me for attended the show and for buying their cd.
HAMBONE Apr 21 2011 at 11:49 AM	Agreed MarcNebo. That’s why we real jazz fans have to support the music,not just listen to it. It’s up to us to help keep the music alive for the future jazz fans to enjoy. Sometimes when I am attending a jazz show I think I may be spending more money than I should and could be using it for something else. But then I’ll see a show by a local high school jazz band and I know it’s all worth it.
bluepno Apr 21 2011 at 10:50 AM	Hi Marc..it is an excellent lesson in marketing and distribution of a disposable product.
MarcNebo Apr 21 2011 at 10:31 AM	"American Idol" or "America Idle", as I call it is case in point. What the masses thinks is great music seldom is. I hate seeing AI winners make millions of dollars while truly talented musicians struggle to make much less.
DCTWMT Apr 21 2011 at 8:41 AM	To sum up: Most people wouldn’t know good music if it came up and bit them in the ass. (Frank Zappa)
mugsy Apr 20 2011 at 6:57 PM	Yes, Hambone, that is exactly what i am referring to. I come across people from time to time who will have something going in the background and I will ask who it is and what CD is it, or something along those lines. Half the time, the person playing it - doesn’t even know who is on the CD! Never- mind, really listening to it with a critical ear. I do my best listening when I am home alone, with headphones on and especially when I am not distracted by any other needs (to do list, etc.). I do also "hear" music in my car, and while walking - but the listening comes when the music has got my attention and I settle down to really get into it.
HAMBONE Apr 20 2011 at 11:41 AM	I agree totally patsfan. And to take it one step further, with most, if not all, of us here being jazz fans and not just Pat Metheny fans, we are music listeners. Because to really appreciate jazz and the level of musicianship it entails,you do have to listen and not just hear it. And that’s why I think some people just don’t "get it" when the try to listen to jazz, because they can only hear it.
foper Apr 20 2011 at 10:43 AM	Mugsy… Having grown up in a home filled with music and musicians I not only listen with an analytical ear, but also an emotional one. I think I have almost every part of ‘First Circle’ memorized in my head and can sing any specific part. Even though I have listened to it 1000s of times that song still gets me to tears. I can never have Pat’s music on as just background music. Sometimes people put it on and they’re yip yapping away and all I want to do is tell them to shut up and listen. LOL. Saint Saens’ ‘Symphony #3’ has the same effect on me. But there is still some Pat music I just can’t get into no matter how many times I listen to it.
patsfan Apr 20 2011 at 1:21 AM	Yes, Mugsy,and it tends to be very passive when they ’hear’ music. They have no opinion about it, don’t listen to the quality of the notes, and could care less about talking about it. That’s the majority that i run into. When i go to someone’s house, i’ll ask what’s playing, even if i don’t like the music. When i listen to music, i appreciate the fact that the first listen isn’t always the best test. I still like to have an opinion on what i hear, and at least give it chance. A majority could care less,and if they play music,they only ’hear’ it.
mugsy Apr 19 2011 at 1:03 PM	I think that what "patsfan" may be getting at is that there is a huge difference between "listening" to music and "hearing" music. I venture to say that the majority of the people I know "hear" music but don’t take the time to "listen" to it. Case in point is this: how many times on this website (which is obviously full of special "listeners") is there a thread about a new CD in which many of us talk about how the music has grown on us over time. I have a friend who on first listen - hated Imaginary Day! After a couple of listens, he now says he likes it a lot. Pat’s music is really unique and special. It sometimes takes time to really get it - by listening attentively. There are so many nuances that you cannot get on one listen.
patsfan Apr 19 2011 at 12:12 AM	Yes, Barley, it absolutely boggles my mind !
barley Apr 16 2011 at 11:30 AM	Love it, a bog thumbs up PeeWee.
patsfan Apr 15 2011 at 11:21 PM	Hey , give PeeWee a bog thumbs up for a very rational analysis of human nature and appreciation of creativity !!!
Oystein Apr 15 2011 at 7:45 AM	Dazed and Foper said it all. I rest my case.
PeeWee Apr 15 2011 at 7:00 AM	True appreciation of excellent music is directly proportional to the degree to which reason and independent thinking manifests itself in one’s life or, inversely proportional to one’s adherence to conformity and a lack of imagination :)
patsfan Apr 14 2011 at 11:12 PM	Foper.....absolutely you took the words out of my mouth! Great post! I love the TWU analogy (by the way, I love that album more with time). Yes, our culture has been reduced to bytes of info, and it’s like swimming up a river current of garbage. I and my wife swore off TV and are happier for it Yeh, we probably miss some good stuff. Like tonight, I’m listening to Wasilewski’s Faithful , reading and sipping some great wine. I need nothing else. I feel sorry for the masses who watch and listen to all the crappy soundbites on TV.
Dazedcat Apr 14 2011 at 3:06 PM	Nice post Foper. Barly I’ll investigate the person you mentioned, thanks for the name.
