I think Mr .Void's recurring argument about quality is an interesting one.
It came up again in the discussions about KFSR, but I figured it might be
good to give it it's own gully to flow through.
I may not state his argument exactly, but I believe
it goes something like this:
"Music ( or anything else) isn't less effective, pure or meaningful if it
is done well or in a 'professional' manner."
Obviously a symphonyof Beethoven's would not benefit from
sloppy cello playing or a conductor's not caring if the clarinets played
a B where a B-flat was called for.
Some folks in the Art world----I think esp. in the world of RocknRoll
are suspicious of things when they are too slick. There's a reason: a
history of abuse that leads to suspicion.
Somewhere in the mid/late 70's, rocknroll bands started being slick. Earlier
than this, "Louie Louie", "La Bamba" or say…the earliest hits of the Who,
sometimes had a dropped beat, a sloppy cymbal here or there---but no one cared:
it had heart, it had honesty, it had a power of execution, it somehow
spoke the truth. But somewhere in the mid-70's ( and we'll all disagree as
from where and from whom the yuckiness began to flow) you had extremely
slick and professional bands who sang very in-tune, who reproduced
their studio albums note-for-note, but much of it lacked this same heart,
and honesty. Instead of speaking the truth, it felt that it may have been written with a marketing survey in mind ; that it was written by The Rulers of the Status Quo.
This feeling that the music wasn't speaking straight anymore, that it was
another Opiate of the Masses, opened up a vacuum into which Punk flowed
gleefully and powerfully. That whole class of '77 thing: The Clash, The Talking Heads, The Ramones, etc. etc. etc.
This whole credo of "If It's Sounding Slick: Be Suspicious" lingers still in
RocknRoll—and probably in Art in general. Yes, it works against us when it
doesn't let us appreciate something that's wonderful, just because it's played
cleanly and with finesse. But, it's also, arguably, a valuable setting on our collective B.S. Detectors to guard against the villainy of Smooth Jazz and Corporate Rock.
Eh, whaddya'll think?