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Author Message
25 new of 189 responses total.
cloud
response 82 of 189: Mark Unseen   May 31 22:20 UTC 1999

I recently read an interesting passage by a musicologist named Edward Macan
which speculated that rock as a whole is going into decline. "the power of
rock, after all," he says, "stemmed from the power of the cultural revolution
that spawned it, a cultural revolution the likes of which we have seen only
one other time in this century-- in the early 1920s, with the birth of the
jazz age."  Wouldn't it be interesting to see rock and roll go the way of
classical music?
cyklone
response 83 of 189: Mark Unseen   Jun 1 11:57 UTC 1999

We are DEVO!
lumen
response 84 of 189: Mark Unseen   Jun 2 01:43 UTC 1999

It would seem that urban/rap music may be the next thing, since I can 
definitely see cultural undercurrents that the music expresses moving 
through society.  Black America seems to be making a push to move to 
front and center.

However, I would not discount the idea that contributions from Latin 
America will be making an even stronger presence in the future.  
Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, and Gloria Estefan seem to be reaching a 
peak (or very soon) in the mainstream.
orinoco
response 85 of 189: Mark Unseen   Jun 3 22:22 UTC 1999

I would hardly say that there has _never_ been a cultural revolution of that
sort except during the 20's and the 60's.  Culture is changing all the time.
It's easy to look back on the 1700s and lump them all together as "Classical
Music", but I imagine that back then, the 1760s and the 1790s seemed just as
musically different as the 1960s and the 1990s do today.  

carson
response 86 of 189: Mark Unseen   Jun 4 01:04 UTC 1999

(uh, it wouldn't be the first time that "black" music captured the 
nation's imagination. gospel... blues... jazz... rock 'n roll... etc.)
cloud
response 87 of 189: Mark Unseen   Jun 4 01:09 UTC 1999

I'd like to draw your attention, Daniel, to the bit of the quote that reads
"one other time in this century".  
lumen
response 88 of 189: Mark Unseen   Jun 4 06:34 UTC 1999

resp:86  But it seems to be true now probably more than ever.  I could 
be wrong.
carson
response 89 of 189: Mark Unseen   Jun 5 06:34 UTC 1999

(it's only true for us now because we're living now. the blues were
*BIG*, even while being performed by the original artists. ditto jazz:
there were clubs in Harlem that catered exclusively to "whites"; 
"blacks" weren't allowed in, except to perform. of my short list, rock
is the only one that "needed" peformers of a Caucasian origin in order
to become a mainstream hit.)
orinoco
response 90 of 189: Mark Unseen   Jun 6 22:36 UTC 1999

Thank you, cloud, you're right.  I missed that.

Carson - really?  I was under the impression that jazz only really took off
when white performers got into the act as well, in terms of popularity at
least - but I don't remember where I heard that, and it might well be wrong.
carson
response 91 of 189: Mark Unseen   Jun 7 02:39 UTC 1999

(hmm... are you thinking of the Rat Pack singing? I can't think of
anyone else myself.)
krj
response 92 of 189: Mark Unseen   Jun 8 22:23 UTC 1999

Orinoco may have missed the bit about cultural revolutions "in this 
century" in resp:82.  
 
The history of jazz is murkier than it should be to me.  
From the 1920's, the only white name which leaps out from my foggy 
brain as important is Paul Whiteman.  But this was also the beginning
of the era of mass culture, so it's not clear to me that any 
individual jazz musician had a star performer's following in this 
period.   Jazz as a style seems to have been a big part of urban 
culture in this period, though.
 
When you get to the swing/big band era, white bandleaders dominated the 
market: Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman.  
The only major black bandleaders I can think of from the period 
are Duke Ellington and Count Basie. 
The swing era is what we would recognize even today as 
popular music with a mass market, the star system, etc.
dbratman
response 93 of 189: Mark Unseen   Jun 24 22:59 UTC 1999

I find the history of jazz to be tremendously confusing, partly because
I have no real understanding of the various kinds of jazz.  Terms like
"be-bop" are just words to me.  I've probably heard some, but I 
wouldn't know that that's what I've heard.
Although I have no taste for jazz at all, I'd be willing to invest in
a good CD historical survey of the field if I could find one, just for
the sake of my cultural education.  So far all I've found is the one 
sold by BBC Music Magazine, which divides into two parts: the pre-WW2 
stuff, which all sounds alike to me, and the post-WW2 stuff, which also 
all sounds alike to me (but different from the pre-WW2 stuff).  This 
didn't help much.
krj
response 94 of 189: Mark Unseen   Jun 27 19:52 UTC 1999

