I don't think you are right. Take a super populair song like Bad Guy from Billy Eilish. That's like a blues in G. It uses dominant 7 chords which are not dominants like in classical music, very blues like. And Billy sings the minor third over major. Very blues like. The blues is often also hidden. Beatles started doing that, but it is still hapening in many songs. More often in R & B of course.

The guitar is so well suited to playing the blues and everyone who learns guitar, especially electric, eventually learns blues vocabulary. Modern popular music is not as guitar driven as it used to be, so that is probably a big factor in the decline of the style. An artist like Jack White is still a pretty big champion of the blues, so it's not completely dead.

Very good point. If no 'collector' will preserve our cultural achievements, who will? It feels almost as if we are being trained to not valuing music any more. It is an alarming trend across many art forms.

Have you seen Michael Tellinger and Robert Edward Grant about sound and music Cure for Cancer with frequency Putting out fire with sound

Talk about a polymath. This guy's knowledge is legion!

Have you studied the power of vowels and how they affect everything Michael Tellinger On how 100,000 hz to 300,000 hz cures cancer Also how sound puts out fires

Amazing insights, thank you!

also consider the sun of latin music and love supreme

I like Idle Moments.. the Grant Green album

Record collector and DJ here. I never stopped owning music, both in digital and physical (vinyl) formats. I always had a sense of attachment to my music collection that compelled me to own it. Streaming is the McDonald's-ization of music: Consume and forget.

Is it the greatest? Ever since they corrected the pitch!

Wasn't the 20th Century pop song length determined by the limit of the 78rpm record side?

I used to be ashamed of admitting I used to love cheesy mainstream pop songs when I was a kid in the 80s thinking they were the greatest things I ever heard, especially later in my late 20s when I was hanging out with experimental avant garde musician types who worshipped John Zorn and Stockhausen... but now that in my middle age, I don't give a shit anymore. I have no more shame left in me. My shelf of music has Steve Reich next to Kylie Minogue, and honestly nobody gives a shit. 😂

I'm proud of all the music I collected throughout the years and can defend why I think it's great

The Smiths..tall and proud..Morrissey solo..totally ashamed.

Interesting well-thought out perspective. It was interesting hearing the perception of the album changing over the years. I believe that history rewards certain elements of art. If you look at artists we still know today from hundreds of years ago, like Bach, Chopin, Mozart, Van Gogh, Da Vinci etc. They all of course were masterful craftsmen, but they were also innovators! If this is true, art that had alot of hype but might not be well-crafted or innovative might become more and more forgotten as time goes by. The well-crafted groundbreaking art will stay relevant. Because hype comes and goes, tastes change, but history never forgets who changed the artistic landscape. For example The Beatles will never be forgotten for this reason, but some other very big bands will be.

Nope. Not here.

I wholeheartedly agree and still purchase 90% of new (to me) music on CD. I know there are alleged lifetime issues for CDs, but I have a 40 yr old Talking Heads CD that still works. It was a Phillips pressing with the silver, fwiw.

I am not ashamed of it, but I do enjoy a little Muzak, et al, now and again.

Nerver ashamed of the music i listen too. If you dont care for it that's fine. I feel everyone should listen to the music that they like.

M. Gioia is definitely on the same level as the Late Frank Zappa was... A brilliant commentator and musician!! Keep the good work up, M. Gioia!!!

An excellent introduction to a very interesting subject, one that really demands more than six minutes to fully parse. Much of the very best music combines the masculine/feminine, Apollonian/Dionysian, etc. which is why the second movement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony can simultaneously thrill our intellect while moving us to tears. I'm grateful that I have no guilty pleasures in music ... it's all pure pleasure, no guilt. As Duke Ellington said, there are two kinds of music: good and bad, and I like the good kind no matter the flavor.

AMERICA"S GOT TALENT..John Depew.

Do you like it? Then it's good. Do you not like it? Then it's not good (to you). There, did I cover it all?

It’s a masterpiece, absolutely. That is all that really needs to be said about any master piece. I always get an uncomfortable feeling when people say “this is the greatest of all”.

That album is one of the few albums with No kind of Ego involved. Nobody tries to shine or impress. Just from the heart. Listen to the drums and bass. Totally supportive of the soloists. Its almost as if all the players are in a dream somehow. Just floating. Also so perfectly recorded and mixed. Important is different to different people. It´s a beautiful record.

Good riddance!

Amazing!

