Composer’s Refrain

“With the songs that I sing
And the magic they bring
you’ve learned to be strong now
the song sets you free
but who sings to me
I’m all alone now.”
-Barbra Streisand “Songbird” album

Sometimes, I have to wander: where have all the great composers of my time gone? Arguably, in the 1970s, they had Marvin Hamlisch. In the 80s, people have David Foster. In the 90s, at least I was aware of the compositions of Diane Warren. This decade, I could not think of a composer justifiable enough to represent this time.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” as Dickens put it. Seemingly, the 00s decade can be regarded as such. The controversy of digital music being accessed easily brought a paradoxical paradise. I can surmise that there are still people proliferating music piracy, and some people are still adamant to pay for their music.

Piracy advocates would argue: “I would not want to pay for an album which has 1 or 2 remarkable songs.” This is plausible. It would appear that the music industry right now is not a place for inspired artists, but for commercial survivalists. This can be seen on the article Mike Huckman wrote. He asserts: “The music business has never been more commercial than it is right now. Dirty Vegas’ “Days Go By” might have been a bygone […] but the commercial boosted the previously obscure song in the music charts and helped it nab a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording.” This is one of the many assertions that would convey how the music industry is for commercial survivalists. Radio cannot shoulder the burden for making a song famous and listen-able. Songs has to be “commercial” and “bankable.” One of the many examples of commercial and bankable songs is with boisterous bass and rhythm with shallow and repetitive lyrics. One can reasonably consider that rap and hip-hop are commercial and bankable.

Composers and singers have to make a living. They have to meet their physiological needs first before anything else. If they have to sacrifice artistry for the food in the dining table, then so be it. The changing times of a commercial survivalist allow them to do such thing. I just hope future music lovers would be proud because they would have a Michel Legrand, Dianne Warren or David Foster in their time.

Work Cited:
Mike Huckman
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