The internet - has it ruined music for over a generation?

Not apropos of the thread title but -
I’m reminded of comments attributed to John Lennon: "The biggest crime the Beatles ever committed was bringing rock’n’roll to the middle classes"


Were it not for the mass participation in popular and folk music symbolised by the ubiquitous guitar then most the people disdaining this or that instrument or approach would be too snobbish for trad anyway. They’d all still be playing twee music from the dots as learnt in the lessons that mummy drove them to every week.

It’s the burning question isn’t it? If you payed too much attention to these comments it would ruin sessions! Backers get nothin but grief, melody plays seem to prefer not to have them, Bodhran players are treated like lepers from biblical times. There’s probably not one melody instrument that all the people here agree is accepted as traditional. We’ve established guitars, Punters and alchohol are not necessary at sessions, What’s left?? Seems to be no matter what you have at a session it’s not right!!! So given all that it doesn’t matter whether it’s a performance or not because it’s all wrong anyway so I want to ask another important question, Who would be on your top five most favourite simpsons charachter list? Whats that you say, it’s not relevant? Well then also what instruments would they play at a session?

Hooray for the internet!
Hooray for the Beatles!
And hooray for the guitar!

We already know that the daughter plays the sax…. she’d probably do well on the flute as well.
Homer gets the bodhran.
The bratty boy might enjoy banging away on a hammer dulcimer.
Marge would do well with a harp to go with her melodious voice.
Her sisters should screetch on fiddles for a change.

Point taken. I always laugh when I read here that the session is only for the players, the hell with the punters. I mean come on, live trad and the pub are a natural fit, and everyone likes to be noticed as someone who has worked hard and acomplished something on their instrument. And let’s get over the guitar thing, it’s here to stay.

Be a pessimist, and you will always pleasantly surprised by what life brings you!

slightly off topic:

young "trendy" people are not into "folk".
because they are freaked out by the weirdy beardies.
(i know this because i myself am bearded and weirded)

hip young things want suits and fancy haircuts.
we should all get back to the Golden Age and dress like the Flannagan Brothers and Micheal Coleman in smart suits, and snappy shoes.
only then will trad take over the world again.

all this talk of instruments and approaches is beside the point.

Ive already ordered my tweed suit.

Good point, Dub - must dust off my BLooZ Bros suit and dark glasses for our St Patrick’s Night gig. My hilarious Abe Lincoln beard was a feature of the 1970’s but gradually became designer stubble in the eighties and has now disappeared altogether.

Well?

What was the question again? 😏

Think Elmer Eisler Singers - how about dressing up and lilting in harmony?

You guys are all mad but I wouldn’t mind wan of those tweed suits, right price mind !

mmmmmm…. tweed

Donegal tweed; nae Harris!

What, pray, is this internet thingy?

I have a search engine, but can’t work out where to put the coal in, so have never started it up…

That’s your problem, Mark. Coal’s no good. You need the best peat from the Midlands bogs.

Yes! The Beatles have ruined music, but not for the reason most think. They were a rock group who composed their own material. Most of the songs were excellent. The problem they created is that now almost all rock groups compose their own material - it sucks! They create musical pollution.