The discussion about the pace of the music evolution

It's "us" (people that would even discuss this) not evolving, the music is doing fine.

 

Watch the very end. He goes into full blown tin-foil hat mode.

 

/////////////////From Beethoven to Bieber...it's been a crazy ride!

 

Complete drivel and with absolutely no understanding of how music or, for that matter, the human race works.

 

Talking of drivel. I've noticed that Justin Bieber is totally the guy people love to hate - why is that?

 

Music is actually progressing much more rapidly now, because young musicians have access to everything in the world via YouTube and streaming. I can only imagine what this kind of access would have been like for me when I was a kid.

 

Born in '67. Liked jazz/bebop as a kid (thanks to my father). Big Charlie Parker fan by age 8. Heard Elvis on AM radio. Absolutely hated it.

Discovered FM radio around '75. Got heavily into rock (pretty much what's called 'classic rock' these days).

Got into punk big time in '78. Then around '81 I heard new wave and went nuts. Huuuge new wave fan.

Got heavily into Kraftwerk when "Computer World" was released. From there I jumped into the universe of Klaus Schulze & '70s Tangerine Dream which I was just discovering in the early '80s.

Heard Kate's "Hounds of Love" in '85. I was speechless. This was more than just 'music' to me. This album became my bible for a decade.

Loved early rap (all that Sugarhill stuff) and also neoclassical metal around the same time. Go figure.

Got into grunge in '90. Loved it until it died.

Late '90s- Muse, a ton of alt rock, early hip hop before it bacame all about status and bling.

2000s- Heavily into trance.

Last decade- a mishmash of things I heard, mostly from friends, all genres.

Today- let me think about that and get back to you.

My point is that as the music evolved I always found something new that turned me on. Until around 2012 when it all started sounding like rubbish to me. Why? Hard to say. It kept evolving. Seems I didn't. Guess I finally got too old to be able appreciate it.

 

I'm still waiting for some clear proof but so far what's been shown has either no melody at all, or just a rehash of decades past. And not done as well. Possibly DE-evolution as far as pop music, and stagnant for the rest. It's like buying a photocopy of a book, I'd prefer the real deal instead thanks!

 

Envy. Just hearing his name has that ‘sploosh’ effect on most girls under 25. Plus more financial success than anyone you know.

 

Three pages in and I'm still walking on all fours

 

Is there a limit to what may be accurately defined as evolution of an art form such as music ? If we examine the common definition :

"the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form."

Or are the developmental stages of art limited by humans' tactile perceptions in three dimensions ?

Perhaps the stages of evolution are limited to the organic hybridisation of root forms, in a way comparable to the fertile genesis of Rock & Roll as a true organic hybrid of Country, Western Swing, Boogie Woogie, and Jump Blues. (?)
Might it be sensible to strive to differentiate the developmental stages of contemporary music in nuanced language, e.g. - growth, expansion,
progression, extension, adaptation,
transmogrification (?)

edit:

Just thinking out loud .. there may well be academic consensus, just wondering really.

 

I did not see the original thread, so I ass7ume it went bad somewhere and was removed. But, I see this thread as a way to revive it. Good topic.

I think music evolution has come to somewhat of a standstill. I think it is because:

1) the major content providers (labels, streaming vendors, and all types of radio) are for better or worse, still the gatekeepers. They are all publicly-traded corporations with shareholders who like their dividends. That causes the companies to play it safe, not to take risks, and has the consequence of squashing creativity. Because of this, the audience/consumers have been conditioned to like and expect certain types of sounds. All of this control feeds off of each other.

2) Constant high-profile lawsuits of copyright infringement against artists have had a chilling effect on creativity. Artists get worried that something they write will sound too much like something someone else did, and they'll get sued.

I honestly don't think we'll ever see another era like the rapid changes in the 60s, or the sheer diversity of the 70s. I don't think my opinion is based on my having grown up in those eras, it is based on the lack of innovation and inability for audiences to accept anything outside of their comfort zone.

 

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

 

Because he has a punchable face