Dear Oracle:
I take interest in reading The Oracle whenever a new issue is released. No matter how much I enjoy reading the articles, however, I have a particular complaint about one published earlier this year. The center spread dealing with new, old and mixed music struck my interest, and not in a good way.
When I first read the articles I was hoping for very informed and well-written articles on the evolution of current music and not articles on current fads. I really enjoyed reading the article about “old” music. It spoke of great rock ’n’ roll legends who have affected music in society today. My complaint is on the “mixed” and “new” music articles.
I took it, as a musician, as a grave insult when the “mixed” music article spoke of the new generation of music being reliant on sampling, when in fact new artists are releasing mind-blowing and genre-bending material that is being overlooked by the world at large. Yet the article speaks of Kid Cudi, a lyrical powerhouse I may say, but doesn’t speak of truly groundbreaking composers such as Tosin Abasi of Animals as Leaders. Tosin cites an old artist, Kurt Cobain, as a major influence to show building a bridge to the future through pieces of the past.
A greater insult was the “new” music article. The article says new music is music that is on the popular side, saying artists like Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and Usher are worth citation or pictures in the article. This is not music. This is regurgitated material that has been shoved down the throats of the public at large so record companies can get a quick buck. Although the article does bring up great points of finding respect between old and new music, I believe the points were misrepresented and research was not thoroughly done. But I would like to say I do enjoy new popular artists like Gnarls Barkley and Ceelo Green.
In closing, I would like to say that when doing an article as sensitive as differing music tastes, it would be appreciated if there were actual artists and not record company boy toys, or people looking for their 15 minutes of fame.
Sincerely,
Mikiyas Negussie