foper Apr 14 2011 at 7:31 AM	LOL at Patsfan… I think you’re too new to know what the record for postings might be in a 24 hour period. Going back to the days of the ‘Basement’, it was a whirlwind. We’re not even touching the tip here. But your point was understood; but what I think you’re missing is my comments stem from Pat’s comments when he released “TWU”. He talked about how that recording was a protest against how our society has reduced our dialogue to little snippets. Our attention span is not much longer than about 2 minutes. He elaborated about the political environment and such as well, but his larger message was how we demand quick, short, meaningless answers; our media gives us the bare minimum because we can’t focus long enough to actually dig into all the facts and get truly educated. This bleeds over into music. Our music has been reduced to simplistic repetitive beats, vulgarity, single-layered melodies/harmonies, and very little artistic thought. This is driven by an audience that has very little desire to think beyond the next 4-letter word. Folks that listen to Pat (and those like him) seem to have a deeper thinking towards most things: music, current events, social studies, etc… We can hear depth in the complexities of ‘First Circle’. We go beyond just swallowing the fragments of news we are fed from Fox, CNN, and MSNBC and demand more information before accepting the conventional garbage shoveled out of those outlets. We can sit for an hour and not just listen to ‘TWU’, but also analyze it bit by bit, layer by layer. Most folks don’t have such a capacity. In the most simplistic explanation, I blame the remote control. It’s a metaphor for the creation that made us a lazy society.
zargb5 Apr 14 2011 at 7:06 AM	classical music in the UK at least used to get saturday night tv slots (remember andre previn’s shows at prime time? Jazz used to get a good look in on the BBC with oscar peterson’s show which often featured current jazz artists and even rock stars and interviews. Other than BBC radio 3 jazz input TV now is something of a desert landscape for quality music. Even satellite channels don’t much cover jazz but classical gets more of a look in on sky arts (Bartok, Beethoven and often the usual suspects)Channel 4 used to feature british conductor simon rattle for a couple of series featuring live music or documentary style programmes. The current crop of execs are ’spiritually or culturally bankrupt’ WE have hundreds of TV stations and Radio stations and its mostly full of junk (70’s 80’s 90’s pop nostalgia) classic fm which has millions of listeners never really pushes the listeners boundaries beyond slow movements and the basic popular core repertoire. It’s like the old Bruce Springsteen song ’57 channels and nothing on’
patsfan Apr 14 2011 at 12:28 AM	First of all, I’m amazed that Barley, Dazedcat and Foper can post so many interactive comments in 24 hours. A new record on PM site! Secondly, I feel I didn’t ’t phrase my subject totally accurately. If someone is avid about hip hop, or opera, I respect them. Problem is, most people are just vaguely clueless about music and won’t even listen or exhibit curiosity. For me, I’m one or the other. Most opera to me is sonically unpleasant. Some hip hop is curiously cool. Some blues music is great, but a lot of it sucks. Most people could care less, and, approach music with little or no enthusiasm. Or, that’s my experience.
bluepno Apr 13 2011 at 6:21 PM	I’m with -m, pop fodder should be fun or...remember the off button. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. If Mozart can do a theme an variations on Twinkle, twinkle little star then gaga can light the piano on fire. I’ll take jimi’s version tho.
barley Apr 13 2011 at 12:37 PM	Dazedcat, may I recommend to you (and others) the wonderful Mr. Clive James, Australian novelist/poet/jazz lover. Sure he’s an old Australian fogey, but a remarkable breath of fresh, cultural air. His memoirs (of which there are 5 volumes) make me laugh and cry, sometimes simultaneously.
foper Apr 13 2011 at 12:36 PM	Dazed... It wasn’t when the remote control was invented. Everything has a starting point.
HAMBONE Apr 13 2011 at 11:47 AM	I think the deomographics can be viewed several ways. One shows us that there is an age factor to Pat’s fans that is close to his age, which is to be expected. But it also shows there needs to be a "passing of the torch" to the next generation so the truly important things in life, like the arts and interactive activities ,are not forgotten.And I blame the mouse as much as the remote.
Dazedcat Apr 13 2011 at 10:36 AM	Sorry Foper but it’s way way deeper than the remote control.
-m Apr 13 2011 at 9:00 AM	Yes its true there is a lot of junk out there. I consume some myself on occasion. On the other hand we have Pat, we had EST, and we have Esperanza Spaulding and her Grammy. No junk in that lot. For every MacFood spot we have superb restaurants vying for top spot in their own world and some of us have a local dive where the waitress will tell you she’s been there ‘nigh on 40 years now…’ – at mine the food is fantastic and wonderfully greasy. We have youngsters coming up who eschew the latest from Princess GooGoo and her staff of studio musicians in favor of going out and starting a garage band and trying to break into the local bar scene. I know some of them myself and they’re pretty damn impressive in an aggressive post Who kind of way. So yes there is a lot of junk out there but if you don’t like it change the channel, I’m sure there’s a remote control nearby. ;)
foper Apr 13 2011 at 5:33 AM	Dazed... I blame the remote control.
barley Apr 13 2011 at 2:51 AM	Long overdue.
Dazedcat Apr 12 2011 at 9:05 PM	Barley:Grab a pitchfork (after drinks of course) and storm the Bastille with me then. It’s time, don’t you think?
barley Apr 12 2011 at 3:47 PM	Dazedcat, once again you’ve said it all in a sentence. I wish I could buy you a drink in real life!!
Dazedcat Apr 12 2011 at 2:56 PM	Everything today is junk food. A junk bankrupt culture generates tons of junk, music included. I blame the Corporate Mother whose appetite can never be satisfied. The bottom line and the resulting bonus is all that matters. Music, art, culture and life are just needless expenses.
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MarcNebo
Jan 21 2021
at 11:33 PM

