Did you watch Super Bowl XLIV this past Sunday? Did you see this Jay-Z/Rhianna/Rutgers Symphony Orchestra collab?
Like me, you might have thought, “Yeah, whatever, Jay-Z in front of an orchestra. What’s the big deal? I’m not gonna go get all musically significant over this.” And seriously, I wasn’t gonna go and get all significant over it until Molly did and I read this article from MyCentralJersey.com about the Rutgers Symphony/Jay-Z partnership. Here’s the money quote, via the bubble inhabited by Maestro Kynan Johns, the orchestra’s conductor:
“Johns said he knew little about Jay-Z prior to the performance and went to Wikipedia to get an idea of the rapper’s accomplishments.”
So, um, yeah, wait a second… [scratches head.] You’re telling me that in the year 2k10 a musician—and a youngish-looking one, at that—can be more or less completely unaware of who Jay-Z is? I’m not saying that everyone should know that Jigga went from bricks to Billboards and from grams to Grammy’s, but he’s become such a modern cultural icon that you’d kind of have to have been living under a rock, had your head in the sand, or holed up in a practice room for 12 hours a day, to not have noticed Jay-Z’s contributions to contemporary society (not to mention MUSIC).
All throughout the land, people are bemoaning the death of classical music, the death of opera, etc. WE R ALL GOING 2 DIE! However, if indeed the future is so grim, maybe it’s because classical music has too many ostrich musicians. Please don’t misinterpret me here. I’m not saying that hip-hop needs to be included on the listening list for the 20th century unit in history of Western music courses. (But why not?) Nor am I saying that orchestras need to engage big time rappers-cum-orchestral soloists to sell tickets. (Though wouldn’t that be something?) But in the current age in which we find ourselves living, where things are becoming more—not less—connected, I’m saying that interfacing with all aspects of cultural relevance should be part of any musician’s diet. And since pop music is music, let’s just say that that’s a pretty logical place to start.
Sure, you could argue that pop music is centered on marketing, that the level of talent and brilliant musicianship among most pop stars pales in comparison to that of top-notch classical musicians. It’s not all about marketing though. The product still has to be decent. (Well, that’s also up for debate. I listen to enough pop radio to know that some pretty bad music gets ordained as “good.” And for the record, I am not talking about Lady Gaga, who happens to be brilliant.) It’s certainly easier to sell a good product, but it’s not impossible to sell a bad product (see previous parenthetical aside). Really, though, we should focus on the product. Right, Stringer?
Hey, maybe that’s it. Maybe people should stop whining and being all “nobody cares about classical/new music” and start focusing on putting out some better products? Is that the problem?
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N.B. Though Jay-Z with orchestra was cool, my “Best Use of Orchestra in Pop Music Tune” award goes to Peter Fox’s “Alles Neu” (The Beatles “The End” notwithstanding):
Filed in: We Can Learn From This.
Tags: Classical Music, Jay-Z, Marketing, Orchestra, Super Bowl XLIV
[...] week’s post on Jay-Z and ostrich musicians reminded me of one of the many memorable conversations I had with my [...]
As a Rutgers grad who used to see the orch conductor do his grocery shopping at 2am, I’m shocked he didn’t know Jay-z too.
He also once gave me an impromptu clinic on articulation after I bombed an audition for the orchestra. It was most educational 10 minutes of my college career. But 2am grocery shopping is much more amusing.
[...] Satisfy the Mind. That’s what I was saying here just a couple days ago. No need for me to elaborate [...]
that man has prove u can do anything lf u work hard 4 it. just remember Jay-z ls a Genuis. just because he ls out of his comfort zone, he makes all look so easy. Innovator ls the right word for Jay-Z “”NeYo “” thinks the same love u!!!
One thing I think about is relevance. Pop music is more relevant to the masses than new music because its themes are more immediate and its medium more accessible. Not many pop musicians seem to effect the same type of mental gymnastics as new music musicians and when they do it’s still delivered via a medium that more can identify with. Plus, there are lyrics. And hot chicks and bros.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mobtown Modern, Springboard Arts, todd reynolds, Brian Sacawa, jon hurd and others. jon hurd said: Good reading: RT @briansacawa: Hey, classical music peeps, do you think Jay-Z can teach us anything about moving product? http://j.mp/dzDXJ8 [...]
I agree with the bulk of this, but I would propose that a different conclusion follows from the rest of the argument. Contemporary classical music has its share of bad product, but we also already have a lot of good product, and the good product doesn’t sell very well. The commercial success of Jay-Z and any other popular music is a confluence of talent/quality and marketing. If we already have talent/quality but we’re still getting killed in the marketplace, then doesn’t that mean that our problem is that we’re terrible at marketing?