Re: [microsound] white middle class music

[pelagius pelagius <pela_gius@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: "rick" <microsound@xxxxxxxxx>
>
> ...not to mention that here in the unsophisticated US, hip hop is top 40 
> music. ...also, electronic music has made a lot of progress in underground 
> circles, is the soundtrack to almost all shopping (in nyc atleast), and the 
> soundtrack to every car commercial i've seen lately.
>
> then again, maybe everyone from the states is a dumb rube like everyone on 
> this list thinks. though, i'm not sure how we phillistines managed to 
> invent hip hop and electronic music in general. must have been luck...

I think you missed my point.  I said nothing about dumb rubes or the public 
in general.  Quite the opposite - I was referring to well educated, die-hard 
music fans who happen to have blind spots or predjudices in their tastes.  
Have you never met someone with an eclectic music collection and 
encyclopedic knowledge of music but an unexplainable distaste for hip-hop?  
Or a raver who loves anything electronic but turns his nose up at guitars 
(I'm sure there are some on this list)?

I could be way off base but my impression of the rest of the world (as an 
american looking out) is that there is much more openness elsewhere and less 
of a desire to categorize and segregate.  For example, I can't imagine a 
magazine with the breadth of the Wire (spanning Derek Bailey to Missy 
Elliot) being published in the US.


> The US
> is a tremendously large country. I don't see why people think it is so bad 
> that
> some people want to escape the stress of the city and move to more pastoral
> settings.

I don't know where you got this idea from my post.  I myself live in a 
somehwat pastoral setting but my comments were mainly directed at what I see 
in LA where people sort of confine themselves to certain neighborhoods in 
the city.  I don't know what NY is like but I'd be interested to hear your 
thoughts on the subject.  Are audiences willing and eager to travel from say 
Manhattan to Williamsburg to see a show?  Are they likely to do this for a 
musician they have never seen or heard?

> Comparing the US to Europe is very much apples and oranges and yet everyone 
> on
> the list seems to act like the differences are intentional, caused by 
> correct vs incorrect decision making and aesthetic preference. There are 
> deeper causes for the way things are than perceived American tackiness...

Actually I was simply describing the situation in America as I see it.  If 
you want to discuss the underlying causes for the way US cities are built 
vs. European cities and how that effects society we can discuss US car 
culture, the way the auto companies dismantled public transportation, the 
culture of fear evidenced by gated communities, or building vertically vs. 
building horizontally.

But to get back to the original topic, what are your thoughts on why live 
music audiences are smaller in the US?  Or a better question might be: Is 
there a smaller audience for live music in the US?  Or is that a 
misconception?  It would be interesting to hear from listmembers who have 
toured.

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