The "Is X Dead?" Meme Is Not Unique To Jazz

Even NPR is not a safe haven from the last volleys of the Jazz Wars, as the comment section of a recent blog post at A Blog Supreme showed. As David Adler points out, the post itself is innocuous, but the comment section quickly spun into a round of contradictory accusations.

Why can't jazz still sound like Dexter Gordon? Why does jazz still sound like Dexter Gordon? Why are young musicians so afraid to break the rules? Why are young musicians so heedless of the rules?

But this somewhat reactionary tendency to lament the loss of a golden age is not limited to the jazz world. Last week Rachel Maddux asked in the pages of Paste Magazine, Is Indie Dead?. Hey, at least this pathology isn't limited to jazz listeners...


Image via JazzTimes