Modern Music

Every so often, someone I greatly admire says something so stupid I begin to wonder if I should admire them as much as I do. Take Danny Baker. There are few more knowledgeable music journalists in the land, few better radio presenters. I have said for many years that Baker should really be broadcasting music in mainstream radio. After a tweet tonight, I am not so sure.

In making a point about one subject, Baker then makes a point about another. In the case of the latter, he perhaps shows that he is yesterday’s man. This is it:

“I hereby declare myself against all videos re-edited to show classic Hollywood dance routines redubbed with modern music. All they ever do is show how modern music lacks style and finesse.”

Now, I don’t know too much about re-edited classic Hollywood dance routines appeared in music videos. I’m neither for or against them. But to say that “modern music lacks style and finesse” suggests Baker is yesterday’s man.

I heard his excellent interviews with Todd Rundgren and Rick Wakeman on his BBC Radio Five Live show last Saturday morning. Baker knows his stuff about 1970s music, probably better than anyone else in the land. No one loves Todd Rundgren and his music more than me. Few artists embrace modern music than Rundgren.

I am guessing that Baker never listens to BBC 6 Music or he would know that modern music is as good as any music ever made.

2018 was a monumental year for new music. Louis Cole, Gaz Coombes, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Courtney Barnett and Kamasi Washington made some of the best music I’ve ever heard in 2018. These are just a few names I have come up with off the top of my head. There are many, many more. I know it is a matter of opinion to say this new music “lacks style and finesse” and there is no right and wrong. To me, his comments make no sense.

Baker was someone who once brought new music into my life. He was always seeking out new music, enriching our lives. It is Baker who has changed, not the music.

I was once like him. I lived in the past, imagining music wasn’t as good as it used to be. It’s easy to do. I don’t think anyone will ever make an album as good as Steely Dan’s Aja. The difference is I am still looking to see if someone can.

The nostalgia trip works on many levels. The Bristol Hippodrome shows little but tribute musicals, the theatres and arenas are bursting with heritage acts from decades long gone. In such unstable times, the past can be a comfort. The familiar sights and sounds make us feel better. But new music, often at the cutting edge, can make us uncomfortable, make us think a bit more. I like music that challenges.

If you are of a certain age, like Baker and I, it is easy to stay in 1971, arguably the greatest year ever for music. I can’t leave the old stuff behind but the new stuff is often good, very good and sometimes great.

Don’t knock new music: give it a chance.