Artists...What Happened...?

[ThatMaestroGuy]

It's certainly not the first time I've heard of such occurrences happening in the days of classical music, but it definitely made me think....

So I was driving home and decided to tune in to my local classical music radio station, and they had a block dedicated to the works of Robert Schumann. In between each piece of gorgeous piano music, the announcer went into detail about this brilliant man's life, his struggles, and his romance. Schumann was certainly troubled at times, but during his public appearances, he was quite a gentleman. I know...the point...I'm getting to it.

The radio announcer reported that Schumann dedicated the first movement of one of his pieces (I cannot recall which at the moment...I want to say Carnaval, but I'm doubtful that was it) to Chopin, and, in return, Chopin dedicated one of his ballads to Schumann. The concept really hit home with me...that was so cool! Two of the greats making music for one another! How awesome is that!?

And, again, as mentioned before, it's not the first time I've heard this being done in the days of classical music...others, too, had done this act before--they didn't have a want or need to make the piece for money (although I'm sure the pieces raked in money, anyway); no, they did it for the sheer concept of a dedicatory piece for one another in celebration and in honor of one another. And this was especially true for musicians who were aunts and uncles, parents, brothers, sisters...the whole nine-yards. So many lovely little dedications thrown out to one-another.

And so my question, really, is...what happened? No, seriously. What happened, really? Did we forget about each other? What we were making art for in the first place? I feel as though music on the radio today...heck, even musicals (which happen to be some of my favorites) are made purely for the money...or worse...to get back at someone. Revenge pieces. Art made with malice. It's simply heart-breaking to me.

I know there are still many who draw, paint, sketch, write, and otherwise make art for one another with no intention of making money from their work...yes, this I still see and know. But it seems less prevalent among musicians (at least to me and from what I see and hear). I suppose maybe I'm just looking too deeply into it, really. And I mean, hey. Make no mistake--I know the struggle. And the struggle is real. I'd gladly charge to make music, too. But...I don't know. I sometimes feel like the concept of making music purely for the enjoyment of it has been stripped away from artists the world over.

Am I thinking about this too much? Is it just me? Is this musician/gamer a total nutcase?

tl;dr: Click Here.

 

[Alexander Amnell]

   Nothing changed involving the artists themselves, but the evolution of the current popular culture created a grey area that money-hungry individuals realized they could use to exploit music in order to sell 'sex and success' the same way like-minded individuals have corrupted pretty much every other form of artistry at this point as well. People are brought up (in 1st world society at least) to believe that fame and wealth = happiness and anything less = failure, which produces a lot of screwed up people willing to write off anything necessary in order 'not to fail', which means we end up with 'artists' that are nothing but auto-tuned whores without any real talents or artistic vision (I'm not just talking about women here either.) 

   People who are true artists continue to make their works whether they become famous or not from it, (which doesn't mean they won't, but it's a lot harder to become popular off of being unique than it is to do it by whoring yourself, or else there'd be less of the latter breaking top charts every year.) People fold to peer pressure and familiarity, which means for the music industry that establishing what is 'hot' and then flooding the market with whatever that is makes bank. Since people get to this point because they are so obsessed with success and wealth it becomes only natural to make the very music peddled be about these ideals. So a song about being as 'flawless and bright as a diamond' or 'pseudo-love songs focusing exclusively on the physical' and other songs with no substance beyond celebrating making it 'big' through sex, spending or violence crop up like weeds all over the place. 

   There are plenty of awesome songs out there that you can tell are being made first and foremost for the sake of the song itself and not just as a means to make the maximum money possible, you just don't need to look for them among the top charts lists, because while some songs like that make it up there, a lot of them never do. It isn't artists that have been changing, it's the culture that they are born in. 

 

[CWells]

I share Aleanders thoughts on this. Money is just that annoying thing dictating what gets attention. Just look at how much gets spend for a spot at the superbowl, for example. The purists/humble ones are easily shoved into the nearest closet while the green stuff has its way with people. Influencing, stuck in a pot in which we are dependent on the green soup, trying to keeep the pot wet and not run dry...-rambles incoherently-

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

yeah, it was all because we were made to believe that huge amounts of money (that you cannot really spend in your lifetime) = success and happiness... when people ask you about your job, the next question is almost always, "how much do you earn?"... people spend too much time worrying about money that they forget to live life...


