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| From | Gil Smart <kgsmart@yahoo.com> |
| Subject | Big Thing/Chicks |
| Date | Fri, 25 Apr 2003 12:41:20 -0700 (PDT) |
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When speaking of what the Beatles did and what bands like Fountains of Wayne might (unfortunately) never be able to do - that is, not only achieve but maintain a cultural consensus over a period of years - it seems to me that much of the fault lies not just with the record companies constantly in search of the Next Big Thing, but the consumers who fail to latch on to a band and stick with it through relative ups and downs, not to mention artistic growth. I was born during the summer of Sgt. Pepper so I can't speak from my own historical perspective - maybe some of you can help me out - but there obviously were Beatles fans who greedily digested "Within You, Without You" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" and all the other Beatles forays into new sounds and textures. Though the marketing was likely blunter and cruder then than now, the little boxes into which we poured our pop stars were necessarily more porous. A band could mature and the audience would go along with it. That happens today, though you can make an argument that the "maturation" of artists such as Michael Jackson or Madonna or even Eminem has not covered the same amount of sheer ground the Beatles covered. Though their sounds have diversified, far less so. Not that diversification is everything, of course. "Exile on Main Street" ain't that much more "advanced" than "12 X 5" - but that doesn't mean it isn't a fantastic record. ***And on the Dixie Chicks thing*** The right of course has a right to criticize the Dixie Chicks. But when radio conglomorates such as Cumulus Media or even Clear Channel, which stand to benefit from administration policy on deregulation and other issues, start banning the band, there is a problem. And anyway - didn't the Beatles speak out about Vietnam?
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