[[email protected]]

On Sunday, January 6, 2013 3:45:55 PM UTC-5, Soundhaspriority wrote:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...86P0R820120726



Bob Morein

(310) 237-6511

Interesting articles. I haven't slogged through the scientific article yet, but the reuters one offers an interesting spin. As someone who grew up with the Beatles and the rather sophisticated "progressive rock" music of the 70s (not ALL of us were listening to Disco!!!:-), I always found that much of the popular music that followed (punk rock, metal, hip hop, and some other forms) is kind of "dumbed down", musically and lyrically. Bands like the Beatles, Yes, Hendrix, Tull, Genesis, etc., had a lot of sophistication in their music, most of the band members were accomplished musicians with a broad pallette. Much of the pop music that followed (with notable exceptions of course) was rather simple in musical arrangements, melodies, and lyrics. So yeah, I can go along with some of the tenets in the article. So it goes, things change. The world is much different now than it was 20-30 years ago.

I found the Erik Satie reference most interesting. Indeed, that kind of background-musak music has been around for a long time it seems. Some music serves as a background filler, some requires and deserves active listening. As a musician and recorder, I prefer to focus on the latter, but each has its place in our society I suppose.