If you are a musician and play for the music, not fame, glory, or women, then you will recall listening to a tune or piece of music and dismissing it out of hand as “commercial”. I remember.
My buddy Victor Moreno loaned us Jazz by Ken Burns and I was pleased to see that this practice goes back many decades.
Real musicians versus profiteers.
Which isn’t to say that commercial music is always without musical merit, but mostly is.
When I was jamming back in the eighties the commercial music scene was far more wholesome than today’s, and yet we true musician’s still puked at the thought of producing such crap. So we don’t.
And are happy musicians. But out there somewhere, is someone who will say, when listening to our tunage. . . “commercial”.
Final analysis and Off Every Day’s reason to be, it’s the music.
There can be a big difference between “commercial” and “popular”. Although to some they make look the same.
Make look? Is that like make book? Now I sound like Insanity.
Well, in the music industry popular IS commercial, not necessarily vice versa though.
You’re starting to sound like me? I’m ruined! I may have to make look on a new blog…
As far as “no commercial potential” (apologies to FZ), aren’t you just creating a “them vs. us (or me)” mentality? I know a lot of musicians, many who would love to make somewhat of a living off of playing music. So they need some sort of commercial success and popularity to do this. Rather than any number of odd jobs they hold. So is it better just to stay in ones studio alone and “be true to the music”? And rather than the masses hearing the tunage, it’s mostly the missus? So were John Lennon and Miles Davis sellouts? Or would you rather have had them be true and never heard their tunes?
Ah Insanity.
Not creating us vs. them, no, this is the purist downfall, the folly of defining an art form as pure at all. Like I mentioned, you listen to old commercial and it sounds pretty organic.
If there is a point I am making, it is simply that snobbery is ancient, and in the early years of commercial music, the divide became apparent very early on.
But then you factor in passion, passion for music, my music, meaning the musician’s music, and commercial falls by the wayside as meaningless anyway. I experience the satisfaction of creation, even though I follow conventional forms, and I adhere to my musical principles, not really conscious of commercial effort.
Lennon and Davis were probably sellouts, yes, to a degree, by their own admission and actions. Lennon never liked being under contract to produce, according to interviews with him.
And yeah, I would rather have never heard John Lennon then to know that he compromised his art for a few bucks, but he didn’t entirely, that’s what made him unique, his loyalty to himself, and why he hated Paul’s gum ball crap. I wouldn’t know what I was missing right? Yes, it is better to stay true to one’s music and stay in the studio.
The point I failed to make, obviously, is the musician’s disdain for flagrant transparent commercial efforts, music created only to sell, not out of any kind of passion for music or expression of self, is part of music history going back to the beginning.
Man, you are going through some crazy moods, I love it.
OK, passionate, creative musical efforts that barely see the light of day – I can handle that. I’d still like my replacement OED CD, please.
Signed, as I still put up with you.
Dear As I Still Put Up With You,
I had some more thoughts about this lovely topic, especially as I listened to so called commercial music.
Initially I guess I was saying that I was glad musicians have always been stuck up, that they have always pushed the envelope, that the purists that remain steadfast usually do so bucking the trend, they are in essence the trend setters. Funny how that works. You set the trend but get no recognition.
Looking back at the initial post, yeah, I was saying that one musician”s pure music may be another”s commercial. And you pointed out the popularity conundrum.
Then there is the juggernaut of wild abandon, that by sheer force sometimes gets attention enough to feed the inflamed. Remember, for every musician you”ve heard of, there are hundreds you haven”t, hundreds with talent, millions without. And that brings up another point, the quality of the music. Overwhelmingly of late commercial musicians don”t bother to learn music. You won”t see that as much in some genres like jazz and country, but now too, we have machines making the music, and better than most humans because the talented humans can program the machines. Most of the people I know who play totally suck, (meaning aren”t virtuoso, high caliber, unique, or creative, they may be decent enough players though) and don”t know it. When I tell them what I really think, you can guess the rest. Jockeying for a living with calculated commercial efforts is only gonna derail the juggernaut, or potential juggernaut by diluting what you really feel, or express, with other musician”s rules and regulations and the industry”s conventional wisdom. Comes down to goals as usual. Do you play to create? Express? Experiment? Eat? Entertain? Satisfy that idiot by the bar? Emulate? Be like Mike?
Final analysis,
I just dig being true to myself as a basis for creation, not following the rules as a basis for creation. I have a song about that, and probably a post too, Fool, ironically the song follows the rules, though not entirely, and that”s the point. A Fool If You Do, A Fool If You Don”t which plays to your comments about making a living. Well if you want a hit song on hit radio, there”s a rulebook that you must follow. . .
One hundred percent satisfaction guaranteed, OED CD coming at ya!
Dear Juggernaut of Wild Abandon,
I wasn’t signing my last post “As I Still Put Up With You” – I meant I wanted the CD signed. It just so happens I still put up with you. So I thought maybe I earned some street cred to have it signed.
I agree that many, if not most musicians know little about music. They can play notes and chords and write a few lyrics, but they do not know (or seemingly care) about the history of the genre in which they play, much less about other musical styles. And the consumer doesn’t care either, so it works out for everyone – except real musicians.
One of the things I like about you is that you tend to make your own rules. Although a casual observer might comment that you get carried away once in a while. You’d probably agree.
Signed,
Keep the Music Coming