The evolution of music from 1680 to 2017

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/04/20/the-evolution-of-music-from-16.html

2 Likes

That is a pretty dead-eyed stare for someone playing such great music

6 Likes

He plays a little music from each year…

Nut-uh. Cheater totally skipped 1681, 1682, 1683…

6 Likes

He plays a little music from each year, starting with 1680 and ending with 2017.

He plays 337 pieces?

1 Like

Well, it’s a bit of a cheat at the end, as music stopped evolving around 1990.

11 Likes

Pointing is rude.

3 Likes

In my defense… dude was STARING right at me!!

9 Likes

I find it disconcerting that he stares through the camera into my soul which now feels empty. Great job besides that.

5 Likes

It’s a genre:

6 Likes

Came for the Maiden, stayed for Axel F

3 Likes

I liked the accusatory stare (and the glasses for Gymnopédie) and the intense pointy finger. The piano playing was pretty good too; however, I thought that the selection of music was rather apples and oranges. He starts with classical and ends with popular. I would have thought it would have been more effective to stick to one side of the spectrum or the other. And no Lady Gaga?

2 Likes

Most, if not all “classical” music was popular music when it was contemporary.

7 Likes

Yeah, but there would be a “popular” music scene among the common folk back in the day (Breakin’ in down, Polka-style!), which would be a better match up with contemporary popular music; just as there is a continuing evolution of “classical music” in our time.

Thinking about it, I wonder if there were street corner musicians banging out bootlegged versions of the latest meisterwork by Beethoven on their Hurdy-gurdy in Old Vienna?

5 Likes

This guy has a rather myopic idea of music. It’s kinda racist.

He seems unaware that there are musical traditions beyond European art music (what some people call “classical”) and Euro-American pop music. There are literally continents worth of music that he’s ignoring.

It’s really annoying that he decided to declare the evolution of his people’s music to be the evolution of all music (between the years stated). Remove your Eurocentric blinders, man!

3 Likes

I wish someone would do a complete playlist of this.

Of course, with it being John Peel, The Fall/Mark E. Smith feature heavily in the last 20 years. And of course Teenage Kicks by The Undertones is in there.

1 Like

Dating him must be brutal.

Well, that was mighty white of him. Not even a hint of the jazz age or its influence, except a little Glen Miller. Is he pointing to tell the colored people to stay away?

3 Likes

Agreed. At least acknowledge that it’s not all music, but a eurocentric view of popular music.

4 Likes

I think the most interesting thing about this presentation is how little evolution of music there is over 360+ years.

Yes, the classic songs are recognizable as classic songs, but that is because we know them and love them. Other than a trend to less musically dense songs in the 2000’s (which may mostly just be his song choice), the “modern” vs “classic” is more in the baggage we bring to the songs.

Which is why I think he stayed with European music… Had he went with music from around the globe, the differences between cultures would have swamped the time based differences.

It would be lovely if someone did a similar compilation of a thousand years of Japanese music or a thousand years of Chinese music. Obviously, any culture where enough recorded history of music would be interesting to compare.

I enjoy bluegrass music. Some of the earliest recordings of Bluegrass or Mountain Music sound amazingly modern, other than the recording technology.I

Edited to correct typo: “obviously, and culture” to “obvioualy, any culture”.

1 Like

Pardon me, doggo, isn’t that the Kalamazootanooga Choo Choo?

3 Likes