I'm not a fan of the Grammys. It's pretty safe to call it the music industry's dog and pony show. But...the whole point of the "music industry" is to exploit music (and it's makers) and to create a sellable commodity.
In the past 25 years or so, the lines between genres have blurred to the point where most people can't tell one from the other. That can be seen as good or bad, depending on one's point of view.
What bothers me most about this musical homogenization is the loss of so many traditional forms of music. Americans tend to lose sight of anything past their own front yard, so even more music goes unnoticed. This is sad in more ways than I can really convey.
A friend and I have a running "debate" about his taste in music. It's all in good fun. Tonight, we were going back and forth about musical diversity (a subject most Americans probably think means liking both pop music AND country!). I was, admittedly a tad surprised at his knowledge of Indian music. I was even more pleasantly surprised that he (a drummer) seemed to enjoy Indonesian Gamelan music!
I was first introduced to Gamelan by guitarist Robert Fripp at a lecture he gave. While his seemingly snobbish attitude regarding guitar tuning put me off, I was intrigued by his all too brief discussion on this form of music I'd never heard. So I went in search of it!
Luckily, the university library had a few records and I was even more intrigued. I found a small bit of reading material on the subject (this was way back in those prehistoric days before the interweb!). As with many forms of music, it's origin was steeped in the spiritual. For a brief intro to Gamelan, check out this video:
I've spent the past few hours watching videos on Gamelan, as well as throat singing, Bulgarian folk music (a personal fave!), and various indigenous musics from around the world.
But what of our America? What is our traditional music? Folk music? Country music? Alas, no. Those both come from Anglo-Saxon roots. Blues has much of it's roots in African music (especially the more primitive single-chord structured songs). If we, as Americans, have a traditional music, it would have to be jazz (sometimes called American classical music), right? No. Even that has roots traceable to both African and European origins.
So what is our musical heritage? Most of us cannot honestly lay claim to Native American music (beautiful as it is). Do we even have a musical heritage at all? Is this why we, as a group of people, are so nonchalant about fusing different styles? Is this, perhaps, our collective subconscious looking for a sound to call our own?
I don't have an answer. We Americans make some excellent music...we make some absolute crap too. We, as a nation, are excellent at co-opting the sounds of our ancestors and calling it our own. Most school children have probably learned "America" (aka "My Country Tis of Thee) but how many know that it's taken from the melody of British National Anthem "God Save The Queen"?
Perhaps fusion is our collective tradition. We, as a people, are made up of immigrants from all over. My family is made up of Germans, Brits & Swedes. Some branches of my family have some Swiss & Dutch mixed in. My girlfriend's family is Italian, Romanian and German (a combination that could, without doubt, create an interesting musical mix!). I, myself, have made a career of mixing old country, rock and roll and blues with punk rock, jazz, surf, swing and anything else I can think of.
Tonight the Grammys were awarded in recognition of outstanding achievement in the music industry. You may have enjoyed the show and even the music...but really, what was achieved aside from fusing one sound to another?
Take some time, if you so choose, to research whatever music you enjoy. Find it's roots. And then find the origins of those roots. Go back as far as you can. Find the oldest recordings you can. You may surprise yourself. You may discover your own music in the process. Most importantly, you may come to realize how deeply music is ingrained in all of us.
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