Music is dumbing down – and that’s no bad thing

• Is music dumbing down? Yes, comes the answer from thousands of disgruntled music fans of a certain age, who look back fondly to the old days. Taylor Swift isn’t a patch on Blondie. John Adams is nowhere near Stravinsky’s level. Jazz pianist Robert Glasper would be played off the stage by Oscar Peterson. Film composer Hans Zimmer isn’t fit to tie Max Steiner’s or Eric Korngold’s shoelaces. And so and so on.