Tokai SA wrote
With respect...
Would it be better if our kids were banging their heads to Nickleback...G-d forbid? ?
Kids being into music by Hendrix, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Clapton, SRV, etc,etc, is a beautiful thing & we should consider ourselves lucky...IMO.
The trouble with that is the impulse is usually rooted in nostalgia, not a real love and respect for the music. It reminds us of our youth and we attach memories to it and we don't value the music for itself but as a sort of soundtrack to our memories, and maybe serves some kind of competitive urge to "prove" that the noise our parents told us to turn down is much better than the noise that we're telling our kids to turn down.
This then leads to music that is clearly derivative of that from days gone by but lacks soul. Look at what's been done with the blues in general and Jimi Hendrix in particular (I'm not going to go on about "Hendrix's legacy", it's nothing to do with him, nothing that he wanted). You can listen to bands these days who are incorporating 3rd hand Hendrix licks and stylings into everything they do. It's impressive to a point, but it all smacks too much of imitation and not enough of innovation.
The cliches persist more than the soul of the music, in fact the cliches eventually become the "art form" and by that time it's generally too late. I listened recently to a blues guitarist/singer who had all the licks, all the vocal mannerisms down and who played a pretty good harmonica too. It was only music in the sense that it was in time (mostly) and played on a scale. Everything else was just a pile of cliches - too much booze, too many women, mojos that weren't working and even characters with names like "Jack Danies". Grotesque.
It's not my bag, but give me Nickleback or Linkin Park over some Deep Purple wannabe any day of the week.
