The Incredible Vanishing Instrument

Yes, I'm going for the old 'Double Post Day'. And it's not just because I'm avoiding dissertation work.

And it's not to ask if I should have used a capital 'L' for Lego. (I should, right?)

I was just listening to Springsteen's 'Born to Run' (avoiding dissertation work), and it struck me: what happened to the saxophone?

In the eighties, the saxophone was everywhere. It was the all purpose instrumental option; everywhere from Bruce (Springsteen, not Forsythe) to Sade to Duran Duran.

It seems that some time in the early nineties, it just became incredibly unfashionable. I can't pinpoint when exactly, but since then it's been absent from all popular music. (If anyone can think of exceptions, I'd be interested).

Also, my sister used to play it, which may explain why I notice its absence so much.

I think the reason it must have happened is because of what I have termed 'The Careless Whisper Effect'. This is the fact that the saxophone became the main instrument for Yuppies. I think its harsh sound symbolises the cruelty and opulence of the Thatcher years. It's also shiny, superficial and somewhat fraudulent (too good for the woodwind section? You brass-wannabe cunt!)

It seems to have been replaced by the more honest, hardworking genuine brass sections. The trumpet has regained its crown as king horn. And let's not dismiss the Flugel. That mofo is cool. I admit to joining in the preference for these instruments. It seems like the trumpet is more versatile. Is this true, or am I just biased against the good old sax?

The strange thing is that different eras become in vogue again. The seventies are cool. The eighties have become cool again, too. But this is mostly the 'cool' eighties bands that are being recycled by todays musicians.

This led me to realise that Yuppy culture will never be cool again. This is because the mainstream is never what we rediscover, but it is rather the counter-culture. The Velvets are cool, Cliff Richard is not. The Pistols are cool, Brotherhood of Man are not.

As a society we are weedling out the shit elements of culture and embracing the overlooked stuff from each era. It's a kind of Darwinian cultural selection, where you can absorb the Smiths, but can piss on Rick Astley (metaphorically).

I think that's pretty cool. The shit gets forgotten and the cream gets revisited. Maybe we are improving as a creative society.

Of course, this may mean the end of the saxophone: the Gordon Gecko of the musical world.

I hope it can be rediscovered. It doesn't have to be tarnished with the Reaganaut brush. After all, Charlie Parker was the fucking daddy.

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Sorry about writing a poorly thought out essay. I just felt I had to write it somewhere, or I might expel the inspiration from another orifice. I ain't cleaning up THAT shit.