patsfan : Check out my list of great Jazz records from 2020 at the "2020 Highlights" Post of mine. Many should help get you through 2021 until live music returns.

MarcNebo
Jan 12 2021
at 10:15 PM

I went back into the archive at American Garage and you have suggested more Subjects than I have and I found this one of similar interest to me. We are living in a time where we are bombarded by mostly mindless popular music while working, shopping, television shows and programs and more. Most people have an attention span of several minutes (average time of pop song). Then we have shows like American Idol (Idle) that make stars of vocalists who have little original talent. Jazz gets very little airplay and requires dedicated listening. My father was a huge Classical music fan and loved anything J.S. Bach so I was frequently hearing great music. After a short Rock & Roll phase I got into Jazz. I have great ears for Jazz music. I have huge CD collection of all the Masters from Louis Armstrong to Pat and many that came after Pat. It has grown to be a huge part of my life and who I am today. My life would be very dull without it. It would be great to somehow communicate with you with another format to discuss our favorite Jazz musicians.

patsfan
Jan 10 2021
at 8:55 PM

Marc... thanks for reviving this topic which has been a question for the past 40 years ..... why, of the dozens of people I meet and talk to about music, Metheny jazz and great modern jazz is not popular. How can this be ?. Pat’s music is the most diverse and exploratory jazz ever. . Is it that I’m just in a distinct older generation ? But obviously Pat is popular around the whole world, maybe with a small minority. Pats music has led me to really appreciate all the artists he has collaborated with. My life has been truly magnified ... Hope we were more geographically closer re concerts .. enjoy the Detroit venue, I’m looking forward to Sacramento in the fall. Cheers Marc !

MarcNebo
Jan 04 2021
at 11:50 PM

patsfan : I thought this would be a great Post of your’s to dust off and reopen discussions. I believe to really appreciate Jazz you have to closely listen to the music. It’s not meant to be backround music. You have to open your ears and brain. I appreciate the technical aspects of Jazz but more important to me is how it affects me emotionally. I have experienced a full range of emotions listening to live Jazz or recordings. I believe that Pat has made a lot of his fans explore more Jazz musicians because of all the excellent Jazz musicians he has performed or recorded with and it is a long list. Thank you for starting this conversation and hopefully more will continue the post.

