[Mortte Jousimo]

Someone has mentioned something about standards of good music. But I haven´t read anyones definition about that. So what´s yours?

Here´s mine:
1. Artists have to make me feel. The song can be very skillful played and have a interesting structure, but if it doesn´t make me feel, it has no value to me. I also demand strong feelings. Many prog music takes me somewhere away from the moment, "somewhere over the rainbow" (for example Wigwam, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes). I also like a lot kind of weird feelings music gives (for example Velvet Underground, the Stooges, the Birthday Party). Some artists can do me both (for example Sonic Youth, King Crimson, Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart, Dr. John) and maybe that´s the reason why I like them the most! Somehow I also like sad, dark, kind of "bluesy" feelings more than positive feelings music brings. But I don´t like music that is too cold, warm music warms also my heart. But it´s better music irritates me than it is indifferent to me. I think there is too much indifferent music these days.

2. Artist have to be him/herself. It is easy to heard when artist try to be something else he/she is. Also I think artist have to play music he has skills enough. It sounds so sad when somebody has made for example aggressive song and somebody plays in that song drums like he is meditating. Of course if music only reason is to show, how skillful someone is (for example Dream Theater) it doesn´t work.

3. Artist have to sound natural. That´s the reason why I like fifties/sixties/seventies music so much. Nowdays most of the music is overproduced. Of course there is bands I like that not sound like 50-70eens stuff, but quite many have there some "old" element in the modern environment (for example Portishead, New Order).

4. Artist must have diversity enough. I don´t mean every artist has to have repertoire from symphony to punk. I think for example Rolling Stones and Sonic Youth have diversity enough (for example in EVOL journey is quite long between Starpower and in the Kingdom #19). I think nowdays many artist have personal, good song, but then rest of the album songs is made in that same method and I think it is very boring. To me always the whole albums is much more important than one song.

Of course there is artists I prefer that are outside these definetions. But it´s long time I have become a fan of such an artist (maybe Madonna is the latest).