This Post Has No Title, Just Words And No Tune

 

 

After yesterday's brief mention of Dua Lipa and Sabrina Carpenter, the wheels started spinning. I had an idea, but I wasn't sure if I believed the premise myself. I am still not sure. But right now as I type this, I do feel strongly about it. Also, pieces like this tend to roil some people. I am fine with that as long as no one insults me with phrases like "Calm down" or "There are better things to do." As Malone said to Ness in "The Untouchables," "Yeah, there are better things to do. But I am not doing them right now." This is the place for this. If you're here, you should know that by now.

As an art form, do we make more excuses for music than any other?

 

First thought:
All it takes are three New York theater critics to trash a play and that play is toast weeks later.

I mentioned this to a friend who knows this scene more than I do. He said, "Long ago, a bad review from the NYT would kill a show. But those days are long gone. Theater critics just don’t have that power anymore." 

So I guess that is the first hole in my premise. I admit, I am not regularly discussing theater.

Next:
As for film, do we ever hear anyone defend the umpteenth Marvel film or action picture sequel, or say, something closer to home for me, any Woody Allen film of the last 25 years, with the same excuses we frequently hear for pop music?
 
How many times have some of you, myself too, made a disparaging remark about your Pop Star du Jour, to only have it met with the pat, "People hated Elvis & The Beatles back in the day. Let the kids enjoy their music." Or, "You don't have to listen to it." Rarely, if ever, do we hear a defense of the 15th film in the "Halloween" franchise, or "Fast & Furious 20" with "People hated 'Casablanca' and 'Vertigo' back in the day." 

I know I have never heard that.

Question before we go on:
All of that clamoring and fanaticism over Elvis and The Beatles and the Rolling Stones back in the day, that was only kids? Millions of fans, and yet no one in their mid to late 30s or 40s showed up at the airports or clubs? Just innocent children calling the pop music shots? 

My friend says, "Older people aren’t SUPPOSED to like what’s new. Raucous big band was sexy and dangerous. Your parents hated it."
Again I ask, was there not one adult stompin' at the savoy in 1944?
I understand the theory, but I don't buy it completely. For every 10,000 people shouting "Disco Sucks" in 1977, another 10,000 were buying the "I Love The Nightlife" 45. Were those only kids, too?

If older people aren't supposed to like what's new, what's with all the tolerance now?

Same friend offered this, "I put a pin in your comment about people NOT taking the 8th Alien movie to task? Sure they do. The last one was eviscerated. But do FANS take apart the 8th film in a franchise? Oh, gosh, if you’re a hardcore fan, absolutely. Filmmakers will tell you they receive intense feedback on every frame of their movies."

I believe at one time I could have gone up against most regarding film. Not so much now. When I was screenwriting from 1982-1988, I used to go to the movies two to three times a week, while also watching one or two at home almost every night. Me and my roommate at the time, also a screenwriter, often saw two films a day. One day in 1987, I saw four films in one day. I saw one film in the theater this year, a 70th anniversary screening of Hitchcock's "Rear Window." A home run. I don't care about blockbusters, and Marvel Universe and goofy romcoms. And all of those brilliant indie films and documentaries look just as good on my television, where the seats are more comfortable, the refreshments are cheaper and no one is looking at their phones or talking to the protagonist. 

Okay then. Maybe I know a lot less than I think I do. I told you the premise might have holes, but I am going to continue anyway.

Here is where I think I can hold court.  Or at least try to.

Music, no matter how awful or derivative, or unlistenable and cheap sounding, gets more free passes these days.

Do it yourself home recordings today are common place. There is no longer a need for a producer, or at least one person with a keen ear. Just scroll through a few pages of Brooklyn Vegan. The lower the fi, the cultier the following. 95% of that output would have been laughed out of EMI and Sun Studios 60 years ago, or sent back with a proper lashing by the Bob Ludwigs and Glyn Johnses of the 60s and 70s. Now, push a few buttons on your Apple Watch and you found your new drummer. Find a gimmick, or some Kabuki makeup, an enormous wig, and you're headlining a new raccoon friendly pop-up venue in Bushwick. Musicianship and a solid musical repertoire seems more of a turn off these days than an asset. "Yuck, a guitar solo." Music is an afterthought.

In 1988, some friends and I went to a Broadway preview of "Carrie: The Musical." We laughed at it for two hours. It closed after 16 performances, deservedly so. But I bet some people enjoyed it. Should that matter? It was crap and people said so. Cast and crew, out of a job they thought they might have for a few years. Sad, but the musical was still crap.

That won't happen with music.

Not everyone listens to as much music as we do. For some, music is the soundtrack of their workout routine, or a Motown mixed tape they can throw on at a birthday party. Their record collections consist of whatever their older brother left them before moving away, or worse, a few Christmas records and the "Funny Girl" soundtrack sitting among books and magazines in their living room. I don't believe that's who we are. I know it's not me. And after 16 years of Burning Wood, I am fairly certain it's not you. We care more. It's part of our DNA. Music means something.