I really like old songs and specially classical music, they have substance that the newer generation songs and music doesn't...

 

[Kaelan]

I feel as though music on the radio today...heck, even musicals (which happen to be some of my favorites) are made purely for the money...

Well, there's your problem. You're looking for music on the radio. That's like looking for journalism on Fox news. You're looking in the wrong place. In reality, musical diversity is larger today than it's ever been before, you just have to try a little harder to find good artists because there's more artists in general. The top 10 charts of the pop industry are not the place to start!

A few of my favorite artists, most still making music today:

Spoiler

K-Rino - Solitary Confinement




Canibus - Star Trip




Epica - Cry for the Moon




Arkona - In My Land




Opeth - Porcelain Heart




Nightwish - The Siren




Michiru Yamane - In Just a Moment's Time




Kaskade - I Feel Like




Flight Facilities - Crave You




OceanLab - If I Could Fly




Andy Caldwell - Don't You Love Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgW0L2x7pYA

 

[CrypticCuddler]

Well, there's your problem. You're looking for music on the radio. That's like looking for journalism on Fox news.

@Kaelan, so much truth in that statement! 

Most things mainstream wont have a lot of variety to them and in today's day and age, people in the music business are scrambling to shine above the other 80 million musicians. 

There are just more people trying to make money with music, which means to some, more competition and whelp, when you have that, it all becomes one 

big circus. 

Make lots of CDs XD 

 

[Scinaya]

I think actually nothing happened. Some people have been full of grudge always. There is a great amount of plays and novels written poking fun on other playwrights and other writers or philosophers even from the antique... If I remember right Da Vinci and Michelangelo definitely did not fancy each other, even though both were leading the return to classic human depiction and both were likely gay (not that it much does anything here, just one would think it'd be a chance to pull home together). Some artists luckily were more in friendly terms and I think this is still true!

We see plenty of bands doing covers from each other and dedicating songs to their inspiration. Artists in graphic field name other only few decades older artists as their icons and so on. Negative news are just the thing. They sell, they are reported, they are what media thinks interests people.

Worry not, I think world is the same. But nothing wrong in trying to press to get more positive side out and paid attention to. :> Let's hope it will rise a bit again.

EDIT: So yeah... Basically what Kaelan said. Except I think this is vastly applicable to all the media almost. XD Pffft... Who even had heard that Morocco announced a new law making them one of the leading countries in human rights? In one day, they surpassed legalwise even many western democraties, which is a huge positive thing and would deserve a place in foreign headlines. But nope. Mostly negative news spread. While side railing a wee bit here... I think this is what is going on with art. Nothing actually with artists, but with the media we are fed with.

 

[primeless]

Art, as one of many conceptions, may be sown as a tool to talk or tell something. Human being needs to tell things to other humans. Needs to comunicate their feelings (as we are a zoo politicon, as Platón said, a social beast) to the rest of the human being (or at last, the part of the humang bein that the artist care about).

In Spain, historically speacking, we have the Siglo de Oro ("Golden Century") where art grow as its best (Cervantes is one of our famousest writers). And they comunicate their love, but their hates too. Specially interesting is the case of both Gongora and Quevedo. Both of them poetry writers who hates each others in the deepest of their heart. 

From this "writing war", we spanish can read, now a days, some of the greatest writings in our history, including some of them pointing each other as lyers or plagiarism, but done with incredible good taste and forms, so they can insult each others in public (even in front of the queen, with out her noticing it!).

Se yea, im agree that art is being used to comunicate some hate out there (specially RAP or Hip Hop in USA). But i think that that happened all the time, not just now. 

In the other hand, we have some kind of censorship or auto-censorship in the paste few centuries. Now a Days, u can talk about anithing u wish, so the hate/sex/violence art no longer needs to be tricky. It can be brutal and directed to the point. The artist just need to warn about it before playing the song. No need to be a gentellman here, so why be one of them?

Mi thoughts: as in the rest of the aspects of the live, there are people who love art, and people who love money made by art. Its your choice to listen to one or another, but, yes, money is a constant out there and may corrupt anithing it touches.

Well, thats all. Sorry for the long post, and for the bad englis. I'm traying my best.