Just got home from seeing Randy Bachman in concert. I feel privileged to see an amazing artist from a different period in history. Looking through the crowd at the theatre I noticed very few people my own age. To be honest I didn't even want to go an hour before leaving and would not have thought to buy $50 tickets to see a has been musician if it weren't for my wife. It's sad to think that the appreciation for that type of artist will/may be lost on future generations just like Elvis and 50's music for my generation. We like to tell ourselves that things are different this time as classic rock has more staying power due to its technical complexity compared to older music but if trends are to be used as argument then I fear that as our parents generation dies so does these musicians legacy. Just as there are fringes of people that still like Elvis, classic rock fans will pass to the side as the next Justin Bieber equivalent takes the stage. The music industry knows who drives consumption, impressionable and future nostalgia consuming youngsters.
Nostalgia is the powerful driving force when it comes to music. Just like I look back on Backstreet Boys or Britney Spears (or not) for the good old days of music (not really, though I'm sure a lot of people do), so does every generation have theirs to remember a time when life was easy, times were good, and emotions/hormones ran high. Another implicit fact of human nature. Music in its current form is so new, especially electronic technology, that it's hard to predict long term trends because the pool of knowledge to extrapolate into the future is really too small.
I won't even get started on the argument that could be made for the musical integrity/talent/quality that may or may not be lost in mainstream music. I'll let you be the judge of that one.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I appreciate the stories and memories of every person who has contributed to the collective of humankind and mourn each great loss to our species and fear we may lose these stories to the sands of time forever. Just like we hold onto trinkets as they signify a special memory, so do these people's music and words, and we must learn to accept that life is fleeting and that's what makes it special. Love.
http://ahbartsch.wixsite.com/curatorium
Aaron
