Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The Preservers of American Music
Since a certain someone constantly wants to keep invoking the name of "the Boss," I think it only right to devote a post to him. I think that he is one of the great preservers of what I would consider authentic American music. It's not pop, it speaks from the soul of American folk. Along his side would be Billy Joel, Paul Simon and John Cougar Mellancamp. However, these gentlemen are rather old. Who is the modern American storyteller through song. John Mayer - perhaps. I think you should all more likely watch out for Chris Thile. He is the voice of our generation according to the BBC and I would likely agree. John Mayer is good, he's poetry smooth, and well mastered, but he has yet to speak from the voice of America. Continuum is close, but not quite there. However, I think he will also be a voice for our generation as he escapes the clutches of popular music. Ben Harper could be a modern storyteller. Perhaps. Again I think that so far Chris Thile is the best storyteller of our generation.
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5 comments:
Interesting topic. I guess you could argue that in the mass media age, the storyteller is sort of getting phased out. However, I think there will always be stories to tell, we just might be too busy watching "reality TV" and such to come up with them. Singer-songwriters also tend to be under appreciated in the popular music world and often end up categorized as "indie". I think for a singer-songwriter to speak for a generation, he/she has to be popular, but not follow the cliches of popular music. So it's kind of a tough spot. You're right, Joe, John Mayer is probably the closest we have to fitting our designations, but I also feel he hasn't quite done it yet. I'll also throw a plug in for Dave Matthews--but although I love his music and I know he speaks to many people, I don't think he's on the same level as the other guys you mention. I'm downloading Chris Thile right now, I'll let you know what I think.
Ugh.
Dave Matthews, not deserving of that title. At all. Just because he has covered one Bob Dylan song, doesn't make him deserving of anything. Blech. Thinking of Dave Matthews instantly brings on images of the people Bob Dylan signs about in "Like a Rolling Stone" (whether or not that's who he was signing about....). BUT.
Right, in the age of mass media, and a relatively socially stable time, there just is not the "space of opportunity" for a great story teller to emerge. The great story tellers of the 60/70's emerged because there was such an uncertainty for the future. Despite what is going on now, it no where near compares to what was going on then. There is no draft. The quality of life is enormous and most people enjoy it. There is just no... reason for the lack of a better word.
I think there are a lot of instrumental groups who can do a better job than a lot of artists today of expressing themselves... but that's probably of another topic...
Schluss.
I would agree that Dave Matthews is not a great storyteller. What I think Dave Matthews has done, which is unique is experimented with sounds and rhythms in American popular music. For that I am grateful. I find that he brings in many sounds that wouldn't normally be heard because he is who is.
from an interesting aspect of music alone, it is decent, but I think his "band" aspect has achieved much more than he has. And yes, his storytelling is weak at best, but giving the audience he plays for... not too important.
my mom and I had a conversation like this over the summer, where she said for the first time really in her life she was somewhat depressed that things weren't like they were back when she was growing up. not depressed, that is a stong word. but she just touched on how little impact music has and there are no new artists like the beatles or rolling stones or pink floyd (and it goes without saying - the boss) that are popular (read as: on the radio while driving) that are worth listening to. and that she really misses those days. we then put on a bunch of records and worked on a puzzle. it was fun.
Yeah, I was sort of thinking singer/songwriter more than storyteller with Dave Matthews...
Of course not having a story to tell does say something insightful...maybe a good thesis for someone who studies music.
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