It’s an endless debate, one that will persist into eternity.
The reason this argument continues is that music ultimately boils down to personal preference…what resonates with someone. Some music is deemed great because you relate to it, other music is perceived as great due to social conditioning, and some believe that mere technical brilliance equates to good music.
The issue, however, primarily stems from the latter.
The arrogance of Technically Brilliant (TB) musicians, along with their fans, is astounding. Their disdain for anything that doesn’t showcase at least 993 chords in a song is, yet again, quite remarkable.
THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO FAIL TO UNDERSTAND MUSIC!
Regrettably, they remain oblivious to anything beyond their TB lenses.
This has been an ongoing issue for quite some time.
All those polished blues runs and extravagant riffs. That flashy virtuosity, that fastest-guitar-alive nonsense. Don’t they realize that rock isn’t about becoming a fretboard virtuoso, or cramming in as many notes as possible? Or how many times one can strike the drums in a single second?
Modernism has revolved around the process of un-learning. Dismiss the trickery, the gimmicks, and the clever devices. How could anyone ever believe the sacred cow of rock could be muddled with arpeggios?
The entire essence – fools! – was about reclaiming the purity of the original vision…a wild black pig racing down the corridors of the mind.
How could you stray so far from the true message as to think that bloated complexity could be captured in layers upon layers of overdubs? Did not Little Richard, Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Redding, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eddie Cochran…the true pioneers…record entire albums with mixing and everything in a matter of three hours?
Today, bands spend a year and a half crafting an album! Studios with 1000 tracks abound. Dear God, how could they expect to catch the wild energy of youthful exuberance in those sterile environments? Hundreds of thousands of dollars spent mixing, smoothing, and perfecting what should not be perfect. Madness! Delusion! Deceived by the charming, deceitful devils.
If there was one figure Punks rallied against, it was Sir Mick. He embodied everything that had gone wrong. The love-hate relationship with Jagger reached mythical proportions.
Why Sir Mick? Surely Paul McCartney would have been a more fitting figure for criticism. But McCartney was seen as unworthy…too soft and sentimental to be a target for Punk disdain. The bogeyman turned out to be Mick Jagger.
But was he…?
The real offenders are the metal bands…metal thrash bands…and Eddie Van Halen…oh my, Eddie Van fucking Halen…what utter nonsense!
Yes, he can play the guitar at lightning speed, but what he produces…isn’t music. He has NO INTEREST in music. His sole focus is ‘playing guitar really, really fast’. The song will lack substance, the melody will fall flat, while some pretentious hairdresser performs in the most exaggerated way possible. Listen carefully, it’s all contrived, it’s all nonsense.
I suppose we return to the idea, ‘Let’s cram as many notes as humanly possible into the next five seconds. Then let’s act incredibly dramatic, so that listeners might perceive us as genuinely talented…you know, so they remain oblivious to how truly contrived we are. Then let’s indulge ourselves excessively during a break after the 17th guitar solo and the 29th drum solo…’
What I’m attempting to convey is, there’s no point in trying to explain things to these TB aficionados, metal enthusiasts, or impostors of rock…because they simply will not comprehend. They are delusional and oblivious. Who cares if there’s a soft passage in the middle of a song after nine minutes?
If you understand, you’ll know precisely what I’m referring to. If you can’t grasp this and believe I’m speaking nonsense…then you will NEVER comprehend. The most infuriating aspect is that you think you do understand.
To you who understand…you know who you are. Continue seeking out a bit of ‘realness’, not someone pretending to be….and for those who don’t get it, pay attention to the previous sentence…it would be a good start on your journey to enlightenment. And if you ignore the truth, then prepare yourself to remain:
Clueless, delusional, soulless, pompous, and so on, and so on, and so on…………….
by Wallace McTavish
