Mike Leghorn thus:

>Maybe my problem is that I hear too much.  That's one of the hazards
>of being a classical music fan.  Nevertheless, Don's point is well taken.
>I know that if I were more familiar with some of today's pop music, I would
>appreciate it more.  I emphasize here, SOME of today's pop music.  There's
>still a lot of music being played today which is utterly appalling to my
>ears, and could not possibly bare any relevance me as music.

But that isn't unique to pop music -- though I wholeheartedly agree with
Mike's overall thrust.  Throughout history a wide variety of crappy music
has been written -- not much of it has lasted to be handed down, for which
we are supposed to be grateful (though I could start another whole thread
here by opining that I would like the chance to make my own decision as to
whether the music is worth preserving).

For the last few years I have become more and more fascinated by the music
of composers to whom nobody seems to listen any longer.  As I have dug
deeper and deeper, I have discovered some absolute gems -- and a whole
passel of 'also rans'.  I strikes me that what Mike is saying is that
he finds some value in some of the music he is exposed to by force of
circumstance rather than choice.  I suspect the same has always been true,
whether Danes listening to the music of Truid Aagesen in sixteenth century
Copenhagen, or Victorian Londoners listening to the music of Henry Balfour
Gardiner.  What is different today, to be sure, is the ubiquitous nature
of music in our daily lives (oops -- may have resparked a 'muzac' thread
here!) and the fact that the industry has grown to a point at which
musicians of even mediocre talent can make a living with sufficient
marketing and commercial hype.  This means there is a lot more music that
doesn't make 'the grade' as far as something that might last is concerned
-- but I agree with Mike that we cannot afford to discount the likes of
Carlos Santana (whom I saw in Virgina a year or so ago) or, indeed, Rick
Wakeman, Mark Knopfler, Alan Parsons --- the list could go on and on --
but I shan't!

Tim Mahon
Cheltenham, Gloucesterhsire
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