I think the Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz is still in print.
This was a five LP set; I think it's been reissued on 3 CDs.
krj
response 95 of 189: Mark Unseen   Jul 13 19:42 UTC 1999

News item:  Columbia House, the music "club" owned by Sony and Time-Warner, 
is merging with online retailer CDNow.  The new entity will be 37% owned
by the two major labels.  Columbia House and CDNow will do extensive 
cross-promotion on their websites, and CDNow will get lowest-cost access
to the Sony and Time-Warner CDs.
mcnally
response 96 of 189: Mark Unseen   Jul 14 00:41 UTC 1999

  Can anyone say "anti-competitive"?  I knew you could..  So much easier
  to buy up a competitor than to squash them like a bug and run a much
  higher risk of antitrust scrutiny..

  Sony & Time-Warner don't quite make up a monopoly but put them together
  with Bertelsmann and you come pretty close.  I don't like seeing the 
  giants swallow up their potential competition.  CDNow already merged
  with MusicBlvd..  At least even Sony & Time-Warner don't have enough
  money to casually swallow Amazon (at least not at current valuation!)
krj
response 97 of 189: Mark Unseen   Nov 1 23:15 UTC 1999

News item:  The RealJukebox software program collects data on what 
music the user is playing and recording, and it reports this data 
to Real Networks along with the user's identity.   One person interviewed
in the article states this information could be subpoenaed under the 
Digital Millenium Copyright Act.
 
Every CD played on the computer is reported.  Songs found on the hard drive
are reported.  Any portable music player connected is reported.

Source: New York Times, 11/1/1999.
orinoco
response 98 of 189: Mark Unseen   Nov 2 00:10 UTC 1999

What is the Digital Millenium Copyright Act?
mcnally
response 99 of 189: Mark Unseen   Nov 2 00:37 UTC 1999

  Recent (last year) legislation that substantially increases criminal
  penalties for low-level software piracy and other intellectual property
  violations.  I'd summarize, but my recollection of it is so dire that
  I myself am convinced that I must be making it up and that nobody would
  pass such an outrageous law..

  It's about time RealMedia got slapped for the obnoxious behavior of 
  their software.  I uninstalled an early version of RealPlayer when it
  became clear to me that it was sending packets back to the company
  every time I used it -- this isn't just a new feature they added to
  their latest product (although it does sound like they're both collecting
  more information now and being even less sensitive to privacy concerns.)

  Real Networks apparently claim that their software isn't violating users'
  privacy because they don't store [all of] the information or share it with
  other companies.  I'd like to ask them exactly where they believe their
  product's behavior *does* lie on the privacy spectrum..  

  At any rate I think this is an excellent example of why closed standards
  for streaming audio and video formats are a terrible idea.  Unfortunately
  the muscle behind proprietary standards in those areas of computing is
  very strong -- you have Real[Audio/Video], Microsoft Media Player, the
  DVD formats, etc..
goose
response 100 of 189: Mark Unseen   Nov 2 16:08 UTC 1999

As soon as I get home any product by real is getting axed from my machines.
orinoco
response 101 of 189: Mark Unseen   Nov 2 21:17 UTC 1999

I guess I'm missing the point.  Why should I feel the need to hide what music
I listen to?
dbratman
response 102 of 189: Mark Unseen   Nov 2 21:41 UTC 1999

Why is it anybody's business but yours what you listen to unless you 
want to tell them?
mcnally
response 103 of 189: Mark Unseen   Nov 2 22:52 UTC 1999

  re #101:  Wow..  You *ARE* missing the point.
krj
response 104 of 189: Mark Unseen   Nov 2 23:35 UTC 1999

Today's news is that Real has issued a patch which will disable 
their reporting function.  
orinoco
response 105 of 189: Mark Unseen   Nov 2 23:42 UTC 1999

Yes, Mike, we've established that.  Would someone care to fill me in, or
should I just go on feeling dense?
lumen
response 106 of 189: Mark Unseen   Nov 4 00:05 UTC 1999

resp:101 resp:102 resp:103  There are some people for whom privacy
is a  BIG issue.  For others, it's not quite that big a deal.  I take it that 
it is important for those who wish to protect their privacy be offered  the
means to do so.

Sheesh.  Remind me that I should add the topic of privacy to the list 
of things I should avoid bringing up in discussion.

(no, of course I didn't bring it up, but I hate seeing people get so 
touchy.. reminds me of the sadism people like to inflict on some 
solicitors who are trying hard to earn a living in a polite and honest 
way)
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