[NewMusic] Dying Industry...(sic)

[matthew at matthewgoodheart.com]

> I think that undercurrent is still there, if not
> overtly then at least in the subconscious history of
> the music - the whole collective improvisation
> (emphasis on COLLECTIVE) non-hierarchical,
> non-commericial aspect of things.

Yes, I think you are correct, although I have found it more recently to be
more a matter of form than of philosophy. In many ways the "finding your
own sound" aspect is in conflict with the "collective" aspect: the classic
tension between individual and society in a way; and in some ways it 
could be argued that in the kind free-improv done locally has achieved a
good balance. But in other ways, it might be argued that that "balance"
now has it's own form of accepted discourse outside of the actual
negotiation between individuals and the group. What if, for example, one
subsumes their individualism to the group discourse, and over the course
of the performance one simply does not play. Not because of any
Cagean-silence ideas, but rather the voice of the group simply does not
need the assertion of that individual- it would alter the course too much
or the collective statement has been made. It's a different conception of
the role of the individual in a group of improvisers. I haven't really
heard that kind of thing, or not in a long time, at least.