modest proposal about album goodness
The trouble with the ABC audience voting on the best 100 albums is that they are such a strange combination of people. With a certain self-mocking arrogance, the ABC itself refers to “Generation j” as being the listeners to Tripppppple J. Then you get the bushies, and all those strange people in Camberwell and all… etc. It is not representative of the general population, or of people with musical taste, or of people who listen to a lot of varied things.
The idea is a bit of fun, but stuffed on any more significant level, except as a secret opportunity for the ABC to get data about its own audience. You think they didn’t do that? I would, in their shoes.
So, here is a modest proposal. The ABC should use radio, TV and the blogosphere to recruit gangs of people who rilly rilly know a lot about particular musical subcultures and know a bit about music too. Those people should caucus to find their own list of the best 100 in their particular sector. Then they could all get together to find a list of a hundred albums we should all listen to repeatedly before we die. Not ranked.
We can’t make a documentary series about this, by the way, because the rights bill would be horrendous. Although, now I come to think about it, the ABC has a bulk arrangement with APRA…
Makes me think that we could do a series which tries to find the best ten Australian albums in a range of sectors – country to classical etc.. get a separate enthusiast in each area to present the program, send them off to ask a host of experts about the best ten, and what the criteria are and what they like about them…
First ep is about finding the presenters and dealing with the rights problems. Could be hilarious, actually.
December 5th, 2006 at 2:16 pm
Great idea. A show in which people discuss the obscure, interesting albums they love would be good too.
December 5th, 2006 at 3:34 pm
Anything would be better than polling the ABC listeners for their list of usual suspects, standard worthies and albums that people think should be there.
December 5th, 2006 at 5:16 pm
You don’t feel uncomfortable using the phrase ‘musical taste’?
December 5th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
Well I’m deaf so it doesn’t mean anything to me.
That was a cheap quip but I couldn’t stop myself. I do have hearing aids, and I am not very musically inclined but I do sing along to the Wiggles.
December 5th, 2006 at 9:19 pm
Trackback:
http://larvatusprodeo.net/2006/12/05/melbourne-grogblogging-2/
December 5th, 2006 at 9:50 pm
I’m happy to take people’s advice if I know their biases and track record. That is I expect people to be opinionated but with something to back it up not just pigheadedness. When I say take people’s advice I don’t mean I buy everything they recomend, I mean I consider the recomendation in the context of their bias, experience and priors.
I know Lester Bangs, bless his nyc thrash soul, so I don’t turn to him for a country classic I might have missed. For that I turn to Flop Eared Mule or Denise on TWANG or other mates.
Best ACDC buy if it can be only one CD? (as if anyone needs to ask) I would email Shaun Cronin because I know he thinks as well as loves.
Best Count Basie or Lionel Hampton to dance or just quietly listen to if it could only be one CD? dogpossum. Best Faces – Rex Ringshcott. Overlooked pop – After Grog Tones. Best bedroom noodling ecentric mood music – Nabs. Best Eric Clapton (don’t laugh) Chris Sheils. Best Bachman Turner Overdrive – Homer Paxton.
And so on and so forth.
The ABC thing is meaningless. I didn’t even watch it or read much of it.
Whats my fav? I don’t have a clue. Is it the one I play the most? The one that always cheers me up? The one I think is classiest. Dunno.
December 5th, 2006 at 10:09 pm
With “classical” music I didn’t come from a place with any experience of it at all. (Except Latin Hymns I suppose.) So I just got a few things I stumbled across over the years, Holst Planets, Pictures at an Exhibition, Prokofiev just because he was mentioned in a Colin Wilson book, and a few other things.
Then I worked with an older guy who was into hifi and “classics” and opera ONLY – no pop – no light musical – no Nana Maskouri – nothing. He had thousands of LPs. And versions. And he purchased the sheet music to most and read it whilst listening for hours at a time. He was on his fifth journey or so through Wagners Ring Cycle (Circle?). He recommended a 5 album basic starting point and best versions and I had no reason at all not to do what he said.