patsfan
Apr 25 2011
at 11:35 PM

Well, TWU has been playing in my car for the past week. It’s not background music, believe me. In fact, in the confines of the car, I am really able to appreciate music.... and loud.

dsahadi
Apr 24 2011
at 8:23 PM

We have an NPR station here in Phoenix that plays Jazz (KJJZ). It is well intended but I rarely listen to it. Not because I don’t appreciate the fact it is there......but it plays traditional Jazz (the greats...Miles, Trane, Hawkins, Jazz vocalists, as one of the DJs is vocalist) but the same stuff gets played over and over. I called the DJ about this and she her main goal was to introduce and educate listeners to Jazz. I think she starts 60percent of the shows with either So What or All Blues. With no disrespect intended, it turns turns that mucic into "Top 40". I can only hope that Blaze Lantana continues introduce more people to Jazz, but I can’t listen to Jazz radio here in the valley. KCSM in the Bay Area really has the right mix of old and new material the peaks interest. As a player I have pretty defined tastes about what I listen. What is interesting is that it varies greatly from what I play.

thirdwind
Apr 24 2011
at 4:58 PM

Foper said, "I can never have Pat’s music on as just background music. Sometimes people put it on and they’re yip yapping away and all I want to do is tell them to shut up and listen." That’s a strong statement that explains a lot. Many’s the time I think of listening to PMG and think, "No, I don’t quite have the energy to bring to it just now." Listening to SS or TWU is an event, a gig, that will claim an hour or more. I don’t listen to it while driving to the grocery: the visuals would be too mundane. Long ago, we of Pat’s generation were fond of gathering in dim basements to audition the latest album from The Moody Blues, Zappa or Hendrix. The Beatles’ White Album, honest to God, was about as big a deal as Harry Potter! Now, with music everywhere, our attention is spread too thin. I know quite a few folks who know of PM, and listened way, way back when, but haven’t kept up with anything he’s done in the 21st century (to be fair, those odd, edgy albums like Song X and Sign of 4 may have thrown some of them off track). Denver is blessed with a jazz FM station, but they rarely play Pat. They prefer straight-shead stuff, classic and modern, some of it quite good... good enough to turn on background music, anyway.

MarcNebo
Apr 22 2011
at 8:52 AM

In 2010 I saw thirty six different bands and this year will probably see over sixty. Every show has been worth my investment. Every Jazz musician I have talked to after the show or between sets has been very appreciative and nice to me. They have thanked me for attended the show and for buying their cd.

HAMBONE
Apr 21 2011
at 11:49 AM

Agreed MarcNebo. That’s why we real jazz fans have to support the music,not just listen to it. It’s up to us to help keep the music alive for the future jazz fans to enjoy. Sometimes when I am attending a jazz show I think I may be spending more money than I should and could be using it for something else. But then I’ll see a show by a local high school jazz band and I know it’s all worth it.

bluepno
Apr 21 2011
at 10:50 AM

Hi Marc..it is an excellent lesson in marketing and distribution of a disposable product.

MarcNebo
Apr 21 2011
at 10:31 AM

"American Idol" or "America Idle", as I call it is case in point. What the masses thinks is great music seldom is. I hate seeing AI winners make millions of dollars while truly talented musicians struggle to make much less.

DCTWMT
Apr 21 2011
at 8:41 AM

To sum up: Most people wouldn’t know good music if it came up and bit them in the ass. (Frank Zappa)

mugsy
Apr 20 2011
at 6:57 PM

Yes, Hambone, that is exactly what i am referring to. I come across people from time to time who will have something going in the background and I will ask who it is and what CD is it, or something along those lines. Half the time, the person playing it - doesn’t even know who is on the CD! Never- mind, really listening to it with a critical ear. I do my best listening when I am home alone, with headphones on and especially when I am not distracted by any other needs (to do list, etc.). I do also "hear" music in my car, and while walking - but the listening comes when the music has got my attention and I settle down to really get into it.

