If music really is getting worse...

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Leggs91203, May 3, 2019.

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  1. ZenArcher

    ZenArcher Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham, NC
    I’ve given this question a lot of thought. Am I stuck in the past, unable to broaden my musical appreciation of current popular music?

    I listen to and enjoy all kinds of music, from any era, from around the world. Django Reinhardt, King Crimson, Patti Page, KC and the Sunshine Band, Merle Haggard, classical, gamelan, Gyuto Monks, Bill Frisell, free jazz, you name the genre and I love music of that genre.

    So why do I find current popular music pretty much unbearable? There’s a visceral reaction against the bland, formulaic, heartless pop music I hear on the radio and in public. If I were ageist, or narrow minded, why am I able to listen to something 70 years old, or from some dark corner of the world?

    I’ve concluded that today’s popular music is, indeed, objectively less innovative, less enjoyable and less meaningful than at any time in recorded history. This is to say nothing of the many amazing artists flying under the radar and doing outstanding work. It’s just that the music industry is no longer interested in shaking things up in the world of music. It’s truly a manufacturing industry now. Their focus is on replicating whatever sold yesterday and selling more of that. Really, has popular music changed much at all in the last 20 years? Not compared to, say, between 1950 and 1970.
     
    wes4usc likes this.
  2. Schoolmaster Bones

    Schoolmaster Bones Poe's Lawyer

    Location:
    ‎The Midwest
    Yes, Steppenwolf were better than they were given credit for.

    But I would counter that Creed and Candlebox were the 90s version of Iron Butterfly and Strawberry Alarm Clock.
     
    Former Lee Warmer likes this.
  3. Exotiki

    Exotiki The Future Ain’t What It Use To Be

    Location:
    Canada
    this whole tread is unbelievably toxic
     
    Grant likes this.
  4. Former Lee Warmer

    Former Lee Warmer Emotional Rescue

    Location:
    NoBoCoMO
    I guarantee Lyle could get some young engineer to bring a laptop and some mics over to his house and record some songs on the super cheap if he wanted to... $300 to master, he could produce an album for less than $3k, if he wanted to...
     
  5. Former Lee Warmer

    Former Lee Warmer Emotional Rescue

    Location:
    NoBoCoMO
    So where does Godsmack fit in?
     
  6. daveidmarx

    daveidmarx Forem Residunt

    Location:
    Astoria, NY USA
    Giggity
     
    Diamond Dog likes this.
  7. Former Lee Warmer

    Former Lee Warmer Emotional Rescue

    Location:
    NoBoCoMO
    You don't have to read it, you know?
     
  8. Schoolmaster Bones

    Schoolmaster Bones Poe's Lawyer

    Location:
    ‎The Midwest
    I suppose that depends on your opinion of The Doors.
     
  9. Walter Sobchak

    Walter Sobchak Forum Resident

    And it would sound like an album recorded for $300
     
  10. Walter Sobchak

    Walter Sobchak Forum Resident

    The irony is that 99 percent of the threads on this site are devoted to incredibly detailed discussions of reissues of 40 and 50 year old records.
     
  11. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Some folks simply can't hear the steep decline in music.

    I hear artists that can't sing, horrid lyrics, guitar chords with no melody just static noise of a roar. Female artists without enough life experiences singing without depth lyrically or vocally. These artists are getting signed to major record deals. I see their videos at the gym.

    Very poor quality I am seeing out there in the world.
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2019
    Purple Jim and Curveboy like this.
  12. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    I guess when you look at the output of artists from say 1964-1984 it's jaw dropping...and they from 1985-2001 it gets a little less so...and then from 2002-on it's like a needle in a haystack. Yeah, there is still good stuff being produced but it's under a pile of crap and you really have to search for it.
     
    quicksrt likes this.
  13. Beatnik_Daddyo'73

    Beatnik_Daddyo'73 Music Addiction Personified

    ...some could say music is getting better. Opinions are like.......
     
    Terrapin Station likes this.
  14. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    True, the claim that we're too old to appreciate how great it all is is not cutting it anymore. The songwriting, vocals, harmony, melodies, are just not strong like they were in spades previously.
     
    Curveboy likes this.
  15. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    No one is saying that...no one.
     
    quicksrt likes this.
  16. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    One would have to be tone deaf.
     
    Curveboy likes this.
  17. Walter Sobchak

    Walter Sobchak Forum Resident

    I think what’s really depressing is that given the nature of the business today there won’t be any ignored artists today that will be hailed twenty years from now as the true artistes of their era. For as little as they sold in their day, the Velvets, Big Star, and Nick Drake were all on major labels.
     
    quicksrt and SRC like this.
  18. troggy

    troggy Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow

    Location:
    Benton, Illinois
    Creed were what, over 20 years ago? It can't be getting worse than that.
     
    quicksrt and Keith V like this.
  19. Keith V

    Keith V Forum Resident

    Location:
    Secaucus, NJ
    You said a lot. The majority of people are too lazy not to settle for what the hit stations tell them is good.
     
    quicksrt and Curveboy like this.
  20. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    That's the really frightening part, while the cream rises to the top eventually, there just might not be any cream to rise anywhere in 5, 10, or 30 years from now.
     
    Walter Sobchak likes this.
  21. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    And this is an argument I get into at work. I say these "kids" do not know what good music is because they have never heard it.
    What I get from them is that it's all about the "beat."
     
    wes4usc, Keith V and quicksrt like this.
  22. Beatnik_Daddyo'73

    Beatnik_Daddyo'73 Music Addiction Personified

    ....yep, like I said “opinions”.
     
    quicksrt likes this.
  23. hodgo

    hodgo Tea Making Gort (Yorkshire Branch) Staff

    Location:
    East Yorkshire
    This negative thread is now closed!
     
    dalem5467, ndoheny, Grant and 2 others like this.
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