Dave,
Thank you for bringing this up. I apologise in advance for mentioning specific names, but here goes:
Popular music from the 40's through the 70's and into the mid eighties largely was creative, where live performances were done by the band alone. Since then, much of what is pushed onto the listening audience as the thing to buy and enjoy is not much more than a cabaret, thanks to Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and others that rely on stage dancers to entertain. The amount of actual talent varies by act. Sadly, it has been said that if it was about talent, we wouldn't know who Britney Spears is. Gino Vanelli at one time performed concerts with a live drummer, one guitarist and an Apple computer.
The age of computers, specifically sampling and artificially generated sounds affected the music industry too. How many bassists and drummers lost work to a machine? The New York jingle industry has collapsed as a result of this. Now, its just one person with Pro Tools selling a product for less and cutting out actual instrumentalists with their Korg Triton keyboard.
Cookie cutter bands like Sum 41, Blink 182 and the like (being that they follow very similar forms and sound much alike) stir an audience to a frenzy with their volume and behaviour, not necessarily their musicianship. A friend, that happens to be Vice President of A&R at a major recording label laments that there are no guitar solos in this new music because the guitarists can't play them.
I was at a performance featuring pianist Bob James, who had to stop mid-song because the audience talking volume was too loud (in the U.S.)
Sadly, in the U.S., many people consider being a Musician as being Broke, simply because Arts programs have failed here and since the radio plays for free, shouldn't the musicians that perform the music? That attitude makes me ill. Many musicians study their craft for many years longer than an Attorney for example, yet one is looked upon with esteem more than the other, simply because of the income more likely gained by the practice of law. Yet, the musician is the doctor, psychologist, mother, brother and lover that gets these audiences through good times, hard times, traffic, celebrations, worship, funerals and video games.
In conclusion, I believe through my own experience that lands outside the U.S. have a better appreciation for musicianship. The U.S. suffers because of the dumbing down of audiences as led by the media and industry, and as a result, people are starving for content and quality. That is why Alicia Keys and Norah Jones do so well- quality musicianship/ songwriting & performance- and hey! No background dancers!
My 49 cents,
Bryant
