Musicale

While I was writing about missing simpler times the other day, I was reminded of something else I miss.

I miss music. Good, solid, creative music. Music that required genuine musical talent to produce. Music created by people so rich with talent that hearing them performing live was nearly as perfect an experience as listening to the recorded material.

I miss the days when an artist's entire album was all on the same level creatively. Each song was better than the last. These albums (later CD's of course) were months, if not years in the making, and they were unbelievable expressions of talent. I remember waiting years between the releases of some artists.

The market came to the music. The music wasn't aimed at the market. If you appreciated incredible music, your place in the demographic was unimportant. You bought the music, you listened to the music.

I was never one to have taste specific to one genre. I loved so many different kinds of music, because I appreciated artistic expression, but I adored creativity that was the product and expression of talent. People spent years honing their craft, developing skills, polishing their writing abilities.

For the serious, talented musicians, the concerts, the performances were all accessories to the music. The stars got into the spotlight because of the music they produced, not by the size of their entourages, or frequencies of covers on People magazine.

I miss music. I miss music that sounds as though it took longer than 15 minutes to create. I miss music with lyrics that are the product of educated minds, that aren't considered "lyrics" simply because the last word of each line rhymes. And I miss music that was enhanced by the studio magicians, not created by them.

Give me back my music, please?