Watch Frontline Tonight.

[Phantom Engineer]

The PBS show Frontline tonight is called "The Way The Music Died." An examination of the music industry and how screwed up it is. Could be good. Take notes, there will be a test.

[MadDog1981]

I try to avoid PBS as much as humanly possible.

[Phantom Engineer]

MadDog1981 said:

I try to avoid PBS as much as humanly possible.

Hey that's great, then I suggest you don't watch it. But I will anyway.

[BobJohnson]

MadDog1981 said:

I try to avoid PBS as much as humanly possible.

So you just admitted you like crap? PBS is the only humane station around. Only sophisticated stuff on that channel.

[MadDog1981]

You can find anything PBS does on any other channel with cable these days. Chances are it's also done better and in a more entertaining way. I'll stick to my History Channel programs.

[mightyjack]

Well, Now I feel like putting a bullet in my brain.

Intereting show but for me, depressing as hell. I understand logically that it's a business. But music used to be a living breathing beauiful entity within me, then the "Biz" turned it into a nightmare.

Watching that numbed me, literally left me numb.

Oh, and as or PBS: After Hollywood butchered their stab at making a Chee & Leaphorn movie (Nice boom-mic... IN THE DESERT!), PBS took their turn and has done a BRILLIANT job adapting the Tony Hillerman novels. I thank them for that.

[Unsavory]

I don't know if there's a reason to get too upset. I didn't see the special myself, but I can't imagine that there isn't music out there that's as artistically driven as ever. I find a lot of current music to be progressive, fresh and sometimes very inspiring.A lot of the music I listen to can be very emotional at times, and that's still the most important thing for music to have in my opinion.

[mightyjack]

What the program showed was a lot of what goes on behind the scene's. I didn't get depressed because of the quality but because of the buisness side of it.

Here's the artist who want to create art, who wants to express herself. But there's all this crap about what's commercial and yadda, yada, yadda. In Nashville they disect every word in a lyric, rape your vision until they have this nice polished radio friendly product.

They frikin' turn you into a eunuch.

But I'm not bitter

How's the song go "I fought the law and the law won"

Screw my integrity. It didn't mean a damn thing! Bottom line Josh, is that to make your art you need money. If I could afford to go in the studio and give away my music for free I would. But I have no green and without it I have to have some kind of backing or support, without that I simply can't record anymore.

[Unsavory]

Well, I probably shouldn't have gotten into a conversation when I didn't understand where you were coming from. Still, a lot of the stuff I listen to isn't even close to radio friendly. Many of my favorite songs run 8-12 minutes long and have very few or no lyrics. The lyrics that are there tend to be poetic and difficult to interpret without some thought.

That's the kind of music I like.

[mightyjack]

The problem is, I'm just a rock n' roll guy. I don't know what it's like for the progressive artists, do they have a network of support? I'd think that they'd have to because their music isn't real commercial, their not ever going to be bringing in tons of money. So a recording company isn't counting on a large return.

But if your making rock, you gotta be commercially viable. You got to fit or they'll make you fit or they'll kick you to the curb.

It's a painful subject.

[Unsavory]

I really don't know how it works to be honest. I'd love to be able to have a good conversation about it, but as much as I love music, I just don't know enough about it to sound halfway competent.

[BobJohnson]

Forrest said:

Um.........................Overdrawn At the Memory Bank....sophisticated? I rest my case.

Um.....................................Ken Burn's Civil War, Ken Burn's Jazz, Ken Burn's New York, Manor House, Colonial House. I rest my case.

What is missing from music these days is the energy and joy that many great rockers possesed. I listen to all these rockers today and all they do is whine. Rappers, the same as well, I can understand talking about the streets but they can talk about good stuff and insprirational stuff too (isn't that what music is supposed to be? uplifting?). And music has gotten too serious, we don't need people screaming to the top of their lungs, singing like they have their balls in a vice grip, talking about depression and hate when they are rich and famous, What's to hate and be unhappy about? Music needs to loosen it's belt and be more like the old days, The band Jet is a perfect example, joyful music.

[Mr. Atari]

MightyJack said:

The problem is, I'm just a rock n' roll guy. I don't know what it's like for the progressive artists, do they have a network of support? I'd think that they'd have to because their music isn't real commercial, their not ever going to be bringing in tons of money. So a recording company isn't counting on a large return.

But if your making rock, you gotta be commercially viable. You got to fit or they'll make you fit or they'll kick you to the curb.

It's a painful subject.

MJ, I feel your pain. I tried to make it as a studio musician for a couple years. Even that is all politics and who you know. The best musicians in Nash Vegas are waiting tables at TGIFriday's, while suck-ups get the calls from the producers.

As a rock & roller, you basically have 2 options these days. Tour your ever-loving ass off like Dave Matthews or Phish and build a base of frat-boy fans. Or write the hit single that will sell 500,000 albums and make you the next one-hit wonder who can't sell a follow-up album to save your life. There's really no in between.

[Phantom Engineer]

I agree with MightyJack, the realities of the music biz are kind of numbing. Of course the record industry was always about making money but with the major labels being owned by bloodless mega-corporations it’s more cutthroat than ever. I don’t want to start a political debate and I know I’ll regret saying this but the republicans changed the laws allowing corporations to own more radio stations in a market which squeezes out the independents and just makes radio more homogenous. But I did think the show was pretty well done. Even David Crosby, who is often full of crap had some good insights.

[donmac]

I was disappointed by the program (BTW, I always PVR Frontline). Although it hit some good points here and there, it really was disappointing in its presentation.

For instance, a retread band like Velvet Revolver (mix 1 part STP, 3 parts G'N'R, and bake halfway) is hardly an example of great artists out there. And Sarah Hudson, although I liked her personally (especially her Cher impression), didn't have any really good songs for me to believe her as this up-and-coming talent being locked-out by the system.

Plus the guy from Rolling Stone who said the only innovation in the last 25 years was Rap doesn't know what the hell he is talking about. Because he completely ignores the great "college rock" that was produced in the '80s and early '90s (now called either Classic Alternative or Alternative Gold), while I think the rise of Gangsta Rap/Hip-Hop is one of the many things that's wrong with the music industry today.

The only one who was right on was David Crosby (of all people) who was completely right about how the music companies are now mostly big corporations who don't know a thing about music, while in the past they were smaller companies run by people who loved music. (This is also the same thing that's wrong with the film industry, substituting "movie" in for "music"). Also I think it should have had a little more on the negative effects of eMpTyV and its emphasis on looks over musical talent that has lead to the good-looking, but talentless bunch that dominates the Top-40 these days.

So, as a Frontline fan, I thought this episode could've used more interviews with other people to get its investigation a bit more focused.