The longevity of prog (and rock) music

The T wrote: Stool Man wrote: For an approximate idea of how today's (or yesterday's) music will be regarded in 100 years time, just consider how we currently regard the music of 100 years ago.   When was the last time you listened to Caruso? Well, Enrico was a performer, not a composer.  We (at least those in the classical world, and academia, etc) still listen to Bartok, Stravinsky, Etc, the music of 100 years ago (well, around 100 anyway). Even the bad-trend-setting Schoenberg Second Viennese school is still heard (or studied at least, as it's very close to unlistenable sometimes)

I know squat about what they teach in conservatoires these days but as far as the longevity of certain composers go, ain't those who devise the curriculum going to dictate who stands the test of time?

ExittheLemming wrote: The T wrote: Stool Man wrote: For an approximate idea of how today's (or yesterday's) music will be regarded in 100 years time, just consider how we currently regard the music of 100 years ago.   When was the last time you listened to Caruso? Well, Enrico was a performer, not a composer.  We (at least those in the classical world, and academia, etc) still listen to Bartok, Stravinsky, Etc, the music of 100 years ago (well, around 100 anyway). Even the bad-trend-setting Schoenberg Second Viennese school is still heard (or studied at least, as it's very close to unlistenable sometimes)  I know squat about what they teach in conservatoires these days but as far as the longevity of certain composers go, ain't those who devise the curriculum going to dictate who stands the test of time?

To a point. But normally what is chosen is what probably will more surely be of enough academic value to be useful for students. If you plan your curriculum on musical theory and composition around Justin Bieber I doubt classes will last too long, be too useful, or be actual classes in any way. 

...I tend to think that Prog will likely hold up better than Justin Bieber...

If the genre wasn't found dead at the time of punk & new wave hysteria, it will survive the next hundred years for sure.







Edited by Svetonio - March 19 2014 at 21:29

The Dark Elf wrote: In 100 years I doubt very much there will be music as we know it, and that would include classical, prog, rock, bluegrass, etc. Those musical genres of antiquity will be relegated to the few schools of higher learning left that include such studies as art, literature or music (literary works will be written in a variant of Internet shorthand and phonetics, with brightly colored pictures).

I doubt it.  

The Dark Elf wrote: People will be fed live-streaming pop (called "pap", a mix of tribal beats, Chinese/Hispanic/Urdu doggerel rap and droning electric rhythmic elements) directly into their cranial cortex via a chip installed at birth (that includes GPS, video capabilities and health monitor).

Isn't that pretty much what we have now?

The Dark Elf wrote: Atavachron wrote: The Dark Elf wrote: In 100 years I doubt very much there will be music as we know it, and that would include classical, prog, rock, bluegrass, etc. Those musical genres of antiquity will be relegated to the few schools of higher learning left that include such studies as art, literature or music (literary works will be written in a variant of Internet shorthand and phonetics, with brightly colored pictures). I doubt it. Why doubt it? One thing you should never do is underestimate human greed...or our amazing capacity for stupidity. The arts, already underfunded in many curricula, will eventually be defunded in schools as an unnecessary expense. Rap has all but eliminated blues, jazz and R&B in the black culture, and that trend is spreading. A century from now? No one will be able to write a grammatically correct sentence, let alone attempt a Vivaldi concerto.

Except I have no doubt a century ago people thought the same thing.   But I'm guessing your response would likely be "And they were right!!"   So I can see this exchange going in circles.   And BTW when has attempting to write a Vivaldi concerto been a benchmark of human culture?; Vivaldi was a benchmark, Vivaldi was a genius.   But there have always been and will always be far more people attempting his accomplishments and falling short.   Therefore what?   Not everyone can be a Vivaldi, sometimes not even a Mozart can be a Vivaldi.

Yes the recorded work is pllentiful. Even if it all stopped now there is more music than anyone can consume or at least the way album listeners consume that is the listen, re-listen and compare impressions 10,20, 30. 40 years ago pf the same pop songs like Topgrpahic Oceans.

Queensryche had an interesting poibt about attention spans quickening. This is indicted by something I read a while back by someone who wasn't familiar  with Pink Floyd. ... ??!... yes. Anyway he downloaded the catalogue and the next evening or so gave his opinion of the Screaming Abdabs as were as "a pretty good band with some interesting music". The whole lot downloaded, head, assimiled and opined upon inside 24 hours or so.

We've been dumbed down for years, we are supposed to be passive consumers, unthinking droids that do as we are told and not to think anything unless we have been instructed. Inspite of the pap pop, the graphically obscene yet dull rap, dance music that has no syncopation making it even easier for the half body bob up / down there is still cerebral voracity that our governments and their media cannot stem despite their most dedicated attentions. But government achieves the opposite of what it intends so often.

It may be that prog will actually be assimilated by mental appetites frustrated by the dearth of intelligent content to such an extent that box sets will be consumed like singles. But it's the meaning and significance of music in popular culture relevance that is important. Academic archiving is not popular culture (unless it intersects like The Beatles). Music defines our personal and cultural significance and human egos need that acknowledgment of appreciation.  Music was my major and I had a v. good look at it all for that perspective.

It may be that popular culture in the near future will be very divided but the prog  / classical quotient will be very underground. I went to a Stravinsky gig a while back and while I wasn't the youngest, the amount of people watching Symphony In C and Oedipus Rex were in an aging minority ( a half full town hall).

Interestingly, (to me) the popularity of Abba and '70s pop acts in pubs and discos has not decreased. Girls not even a twinkle in their old man's eyes back then are drunkenly singing Dancing Queen... bit like their mothers used to... timeless breeds odd bedfellows...  plus ca change plus c'est la memchose n'est  pas?

When you point out that we still listen to some Classic composers, its the same thing, those are the few, out of hundreds and hundreds of now forgotten composers, that are remembered. From time to time a composer get a revival, but at the same time others are slowly forgotten.

Edited by tamijo - March 20 2014 at 07:03

I dont get your point - do we have a dearth of any style ? The only style i can come up with should be Reggae, not that many good artists to chose from, and basicly only 1 is remembered.

Edited by tamijo - March 20 2014 at 07:25

ExittheLemming wrote: tamijo wrote: I dont get your point - do we have a dearth of any style ? The only style i can come up with should be Reggae, not that many good artists to chose from, and basicly only 1 is remembered. I'm not a fan and would happily admit to being pretty clueless but I know Reggae is much, much bigger than just Bob Marley Perhaps not currently but all I mean is that in the very distant future, depending on what music has been preserved and is therefore still available will determine the longevity of any art. No matter how good you think something is now (like I know you love certain Krautrock) if that is not preserved for posterity it will be forgotten. Were it not for the exhaustive field trips undertaken by the likes of composers Bartok and Kodaly throughout eastern europe before WW2 transcribing gypsy/peasant music etc that entire vocal/unwritten  tradition would have been lost forever. Just because we are in the digital age does not immunize us from the danger of losing contemporary artifacts forever. You can back up your media till you are bluetooth in the face, but the successful retrieval of data rests upon a physical and therefore perishable server.