-The intrinsic value of music-

I have been invited to write a column (run for the hills! ) but this last post has me wondering...do most of the readers feel the same way as this person (below) does? Because my column(s) would be be almost entirely editorial-based and not at all about anything except my opinions. Before I take virtual pen to virtual paper, I wanted to check this out with everyone here. Because, since I am not a musician, if that was what people want, well, I am not your man, to say the least. If, OTOH, you want some opinions that I can guarantee will provoke some strong reactions :roll: then I gladly accept the offer.

Seriously, is the column supposed to be opinions and commentary on the way things are (in one person's opinion) or something else entirely different. I'd like to know what people want and expect in future columns.

Bill Binkelman

Bill i for one would love to read a column by you as a long time publisher/reviewer you have a different and very valid angle on the EM scene
and as a EM composer/listener thought provoking coloumn's could be quite inspiring the first one has certanly been interesting.

Reacting to the original column entry - I agree with what was written. But the problem does not stop with music. For quite a few years the information and media revolution has fragmented our time and "data consumption" (be it books, newspapers, tv, radio, music, art, whatever....) into an accelerating spiral that we have not yet seen the end of. Which is unfortunate. Music suffers under this pressure. We have all grown into the notion that "more is better" when it comes to freedom of selection, choices, channels, ways of expressing ourselves, etc. A modern phenomenon like blogs is part of the spiral. Now everyone is a critic! And while more is written/created/composed, yet each word weighs less because you can't really single out quality stuff that easily - and then being labelled as a elitist if you try to filter out nonsense.

MP3s, blogs and the internet in general contribute to fragmentation and "instant gratification" syndromes (which translates into music consumptions, rather than music appreciation). I assume it can't be stopped, though. We have to live with it, but I don't see it improving. I very much doubt there will be an "internet 2.0" where information is quality secured. The net is a too democratic tool for that. We can't wikify everything.

Now, back to music. There is a range of musical genres I listen to; classical, electronic, pop, some jazz, some techno/dance - and one of my favourite artists is a harmonica composer/player (I maintain his offical website). But because we are offered so much music these days, and you cannot possibly explore everything to the extent it deserves, I have actually tried to actively limit myself, and no longer want to explore everything and anything to great depths. How can you keep really getting into music on a serious level if you have 50 new albums each month to wade through? I am taking a stance against the whole "more is better" culture and have unsubscribed from most of my tv channels, narrowed the kind of books and movies I spend time with, and chosen to ignore some music (rap, rock, opera, r&b to name some genres) to afford more quality time for the rest. This is not just a "I don't have time for everything" idea, it's a "I don't want time for everything" idea, if you see the difference.

And a final note, EM related as well; I have been actively promoting electronic music since the early 90s in various mass media, because I believe it is a good genre. Radio shows, press announcements, organizations, internet. My masterplan is that alot of people will learn to appreciate EM if they become exposed to it. I think many folks like EM, but they don't know it yet! Forcing exposure of EM onto people is becoming more difficult in recent times thanks to the fragmentation of culture and information, but it must continue! Vive le musique electronique!

Yes, it's always good to be optimistic. Sometimes few and small moments can be very rewarding;

One day I was broadcasting a radio show of electronic music (I had a weekly one-hour show then) and during the show a listener called it and asked what song I had played, and where he could get it.

Another time I was running a music shop and played electronic music over the PA system, and one day a guy came in from the street and asked what music I was playing. It was Jarre's Images collection, and he bought it there and then, not knowing Jarre before but got hooked on the few bars he heard.

Another time I had been interviewed in a local newspaper, and someone I knew (but who were not into EM) asked me to compile a CDR of EM for beginners, since they got curious on this topic from the interview. And then they got hooked as well, starting to buy Vangelis, Kraftwerk, Jarre and similar artists.

These moments and others proove that if exposure is given, some people will convert Of course, mass media coverage, concerts and festivals are also good, even better in fact, to remind people that there is something else than Top40 music.