The Disappearance of bands in popular music.

[Pareto Pragmatic]

I just wonder if we cannot regain some agency, assert a different kind of freedom beyond consumer choice, by prioritizing music's function in social practice as opposed to as a product.

That would be nice.

I ask my college students about music consumption, how they do things. Very few say they put live performance at the top of the list of what they like. Which makes me sad, just a bit. Reducing the scale might mean getting public jam sessions normalized. Coffee shops might be a place for this to happen. Or have bands put on "live karaoke" and let audience members take the mic. Make it fun, make it spontaneous, make it public.

I don't think we are going to get back to the days of the family gathering around the piano to sing together.

I do see young people value unknown or up and coming bands, since knowing the obscure does still carry some prestige in the music world. And they do seem to be aware that to support bands you should go to shows and buy their merch (directly, not at venues, since venues take a cut.) This is consumer choice, but those choices avoid the corporate structure, so "buy the album" is not something they feel is worth while to the band.

Sometimes I forget that I live in a place where a jazz trio might be playing at an asian restaurant on a week night, and that's not common. But I never forget that I live in a place that culturally is very against "disturbing others". Which means little street corner or spontaneous harmonizing in public spaces. I think a huge issue in the US is that over time we have moved from the front porch and interacting with people to the back yard deck where we are isolated. That's one example of a long term trend of disengagement with random others, and fighting against such cultural forces is very difficult.

I do consider the rise of hip hop to be a good example of music as social practice. Public music, growing out of an old urban social tradition (such as acapella singing on the stoop). Breaking combined with boom boxes, public performance. Freestyle rap battles, where crashing and burning is a possibility. Music woven into daily life with others, not just for personal consumption.

I can't think of a more modern example off the top of my head, but I think that fits with what you are talking about.

 

[Multicore]

Reducing the scale might mean getting public jam sessions normalized. Coffee shops might be a place for this to happen. Or have bands put on "live karaoke" and let audience members take the mic. Make it fun, make it spontaneous, make it public.

Yes and yes.

I don't think we are going to get back to the days of the family gathering around the piano to sing together.

Some of us might as the cost of going out rises. Unlicensed private parties, drinking, and dining clubs?

 

[Multicore]

I think a huge issue in the US is that over time we have moved from the front porch and interacting with people to the back yard deck where we are isolated. That's one example of a long term trend of disengagement with random others, and fighting against such cultural forces is very difficult.

Atomization into consumer units. Doomscrolling makes anti sociability profitable.

hip hop to be a good example of music as social practice.

Yup. Dancehall toasters are still a thing in the islands.

I watch the movie Scratch to uplift my spirits. The whole thing is on YouTube.

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

Some of us might as the cost of going out rises. Unlicensed private parties, drinking, and dining clubs?

Maybe, that would be fun!

I would say start with children, model that adults can sing for fun as part of social life. Sing along with them, sing to the pets, throw a beat on the kitchen table with hands. Then in 20 years we might have a cultural shift. That's usually what I expect cultural shifts to take, 20 years or so.

 

[Multicore]

Maybe, that would be fun!

I would say start with children, model that adults can sing for fun as part of social life. Sing along with them, sing to the pets, throw a beat on the kitchen table with hands. Then in 20 years we might have a cultural shift. That's usually what I expect cultural shifts to take, 20 years or so.

Recognize the opportunity for freedom and reify it by personal invention. Sartre would be proud of us.

 

[TLEDDY]

I was born in 1941, just before Pearl Harbor. That period when I first started to listen to music was in the Big Band Age. As time has passed, even the size of dance orchestras has shrunk. I recall attending charity balls that had around 20 piece orchestras… thinking as late as the early ´70s. Now, they are replaced by a Disc Jockey.

I have not paid attention, but the big studios had to have live musicians for the big-time talk shows. Do they still?

I think that the cost of having real, live professional musicians is the main driving force downwards. I engaged a violinist and piano accompanist for my wife’s birthday celebration; including tip for a four hour gig, over $500… but totally worth it!

I am fortunate to have the music system that satisfies my Big Band lust, but at the same time knowing that genre is fading away.

Tillman

 

[Chr1]

Supply and demand.

The market is more diverse and demand for bands (big and small) is less.

 

[Snarfie]

Rick Beato on something I had noticed, but not to the extent it has changed. Top of the charts for popular music has very nearly no bands in the charts anymore. All solo or duo singers. He discusses some of why that has become the case. It is an 8 minute video.

For instance in the top 400 streams on Spotify in the past year only 3 are bands and one of them was the Beatles. I think another was Coldplay.

Also considered were number one on the charts per week. In the past it would be nearly half bands. In the past 5 years it has only happened for 3 weeks.

Thought that was a bit interesting. Among a few musicians I know, bands don't seem to get much chance locally either. If so it is only to play for free. More common is groups of soloists getting together for the odd night on a semi-regular basis. Or doing studio sessions.

Got the impression it is signs of the times everything changes due to less or more social behaviour, technology availability of music/audio in countless forms of media like Vinyl, CD’s, streaming, downloads, social media (influencers) making or remixing music with DAW’s like Ableton Pro tools etc etc. Another issue people (working active careers ) have to devide their times such they want to have it all instantly basically they have no time. Their time span to really listening to music an absorb it around me, 28 old daughter an yes the wife 64 and many others about 1 minute. So listening to a worth while album is out of scope for most I guess.

