Why is it that when you remove the narrative element from music most people no longer "get it"? Why aren't jazz and classical records selling like they used to? Why are there so many insipid television programs showcasing vocalists with more makeup than talent who for the most part aren't even writing their own material? And do I really have to endure the awful wailing of these infantile, shit-talking plastic icons every time I turn on the radio? Typically with some ridiculous electronic backdrop as a place-holder for a backing band...? What happened to the instruments? What is happening to the American music fan?
A combination of cynic and sociologist in me blames it on the following:
1. The half-assed education we receive in this country. Only the wealthy receive a healthy dose of art, literature and music in school. The rest of us went to public schools where those programs were the first to be cut when the economy took a downturn.
2. The infantilization of the public by the media. Does anyone actually become an adult anymore? A point in life at which we have achieved some level of balance and maturity? No... we get older but remain fat, stupid and selfish.
3. The shrinking attention span brought on by the onslaught of information and bad ideas coming at us from all sides... television, billboards, radio, the internet, cellphones which have brought the pandemic of poor language skills and deliberate stupidity to an amazing scale.
Do you really have to have someone telling you a story in order to have a satisfying experience of art? Are you really such a child? For some people that is probably the case. More often though it's just another example of something potentially beautiful and meaningful being subjugated to ego. Our species' capacity for this knows no bounds. And the vocal element of music is the most effective vehicle for the expression and display of ego. This of course is what people identify with. You'll notice that a strong percentage of song lyrics (perhaps the majority) are written in the first person perspective. Yes. And you can't say the words "I" or "me" with a saxophone.
Do some research. Pick up a book about the basic Buddhist principles. Or if that's too hard "google" it. Maybe look up Sigmud Freud while you're at it. When he wasn't fixating on sex he made a lot of valid points. Put "id", "ego", and "superego" into your search engine too.
After that, turn off the damned computer and grow up. If you manage to do that then get over yourself. It's time to let go of the bedtime story fetish and to adopt a more Copernican view of the tiny little being that is you... the rest of the universe does not revolve around it. Jazz is wonderful... classical music is beautiful and inspiring. Instrumental post-rock is the best thing to happen to modern music. You are depriving yourself of so much by stubbornly refusing to leave the visceral realm. And it pisses me off.
-Ryan