rlr@pyuxn.UUCP (Rich Rosen) (09/20/83)
"Now mind you, I'm not saying that jazz is better than rock or anything like that. I know that there are very serious rock musicians out there. Why, some of my best friends ..." 1) Rock is not as "mature" as jazz itself), rock 'n' roll was born in rebellion to the status quo. Rock has been around through the late fifties, sixties, and seventies (if anything that was produced in the early seventies could be called "music", let alone "rock" :-) ). Although its time is up, ghoulish music "industry" executives who don't know how to hawk anything else but rock seek to keep it on as "popular music" for another generation. Some of today's youth are zombified enough to believe and accept that. Hopefully, most are not. Hopefully, rock will "live on" just as big band music has lived on, while new musics have their day in the sun. 2) Rock is "limiting" to serious musicians only if they choose to make it so. If they choose to believe media imagery of what rock music is supposed to be, and avoid the genre (based on this evaluation), then of course they will either dissociate themselves from rock or play what they're told to play. If they don't accept the notion that rock is synonymous with non-creative garbage, then they can choose to be *creative rock musicians*. (Imagine that!!!) It's ironic that the rock elite sees the genre as being limited to rectal orifices in silver jumpsuits and leather gear screeching and posing while the guitarist engages in simulated masturbation, yet when someone new and innovative comes along with something completely different, they're quick to take it to their bosom and call it 'rock'. It's also ironic that so many people see jazz as THE alternative to "the mundaneness and childishness of rock", when there are (1) rock musicians who work within the genre to overcome those obstacles, and (2) non-jazz, non- rock alternatives such as Fred Frith, Tuxedomoon, the Residents, Eno, and other that have been mentioned. This is what we call a "vicious cycle". With these kinds of obstacles, it's a wonder that there's any progress in rock music, or that there's any real alternative music out there. I'm not putting down jazz, but it's symptomatic of our era to look for solutions in the past (nostalgia?) rather than taking the time to think up new ideas for the future.
davidl@tekid.UUCP (David Levadie) (09/20/83)
Q: How many Jazz critics does it take to screw in a light bulb? A: Three - One to screw it in, and two to complain that it's electric.