I agree with you, Greg. What I object to is the overblown fireworks, light displays, guitar-smashing and hyperactive stage behavior that overwhelms any music that might, coincidentally, be going on. It has spilled over into theater as well.

We used to walk out of a Broadway show or movie musical humming any number of tunes from it. Carousel, Oklahoma, Picnic, Fiddler on the Roof; composers like Rogers & Hammerstein and Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick gave us stories and songs that touched the emotions and "went home with you." Now, using Andrew Lloyd Webber for an example, when you get past the stage effects, costumes and pyrotechnics, it is rare to remember more than one song that resonates from any particular play. Yet, he is hugely popular with a lot of people. I confess to enjoying some of his work, with these reservations. Horses for courses, so to speak.

The comment about overly serious musical folk who seem to pontificate from the stage also resonates.