------------------------------------ why should it be different for Evan Parker or Mick Jagger? Can't we just say Brotzmann is a great free-jazz stylist and his style is popular? ------------------------------------ Well, that's kind of funny to say free-jazz is popular, but in the avant-garde listening community the "newness" (which still must remain acceptable somehow though- say with lots of apparent forethought and not a bit of whimsy or humor) can count more than the quality. In that sense appearance is just as important there as it is in the mainstream. So some might be missing that Brotzmann is playing better than he ever has (and I'm not sure that's true, just an example) because we've tagged him and his kind with their importance being something other than just well-played music. Just like in the big money music where image can obscure the music, there's a bunch of people who might not really be listening due to some surface distraction. And some of the artists aren't really playing up to snuff either due to similar factors, but that's a different issue. But the idea that we may not really be listening and they might not really be playing and the truth of the whole thing is sidelined by shallower concerns, just sounds awful. But this happens a lot in life I guess. -----Ryan Novak __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com