Why Music Has Lost it’s Charms (Article)

@mahgister 

"Stanley Kubrick will not be possible today, he will not be free to do his own art...He will be a slave to a movie business...He will kill himself because he was so talented... Who kill Orson Welles genius? Corporate powers...Nowadays they are more powerful because all united and controlled by very few men ...

Where is the human, poetical, philosophical content of most movies nowadays ?"

Let's face it, even such noted auteurs such as Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, and Woody Allen took some time to buy their freedom from the 'corporate powers'.

According to a Robert Mitchum biography (Baby, I Don't Care) it doesn't appear as if things were that much different back then. Back in 1950 Howard Hughes recalled arty director Josef Von Sternberg out of retirement to shoot RKOs 1950 movie, Macao.

Things didn't go so well for the autocratic von Sternberg who soon found himself reminded of his place in the pecking order by Mitchum himself when he threatened to fire the rising star for disrespectful behaviour.

"If anyone gets fired around here, it'll be you "

What disturbs me is that the 'corporate powers' now seem to have an all powerful grip on the entire production chain from creation to the delivery outlets.

And everything in between.

Independent movies still exist but who gets to see them?

For example, how many folks have heard about celebrated UK comedian Rik Mayall's final film, 2014s One by One?

Given what's happened since, this film now seems to be highly prophetic.

So why then isn't it shown more?

If they can so easily airbrush out the work of someone as well known as Mayall, it looks as if something rather unpleasant has happened to both our freedom of speech and freedom of expression.

It's definitely not a good climate for artistic production as it now looks as if we're following the same old cold war policies of the USSR or China's CCP when it comes to what can and what can't be allowed in art.

Only now, it's being exercised by the power of corporate money rather than communist show trials.

Give them time, give them time...

Let them make a demonstration of Julian Assange first.

Let them make a demonstration of Julian Assange first.

I will not contradict anything about your post...

Most people dont even think enough to know that Assange was a journalist, respectful of laws, they think he is a "traitor", they are like zombies wanting to kill someone who tried to awake them...

There is no freedom anymore in Canada, with Trudeau, only an appearence of freedom , now in the media no one dare to speak his mind...

In America the appearence of freedom is more convincing, but it is only an appearence.... All Occidental powers admire China success and control....

It is China not medecine who thaught government to control mass during the pandemic...

China and Gates/Fauci corporation....

The world economic forum say it loud...

No one pay attention...

And now in the world only one man is responsible for all problems , probably for covid too and the economic crisis, and why not also of the woke new "communism" totalitarian movement ? And for sure he reacted by aggression  to 8 years of civil war payed by Otan in Ukraine against the third of the country speaking Russian...

I will not name this man....Biden see through " his evil soul"...

Everybody know who Biden is....More despicable than the clown Trump, who at least never encourage war...

I am sorry for us and for America....

Coming back to the thread matter...

Like for music we can enjoy now thanks to internet, all the great movies of the last century...From an era where artist like Fellini were free...

We can enjoy movies from any country and be spared  from the worst of Hollywood cooking burger  factory...

This is on one side corporate destruction of art and on the other side we can enjoy true art in an easy way if we know where to look for...

Then my pessimism dont tell all the story...

Never in my life i enjoyed so great musicians in so great numbers...

Anyway financial capitalism is dying....We can hope....

@mahgister 

Thanks for sharing that video about Alan Mearns.  I just bought two of his CD's.  Too bad he doesn't have analog (LP) form for sale. . . 

Your perspectives about music and the global trends are quite interesting. . . I'm a Bach aficionado myself, with the trappings that come with that.  I'll have to look into the mathematical metaphor that music may represent in more detail. . . any pointers for researching that topic?
Thanks. 

That is a very good article, of course as an old timer I would consider it so. I well remember `Dark side of the moon` released when I was in high school. Along with Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and many others we had a rich source of musical material to keep us happy. Buy even in those days there was a lot of dross on the radio. The difference was that there was investment in new and creative music.