That being said, in honor of his passing, I am sharing a couple of song requests by Matt and one from myself. Neither of us were particularly Eagles fans, although we (and I suppose I am speaking on Matt's behalf) appreciate what they are to the landscape of music and their singular talents. Additionally, Frey had a pretty significant relevance to the pop culture landscape of the 80s, so for myself, there's a mourning of that time passing.
All that aside, I'm pretty sure we may not even have bothered writing anything, but it brings to light something: We are hitting a time where an entire generation of artists- my parent's generation- are starting to pass on, and it's a generation that was part of a time in music that can never happen again.
Labels, A&R reps. press junkets, "new" discoveries that an entire nation finds out about together via music press or actual album releases, mystery, myth, mystique, "mansions on the hill"- all of those images and fantasies that drove kids so often to be in bands in the first place- we'll never see again that which occurred with such regularity almost five decades prior.
In fifteen years we may not even see artists- at least the traditional rock band/artists- who can pursue music as a full-time career, who may only be able to tour regionally, and whose music we can only download every few months when they record a couple of songs in the evenings during a 50-hour work week (an "album", as we know it even today, would seem pointless). The true rock stars might have been figuratively dead for a while, but they are literally dying in front of us today.
Finally, this tribute to Frey is not only a remembrance of a time that has passed, and an acknowledgement of what is to come- not just for those rockers we grew up with and those bands we grow with now- but also for those that actually raised us. Because now, when we hear about some artist's death, that age is no longer one that seems so far away or unfamiliar. It's an age I see every day when I see my mom and dad.
All that aside, I'm pretty sure we may not even have bothered writing anything, but it brings to light something: We are hitting a time where an entire generation of artists- my parent's generation- are starting to pass on, and it's a generation that was part of a time in music that can never happen again.
Labels, A&R reps. press junkets, "new" discoveries that an entire nation finds out about together via music press or actual album releases, mystery, myth, mystique, "mansions on the hill"- all of those images and fantasies that drove kids so often to be in bands in the first place- we'll never see again that which occurred with such regularity almost five decades prior.
In fifteen years we may not even see artists- at least the traditional rock band/artists- who can pursue music as a full-time career, who may only be able to tour regionally, and whose music we can only download every few months when they record a couple of songs in the evenings during a 50-hour work week (an "album", as we know it even today, would seem pointless). The true rock stars might have been figuratively dead for a while, but they are literally dying in front of us today.
Finally, this tribute to Frey is not only a remembrance of a time that has passed, and an acknowledgement of what is to come- not just for those rockers we grew up with and those bands we grow with now- but also for those that actually raised us. Because now, when we hear about some artist's death, that age is no longer one that seems so far away or unfamiliar. It's an age I see every day when I see my mom and dad.
-Chris
1 comment:
I'm glad my stupidity provided some inspiration. The fact that I didn't know his last name was spelled Frey can give you some indication of how into the Eagles I am. Your musings on how we experience and consume new music is spot on though.
Also, the Smuggler's Blues music video is a national treasure.
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