[Aman]

As the title says - vote for it!

 

[ElectroJunkie]

John Lennon

 

[saturnine]

Rap music. It started a downward spiral at MTV, which started a downward trend in popular music.

Next up would be NSYNK and Britney Spears, and next would be Creed, Puddle of Mud, etc.

EDIT: I know there is good Rap/R&B out there, it just isnt played on the radio or MTV.

*EDIT: Poll wasnt added yet

I voted the death of John Lennon.

 

[Aman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saturnine Rap music. It started a downward spiral at MTV, which started a downward trend in popular music. Next up would be NSYNK and Britney Spears, and next would be Creed, Puddle of Mud, etc. EDIT: I know there is good Rap/R&B out there, it just isnt played on the radio or MTV.

I was going to add that to the poll but I didn't want to piss people off

 

[Sovkiller]

Com'on no death of Hendrix

?????

 

[Salt Peanuts]

For me, from the list, it would be the death of SRV.

 

[Aman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller Com'on no death of Hendrix ?????

Wow - don't know how I forgot about him.. hmm - sorry about that.

If a Mod wants to edit the poll, they definitely should

 

[sno1man]

You also left off the murder of Marvin Gaye by his own father as well as the murder of Sam Cooke.

But if you really want a tragedy to music, it was the day that Ashlee Simpson entered a recording studio

 

[TyrionX]

Uh, George Harrison wasn't murdered...he died of cancer.

 

[Salt Peanuts]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sno1man But if you really want a tragedy to music, it was the day that Ashlee Simpson entered a recording studio

HAHAHAAHAHA! Good one!

 

[MusicJunkie]

For me the greatest tragedy is the death of Clifford Brown in a car accident. He was in his mid twenties and already the best bop trumpeter by far. Who knows what musical gems we missed out on by his passing. Truly a sad day.

MJ

 

[JMT]

The edit possibilities to this poll are endless. Jim Croce, Terry Kath, Karen Carpenter, the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bobby Darin, Marvin Gaye, to name a few. I have added Hendrix and corrected George Harrison, but I think if you think it someone other than is on the poll, then simply post it.

Personally, John Lennon's murder and Terry Kath's (Chicago) suicide were the tragedies that shook me the most.

 

[Kameleon]

Other - the decline and madness of Brian Wilson. It's so great to see him back on his feet and making music again, although I can't help wonder what would have happened if Smile had come out in 1967...

Oh, and don't forget Jeff Buckley...R.I.P.

 

[Twombly]

The day Fifty Cent was shot...because then he thought "damn, I'm cool" and started making crappy songs about candy shops and birthdays.

 

[PSmith08]

The death of Buddy Holly is my vote. "The day the music died." Of course, that statement is predicated on an over-romanticized view of 50s rock-n-roll, which had more in common with country/western/gospel than anything else. I do not share that view, but the death of Holly was a big cultural event.

For me, the biggest tragedies (they're equal) in the whole of music history are the premature death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the death of Richard Wagner. It's clear that Mozart, from the non-Sussmayr sections of the Requiem, was beginning to head in a new direction that sort of prefigures Beethoven. In fact, in his 1991 Teldec recording of Sym. 39-41, Harnoncourt plays them as sort of prefiguring Beethoven in various ways. However, that aspect really comes to the front in the Requiem. It is clear that Mozart was beginning to head in the direction of Romanticism in some small way. He was still firmly grounded in the Classical, but there are hints of overtones of something new. Had he lived, there is no telling where he - and music - might have gone.

The death of Richard Wagner, at 70, was not unexpected - he was a bit old - but tragic for his loss. I recall reading that he had several new works, including a comic work, planned after Parsifal. His style advanced and progressed in such a way that another 5 or 10 years might have seen new advances and new waters charted. Since most musicians, until rather recently, have either been in response to or contradiction of Wagner, any longer of a life might see today's orchestral music scene radically different. Like Mozart, the tragedy of Wagner's death is a "what might have been" tragedy.