The Best Era Ever for New Music is... Right Now.

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Abbey Road, Nov 25, 2014.

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  1. Abbey Road

    Abbey Road Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    I'm in my mid-40s and list Ellington, Beatles, Dylan, Monk and Stevie Wonder as my all-time favorite artists, but I'd have to say that the best era ever for new recorded music is right now.

    • Diversity - With record labels no longer yielding the power of what reaches our ears, the field of diversity is virtually infinite with entirely new and viable genres popping up all of the time.

    • Power to the People (Musicians) - For the first time in the history of recorded music, there is only one thing standing between a musician and finding their audience: Talent. Yes, there will always be disposable bubble-gum pushed by the big labels, but if you have actual talent there is absolutely nothing preventing you from finding a huge audience. Talent is literally all you need to make a living wage as a recording/performing artist.

    • Democracy - Music lovers of all ages are no longer limited by their bank accounts (and DJs) as to what music they get exposed to. For the resourceful, all music can be sampled and listened to freely in CD quality (or better) fidelity. I discover scores of new artists every year, whose career I find worth supporting and following. The only limiting factor getting in the way of the amount of truly great new music I can discover, is time. As an added bonus, all of these acts can be heard in small venues and some of them will even play your living room.

    • Technology - Just as music lovers are not limited by their wallet, this is also true of musicians. Yes, musicians will always need gear and axes, but virtually every musician now has the power to make professional sounding recordings for pennies. Today's iPhones blow away your father's (read: "your," if you're one of the bloated Baby Boomers typically found on this board) Tascam in terms of recording, not to mention what you can do with a modest laptop or desktop PC.

    Among the incredible acts you most likely have never heard of that I've discovered recently (not all are brand new, but all had debut albums within the past decade): Kormac, Caravan Palace, Parov Stellar, Paramor, Shawn Barry, Robag Wruhme, The Beast, Poi Dog Pondering, Tape Five, RJD2, Northcape, Sandy Shalk, Tuba Skinny, Pomplamoose (plus great solo albums by members, Nataly Dawn and Jack Conte), Milky Chance, 8mm... to name just a few.

    Not to mention more mainstream—yet still alternative—acts like My Morning Jacket, Sufjan Stevens, Massive Attack, Thievery Corporation, etc. I feel bad for folks and Mr. Jones who are chasing down a rare pressing of an album they've heard thousands of times, while missing out on the incredible renaissance we are so fortunate to find ourselves in.
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2014
  2. nbakid2000

    nbakid2000 On Indie's Cutting Edge

    Location:
    Springfield, MO
    I told my friend this. As long as you have talent, there is an audience out there. It doesn't matter. It may be a smaller audience but you will reach people and they will find you eventually.
     
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  3. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    Thanks for the sympathy, but I'm very happy chasing down rare pressings of albums I love...and I certainly don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.
     
  4. wave

    wave Forum Resident

    Location:
    Allen Park, MI
    Yes!
     
  5. ibanez_ax

    ibanez_ax Forum Resident

    The pitchforks and torches are being prepared...
     
    Malina, jay.dee, Ettan and 12 others like this.
  6. Django

    Django Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    I have to say, I'm more excited, for lack of a better word, when I find great music by newer acts.
     
  7. Mr Bass

    Mr Bass Chevelle Ma Belle

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic
    If the OP is talking about the ability to produce, record and distribute music then I think the OP is on safe ground. If the OP is referring to the enduring repertory quality of this new music then the odds are against it, although nothing is certain. In the latter case I would say the 1780s , the 1820s, the 1880s and the pre WW1 era are going to be hard decades to beat. :)
     
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  8. Abbey Road

    Abbey Road Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    You did read where I said "recorded music," right? ;)

    Even with that said, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around you considering a time when the ONLY possible way of hearing music, was by being in the same room as a musician and their instrument, as being a better time for lovers of music.
     
  9. notesfrom

    notesfrom Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC USA
    There's always no time like the present - regardless; you wanna argue for a past time or a future time - you're wasting your time.
     
  10. nbakid2000

    nbakid2000 On Indie's Cutting Edge

    Location:
    Springfield, MO
    I suspect you'll get plenty of blowback from people who decry "free" music who still don't support many, if any, newer acts.
     
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  11. Mr Bass

    Mr Bass Chevelle Ma Belle

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic
    I only was referring to its enduring quality which you touched upon in the OP. I agree it was not the main focus of your post. Don't be so defensive.
     
  12. Abbey Road

    Abbey Road Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Wasn't meant as defensive. It just seems "enduring" is a nonsensical term to use when discussing new music. The Beatles weren't "enduring" in 1967, nor was Ellington in 1930.
     
