The observer will note the striking degree to which contemporary listeners are self-directed in their musical choices.
This is not to say that the conformity in listening of the self-styled hipster no longer exists, or that music has become less of an attitudinal or fashion statement. What is apparent is that, given a wider range of choice and access to sounds and styles, listeners have no need of being directed by others, particularly those in the media, in developing personal aesthetic values.
Generic music of all styles permeates culture, as an evening of listening to television advertisements makes clear. Imitation, not innovation, rules the day, and this is anathema to the astute listener.
Conditions such as these broaden the choices of the composer as well, and the challenge, especially when working outside the boundaries of popular taste, is to retain clarity of vision and directness of expression.
This is not to say that the conformity in listening of the self-styled hipster no longer exists, or that music has become less of an attitudinal or fashion statement. What is apparent is that, given a wider range of choice and access to sounds and styles, listeners have no need of being directed by others, particularly those in the media, in developing personal aesthetic values.
Generic music of all styles permeates culture, as an evening of listening to television advertisements makes clear. Imitation, not innovation, rules the day, and this is anathema to the astute listener.
Conditions such as these broaden the choices of the composer as well, and the challenge, especially when working outside the boundaries of popular taste, is to retain clarity of vision and directness of expression.
