Using (and abusing) music

Interesting chat at Rootsville with Pete Ashton, he of many blogs, and Gigbeth obergruppenfuehrerinn Clare Edwards. Sparked by Pete's spot-on comments on Chamberlain Square in Brum Blog, we got on to the public use of sound, and music in particular. We use and consume music everywhere - it gets thrown at us, whether we like it or not (Christmas shopping, anyone?). And so we devalue it. We disconnect from the the people who make the stuff. And it shows when you go to a gig. I hate it when people treat live musicians as aural wallpaper. At Rootsville, for example, The Love Child Electric turned in a great set, but that didn't seem to matter to the lads next to me. And they probably thought they were fans of the band, as well. I don't get it. Canned music may be a commodity, but music makers are not. There is a distinction...