Here's a feed from my viewpoint into the discussion..

I like the categorization in A and B talents, Mike. This is very true, and the Idol and all the industry competition stuff is all B talent hunting. Great thing for the industry is that the shows are marketing those guys, so when the seasons are finished, the music business have had free product development and marketing from TV.

But if you put up A talents (if they'll ever bother) in those shows, it would be too big a handful for the audience to digest. Great art is often not as immediately likable as pop culture, and state-of-the-art 'art' is as much about annoying people as it is about entertaining them, because one of the many purposes of art is to mirror the values in our current society and perhaps even suggest changes as well as expanding the human territory of 'openness'. So if we are so annoyed by the current pop music, it could as easily be that we get a mirror up our face that we don't like! That alone, would justify it's existance IMO.

But, the gap between blue collar consumer culture and elitist development of art has been prevalent for centuries, and just last century there was a controversy between the elitist philosopher Nietzche and Wagner, where Nietzche put down Wagners music as pop culture. So the popular have always been connected with something negative, nothing new here. Most people celebrate Wagner in quite a different way today.

Musicians often subscribe to the elitist art view, because it's cooler in their circles and helps their reputation, but also because it's somewhat necessary to cultivate broad tastes. But to make a living they have to play what the public are asking for, it has been the Barde's destiny since the beginning of time. So sure, great musicians might just use 5% of their virtuoso skills to play chart hits, but that doesn't make it lesser music.

I think music is too universal and important to leave with the A team musicians, as music is also a language of communication and a way to reach out to each other. So the A team talent dimension certainly contributes to create great music, but music is too big to be dependent upon that one variable only, and a song can even do better without great musicians, if it communicates something universal that strikes a chord in everyone. If music does that, that chord don't need to be played by an A talent who wants all the credit for musical greatness.

As far as my experience goes, the musician Jim tells about is nothing out of the ordinary. I don't know that guy, and he might be great, but most musicians I know don't ask for keys and can play the hell out of any tune by ear. That's standard musicianship, and most musicians in command of their craft can do that. They have had time and guidance to develop their skills, but one thing that they don't do, is to use those priveledges to mock people who haven't been so determined, fortunate or talented in their life.

I think collaborations are a sign of this also. Music does not belong exclusively to the A team musicians anymore like in some prior decades. Some see this as a 'decline', mostly those with the elitist idea of music, but others see it as 'progress', because, at least the production of - music, now is more in touch with people or society.

As the societies have become more and more homogenized in the westerns world, so has radio, so has music. As money have become our value no one, music industry reflects that by being focused on the selling points more than 'artistic' value. As sex is one of the major selling points, artists have to be sexy, music gets to be vulgar. It's a mirror, it's art, and yes it might be annoying, but not 'poor' in any 'objective' sense. Another thing is that we might not like the way society has evolved. Jim, then you know what to do - create some 'state-of-the-art' art, with the purpose of change. Don't celebrate music from the 60'ies or another past decade, the current charts are full of those reissues - that is part of the current fixation of crude culture. Write some new songs, new music that reflects what you think or want wink

Mike Caro is a perfect example of such a musician, who have A team skills and talent, but really seem to speak from the position that music everyone's, and therefore must be including in nature. Then it is perfectly legit to rank artists and discuss different tastes..

And my viewpoints here are not 'facts', Im proud to say laugh