I don't think it's a terrible thing to call out crap, just because it might not be crap to someone else. If you love something, who cares what anyone says? I find it hard to believe that anyone who grew up on the great music of the 20th century, is completely satisfied with a lot of the music of the 21st century. Of course, it's not all bad. That is not what I am saying. I am just feeling that people who love theater, television and film seem to tolerate the crap less, or at least they speak more freely about what they think stinks. At least that's how it is in my circles. There are always excuses when discussing music. And there is certainly more indifference when discussing music over film or television

Music, in all forms, seems to have more apologists than realists. 

Even the last remaining print mags have stopped trashing albums the way Creem, Circus, & Trouser Press used to. Mojo and Uncut will rarely give a record less than 3 1/2 stars. God knows just how much crap they get sent to listen to, so I imagine they may be thinking, why waste time. But that isn't very helpful to those who want to know what and what not to listen to? We don't want to waste time either.

And while I can never prove that a person truly doesn't like something but takes the diplomatic route for appearance sake, I do find it increasingly harder to believe that anyone who did grow up on the great artists from jazz and blues to rock, pop and soul, can sit and listen to what is being released these days without, at least secretly, thinking, "This is absolute shit." And no, I don't just mean the pop girl superstars. It's not all on the Duas, Taylors and Chappells. I mean all of it, from indie rock, pop, and punk, to hip hop and dancehall, to alt country and back. All of it. I can't be the only one who feels this way. And I feel no need to be diplomatic.

Prince stopped making good records 20 years before he died, by the way. No, really. I swear. Play those records released between 2000-2015. He is still a genius. And I miss him. But his last 15 records stink. See? That wasn't hard.

This, on the other hand, is hard. 

In early 2023, Elvis Costello performed ten shows at NYC's Gramercy Theater. Tickets were impossible and those that were lucky, had to shell out as much as $600 a ticket, if you call that lucky. Others paid a few thousand a ticket. I have audio recordings of eight of those ten shows. They are unlistenable because Elvis, a musical hero of mine, can no longer sing. It started soon after his cancer surgery. And while on certain nights since, his voice impoves a bit, his ability to sing live for any stretch of time, is limited. And I don't think it's a matter of opinion. I've been listening to music for 60 years. Am I not qualified to notice this? His singing is fucking flat! He is off most of the time. It's a struggle, a sad reality. But, ask anyone who paid $1200 and they'll tell you it was the greatest night of their lives. Good for them! But I don't have $1200 to ignore the elephant in the room. I don't love Elvis any less. As a matter of fact, I've been reluctant to write about this for a year and a half because it felt like betrayal. But how can thousands of concert attendees pretend this doesn't happen night after night? That he is still performing and still making fantastic records is the most important thing here. I just don't understand people NOT hearing it.

I know people who have trashed all Bruce Springsteen records since "Nebraska." Yes, of course, some of them will dutifully recognize "The Rising" and "Wrecking Ball," even if when pressured, couldn't hum a note off of either. These same people also think Paul McCartney's solo career ended after "Band On The Run." But these same people will praise some new indie hot shot who will be an indie "Where Is He Now" soon enough, if the moment feels right. "Gotta stay in good with kids." I have never listened to music this way. I don't have a bag full of pat answers about the music I love or don't love.

I can only speak from personal experience, and of course much of that experience comes from you, on these pages. Yes, there are some readers who will not hesitate calling some of my favorite artists of all time garbage. It happens almost every time I mention Led Zeppelin, Todd Rundgren, David Bowie, Queen, Roxy Music, Rush, The Beasties Boys, or Motorhead. That's just for starters. Yet, there are many who, even on a blog devoted to these types of discussions, will give the old "Just like what you like. Leave the kids alone. Why waste time criticizing what people like?" 

Why? 

Well, it is a case by case situation. 

First and foremost, if millions of teenagers and their parents are really digging Taylor Swift, why do anything to stop them? We need as much joy in this world as possible. Taylor Swift and The Swifties, in and of themselves, can only be a good thing. I am all for them. But that is not why Burning Wood exists. It is here to have a discussion about music, songwriting, record making, and artists that deserve air time along with artists that don't. And if you come out swinging, defending Taylor Swift because your niece loves her, but then find the time to trash Todd Rundgren and Roxy Music, well, that's the real music discussion. It's not "Who cares? Just like what you like." We are all very capable of discussing the ins and outs of music, if you are up for it. That's been the whole point of this place for the last 16 years. 

Lenny Kaye said this about The Beatles, "That still, after these many years and maddening familiarity with each of their songs, they are capable of surprise; the revealing scope and sophistication of their musical imagination; the way each personality jigsaws together for an all-too-brief decade, and then the ineveitable solo albums, individual brilliance showing how much they relied on each other to make a four-ever magic."

This will never happen again. We know that. But it's almost a guarantee that it will never even come remotely close with the casual acceptance of inferior work, just because it is easier to not care.

I want you to change my mind about Sturgill Simpson as much as I want to change your mind about Prince Buster. 

"Who cares?" won't do. Sorry.