Klarinet Archive - Posting 001117.txt from 2000/10

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Ouch! (OT)B
Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2000 12:19:21 -0400

At 09:02 AM 10/22/2000 -0700, Bill Wright wrote:
> <><> I feel that some of the people out there are fantastic
>musicians [snip]
>but they aren't ARTISTS! THAT'S where I think the primary distinction
>lies.
>
>
> I've posted this before, but.... I'm convinced that many 'less
>artistic' pop performers who aim for teenage audiences 'dumb down' their
>music on purpose. Why? In order that their target audiences can
>identify and can imagine *themselves* as performer-heroes. "I could do
>that, if only I was at the right place at the right time."
> Patricia Smith's statement about moral values in performing is a
>different situation, about which I agree. The lyrics that she condemns
>are, in fact, *statements of intent*, not *artistic portrayals*.
>Freedom of speech protects them, of course; but I don't allow them to
>enter my living space.
>
Actually, I see this from another perspective. I think of these performers
as "performance artists" rather than musicians. Their on-stage shows
consist of a great deal of posturing and special effects, resulting in a
very engaging spectacle, but very little that could be construed as music.
There are, of course, performers all across the spectum with varying mixes
of music and performance art, and they appeal to different audiences. The
ones who merely seek attention with bombast and gutter language are the
ones who at least are smart enough to realize that they have no real talent
but can make a few bucks appealing to the lowest common denominator.

Bill Hausmann bhausmann1@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://homepages.go.com/~zoot14/zoot14.html
Essexville, MI 48732 ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

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