I remember vividly when I was a student how fascinated I was of the point of view of an Austrian philosopher who believed that the art has offered as much as science in the rise of the western civilization. To be precise, this fellow expressed an anarchistic theory which was based on an idea that everything is equal in the modern model of the western evolution or development. I am not quite sure how up to date or current this view sounds nowadays but I, personally, would have loved to see some examples where music would change –even for a little bit or a while- the world as we know it.
Having said that, any evaluation should be implied by taking into account the specific requirements of the era or the times that we are living in. After all, the fans want to see nostalgia shows because they will remind them of a time when things were not so hectic and life was or seemed to be more innocent. This is the ticket for remaining forever young. You can see that in concerts all over the world. The vast majority of the fans attend a show in order to listen to the well-known (and well-played, I must add) hits and they are not into the obscure songs. For instance, I was talking recently with a good friend of mine; he was in Marseille watching Deep Purple playing a few of the lesser known tracks of their back catalogue. The crowd was absolutely cold and motionless. When Steve Morse played the first notes of “black Night”, everybody was up and jumping! Is this what we really want?
To be frank, I totally understand why the bands invest on the nostalgia factor. As I get older, I understand this even better. But those of us who are really into music, we want to see our favorite artists producing new music even though we know beforehand that it will most likely be inferior to the classic albums of theirs. It doesn’t really matter, right? The role models should be Rod Stewart, Bruce Springsteen and why not…Saxon! You think that Biff Fyfford doesn’t know that their latest album “Battering Ram” pales compared to the classic “Denim and Leather”? Yes, he is perfectly aware of it but he keeps punching and he keeps moving forward. That’s what really counts!
All in all, nostalgia is good and crucial for the fans. At the same time, it holds all the artists back. They can’t really change the world…it’s not up to them. But what they can really do is change each and every one of us with their music. This fact alone is something that should not be taken lightly at all. If they succeed in this, maybe this Austrian philosopher will be proven right after all these years…
Sakis Nikas
