Regressive, Devolving Market

So it occurred to me the other day that a piece of music history is completely bizarre. In the late '70s, two musical forms that, i assume, were mutually exclusive in audience were annihilated by another genre that most definitely had another audience. The first two genres were Progressive Rock and Disco. I'm certain that people who were thrilled by "Starless and Bible Black" and "Tales of Topographical Oceans" were not listening to KC and the Sunshine Band on Saturday nights. So how entirely odd it would be for both forms to die with the advent of punk. The Sex Pistols, The Knack, The Clash?

People who get pumped by the monotonic riff of "My Sharona" are not the same people that listen to Emerson, Lake and Palmer's 40-odd minute rock rendition of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" with awe. Or are they?

Is there only one form of rock/pop that can thrive at a time? In the 60's Neil Young and Miles Davis played together. Folk-Rock and Jazz? It's brilliant. Why not today? Overall, jazz and rock have different audiences, and although there are many who listen to mainstream "alternative" claim they like jazz, there's a difference between listening to a bit of post-bop on NPR and understanding the different approaches of Bill Evans and Dave Brubeck, the significance of the evolution of Miles Davis playing, or the change in format of the Monterey Jazz Festival.

But there are those people who listen to two-plus entirely different genres like blues and classical, while others only listen to a single sub-genre. (It's interesting to note that these people are usually those who say they listen to "a bit of everything". "A bit of everything" either means that juicy R&B/pop/hip-hop hybrid or alt-rock that should have died at the turn of the millennium.)

So why can't sub-genres co-exist on radio? Radio is ultimately what I'm talking about here. After all, it has to be a leading cause of the simplification of music appreciation and lack of diversity. Why can't I hear Feist and Lauryn Hill back-to-back? Why can't I hear CCR and BRMC on the same station? (After all, the one wouldn't exist without the other.)

You know what? I can on my computer, whenever I desire. That's why I don't bother with radio.

STILL, radio has an inherently fabulous quality that my computer doesn't: it can introduce new music. Unfortunately it typically introduces music that has been sent out to test groups to see if it can become a hit. And if it passes those unskilled listeners, it probably means it's catchy, but passes through the system like a prune.

What we need is for people to appreciate a wider variety of music, and then we need those different musicians to do concerts together like they used to.