Then again, stellar musicianship has never really been a requirement
Well, if you go back far enough, it was. When entire bands (and I'm talking 20 or more pieces, not a little quartet), along with three or four showcase soloists - each with their own instrument - had to record direct to disc, stellar musicianship was held at a premium.
Granted, that was a long time ago, and things have changed, I know. But it seems as though that as technology has made the recording process less expensive over time, that this has been an excuse to go lax on the actual ability to play (or sing) to the extreme. In an age where *everybody* thinks they have an even shot, that all they have to do is get enough free (legal or not) technology to maybe pull off the illusion of talent and put it up on a meSpace page and burn a couple of "demo CDs", the idea of recording as capturing a memorable performance has all but disappeared and been replaced by "my computer is better than your computer."
Have you been to an open mic night recently? My god, the number of bands or would-be artists that shamelessly get up there with un-arrangements and performances that absolutely *suck* on any musical measure, even if their guitars were in tune - and they're usually not - is despicable.
And no, it's not just that I'm an old man looking through snobbish rose-colored glasses; there has been a palpable change in attitude over the last decade or so that it's an even playing field out there and that being a rock star requires only having the right EQ and compressor. It's not a question of virtuosity, it's a question of being able to play at all.
I mean, thirty years ago and more, there were still a lot of hacks hitting the open mics, to be sure. But there was a difference; the number of them who couldn't even play the right chords, let alone tune their own instruments, were the few oddballs. The rest may not have left many pleasant memories, and maybe could only play three chords, but they at least played those chords correctly for the most part, and had a sincerity where they knew their place and didn't pretend to do things they knew they were not yet ready for.
And don't get me started on the club circuit drummers, who have *really* gone down hill, and for whom keeping the beat is no longer even a priority; as long as they break a stick or two in the process of mauling their kit, they're doing their job.
Everybody has to start somewhere, I know. And that's fine. But the idea has become standard that as soon as one picks up a stick or a pick or a microphone that it's time to start recording, instead of actually waiting until one REALLY has something worth recording and worth unleashing upon the general public in any forum larger than the Wednesday open mic at the local pool hall.
And I think what's being heard on the radio is about 1/3rd to blame for that (the other 2/3rds being the blog/tweet culture of Net2.0, where everybody has something to say even when they have nothing worth listening to.) When what's being stuffed into their ears is the same ol' Vanilla Ice of ClearChannel stratification, and when the top-grossing acts of today *are* indeed more computer than artist, it doesn't exactly supply a creatively inspiring muse to the up-and-coming artists of tomorrow.
This also extends to the whole loudness wars thing. It is so disheartening that there's an *entire generation* of ersatz music lovers now who have grown up experiencing nothing but the pancaked crap that's being broadcast and pressed and downloaded today. That's all they know. Even the "classic rock" stations and CDs have pushed the RMS of the original releases to the point where hearing how something actually originally sounded when it was released in 1968 or 1971 is a rare event indeed.
So OF COURSE these guys and gals think that mastering is all about loudness and that the mo' louda', the mo' betta' because that's the only thing they really know in their lifetime. As annoyed as us old-timers may get at that, it's hard to really blame the listeners for that.
I'm not saying that everything has to have self-masturbating solos or virtuoso performance chops the likes of of an Eric Clapton or a Joe Satriani, but it'd be nice if there was a swing back at least a little to musicality and talent instead of a concentration on "tone" and style, and even more importantly IMHO, a re-uptake of respect for the recording process as something to impress - the recording device as the woman you want to make love to - instead of a view of it as a disposable commodity - the computer as the slut from which you can get a quickie blow job.
G.