A Most Apropos Quote

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I stumbled across this earlier, and found it to be something that has earned it's place here amongst us. Who could disagree, and that, in the end, is what this is all about.

 

"Without music, life is a journey through a desert."

Pat Conroy

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5 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

but there is music in the desert

I've been there, trust me, there was no music.

 

JC

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9 hours ago, gmgraves said:

I simply do not understand anyone who does not have music in their life, yet I know so many people to whom music means nothing. They have no stereo system at home, and in the car, their radios are tuned to talk stations exclusively. Some of these people are very smart, accomplished people. I’ve met other people who are “tech” rich and have elaborate music rooms in their “Mac mansions” consisting of elaborate and Super expensive stereo systems, and several also have Steinway or Bosendorfer concert grand pianos costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The unfortunate part is that they have like three CDs (all ‘60’s pop), and only use them to demo to show-off to their friends how much their stereo rigs cost (otherwise, they never even turn their systems on). Ditto for their beautiful grand pianos. Some,  are fitted with Disklavier systems and are only used as furnishing for the room and are never played (those with Disklavier systems are the exception, they are used to show-off to people how much the piano costs, but otherwise, they never play it just to listen to wonderful piano performances played on a fine instrument). I don’t get it. That people can live without music is simply beyond me. - even elevator music is better than no music at all,  wouldn’t you say?

Absolutely agreed.

 

I also think that while they are technically listening to music, the vast bulk of the Millennials don't really deserve credit for doing so. Their 50 cent Apple earbuds can't reproduce anything remotely like accurate sound, they only listen while doing other things, and they are, for the most part, not even aware what an album is, they simply purchase individual songs they like. There is no time where they simply listen to music, and they honestly don't care if it sounds no better than a cheap clock radio. Even my two nieces of that generation, who have heard my system and admitted to being amazed at the sound just end up walking away and putting their ear buds back in, while doing whatever it is they choose at the time. They seem to have a near complete disconnect between hearing music reproduced well and the way they choose to access it.

 

JC

[TubeLover]

My comments were not meant to be either snobbish or close minded. Perhaps I should have said, don't have music in a meaningful way? I also don't buy your argument that "What do you think almost everyone did in the 50’s and early 60’s - they listed to AM radio that sounded like crap on transistors and car radios, and played singles."

 

In the 50's and 60's few people realized that any type of better sound was available to them, as they likely didn't even know someone with a "hifi" system. They also, therefore, did not have ready access to "albums" that the singles came from. Yes, there was the odd "record player" in large tv consoles, but those were very expensive and only found in more wealthy households.

 

Much of my comment was that I cannot help but lose respect for those who have experienced true, high quality sound and still would choose to utilize something as low end as ear buds and phones/players as their means to listen to music. It's like choosing to eat at McDonalds every day despite knowing that actual good food is served in many places, or available for home preparation. And it is not as though there are not affordable alternatives available to them, far short of the cost of putting together a high end stereo system. Some of the better portable players, and portable headphones, especially using a portable headphone amp/dac, can provide very good performance, but again, only a tiny fraction of the multitudes choose to take this path.

 

As for listening only to individual songs/singles, in the 50's-60's those were put out to create excitement about the coming album, not as  a means to an end. The current generation that only picks and chooses individual songs as the core of their music listening perverts the entire creative process of musicians and bands by failing to even consider listening to the albums they have gone to great lengths to create and produce, as an overall musical creation, beginning to end.

 

Recently, a friends son was using earbuds and a poor quality phone output to listen to music while I was visiting his dad. I mentioned to him the kinds of things that were available to greatly enhance his experience and for not a lot of money. I even went out to my car, and brought in the Pono Player, and headphones that I use while working out to let him listen, to illustrate what I meant. He looked at me and calmly said, "I guess I just don't care about it enough to bother with stuff like that, this is fine for what I do". Which sister echoed, as she walked into the conversation. Am I actually supposed to take them seriously as people who care about music in any meaningful way?

 

JC