HAMBONE
Apr 20 2011
at 11:41 AM

I agree totally patsfan. And to take it one step further, with most, if not all, of us here being jazz fans and not just Pat Metheny fans, we are music listeners. Because to really appreciate jazz and the level of musicianship it entails,you do have to listen and not just hear it. And that’s why I think some people just don’t "get it" when the try to listen to jazz, because they can only hear it.

foper
Apr 20 2011
at 10:43 AM

Mugsy… Having grown up in a home filled with music and musicians I not only listen with an analytical ear, but also an emotional one. I think I have almost every part of ‘First Circle’ memorized in my head and can sing any specific part. Even though I have listened to it 1000s of times that song still gets me to tears. I can never have Pat’s music on as just background music. Sometimes people put it on and they’re yip yapping away and all I want to do is tell them to shut up and listen. LOL. Saint Saens’ ‘Symphony #3’ has the same effect on me. But there is still some Pat music I just can’t get into no matter how many times I listen to it.

patsfan
Apr 20 2011
at 1:21 AM

Yes, Mugsy,and it tends to be very passive when they ’hear’ music. They have no opinion about it, don’t listen to the quality of the notes, and could care less about talking about it. That’s the majority that i run into. When i go to someone’s house, i’ll ask what’s playing, even if i don’t like the music. When i listen to music, i appreciate the fact that the first listen isn’t always the best test. I still like to have an opinion on what i hear, and at least give it chance. A majority could care less,and if they play music,they only ’hear’ it.

mugsy
Apr 19 2011
at 1:03 PM

I think that what "patsfan" may be getting at is that there is a huge difference between "listening" to music and "hearing" music. I venture to say that the majority of the people I know "hear" music but don’t take the time to "listen" to it. Case in point is this: how many times on this website (which is obviously full of special "listeners") is there a thread about a new CD in which many of us talk about how the music has grown on us over time. I have a friend who on first listen - hated Imaginary Day! After a couple of listens, he now says he likes it a lot. Pat’s music is really unique and special. It sometimes takes time to really get it - by listening attentively. There are so many nuances that you cannot get on one listen.

patsfan
Apr 19 2011
at 12:12 AM

Yes, Barley, it absolutely boggles my mind !

barley
Apr 16 2011
at 11:30 AM

Love it, a bog thumbs up PeeWee.

patsfan
Apr 15 2011
at 11:21 PM

Hey , give PeeWee a bog thumbs up for a very rational analysis of human nature and appreciation of creativity !!!

Oystein
Apr 15 2011
at 7:45 AM

Dazed and Foper said it all. I rest my case.

PeeWee
Apr 15 2011
at 7:00 AM

True appreciation of excellent music is directly proportional to the degree to which reason and independent thinking manifests itself in one’s life or, inversely proportional to one’s adherence to conformity and a lack of imagination :)

patsfan
Apr 14 2011
at 11:12 PM

Foper.....absolutely you took the words out of my mouth! Great post! I love the TWU analogy (by the way, I love that album more with time). Yes, our culture has been reduced to bytes of info, and it’s like swimming up a river current of garbage. I and my wife swore off TV and are happier for it Yeh, we probably miss some good stuff. Like tonight, I’m listening to Wasilewski’s Faithful , reading and sipping some great wine. I need nothing else. I feel sorry for the masses who watch and listen to all the crappy soundbites on TV.

Dazedcat
Apr 14 2011
at 3:06 PM

Nice post Foper. Barly I’ll investigate the person you mentioned, thanks for the name.

foper
Apr 14 2011
at 7:31 AM

LOL at Patsfan… I think you’re too new to know what the record for postings might be in a 24 hour period. Going back to the days of the ‘Basement’, it was a whirlwind. We’re not even touching the tip here. But your point was understood; but what I think you’re missing is my comments stem from Pat’s comments when he released “TWU”. He talked about how that recording was a protest against how our society has reduced our dialogue to little snippets. Our attention span is not much longer than about 2 minutes. He elaborated about the political environment and such as well, but his larger message was how we demand quick, short, meaningless answers; our media gives us the bare minimum because we can’t focus long enough to actually dig into all the facts and get truly educated. This bleeds over into music. Our music has been reduced to simplistic repetitive beats, vulgarity, single-layered melodies/harmonies, and very little artistic thought. This is driven by an audience that has very little desire to think beyond the next 4-letter word. Folks that listen to Pat (and those like him) seem to have a deeper thinking towards most things: music, current events, social studies, etc… We can hear depth in the complexities of ‘First Circle’. We go beyond just swallowing the fragments of news we are fed from Fox, CNN, and MSNBC and demand more information before accepting the conventional garbage shoveled out of those outlets. We can sit for an hour and not just listen to ‘TWU’, but also analyze it bit by bit, layer by layer. Most folks don’t have such a capacity. In the most simplistic explanation, I blame the remote control. It’s a metaphor for the creation that made us a lazy society.

