Music for
Grown-Ups Newsletter
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The Manifesto
Music for Grown-Ups CELEBRATES
- the great musicians -
from Sinatra to the Stones, Miles to Mozart, Dylan to David Bowie,
Beck to Bjork, and Coltrane to Cole Porter. And
a couple
of hundred others. In all genres. From all ages
- music which is: original,
excellent, innovative, creative, risky, energising, challenging,
authentic, engaging and intelligent
- music which is worth the attention of critical
listeners; which can stand repeated listening; which will probably
be listened to 100 years from
now
- an inner core - "canon" - of great musicians, including:
in orchestral music, Bach, Beethoven and Mahler; in jazz, Louis Armstrong,
Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker; and, in rockpop, REM, Joni Mitchell
and Neil Young. Members of this elite Music for Grown-Ups canon are:
best-in-class, prolific, critically acclaimed, and often very popular.
They have an artistic vision, which they realise. They are plugged
into the Zeitgeist. Some, like Dylan or Cole Porter, become part of
it. Their
music is ground-breaking, technically unsurpassed, or agenda-setting.
It has depth; it repays effort.
Music for Grown-Ups IGNORES
- music which is: unoriginal,
bland, soothing, over-familiar, undemanding, saccharine, mellow, dull,
nostalgic, derivative, predictable, over-repetitive
or just plain dumb. That is, music which doesn't bear careful listening
for more than a few minutes, which lacks depth; has unconvincing
lyrics and/or arrangements
- industry-led fashions such as: Cuban music, nu-rock
guitar bands, TV-friendly opera-lite crossover, youthful "jazz" crooners,
endless re-treads by rockpopstars of yesteryear
- celebrity, biography, show
biz. And PR, media, and marketing. They're all diversions,
distorting perceptions of music
- Music for Olde Fartes:
undemanding pap aimed at middle aged rockpop fans, light classical victims,
or "sophisticated" faux
jazz advocates.
Music
for Grown-Ups BELIEVES
- there's only two kinds of music - good
music and bad music. Music for grown-ups exists in all genres.
Great music transcends genre. All types
of music - from mediaeval plainsong to gangsta rap - have a worthwhile
core
- only a small, variable proportion of music in any genre is suitable
for grown-ups. Some genres - eg opera and jazz - have a higher proportion
than others, such as rock and pop. But there are many lame operas,
and much avoidable jazz
- all music comes from the same source; it all
tries to do the same job - evoke emotion. The convincing expression
of emotion is more important
than technical mastery
- age is irrelevant: if musicians are good enough,
they're old/young enough. Work by a teenage Mozart or a 20 year old
Bob Dylan is just as interesting
as that by a 75 year old Sinatra or John Lee Hooker. But, however
long they live, most musicians never manage to produce music for grown-ups
- there's
too much high quality music for any one curious listener to explore
in the average lifetime, so it's best to focus on the few great musicians
who dominate each genre
- "grown-up" is a state of mind - a
maturity of outlook - not a particular age. A sixteen year old listening
seriously to quality music
is more grown-up than a 60 year old who uses music with little discrimination,
as audio wallpaper.
Music for Grown-Ups IS ...INDEPENDENT
- We cover what we like, regardless of
fashion, or music biz promo/PR. We don't ask for favours from record
companies, concert promoters or
managing agents.
- We ignore what we don't like.
- We write for readers like ourselves, who
like to make up their own minds - for readers who are independent,
eclectic and curious.
...ECLECTIC
- Grown-up listeners are prepared to sample
widely - from Hildegard von Bingen to Eminem. Genre prisoners
- the Royal Opera House buff who
knows
nothing of John Coltrane's impassioned sax; the Van Morrison
freak who's frightened of venturing outside the familiar safety of
the rockpop
catalogue;
and the jazz snob who's scornful of all country music - deprive
themselves of great pleasure. What do they know of music who only opera/rockpop/acoustic
jazz/ hip-hop/roots/ ... (fill in your own genre) know?
...CURIOUS
- We're endlessly curious about music and musicians. We discover
great new music every single day. If you're fond of a musician
for grown-ups we ignore, we'd like to hear from you.
- Our list of favoured musicians
is constantly growing, changing, shifting; so our recommendations
aren't set in stone. If you disagree with us,
please let us know: we value your input. (And we enjoy a good argument.)
Copyright © Music
for Grown-Ups Ltd.
The words Music for Grown-Ups® and the logo design constitute
a registered trademark of Music for Grown-Ups Ltd.
www.musicforgrownups.co.uk
Email: info@musicforgrownups.co.uk
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