Thank you for your response, and I didn't even think about the common folk of the past not having access to artists like Mozart. I think that has a lot to do with the "disposable" nature of music today. Anyone from a millionaire to a poor college student has access to such a vast variety of artists, that things are only "popular" for about a month, then forgotten. (Gagnam style for example)
I would almost argue that music of their time was even more disposable, just in a different way. The common artists had no way to record, and usually didn't have the education to write it down. So music lived and thrived in a live setting, but could then be forgotten. As much as I love music and the physical medium, something about that just seems so special. Every performance is different and original, and definitely improvised upon. It's been awhile since my music theory and music history classes, but we had an extensive portion on secular music during medieval and renassaince times, and it was so different; the sound was really more comparable to Bluegrass or squaredancing. Although, I dunno, I'm iffy on big picture questions about art, like this. It's fun to discuss and analyze, but I'm also afraid it will color people's opinions more than it should. In the end, it doesn't matter if an artist is a trailblazer or totally disposable, if it's entertaining or it speaks to you, it's important. I don't mind my CD case having Chopin's complete works sit next to Katy Perry's Prism. They both have their own place and importance, and I wouldn't give up either. EDIT: To clarify, I think beyond analyzing certain trends, art is much better discussed on an individual basis. I don't like terms like "disposable" because they can so easily invalidate the opinion of someone whom that song deeply touched, silly as it may seem.
Yeah man I totally get what you're saying, something disposable to me may be a most coveted artist by another. I happen to love anything, and to use your example, dont mind my Cannibal Corpse album followed by my Johnny Cash album, followed by my Deadmau5 album. It is a personal thing.
That is what I miss the most about having a physical media for music. 33,000 songs on an iPod is cool, but staring at a wall of CDs/Vinyl just has this majestic nature to it.
Moving was a bitch, but I'm glad I kept them. 4 bookcases of CDs, a rack of tapes, and several milk crates of vinyl make my favorite room in the house. I just wish I could afford a decent speaker setup beyond an old guitar amp... And hey, at least you can organize your iTunes and make it all pretty! Physical media aside, I spent a week doing that and am so glad I did.
>old guitar amp... Haha, I've been there. I think speaker set up also has a lot to do with situation. When I have a cook out at home, I have an old crappy mono speaker radio on my deck. The quality sucks, but the tinny crackle of the speaker, while enjoying a beer, and grilling some food just sets the mood perfectly. I also have a $330 Sony speaker system inside, so when I want to hear the whole piece, I still can.
Our house has a pretty open floor plan, so I've got the amp set in an end table (which it fits snug in, thankfully) with an old 100-disc CD changer and tape deck on top of it in our living room. My wife and I will load up the CD player (25 mine, 25 her, and so on) and let it play all day. The sound quality isn't bad, but it'll be so nice when we can finally get a real speaker setup. Someday, but it's hard to reconcile A) less music, better sound or B) more music, the sound we're used to. I'm not great with money.
That is a tough one, but I think I'd go with option B.
>Now I just need the audio cable replaced for the 3rd time on my record player. Damn rabbit. Kids too man. I built a $2100 laptop, only to have my 2 year old son at the time think it was a good idea to grab my large cup of orange juice all over it.
Oof, thankfully our 1-month old isn't quite a hellion yet. But this rabbit has caused us to replace 7 phone chargers, a hair straightener, several video game cords, 2 alarm clocks, and who knows what else in the past year. Seriously, never get a rabbit without severely bunny-proofing your house. Thankfully we learned.
Luckily I can't own any rodent due to the smell driving my pet python crazy, but the cat has a good time with all of my cords too. Congrats on the new baby!
Our cat goes crazy hunting down the rabbit, but thankfully he's a Flemish Giant, so he can take the cat. And thanks!
Holy shit! If I saw that thing I'd definitely think twice, as a human!