Al Dimeola is very angry

[Korladis]

The kids today are the dumbest, laziest generation ever, and they're going to be the end of civilization as we know it - just like every generation before them.

Yep. People have such short memories. The exact same thing was said about all the old farts in here complaining about "kids today" when they were young.

The man paid his dues and doesn't like the direction of todays youngsters. I cant say I blame him. Todays music (commercial music, pop, counyry, hip hop, rock, requires less brain cells than the generation before it. I had to put in ear plugs during the NCAA Football National Championship to make sure I didn't lose any brain cells from the crap I heard. It is a shame what some people consider talent or entertainment.

There was tons of forgettable crap released in the days of yesteryear. You just don't remember it because it was forgettable crap.

We remember the good media from our youth, whether it's music, TV shows, movies... and tend to forget all the garbage that went along with it.

Same as it ever was. To quote Sturgeon's Law, 90% of everything is crap. That includes music, and from all periods of history.

People always think music has declined since their youth, but the reality is, most of the good stuff has always been on the fringes. If you're young and immersed in current music, you're going to find it. If you're older, and especially if your primary exposure to new music is from old people media lile radio and TV, you'll miss most of it.

There may be an argument that it's more difficult than ever to get something original past a major label, but guess who makes those decisions. That's right, old people, not kids. That's one reason those labels become less and less relevant to young musicians every year.

Exactly. Plenty of garbage was released back in the "good old days," too.

Yep. I think the 70's was THE decade for horrible songs. I can think of so many from that time.

Don't get me wrong though...there was also some really good stuff from that decade.

So every decade has it's gems and duds.

If there's so much good music around now..then why I am I not hearing it on radio, AM or FM...(like you would in the 60's or 70's and 80's)?

I'll sit out in my truck and go through every station on the dial while wifey is inside the mall shopping.

Nada. Just modern rock/pop auto-tune shyte or classic oldies.

But..you say...there is good music out there , you just have to look for it.

You didn't used to have to...because cream rises to the top ( or did back then).

I get most of my new good music by searching the internet these days. By "good" I mean stuff that appeals to me, not the Mcmasses.

Radio , AM or FM, isn't worth listening to for me.

I get more joy by turning on Stingray channel.

If you're just listening to the radio, you won't hear the good stuff. Also, young people who are into music generally don't listen to the radio for music. I stopped listening to the radio when I was maybe 13. I'm 30 now. The radio plays stuff that their Clear Channel corporate overlords think is safe.

The good stuff is on bandcamp, pandora, spotify, etc.

The radio is for listening to baseball games.

 

[Herrick]

People don’t care about virtuosity anymore. They care about ridiculous forms of hip-hop and people like Eminem, who are destructive and zero-talent

I'm not a hip hop fan but I always thought Enimen seemed liked a very talented dude. Can any hip hop fans explain why Eninem is "zero-talent" or is that just one of those "I hate that genre so there can't be any talent within it"?

 

[Chrisk-K]

Humanity is the most absurd species on this planet.

 

[Chrisk-K]

Nowadays, if you can use Garage Band on the iPad, you have "musical talent."

 

[zon6c-f]

Invalid Link Removed
This interview is 15 years old, but perhaps what was said then i even truer now.

I saw him with R T F. He sat in a chair scared stiff and just burned. He looked so noticeably uncomfortable that I thought maybe he had to call his folks to tell them he was playing a late gig

But he burned

Then came Elegant Gypsy....

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

I'm not a hip hop fan but I always thought Enimen seemed liked a very talented dude. Can any hip hop fans explain why Eninem is "zero-talent" or is that just one of those "I hate that genre so there can't be any talent within it"?

He’s incredibly talented. What he does has taken a ton of work and he is highly skilled. I have several Al Di Meola albums. I also have several Eminem albums. Not liking something does not mean it is not good- some people have a difficult time grasping that concept.

Any time I hear people complaining that certain genres of music are garbage or that the new generations are failing in certain ways, I remember Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes.” It’s a song lamenting the loss of skill, quality of entertainment, and general devolvement of society....and he was talking about our great-grandparent’s time.

 

[Mike Sorr]

The kids today are the dumbest, laziest generation ever, and they're going to be the end of civilization as we know it - just like every generation before them.

Brilliant.

 

[Two-Spirit]

The kids today are the dumbest, laziest generation ever, and they're going to be the end of civilization as we know it - just like every generation before them.

I think it annoys them that we, the 99%, want to listen to the product of 1% of the theory.

 

[Two-Spirit]

I'm a proud philistine. We don't owe academics anything. You have XM radio, and the internet, we can listen to what we want. Last time AC\DC came through they charge $100 for the nosebleed seats and sold out in 3 day. Sorry we won but that's nothing new people have always listened to common music like folk.

 

[Herrick]

He’s incredibly talented. What he does has taken a ton of work and he is highly skilled. I have several Al Di Meola albums. I also have several Eminem albums. Not liking something does not mean it is not good- some people have a difficult time grasping that concept.

