Streaming Music

What is ‘pop music?’ Where did this distinction arise and what is it’s purpose? If it has a purpose, who does it serve?
On close examination, you see that it’s the way society absorbs a thing; the way the tiger is defanged. It is another useful illusion from society’s toolbox of illusions. All through my school years, I had to put up with this prattle about ‘ meaningful music,’ and ‘pop music.’ Oh sure, I bought into it a bit, at 1st. But one only has to question the status quo.
1st of all,  we  all know what it means, this business of ‘pop music’ and ‘ meaningful music.’ It depends a lot on what side of the fence you’re sitting on, of course. If you’re a ‘ meaningful musician,’ ‘ meaningful music’ is ‘ nice,’ and ‘pop’ music is ‘bad.’ Of course  we  all know that ‘ meaningful music’ will make you no resources. Why? Because it’s ‘ nice,’ of course, and the majority of people do not know about ‘ nice.’ They only pay for music that is ‘bad.’
Now to be fair, if you’re on the other side of this specific fence, ‘ meaningful music’ is ‘boring,’ ( that is bad) and pop music is ‘cool.’ ( That is ‘ nice ‘). Furthermore, this historically speaking, has tended to be ‘radical’ and ‘revolutionary.’
‘Serious music?’ Part of the establishment.
It is important to reflect on the political demographics implied by these distinctions in music. They are fairly obvious, when you prevent to contemplate it, but it’s exciting that most people toss these distinctions about in the absence of a second thought. From these two easy musical types, you could freely build up profiles of the listener’s politics, religion, average income and so on and so on. people do plot these demographics. Not the audiences, but the people who are in the business of sales and marketing.
Nonetheless, as you could suspect, all these demographics are bound and held in place by belief systems that are spun on half truths, exaggeration and out right fantasy.
Even ‘ meaningful ‘ musicians have allowed themselves to be saddled with ridiculous myths and caricature profiles of past composers, much to their own detriment and decline of the tradition. Most of these folks, who should know better, have been content with whatever historical spin has been handed down.
This kind of thinking has drained the important ity out of the tradition. Take just the idea that composers like Beethoven and Mozart were not actually popular until after their death. Th isn’t ion has bred a mentality that has said whatever it creates is too nice for present day audiencess and it must constant ly create for some, undefined, superior future audiences. This furthermore conveniently isolates it from any criticism of what’s going on.
In point of fact, Beethoven has been acknowledged as the biggest living composer in his own lifetime. The city of Vienna, an historically important center of culture in Europe, paid the man to live there. As far as being ‘radical’ or ‘revolutionary,’ well, let’s see;  we  have Beethoven dedicating his third symphony to the leader of the French Revolution.  we  have Hector Berlioz composing an enduring masterpiece while stoned on opium.
We have premiers of famous classical works like Bolero and the Rite of Spring that were either banned or caused a riot. This list goes on and on.
And what of this hoary chestnut that states pop music is a lesser discipline? Anyone with a musical ear could tell you that there’s been plenty of excellent ‘pop music.’ And why not? a lot of of these musician s, like Elton John, went to music school. They’re ‘ meaningful musician s.’ So why this excellent deceit? The most obvious suspect is the music business, but it’s obvious by now, that they have no idea what  they are  doing either.
No, the deeper reality is that, as long as there has been a culture in the western hemisphere, there has been a counter culture. All this business of counter culture, that supposedly began in the sixties, didn’t.
How far back does it go? Well. Richard Wagner, in his early days, has been part of a free love movement in Ger a lot of and his 1st opera has been called ‘Forbidden Love,’ and it has nothing to do with rings of power or Teutonic nymphs.
It is an opera that Wagner, later in his life, professed that he would like to forget about, and, well, we’re just not going to let him. I will deal with culture and its twin, counter culture in subsequent articles.