zargb5
Apr 14 2011
at 7:06 AM

classical music in the UK at least used to get saturday night tv slots (remember andre previn’s shows at prime time? Jazz used to get a good look in on the BBC with oscar peterson’s show which often featured current jazz artists and even rock stars and interviews. Other than BBC radio 3 jazz input TV now is something of a desert landscape for quality music. Even satellite channels don’t much cover jazz but classical gets more of a look in on sky arts (Bartok, Beethoven and often the usual suspects)Channel 4 used to feature british conductor simon rattle for a couple of series featuring live music or documentary style programmes. The current crop of execs are ’spiritually or culturally bankrupt’ WE have hundreds of TV stations and Radio stations and its mostly full of junk (70’s 80’s 90’s pop nostalgia) classic fm which has millions of listeners never really pushes the listeners boundaries beyond slow movements and the basic popular core repertoire. It’s like the old Bruce Springsteen song ’57 channels and nothing on’

patsfan
Apr 14 2011
at 12:28 AM

First of all, I’m amazed that Barley, Dazedcat and Foper can post so many interactive comments in 24 hours. A new record on PM site! Secondly, I feel I didn’t ’t phrase my subject totally accurately. If someone is avid about hip hop, or opera, I respect them. Problem is, most people are just vaguely clueless about music and won’t even listen or exhibit curiosity. For me, I’m one or the other. Most opera to me is sonically unpleasant. Some hip hop is curiously cool. Some blues music is great, but a lot of it sucks. Most people could care less, and, approach music with little or no enthusiasm. Or, that’s my experience.

bluepno
Apr 13 2011
at 6:21 PM

I’m with -m, pop fodder should be fun or...remember the off button. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. If Mozart can do a theme an variations on Twinkle, twinkle little star then gaga can light the piano on fire. I’ll take jimi’s version tho.

barley
Apr 13 2011
at 12:37 PM

Dazedcat, may I recommend to you (and others) the wonderful Mr. Clive James, Australian novelist/poet/jazz lover. Sure he’s an old Australian fogey, but a remarkable breath of fresh, cultural air. His memoirs (of which there are 5 volumes) make me laugh and cry, sometimes simultaneously.

foper
Apr 13 2011
at 12:36 PM

Dazed... It wasn’t when the remote control was invented. Everything has a starting point.

HAMBONE
Apr 13 2011
at 11:47 AM

I think the deomographics can be viewed several ways. One shows us that there is an age factor to Pat’s fans that is close to his age, which is to be expected. But it also shows there needs to be a "passing of the torch" to the next generation so the truly important things in life, like the arts and interactive activities ,are not forgotten.And I blame the mouse as much as the remote.

Dazedcat
Apr 13 2011
at 10:36 AM

Sorry Foper but it’s way way deeper than the remote control.

-m
Apr 13 2011
at 9:00 AM

Yes its true there is a lot of junk out there. I consume some myself on occasion. On the other hand we have Pat, we had EST, and we have Esperanza Spaulding and her Grammy. No junk in that lot. For every MacFood spot we have superb restaurants vying for top spot in their own world and some of us have a local dive where the waitress will tell you she’s been there ‘nigh on 40 years now…’ – at mine the food is fantastic and wonderfully greasy. We have youngsters coming up who eschew the latest from Princess GooGoo and her staff of studio musicians in favor of going out and starting a garage band and trying to break into the local bar scene. I know some of them myself and they’re pretty damn impressive in an aggressive post Who kind of way. So yes there is a lot of junk out there but if you don’t like it change the channel, I’m sure there’s a remote control nearby. ;)

foper
Apr 13 2011
at 5:33 AM

Dazed... I blame the remote control.

barley
Apr 13 2011
at 2:51 AM

Long overdue.

Dazedcat
Apr 12 2011
at 9:05 PM

Barley:Grab a pitchfork (after drinks of course) and storm the Bastille with me then. It’s time, don’t you think?

barley
Apr 12 2011
at 3:47 PM

Dazedcat, once again you’ve said it all in a sentence. I wish I could buy you a drink in real life!!

Dazedcat
Apr 12 2011
at 2:56 PM

Everything today is junk food. A junk bankrupt culture generates tons of junk, music included. I blame the Corporate Mother whose appetite can never be satisfied. The bottom line and the resulting bonus is all that matters. Music, art, culture and life are just needless expenses.

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