Re: OT: The Police on Tour

[Charles Zwicky <cazwicky@earthlink.net>]

>On 2/15/07, Charles Zwicky <cazwicky@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>Tell me -- aside from dinosaur acts, what current top 10 musician/pop
>>star is famous for their musicianship?
>>http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/chart_display.jsp?g=Singles&f=The+Billboard+Hot+100
>>
>>The question is rhetorical, and I assume that you really meant 
>'virtuosity',
>>but the reality is that NOBODY CARES except other musos!!!
>
>There was a time when that wasn't true.


No, not really. For every "Gentle Giant" there was a Debbie Boone.

The reality is that every record on the charts was produced by 
talented musicians, producers, and engineers.



>>If you can convey a song with meaning, that is true musicianship.
>
>Looking at this top 100 list, I don't see too many examples of that --
>though there are quite a few I don't know.
>
>Anyway, my point wasn't to slag specific musicians -- the point is
>that the record industry concentrates almost all its money on monster
>acts these days (and ever since "Thriller") and spends far less on A&R
>and actually "developing" acts than it ever used to -- which means
>less concentration of musical quality.

Also not true. Look at the late 1970s. You would think that there 
were only 5 bands: Led Zep Arrowsmith, Skinnerd, Boston, Foreigner... 
What became of the hundreds of other bands of that era? All one needs 
do is read a few interviews with them to find out how little has 
changed.


>Something like Sting's tour IS bad for lesser musicians as it consumes
>an awful lot of people's live music budget.

Now that's true!!




-- 
...
http://www.zmix.net