I think it's a bit biased based on algorithms. A band/artist's page with a lot of subscribers will always be advertised. There will always be a recency bias, too. I'd add age, too. The younger, the more manipulation. It's sad to see some great artists or bands who have 5 views.. I don't know if you are aware of the singer Catherine Howe from the UK, but she has the typical YouTube page (with the musical note symbol next to her name to signify it's her official page) and she has only 297 subscribers. So she'll never have a chance to even compete because YouTube is only interested in ad-revenue. I did another random check and I'll include the link below.. Peter Bank's Empire (co-founder of YES, which is pretty popular).. 255 views
"Why is the music from my generation so awesome?" It's because you were born in that era. You are the reason those bands are awesome.
In a way, this discussion reminds me of the threads where people list their all-time favorite album. There, you basically have three groups: 1. Those with one (or perhaps two or three) all-time favorite albums, all of which they first heard in their teenage years and continue to be their favorite(s) forever 2. Those that find it impossible to pin down an all-time favorite as their musical tastes are constantly evolving while discovering new music 3. Those that can pinpoint their favorite albums, but with the caveat that it has shifted over time. The majority in Group 1 seems to be the most oblivious to music beyond their teens and twenties, while those in Group 2 seem to be the most open to listen to what is current. Just an observation. Don't read too much in it.
Are we talking about exclusively the youth who only listens to mainstream pop in this thread premise though, or youth in general? While there is a general pop audience that is fairly insular to that stuff, I think that it is innacurate to count out the decent percentage of youth who do know and enjoy older music alongside non-Top 40 artists of now - while maybe not AS susbstantial, substantial enough to where they absolutely should be counted as a relevant and large amount IMO
A few years ago I was in Reykjavík, sharing a hot tub with some teen-aged Icelandic boys. I know a fair amount about modern Icelandic music, but when I asked them who their favorite artists were I got the immediate answer, in unison: “Pink Floyd and Led Zep.” Those two acts seem to be a rite of passage for boys of that age, and have been since the 70s, and to a lesser extent, Black Sabbath, AC/DC and a few others. I don't think the same holds true for girls of that age, Drake and other, more recent, pop stars fulfill that role now.
Music is so much better when lots of other people like it too. People know what they want because they know what other people want. - Theodor Adorno
Is this another one of those thinly disguised “new music sucks” threads we see every week? Yes, I think it is.
That was my thought as well sadly! Lol so I am trying to help make this thread not that, by discussing the actual cultural reasons as to why there are a decent amount of young people into older bands from generally the '60s onwards as opposed to a musical judgement call of any given musical era
Painting in very VERY broad strokes, I believe rock alienated itself in the 00s by switching the focus from universal catchiness to shredding prowess and HEAVYness at all costs. Hip hop, while on top the world culturally and financially, is so drenched in of the moment cultural signifiers that it makes the groovy’s and outa sight’s of disco seem timeless so very rarely does one artist or one hit stick. Indie music disappeared up it’s own ass and can’t make a universal hit like Talking Heads Psycho Killer, it’s Marie Antoinette music for rich kids. Like I said, very broad strokes. Can only speak from my millennial who tends to suck up to boomers perspective.
I kept it that short because he's one of those philosophers where I usually disagree with multiple things per sentence. So to get into it in any detail would be a huge thing that would probably end up being at least twice the length of Negative Dialektik. Unlike with music, I'm negatively critical towards many philosophers. Even the folks that I'd rank highest (Bertrand Russell, WVO Quine, for example) are folks with whom I disagree at least as often as not. With continental philosophers (and broadly, so "continental" here includes the Frankfurt School), it's pretty much par for the course that I disagree with multiple things per sentence, plus I hate the style of writing, too. There are a few exceptions to this--for example, I quite like Michel Foucault, if one considers him continental, but there aren't many exceptions.
This is so true. Reminds me in 2011 when Arcade Fire won Album Of The Year as a surprise over Eminem, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry who all dominated the pop charts that year. Twitter exploded with "who is Arcade Fire?" despite their popularity in the indie and buzz circles but your average Katy Perry listener wasn't even aware of something outside of the pop bubble,and AF were fairly "huge" at the time, if it shows how little awareness pop fans have outside of their circle
Top 20 artists on Spotify (millions of monthly listeners) 1 Justin Bieber 84.35 2 Ed Sheeran 74.75 3 The Weeknd 69.11 4 Dua Lipa 67.17 5 Coldplay 61.81 6 Doja Cat 61.77 7 Lil Nas X 61.35 8 Drake 60.98 9 The Kid Laroi 58.61 10 J Balvin 57.30 11 Ariana Grande 56.01 12 Billie Eilish 54.24 13 Adele 50.72 14 David Guetta 50.34 15 Jack Harlow 48.42 16 Olivia Rodrigo 48.41 17 Bruno Mars 48.37 18 Eminem 47.91 19 Maroon 5 47.64 20 Elton John 47.26 As of October 24, 2021
Perfectly normal and understandable. This is my time and I listen to artists from my time. It was always like that, really.
Youngster here - I was born in 1999, and a good 95% of my collection is 60s & 70s folk/country music. The truth is its just not as good these days. I never even had a genuine music interest until I heard Dolly Parton and from there I've found a lot of modern music that is very good, too...but there is something th8se old timers have that very few modern artists can match. For me it's as simple as that.
It's pretty obvious most that most who believe older music is "popular "with the youth are not looking at the bigger picture outside of their own music bubble. Yes, if you post here and have children that grew up with your music and have taken a liking to it, then of course you are going to think it's popular with the youth. Yes, there are some young Youtubers out there that like the old stuff as well - but they're probably on Youtube and here talking about it because none of their friends are into it. But in general, it's very far from popular. It hasn't been popular for at least 20 years and probably even longer.
I teach 18-25s (and have done for over a decade) and I assure you, I have never met a student who cared about any of those bands, ever
