Make a Music Investment

I listened to an online interview with Steve Wilson from Porcupine Tree promoting their new disc “Fear of a Blank Planet”, and one of the issues it addresses is the devaluing of music in the 21^st century because of effortless and immediate access to it.

In the not too distant past Wilson says, you saved your money and bought maybe an album or a CD a month, depending on what you could afford. You would listen to the disc all the way through two times, a half a dozen times - taking time to read the liner notes and lyrics and look through the album art. If the music didn’t grab you immediately, you at least gave it some time to grow on you. Because you spent your hard earned money on it, you had a vested interest in the music.

Now he says everyone can have instant access to songs online. They hear about a band, go online and listen to 30 seconds of a song or two, or download an entire disc and if it doesn’t immediately grab their interest they delete it. The problem is that you can’t learn to appreciate the music of Frank Zappa, Radiohead or Porcupine Tree (as just a few of many, many examples), on the basis of a one-minute sound bite.

I agree, and I think this shuffle through the jukebox mentality is the result of a culture of instant gratification, which leads to a culture of instant boredom.

You can download or burn anything and get as much as you want, and now it's overload. You can't possibly invest the time needed to take in all that you have, you just want more because you can. And much of it, if taken on a whim, lacks the substance to make any lasting impact on you, so now you're bored with what you have. Unlimited choice has shortened attention spans, and now more than ever, music needs to hook people immediately. If it takes too long to sink in, the listener gets impatient or bored and moves on.

“Fear of a Blank Planet” appears in part to be addressing the fear of a loss of personality of some depth. We’re becoming a culture that doesn’t take the time to appreciate music, or any art form for that matter, which requires an investment in time, thought and reflection.

There’s always going to be music (or books, movies etc.) people just don’t like, and what’s good vs crap is simply one person’s opinion. The problem is that more and more, anything that takes some effort is not given the time needed to appreciate it. People complain that none of the music out there “today” is any good, but the majority only know what is out there based on what they are told is out there. Radio, American Idol, other media – all tell us what is “in”, or “hot”. If that’s what the latest trend is, and if we don’t like it, than we can wait and hope for the next wave or simply fall back on our old favorites. Or we can take some time to look for what else is available.

Check out free internet radio, XM Radio via DirectTV, college radio stations, or surf to web sites of your favorite artists - many of whom have released new music that you didn't know about, or have teamed with other artists to put out music that has no radio outlet. “So and so used to be with this band I liked, and then they did a CD with this other musician, who was also with this person”. Next thing you know you have three new avenues to pursue.

All this presupposes that a person wants to make the investment needed to rediscover the excitement of hearing something new. Don’t wait for it to come to you. Take the time and look for it because there is more out there than you can even imagine.

As Steve Wilson said about the current state of music in the song “The Sound of Muzak” - “One of the wonders of the world is going down. It’s going down I know. It’s one of the blunders of the world that no one cares. No one cares enough.”