”There are two kinds of music, good music, and the other kind.” Duke Ellington
Kit Walker – It has been said by many that there are two kinds of music. For various reasons. But, yes, it’s obvious, is it not? Then again, can we really objectively say this is true? Or is it all just a matter of opinion?
Right at the outset, let’s rule out the issue of taste. Your taste has nothing to do with whether music is good. We can agree, can’t we?, that there is certainly some music that is great, that you may not happen to like. Mahler comes to mind, but there are countless more examples. Obviously Mahler’s music is great music, certainly history agrees, but not everyone’s cup of tea. By the same token, there is plenty of music that is loved by many, that is obviously crap. There are so many examples of this, I’ll leave it to your imagination.
Planned Obsolescence
I am noticing that most music has become throwaway these days, like plastic bags or plastic bottles. This is the age of music as a “consumable”, use once, throw away. Move on to the next forgettable and useless piece of “music”. We are “music consumers”.
Wait a minute ! I thought music was supposed to last ! I thought you were supposed to be able to enjoy it over and over ! It’s not a cup of Starbuck’s coffee, it’s ART! Right?
But, the marketing mind craftily considers: If we make it timeless, we won’t sell as much as if we make it so people get tired of it immediately. So, for a bigger “bottom line”, let’s make it disposable. Bill Hick’s hilarious and classic rant about marketing sums it up:
http://youtu.be/Tvp97SMZc6M
True or False
Perhaps, instead of good or bad, we could say true or false. That might help clarify things a bit. True music, or false music. Real music, or imitation music. We probably have never quite thought of it in those terms, but that takes us into the territory of what is real art, real music, and what is not. Can we not draw a line somewhere?
Eternal music and temporary music. So much music now is disposable, like plastic cups, or paper towels. Planned obsolescence built in. And you are supposed to spend your “disposable income” on it. I guess disposable income is money you don’t mind throwing away on something of no value.
So in looking further, we could say that perhaps “true” art or music is that which has Truth, which is a quality of Eternity, embedded in it. As the poet John Keats wrote in his “Ode on a Grecian Urn”: “Beauty is truth, truth beauty, – that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”
The reason some art and music becomes “classic” doesn’t have anything to do with the style, (because it is not necessarily “classical music”,) how the notes are arranged, how many notes there are, whether it is complex or simple, the instruments used, or anything. It has to do with whether it has eternal value. So if music is honest, it has the truth built in. It is music that lives forever.
Eternal Music
So how do we know if a particular piece of music has eternal value? Well, one practical way to find out is to listen to it hundreds, or even thousands, of times. Is there a point where you get sick of it, and don’t want to hear it any more? If so, that could be a clue that it is not music with its roots in eternity. Continue reading . . .
SF Source Kit Walker Music Dec 2015
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