pynchon-l-digest V2 #7236

[John Carvill]

> Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:37:10 -0400
> From: rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: IVIV (11) 176
>
> On 10/27/09, Clément Lévy <clemlevy@> wrote:
>
>> - more important here is the fact that rock 'n' roll is not going to
>> be free anymore. It is as if Doc only knew music through open-air
>> free concerts. The "glimpse at the other side" shows how Doc realizes
>> that "everybody" is going to prefer private ownership of records
>> bought in stores after a cautious listening via headphones.
> ___________
> I'm not sure this is a black and white issue--music is like God (or is
> God) in that some enjoy worship in groups or alone
> beyond that is another reminder of the unrealistic nature of
> hippiedom--nothing is free in life; not that I don't sympathize with
> those who want to believe such things are possible but...
>
> and also, the glimpse of the other other side, not private ownership
> but mediated group musical encounters for those worshipping with
> others--someone was making a killing
>
> and finally, considering Altamont, can u blame folks for being a bit
> wary of the free music happening
>
> just saying
>
> rich
>

All good stuff. I found the passage about people being alienated, and
the transition from free (?) live music to records (i.e. private
property), very puzzling. We know Pynchon loves Rock 'n' Roll, yes?
Was Rock 'n' Roll - whether Chuck Berry or The Beatles - not based
primarily on *records*? Certainly that was what was important to the
Beatles, even before they stopped touring. Hence their lack of lyrical
finesse in the early days: what mattered was the sound of the record.

Was live rock music ever free, anyway? Well, as Rich notes, maybe it
was sometimes but there were always hidden costs.

Is Pynchon making some point about the irony of Rock 'n' Roll - the
People's Music - alienating people from one another? Is he, as has
been suggested, making a sly reference to iPods?

It's odd, because in the context of 'you kids today...' I always heard
slightly older people than me talking about the days when all music
shops had listening booths, with fondness, something they regretted
the passing of. A-and, couldn't more than one person squeeze into one
of those booths? Couldn't a guy maybe squeeze in there with a girl (or
two)?

Mostly what it reminded me of was Steppenwolf, and the bemoaning of
the 'degrading' of (classical) music, from live performance to
'inferior' phonographs. I'm just now getting back into vinyl, having
compared the Beatles remasters to some old vinyl and realised that the
new CDs cannot possibly compete. Not exactly news, of course, but the
extent of the disparity is striking.

>From live music to records to CDs to MP3s: entropy in action?