Back when it was launched, I was taunted for liking Aladdin Sane by David Bowie. Recently my daughters tease me how I like to re-watch Notting Hill, and music like Coldplay - `Dad music` ;)

It's interesting how blues and jazz had dominant 7th and 9th chords with flatted 7th note (b7). In 1970s in folk rock there were instead major 7ths in sings by America, and Steely Dan used major 9ths and other chords with natural 7th note of scale. Both types of song styles and chord usage were happening at same time along with blues based chords. When synth keyboards came out there were some features like 1 finger chords; press the root note and the keyboard computer would supply remaining notes. Other automation in music made learning chord formulas unnecessary for the uninitiated or those not interested in learning basics of music theory. Over time perhaps that kind of knowledge is disappearing slowly. Yikes!

"Losing the blues in music is like losing the color blue in painting" .... Very provocative thought. Fortunately there are many younger musicians (Like Jacob Collier) who are very much aware of their music roots. Hopefully the importance of blues and jazz in our musical landscape will be kept alive with music education and events like the Jazz Festival in New Orleans every year.

There is this double album "Reves / Yo soy" from a mexican band "Cafe Tacuba", that is regarded as their best work by the fans, it even won the Latin Grammy, however it was not a huge sales success as their previos albums. Because of this Warner music decided to stop producing the album very early on. It is not in Spotify or any other streaming platform, only available as an upload to KZfaq by the hardcore fans. This is a same, Warner music almost sent a grammy winning album to oblivion because they don't care about the album and don't see it as a way to make money, only collectors keep it available for the fans. You are 100% correct.

Good grief you’re pompous! Ian Carr in a lecture at The ICA early 1980’s told me why KOB is definitive. He as an actual jazz musician spoke from inside music, he was authentic. You’re pontificating.

I hear the blues tones clearly in black popular music today if not the old predictable structures the real question is how dry academics feel qualified to pontificate

great video, thanks Ted for sharing your perspective on the blues and how it helps to expand the palate of our musical culture.

I'm sorry, I confess, I like the Bee Gees 😢

For me it's pop-punk...the embarrassment forces me to make self-deprecating jokes about my taste 😂

this is the bestest, most amazing talk i've heard in a while. i've been reading your substack and i'm thrilled to have come across this. so many interesting facts and notions that i had a glimpse about but didn't know in depth. i would say these are the most interesting things said about music that i've ever knew!

The Blues will, thank heaven, always be with us, and extremely well received in intimate social gatherings either private or Ticket holding. Gregg Allman used to say that when you really got the blues you can't even play your instrument. But on the upswing coming off your troubles the music starts cooking. The Blues is a musical language like the spoken language that is invariably well received when delivered honesty and interestingly. Thanks for keeping the Blues alive and mentioning Buddy Guy - thankfully I got to met him too in Munich, Germany. Stevie Duster Music

Well that's all fascinating but how does it explain the riot that occurred in response to The Rites of Spring? There's always someone somewhere who says "kids today!"

My answers to the first few questions: No, No, No.

Goosebumps.

Dr. Ted, is there a book that explains how musical instruments develop from one country to another? For example, it is known that when the musical instrument of the oud was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula, the Spaniards used it and developed it for the guitar. There are many musical instruments that are rarely used in our time. What is their history and how did they develop and move to another musical instrument? The amazing alqanun instrument that Arabs use in their music. What is its ancient history? Is it an Arab, Assyrian, or Chaldean instrument? How did the peoples of the Middle East interact with each other, especially since some historians say that the Assyrians, Adnanites, and Chaldeans are Arab peoples who traveled from the Arabian Peninsula and settled in the land of Mesopotamia? The flute instrument is spread around the world with different sounds. What is its beginning, how did it diversify and differ from one people to another, and how does the manufacture of this instrument change with different manufacturing machines, etc. I believe that the orchestra has an important role in introducing the music culture of its country, its ancient musical instruments, its history, and how it develops over time. The Saudis began late to promote and introduce their music through the Saudi orchestra, and they gave an amazing show in New York, Paris, and a number of international capitals.

i like the QnA section

I like ESP

The ancient records in the Bible reveal that music was deeply ingrained into the Jewish nation. And historically, they did the opposite to what the Gentile nations did. The women performed the war and victory songs, and the men wrote the emotive music. *War and Victory* performed by females. _Exodus 15:21_ _Judges 5_ _1 Samuel 18:7_ *Lament and Sorrow* _The king sang this lament for Abner: “Should Abner have died as the lawless die? _*_2 Samuel _**_3:33_* Another example is the Book of Lamentations. *Soppy love songs* Written by King Solomon, in the Bible "Song of Songs". *Praise and Worship* written by King David in Book of Psalms. And even GOD Himself wrote a song. _“Now write down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for me against them. _*_Deuteronomy 31:19_*

The line of diviison is the drum, rhythm. In classical music is is subliminal. In rock and roll and jazz it is prominent. Bluegrass originally had no drums. Music is an emotional language.

Holy Crap! Susan Raya is incredible!

For me, Sketches of Spain(album) illustrated the "painter" metaphor more than KoB.

Brilliant