Stuck In Reverse

Came across an awesome article by English critic Gary Wolstenholme about how our culture, and particularly music culture, has essentially stalled out amidst our collective obsession with the past. Dig it:

http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4143982-the-insider--the-stone-roses-amp-the-resurrection-blues

Key snippets (bolding is mine):

"The ability of new ideas to break through to the general public is stifled by endless waves of shallow nostalgia polluted by financial imperatives and waved through by a compliant and toothless set of critics and commentators who either want the world to stop so they can pretend to be 20 for eternity or are part of the marketing team and thus totally unable to pass any kind of meaningful comment on what is happening."

"The likes of Pulp but, to a lesser extent, even Shed Seven and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin have shown that a well scheduled ‘all mates together’ tour can be a lucrative money spinner for bands who were heading nowhere on their demise. That, in itself, is not a problem. When such things are regarded as being of primary cultural significance it is. We are very close to drawing a line under the progression of mainstream progressive music. That is not just bad news for music, it is bad news for culture as a whole and leads to a greyer and less dynamic future for all."

I'm actually a huge Stone Roses fan, but I have no desire to see them. I'm talking about their comeback but also about actually seeing them. I mean, they look like death warmed over. Yikes.

Another symptom of our rampant cultural grave-robbing: Hollywood remaking every movie that's ever been made, including a film (and an inevitable companion McDonald's Happy Meal) about every last superhero ever conceived. When will we as a culture stop looking backward and actually create something new? Somehow our forefathers and foremothers were able to keep the culture moving in a linear fashion - blues > jazz > rock > punk > hip-hop > electronic music. Now what? Rehash???

We've created a truly post-post-post modern culture in which forward progression has slowly morphed into circular motion. And that's boring, uninspiring and troubling on many levels.

I don't begrudge any band to reunite, whether it's for money or love of what they do (and I respect bands like The Sex Pistols and Cream for admitting it's all about the money). But as Wolstenholme so eloquently points out, when such reunions and wallowing in the past define our current culture, we've got a big problem. ~ Tim