  13. Ignatius

    Ignatius Forum Resident

    Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive
    But to be young was very heaven!
    Just thinking of this poem recently while tapping my bloated boomer toes to James Brown.
     
  14. motionoftheocean

    motionoftheocean Senior Member

    Location:
    Circus Maximus
    I have seen zero evidence to support the thread topic in the way he intended

    The only argument that remotely supports this position is that one can be exposed to music that is new relative to one's self: e.g. you're a kid who's never heard John Coltrane before and can now access virtually all of his recorded output in a matter of seconds.

    But for all of this great "new" music, nope, sorry, not buying it.
     
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  15. Django

    Django Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    There's nothing wrong with it, but I'd hope not to be the aging music fan who is only interested in re-buying old albums, reissues, some old live recording from years ago, remastered in 5:1 or whatever. The 90's would have been my era, but I have no real interest in all the 90's deluxe editions, live albums, rarities ect...I love those albums in their original form, but I've moved on and am after something different now.

    **for the record I did buy the suede vinyl reissues.
     
  16. Abbey Road

    Abbey Road Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    LOL. How many of the acts I've listed have you even listened to?

    :( for you. Your loss.
     
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  17. Olias of Sunhill

    Olias of Sunhill Forum Resident

    Location:
    Jim Creek, CO, USA
    Now is the best time ever to be a consumer of music. From vinyl to high rez downloads to free streaming, you can access music in more ways and in more places than ever before.

    As far as the "incredible renaissance" of new music happening now -- nope, not to my ears. Subjectively speaking, there's a remarkable sameness to contemporary music that flies directly in the face of theoretical democratization of the music business. I don't think of myself as particularly stuck in the past -- I listen to and purchase a lot of new music -- but the wheat-to-chaff ratio of new music is depressingly high.
     
  18. gregorya

    gregorya I approve of this message

    I'm confused... if "your" refers to boomers, then "your father's" refers to the boomer's father... few of whom owned Tascam anything... ;)

    Also, not sure where you live but where I live, iPhones tend to be pretty pricey and many people are limited by their wallets when it comes to owning one.
     
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  19. Abbey Road

    Abbey Road Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    The "your father's" was addressed at Xers and Millennials. ;)

    Used iPhones can be purchased in the United States for fractions of what a Tascam 8-Track cost in the 70s, a modest PC or desktop (which is more powerful than the phone) often for even less.
     
  20. gregorya

    gregorya I approve of this message

    Well yes, and used Tascam's could be found at a fraction of their original price too. I'm only pointing out that while musical technology has fallen in price over the years, people's wallets still dictate what they can afford. What's cheap to a "bloated boomer" (or a bloated Xer for that matter), may not be cheap to someone else.
     
    ian christopher likes this.
  21. ABull

    ABull Forum Resident

    The OP mentions diversity, power to the people, democracy and technology. It's telling that he doesn't mention quality, stunning melodies, arrangements and lyrics, works of genius, and the like.
     
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  22. The Good Guy

    The Good Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    The best era for new music is Right Now? I tell you what if anyone can upload on you tube some of this I am all ears.
     
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  23. Abbey Road

    Abbey Road Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Don't take my word for it; it's easy to look up and sample any of the artists I mentioned. It's silly to waste time trying to describe music that can be heard with only a few button clicks and searches. It's telling that ABull would ask me to describe melodies for him, as opposed to him actually sampling the music I recommended.

    You see who I listed as my favorite all-time artists in my OP, so I am obviously no stranger to "quality, stunning melodies, arrangements and lyrics, works of genius." I'm curious what ABull thinks has prevented more geniuses from being born since the 1960s and more great melodies from being written; it's an very odd assertion he makes.

    I'm happy to make more specific recommendations, i.e. albums, songs, but I think self-discovery is much more fulfilling.
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2014
  24. SwollenGoat

    SwollenGoat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ontario Canada
    There is tons of amazing new bands and music all over Youtube, you just have to want to find it...not expect it to be handed to you gift wrapped.
     
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  25. Arkay_East

    Arkay_East Forum Resident

    Location:
    ATX
    So the premise is that musicians and composers are becoming less talented? Less focused? Production has suffered?

    Ehhhhh.

    Dawes, Baptist Generals, White Denim, Budos Band, Black Angels etc etc ... You rock and psych guys are finding this stuff and you think it sucks?

    The biggest problem seems to be oversaturation . I find tons of great music on youtube and bandcamp that I never have the time to absorb. If you are spending good time actively searching for new music and coming up short, please share.
     
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