July 20, 2004
Need a Medical Term Please
What exactly do you call the condition that impels people over the age of 30 to listen to hip hop, particularly at deafening volume? There should be some sort of foundation to help these people.
Speaking of Pop culture as medical case studies, the phrase "to rock," meaning to get into rock and roll music, has always struck me as a description of a symptom of some severe mental illness: one that has discrete stages, starting at Soft Rock, then moving to Hard Rock. However, it would seem that it typically goes the other way. As youth fades, the hard rock becomes soft rock. It still brings images of poor souls in institutions, locked into some rhythmic motions ad infinitum.
I was recently at a place where there was one of these "soft rock" stations on. What a bunch of pabulum! Boring harmonies, undeveloped melodies, strained vocals, inane lyrics. These fellows, Hall and Oates, seem to be about the worst of the bunch, but I did not hear one song that was remotely interesting. Soft Rock is where the musical brain, having been fed the pseudo-stimulation of hard rock and not the real meat of the matter, goes to slumber forever.
Of course Soft Rock is not nearly as wretched as "Smooth Jazz," which is not jazz at all (and not all that smooth when played by the intonationally-challenged Kenny G). Who listens to this stuff? Why does Kenny G sell records (assuming that he does anymore. Of course no one sells records these days, the result of too many years of dull music being hyped to the public).
Posted by erik at July 20, 2004 1:13 PM | TrackBackWe like to call smooth jazz "jaz with one z"
Posted by: Mackerel Snapper at July 22, 2004 4:35 PMI know of no medical term for this syndrome. However, it seems that a certain segment of society not only "listens" to their own music, but, in a sense, "wears" it. Philosophically, I think they inhabit some kind of solipsy in which the whole world is their canvas to be painted in any way they see fit. I guess the psychological characterization of this state is psychosis. It seems to limit itself to lower "class" young men of color, or to "white" men, middle class and up, who ape this behavior.
Posted by: Mark R at July 22, 2004 10:55 AMJazz took a nearly fatal blow in the 1980's with the advent of Fusion Jazz. I never understood what was being fused together together except bad ideas and the execution of crap.
In one fell swipe Brand X and King Crimson nearly sounded the death bell for an otherwise outstanding art form.
I would encourage those who lost faith in Jazz to turn an ear towards the bands Galactic and Medeski, Martin and Wood. For the first time since Benny Goodman and Woody Herman - Jazz is a pleasure to listen to again.
Posted by: Jimbo at July 22, 2004 6:48 AMHey there, Hippy! Long time, no see.
It looks from your blog that you are still in SC, no? Be careful. You stay in that area too long and your mind gets warped. If you are still in that area , y'all should definitely come up north to visit us sometime. You know that our neo-banalist friend (B.R.) is (or was this weekend, no, I think it is next weekend) getting hitched? He is still writing that crappy music, too. I tried to talk him out of it last time we met, but you know how he is.
Anyway, thanks for commenting, visit the blog often. Visit us in person, too.
Posted by: Erik Keilholtz at July 21, 2004 11:58 PMHere is my slogan for a smooth jazz station/collective:
"Smooth jazz... we take the 'jazz' out of jazz!"
The second "jazz" word has to be accented in a corny, "jazzy" sort of way.
Posted by: Industrious Bird at July 21, 2004 11:38 PM