....and yet, if they belong to our own group, no one can summon up the courage to tell them that. I've heard performances on THIS forum that were just as awful as the one referenced above, and yet tons of praise, attaboys, 'great job', etc., were heaped on them. Worst still (for me, anyway) are those that unabashedly heap praise upon THEMSELVES. Few are as good as they THINK they are. And Mark is right (yeah, I actually said it ) in that technology has allowed moderate to NO-talent rank amateurs to dilute the ranks of well trained professionals, OMB's especially.

The thing is, are we wrong to RESPECTFULLY point out serious flaws (or just plain ol' lack of musical skill) in the performances of our own members? Are we so afraid that "no one will risk posting their music" unless we proclaim every performance a masterpiece? Are we really doing people a favor by allowing them to delude themselves into thinking that they're really good enough to be out there playing in public? Truth is, it takes more than just 'getting paid' to make you a true professional (unless we've decided to change the definition of 'professional'). We would not allow a mechanic with the same skill level work on our luxury car or a doctor with the same skill level to operate on us. But somehow, in music we accept people like the guy referenced above (GELU Music), obstensibly because they 'do no harm' (except to our ears and musical sensibilities). Oh well. I guess we've just gotten used to 'alt facts' and 'alt reality'.

On a brighter note, the world will continue to produce good and talented musicians and quality music will continue to be produced. It will NEVER be the most popular because the most popular is usually that which requires the least from the listener. The attitude seems to be, 'if I have to think about it, I don't want it'. Oh well.

Thoughts? (especially yours, Mark ).

chas