A place for debunking the accepted critical wisdoms that have kept so much enduringly Great and relevant art in the dark, or else consigned to campy cliqueism, for decades.
Names like Lennon/McCartney, Dylan, Hendrix, Jagger/Richards, Page/Plant will not be venerated and fawned over for the sake of it. If their works are to be discussed in this Theatre, let them be discussed for their vital, illuminative qualities, their spiritual and artistic essence, without any of the 'legendary' baggage dragging the thread into cliché or mindless 'golden age' worship, and never placing the subjects in a glass case so that the discussion is stillborn.
Give new life to those works that have been dulled by their ubiquity in the classic-rock canon, let them breathe - hackneyed 'voice of a generation' type commentary will not be indulged.
On the other hand, nor will any artist and their work be dismissed or belittled simply for the sake of misguided iconoclasm that has more to do with wilful reaction to that above-mentioned ubiquity, or with media-influenced surface perceptions of the artist, than the art itself.
Too often, what they tell you to believe an artist is or stands for couldn't be further from the essence of their art, and so an entire creative arc can be dismissed on nothing more than a few preconceptions and a cursory glance.
In this place,
In this open-ended, freewheeling discussion process -- a spin-off from exchanges that have taken place in the "Currently Listening" thread -- insight will accrue and we will get somewhat close to the 'truth'.
MUSIC will be discussed with uncynical verve, innocence and excitement by your hosts and anyone else who wishes to join us when the momentum inevitably builds.
1 star away, angry mob. =]
Names like Lennon/McCartney, Dylan, Hendrix, Jagger/Richards, Page/Plant will not be venerated and fawned over for the sake of it. If their works are to be discussed in this Theatre, let them be discussed for their vital, illuminative qualities, their spiritual and artistic essence, without any of the 'legendary' baggage dragging the thread into cliché or mindless 'golden age' worship, and never placing the subjects in a glass case so that the discussion is stillborn.
Give new life to those works that have been dulled by their ubiquity in the classic-rock canon, let them breathe - hackneyed 'voice of a generation' type commentary will not be indulged.
On the other hand, nor will any artist and their work be dismissed or belittled simply for the sake of misguided iconoclasm that has more to do with wilful reaction to that above-mentioned ubiquity, or with media-influenced surface perceptions of the artist, than the art itself.
Too often, what they tell you to believe an artist is or stands for couldn't be further from the essence of their art, and so an entire creative arc can be dismissed on nothing more than a few preconceptions and a cursory glance.
In this place,
- Lynard Skynard will not be hated on just because they dissed Neil Young on record or because their fans were mostly dumb rednecks who would sodomize new wave nerds in parking-lots to the strains of 'Free Bird' back in the 80's
- The prolific and too-often overlooked brilliance of writer/producer-driven, studio-created acts such as The Archies will be acknowledged
- The pre-'65 longplaying works of The Beach Boys will not be dismissed as a few catchy hits padded by a ton of filler
- Pure-pop and bubblegum music will not be deemed an inherently lower form and dismissed out of hand - nobody will get a pass for slamming a Jonas or Britney record, or any other piece of 'mainstream' product, without a valid, thoughful comment on the music itself
- The Beatles' back-catalogue will not unquestioningly be accepted as the GOAT of all rock back-catalogues, and its flaws won't just be glossed over for the sake of contributing to the rose-tinted veneration of one important group whose importance and Greatness has been hopelessly over-inflated through the decades by a variety of conspiring factors
In this open-ended, freewheeling discussion process -- a spin-off from exchanges that have taken place in the "Currently Listening" thread -- insight will accrue and we will get somewhat close to the 'truth'.
MUSIC will be discussed with uncynical verve, innocence and excitement by your hosts and anyone else who wishes to join us when the momentum inevitably builds.
1 star away, angry mob. =]
Comment