Its 1970, I know Its now a long time since then ( But just go with me on this and try to imagine.)
Its 1970, Many still nurse on their hangover's the swinging sixties lent them.
A new silver bird takes its first supersonic flight, ripping through the sky, the mighty concord. And sadly this year, the music industry was to loose one of its even mightier musical acts and assets, The Beatles.
After months of toying with the idea, back and forth they went through argument after argument. One leaving then coming back, then another. Until finally they had enough and it became a reality. That true greatness that was the fab four become no more.
John,Paul,Ringo and George had become more than brothers over their decade of their musical apprenticeship, its hard to believe looking back now, what they had achieved in just under ten years. during which they also became established musicians.
And through their craft, which brought them all over the world to becoming the biggest band on the planet, They showed how powerful music, actually could be.
Their later releases, was when the magic really started to happen, where the recording process of making records had new innovator masters at the helm of the mixing desk.
Through innovation and new techniques,with the help of the master engineers at abbey road. The Beatles, found new ways to manipulate their sound, One of them was passing their vocals through the sound chain of a keyboard. A technique a lot of young musicians today would take for granted, as they have all of these things with just a push of a button on a vst.
When the Beatles imagined a sound in their heads, they went for it until they found it and learned through that process, no corners where taken at all. Laziness was not a thing.
That was the magic, that was what made their music so amazing to listen to and why millions waited anxiously outside record stores around the world for their new releases on physical mediums.
Now, thanks to the age of Digital and sites like apples Itunes and Spotify, who in my opinion do not take care of the music industry or the folk within it like they should,
These things have become a thing of the past, that buzz and firm conversation starter has long since been taken away.
Why.? Millions upon millions of tracks, are released with ease and lost within these platforms everyday. Some songs not getting the attention they rightly deserve and nobody really owns any of it, not Even those creating it, as they are surely not getting paid fairly for their work, while theses sites make billions.
Is this a good thing, digital.?
I think not. Personally I feel It has silently destroyed the industry and the art of making music.
My motto is, if you cant touch it, you don't really have it and if you don't make it with your human hands, it don't feel human, but is just a bad imitation of such.
The seventies also brought another unique experience, which made a significant impact on the music industry.
In a little town on the isle of wight, they were getting ready to host what was to be the biggest concert ever for the time and was to make Woodstock, look like a child's birthday party.
600,000 plus people attended that festival , Looking to be blown away by the Pure energy of those playing their music live.
Acts including some of the biggest names in music,
including Jimi Hendrix and greats, The Who.
I bet that does not happen much anymore, you would be lucky enough to even see a guitarist playing a chord live onstage, not alone a mind blowing solo.
Bands and acts back then, had learned their instruments inside and out, by playing them until their fingers literally bled. for hours and hours for months , learning its feel, until they could play them to a tee.
If they needed to know a chord structure, they learned it off by heart.
There is a story about the Beatles in their early days , getting on a bus together to go visit a guy who knew a chord they didn't. They went there, the guy showed them the chord and they went home after learning it and wrote music to it.
That right there for me, is musicianship and its what makes a musician a Real musician and music, Real music.
Music That in turn, inspired many others over the years that followed, it led them on a path into music , me included.
Now days, Folk just reach for their chord packs and samples and just copy and paste into their work.? Without as much as knowing the chords not alone even learning to play them, .
Oh, how amazing is that crap. It has made music worthless.
Yes, I agree it is good that anyone now, can have a go at making music, nobody really owns art its subjective and art comes from the heart of the ones creating it.
But, picking up a brush and adding colour to the canvas with a physical stroke of the hand, is a lot different to pushing a couple of buttons on a computer to do that task.
And learning and playing an instrument is a lot different to, grabbing a file from a folder and sticking it on a track.
If you want to be an artist, at least learn how to do it physically, that in my book is what makes an artist, what they are. there is no real substitute for that.
I am sorry if you disagree, and i have had many a conversation online with folk who disagree with me ( mainly copy and paste musicians oddly enough).
But using a computer in that way is not Art, there is no true feel to it.
Call me a BOOMER all you like.
The fact is, at the end of the day, if the lights were to go out in the world, This BOOMER can still reach for an acoustic instrument and play their music, Can you.?
That is the difference, my music is physical and real.
I strongly believe, The feel is gone in now days music, no thanks to computers and all that was physical about music has gone also. Cd's, Tapes, Records they are all starting to become obsolete, through a code download.
Nobody buys music to own anymore, but why should they when they have millions of tracks at the push of..... Yes you guessed it. A button.
But it is not the same, as opening a fresh brightly coloured package, to take it from its sleeve and place it in a stereo for its first crisp play. Nothing at all.
The industry did that, this so called, soul destroying New Music industry.
So going back to my initial question.
What is missing in this New music industry, and what has changed.?
The simple answer is, EVERYTHING, including most importantly feeling.
And is it for the good of music.?
Being a long term musician myself I feel, my view is. No.
No, it has not helped, it has killed the magic that once was the art of creating music, what it actually means to those creating it and those folk who obtained experiences through listening to it. The new music industry had put in the last nail of the coffin, as music now cries for help as it slowly dies.