Then some guy walked into my house a stole $3,000 worth of CDs, only the most recently and frequently played that were out of the stack on the bench, so it was a blow. As part of the insurance I got a book by the cheap classics mob, Nando? aah Naxos and it had a recommended basic starters kit of 60 or so CDs for all periods at $10 each – I got the lot.
Whats the point of the story – er I don’t know.
I have helped people build up a knowledge and collection but it’s a delicate consultation process involving listening, talking, knowing what to listen for and building slowly a persoanl style, taste and quirks. It’s
not a list handed out from on high.
OTOH there is a canon in most genres. If you believe in genres.
December 5th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
For which genre would you beseech me for advice, FXH?
“He had thousands of LPs. And versions. And he purchased the sheet music to most and read it whilst listening for hours at a time.”
I lived with a guy who’d sit on the floor listening to Led Zepp and pore over the Melways – page by page fer hours.
December 5th, 2006 at 11:30 pm
genre mmh .. I seem to recall you were relatively erudite in your tastes – always a big plus. exact details I don’t recall. I’m sure that vodka was off that night – were you sick in the morning too?
I think I can dig the melways and Led Zep tho – if I strain hard enough. (hopefully strain thru the bong)
December 6th, 2006 at 7:51 am
Well I think its a good idea – so many fave cult bands with brilliant albums would get an airing !! Little or none of my favourites made the polls ie Steely Dan XtC -or even older groups like free , Genesis etc ….
December 6th, 2006 at 10:04 am
David, it sounds like you’re pimping the proposal. Or yourself. Do any ABC hacks read this blog? Let’s flush ‘em out…
December 6th, 2006 at 10:17 am
FXH – there’s another way to go in getting advice from people about what kind of music to listen to and/or buy: that’s where you ask your younger brother to keep you up to date with the latest music ’cause you’re feeling out of touch, and he shows up with a mixed CD of the latest music he thinks he should listen to. My partner got her brother to do this for her just recently. But I guess this applies more to new music…
I miss Mixed Tapes. I know it’s happening out there (out of my life), but I thought that the age of ripping and burning CDs, and iTunes music libraries, would allow more people burn mixed CDs for swapping.
Hmmm…. Mixed CD swap at the upcoming grog blog anyone? Last one TimT brought his poetry zine to give away. Music this time?
December 6th, 2006 at 10:18 am
I meant the latest music he thinks ‘you’ should listen to.
December 6th, 2006 at 10:39 am
mark – wtf? – you clearly don’t have younger brothers. The only taste mine have I had to ram down their throat.
December 6th, 2006 at 11:33 am
[...] David ‘Barista’ Tiley blogs about the execrable taste of the ABC audience whose choices for the best 10 record albums of all time were revealed the other night, with Pink Floyd’s mega-pretentious Dark Side of the Moon coming in at number 1. David suggests an alternative approach that might come up with a set of albums actually worth listening to by people with a modicum of taste and discernment (as opposed to the collective taste of the ABC audience which manifestly completely lacks these qualities). [...]
December 6th, 2006 at 5:25 pm
I think the ABC should throw open the RAGE vaults to the masses. Let people choose and present their favorite fifty film clips of all time.
Talk about a music nuts dream competition win.
100 greatest albums of all time is a bit too ambitious/ meaningless.
I’d rather see 50 clips that meant a lot to some kid, than 100 disperate albums chosen by a vast mass of people.
December 7th, 2006 at 10:00 am
FXH: “you clearly don’t have younger brothers” – Nope.
I agree about their taste in music – my younger brother-in-law was a hip hop and gangsta rap music fiend (**AAARGHHH!*), until he recently decided to listen to other stuff and explore different styles of music.
It’s fun when they do that. Opens us up to other worlds. Despite what we may think of them (the worlds, I mean).