I don’t know if that is a good or bad thing or something in between that is not up to me. What I do notice making use of above media an technology brought me to artist Bands that I really like a listen too for hours.
Basically I could be hours listening to music which is so involving starting around 18:30 an finishing when I go to bed around 23:30. When I’m done I didn’t looked for 1 second to TV or social media only absorbing music an sometimes during that time I use my Phone looking for specific background info on the internet regarding the music I’m listening to it's very relaxing.

I’m 65 an I love my old music artist bands but for me it is eminent out of boredom curiosity to find new music that really appeals to me an there is plenty as much or more than in the 70ties 80ties or 90ties. It go’s that far that if I could get hold of Multi-track files (for instance my older music) I remix the stuff such that it appeals to me for most creating instrumentals.

Curious thing is when my age group listen to my new found music (here under) most of them are still stuck in the old music it does not really appeal to them. Says something about the flexibility of my age group probably.

Some new found bands artists an sample of a self made remix.

Alfa Mist, Cory Henry, Ego Ella May, Ghostpoet, Jeff Parker, Jiro Inagaki, Little North, Mansur Brown, R+R=Now, Snark Puppy, Takuya Kuroda, Yussef Days an many more not mentioning Deep House music I enjoy mixing.

Snarfie re-edit Kid Charlemagne (instrumental)

MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.

www.mediafire.com

 

[Galliardist]

I was born in 1941, just before Pearl Harbor. That period when I first started to listen to music was in the Big Band Age. As time has passed, even the size of dance orchestras has shrunk. I recall attending charity balls that had around 20 piece orchestras… thinking as late as the early ´70s. Now, they are replaced by a Disc Jockey.

I have not paid attention, but the big studios had to have live musicians for the big-time talk shows. Do they still?

I think that the cost of having real, live professional musicians is the main driving force downwards. I engaged a violinist and piano accompanist for my wife’s birthday celebration; including tip for a four hour gig, over $500… but totally worth it!

I am fortunate to have the music system that satisfies my Big Band lust, but at the same time knowing that genre is fading away.

Tillman

Interestingly, for several years when I worked intermittently at our local conservatorium, I was able to attend a couple of big band concerts a year. It's a key part of jazz education, and long may it remain so. Commercial concerts tend to happen on a limited basis, but the musicians seem to love to do them. I got the big band music through my Mum - It was her thing, she was a dancer in the late 40's/early 50's. Large scale amateur groups of different types will tend to continue with what may be considered dead styles - some of the people I play with in our guitar society ensembles also play in a mandolin orchestra, a somewhat older style than big band and it still keeps going!

 

[Blumlein 88]

Some new found bands artists an sample of a self made remix.

Alfa Mist, Cory Henry, Ego Ella May, Ghostpoet, Jeff Parker, Jiro Inagaki, Little North, Mansur Brown, R+R=Now, Snark Puppy, Takuya Kuroda, Yussef Days an many more not mentioning Deep House music I enjoy mixing.

Snarfie re-edit Kid Charlemagne (instrumental)

MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.

www.mediafire.com

Listened to a few on your list. Most seem to be a mid 1970s to early 1980s vibe with a couple of exceptions. Which is fine of course.

 

[Snarfie]

Listened to a few on your list. Most seem to be a mid 1970s to early 1980s vibe with a couple of exceptions. Which is fine of course.

Your are wright i'm looking for Deep Grooves, Sample abuse, Harmonic & Beat matching (when making mixes) combined with some "Seductive" 70-80ties undertones it creates feromons for thought .....

 

[Sal1950]

I am fortunate to have the music system that satisfies my Big Band lust, but at the same time knowing that genre is fading away.

I got the big band music through my Mum - It was her thing, she was a dancer in the late 40's/early 50's.

Much the same here, both my parents were very much into the ball-room dancing scene of time and the big band music
that supported it. It must have been great to be able to hear so much of that played live like it was. I have a big collection of swing music
from the era along with some newer stuff. The Immersive albums put out by Bernie Dresel with the BBB, along with Gordon Goodwins - Big Phat Band are some amazing sounding modern multichannel recordings of the era's music, I very much enjoy listening to their works.

I did go see Chicago together with Earth, Wind, and Fire in Tampa last month, does that count as Big Band ? LOL

 

[RayDunzl]

No, it's singer based. With a singer that may or may not be able to carry a tune. With songs (lyrics) written by God Knows Who, with music composed by God Knows who, or stolen from God knows who, music played by God knows who, much of it of AI origin.

Yes, gotta have words to make money...

"I don't have any pretensions about being a poet. My lyrics are there for entertainment purposes only -- not to be taken internally. Some of them are truly stupid, some are slightly less stupid and few of them are sort of funny.

Apart from the snide political stuff, which I enjoy writing, the rest of the lyrics wouldn't exist at all if it weren't for the fact that we live in a society where instrumental music is irrelevant -- so if a guy expects to earn a living by providing musical entertainment for folks in the U.S.A., he'd better figure out how to do something with a human voice plopped on it."

From The Real Frank Zappa Book