Any time I hear people complaining that certain genres of music are garbage or that the new generations are failing in certain ways, I remember Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes.” It’s a song lamenting the loss of skill, quality of entertainment, and general devolvement of society....and he was talking about our great-grandparents time.

That's what I thought. I don't know if Enimen has anything to do with the music creation process but the way he organizes and delivers his rhymes (which I'm almost 100% sure he writes himself) is talented enough. His delivery is very unique. I don't know if "delivery" is the correct term for what I'm talking about. Again, I don't know a lot about hip hop.

 

[twinjet]

Damn, I LOLed!

Are there any parallels today, in that the mainstream isn’t necessarily hip to what you’re doing now?

Di Meola:
Sure, yeah. There’s disappointment at not being accepted in any way ... They go “How’s Al’s record selling? Oh, he only did X amount instead of this young band that sounds like a bunch of poopie selling 100,000 times more records? Well, even though it’s a bunch of poopie, hey, we want them.” ... Welcome to America.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

Doesn't he play better when he's angry, though?

Actually, he is always angry except when he plays.

 

[B-Mac]

I am sad that RTF never had a reunion. Sounds like some of them needed the bread.

Led Zep deka vu.

they had a reunion in 2009-2010 with all four members. Corea, Clarke, DiMeola and White

They played at the Keswick in Glenside, PA
Returns (album) - Wikipedia

They also did a quasi reunion with Frank Gamble replacing DiMeola and adding Jean-Luc Ponty in 2012

This is also around the time (actually a little later) Clarke did that thing with Whooten and Marcus Miller and then a different version of Right of Strings where DiMeola was replaced with Bela Fleck

A lot of cool stuff was happening surrounding Stanley Clarke at that time. I only got to see the first reunion for RTF where they played at the Keswick.

 

[Watchootognbout]

I am sad that RTF never had a reunion. Sounds like some of them needed the bread.

Led Zep deka vu.

They got back together in 2008.
I saw them at the Chicago Theater.

 

[blue4]

I'm surprised more young people don't appreciate bands with a flautist. Nothing provides a soundtrack to partying and young romances like irritable Al and his browbeaten flute player.

 

[rtav]

He cares about every detail in his music being accurate (fortunately, "quality" hasn't been an issue for most). Kill him.

 

[rtav]

The man paid his dues and doesn't like the direction of todays youngsters. I cant say I blame him. Todays music (commercial music, pop, counyry, hip hop, rock, requires less brain cells than the generation before it. I had to put in ear plugs during the NCAA Football National Championship to make sure I didn't lose any brain cells from the crap I heard. It is a shame what some people consider talent or entertainment.

Agreed.

 

[BassLife77]

no kid is going to pick up a guitar when pushing a button is way much easier. I also play guitar and its a very hard instrument to master unless you're gifted. as the sound of digital instruments advances is going to get worse. some even predict stringed instruments will eventually go extinct

 

[tradernick]

People always think music has declined since their youth, but the reality is, most of the good stuff has always been on the fringes.

Hmmm... I read this and thought 'has it'? Led Zep has obvious staying power. They weren't on the fringes. The Beatles?

What's the answer to the following question:

"What percentage of the best selling/most listened to music from 2017 has enough melodic integrity/compositional integrity to be capable of holding up 50 years from now?

And what percentage of the best selling/most listened to music from the 60's and 70's has that integrity?"

Hmmm..

 

[Korladis]

I'm not a hip hop fan but I always thought Enimen seemed liked a very talented dude. Can any hip hop fans explain why Eninem is "zero-talent" or is that just one of those "I hate that genre so there can't be any talent within it"?

I think saying Eminem is "zero-talent" kinda discredits the person saying it. Like his music or not, he's very good at what he does.

He’s incredibly talented. What he does has taken a ton of work and he is highly skilled. I have several Al Di Meola albums. I also have several Eminem albums. Not liking something does not mean it is not good- some people have a difficult time grasping that concept.

Any time I hear people complaining that certain genres of music are garbage or that the new generations are failing in certain ways, I remember Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes.” It’s a song lamenting the loss of skill, quality of entertainment, and general devolvement of society....and he was talking about our great-grandparents time.

To me, music is like food.

Not liking a dish doesn't mean that the chef who prepared it is bad. I'm just not going to like some things, no matter how great the person creating it is at their craft.

Every generation has trashed the tastes of the generations after them. My grandfather lamented the electrification of music and didn't care for any music that used primarily electric instruments or was loud. Good thing people made it anyway.

Damn, I LOLed!

Are there any parallels today, in that the mainstream isn’t necessarily hip to what you’re doing now?

Di Meola:
Sure, yeah. There’s disappointment at not being accepted in any way ... They go “How’s Al’s record selling? Oh, he only did X amount instead of this young band that sounds like a bunch of poopie selling 100,000 times more records? Well, even though it’s a bunch of poopie, hey, we want them.” ... Welcome to America.

Sounds like he's envious.