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Your thoughts on music today

Archive: 60 posts

What do you think of music today?

Has is become better? Worse?

Me personally I look on iTunes, and I see all the top songs are dance songs and love songs or a mix of the two.

It makes me think this generation is all about having fun and feeling good. Escapism.

I think music, production wise, is great. Better than it has ever been. But I think music should be about more than and overload of serotonin...Music should be more emotionally diverse and deep. Music has become a bit shallow imo...

Your thoughts?		2011-05-07 21:48:00

Author:
comishguy67
Posts: 849

I'm too young to know for sure, but I bet a lot of popular music from past decades was junk as well.2011-05-07 21:51:00

Author:
Radishlord
Posts: 706

lol yes your right, Same as technology advances so does music i think todays music is more unique sounds, creative and fast also has much more of an inpact on the adrenaline.

I also find it more understanding as we understand our selfs alot better so overall the musc now alot suited for our generation. 		2011-05-07 22:03:00

Author:
Special_D_
Posts: 57

I like some of it, But most of the main stream stuff sucks.2011-05-07 22:17:00

Author:
Kern
Posts: 5078

This is the worst decade for music. If you think about there are like 50 artist that usually top the charts and have the hit songs. It sounds like the same song over and over. It's always "artist" featuring "artist". What I speak of is on the radio, mainstream. As far underground and idependent music goes I think it's great. There are so many bands out there that deserve way more attention then they get. Most radio music sucks, mainly because they just play the same 25 songs all day.


80's and 90's were my favorite era. 80's absolute best!

I should mention I'm in US.		2011-05-07 23:13:00

Author:
METALPUNKS
Posts: 306

A pity that there is much new technology that can be used for music but few good artists to use. We don't use this new tech to elevate good artists to new levels, we use it to elevate mediocre artists to the height of the talents of old. We're stagnant, in a way, and society is being conditioned to embrace.2011-05-08 18:53:00

Author:
Astrosimi
Posts: 2046

Not really, I hate rap and thats mostly what we get now.2011-05-08 18:55:00

Author:
craigmond
Posts: 2426

I don't even really know what recent popular music sounds like. I haven't listened to the radio in years. From what I've heard though, I'd say I agree that it generally lacks emotional depth. I don't know, maybe all the good ideas have finally been used up.2011-05-14 11:15:00

Author:
Unknown User

David Bowie or Kesha?
Jefferson Airplane or JLS?
The Beatles or The Jonas Brothers?
Kurt Cobain or Justin Bieber?
Pink Floyd or Lady Gaga?
AC/DC or Papa Roach?
Jimi Hendrix or Bruno Mars?
The Doors or Jessie J?
The Rolling Stones or Rihanna?
Iron Butterfly or Katy Perry?
The Velvet Underground or The Black Eyed Peas?
Tool or Avril Lavigne?
The Who or Jedward?

I think that should answer your question, at least in terms of popular music today, and if it doesn't, you need a good slap in the mouth

I don't see how comparing some random names proves that point...
I've to agree that music is much more shallow these days, but there is still good stuff out there, you just have to seach a little bit harder
The fact that just about anybody these days have access to professional tools ( i bet there are a lot of people who have Cubase/Logic/Ableton on their computer at home and don't even know how to use it) and that making music these days is A LOT cheaper then it has ever been are one of the reasons IMHO.

cheers,
misty		2011-05-14 13:33:00

Author:
Mother-Misty
Posts: 574

Wouldn't if be more fair then to compare "exceptional bands and musicians from the mid to late 1900's" to ""exceptional bands and musicians from today" instead of "not so good bands and musicians that only seem interested in money"? That's like comparing apples and oranges. I understand your point, but Justin bieber, lady gaga, bruno mars.... (why isn't rebecca black in that list? ) I mean, you have to look REALLY hard to come up with something that isn't better then that


cheers,
misty		2011-05-14 13:58:00

Author:
Mother-Misty
Posts: 574

I think this song sums up what I think..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtbV1SXGS5s&feature=related

from 1.20sec's
Sugar coated, glucose bloated, safety tops the charts again.
I know this song is ironic, electronic hypocrisy coming from a band who used to care for mirrors (in more ways then one).
But buddy it aint rock n roll when you're involved.
When you shape your craft to fit the masses.

What's that s**t on the radio?

Enough said..		2011-05-14 15:07:00

Author:
tom230889
Posts: 117

I'm sorry but I personally think that everything that is considered popular now (or at least here) is all pretty blah. I mean seriously, almost everything sounds exactly the same, and almost everything has the exact same content: Partying, love(sometimes), doing it with lots o' women, being rich and doing it with lots o' women, being on drugs/drunk aka feeling high, the colors black and yellow, and such things. People now seem to be incapable of opening their minds and listening to other things people don't try to sell them; apparently, they would much rather listen to all this crap than listening to something that might actually have some sort of meaning.

I'm amazed people like this sort of music, well I'm amazed they can even bear it. I hope this is as far as horrible music can go.		2011-05-14 15:47:00

Author:
ExplosiveCheddar
Posts: 978

I'm so stuck in the underground music that my consideration may be a bit different.
Also the point of considering myself a musician makes me quite biased, but I'll try to be objective.

First of all I think that Music, the one with a capital M is art, something that should speak to the heart, something that conveys the emotions of the artist and spread to other people.
So music is research of the inner self of the writer.
That may not resonate with an ample audience because feelings and characters are so different, and so it's the way to perceive them.
Back in the days, long time ago, musicians were "more" artist, since their desire to express something overcame the need of being famous and rich.
With the diffusion of the media getting easier and easier, being rich and famous also became easier.

For the average musician, throwing up some nice 4 chords progression out of his bum is quite easy, because the "rules" (yes there are rules in music) of putting nice notes side by side are very easy, accessible and thaught very early.
Basically anyone can write music that pleases the ears with little effort, no one can say that Justin Bibier has songs that are hard to their ears, but just that are trite, boring, shallow, heard millionth times.
Now, what has been added to music is the image and the moving image, so a nice face promotes the music better than the music itself.
And another thing has been attitude.

Heck, people like David Bowie, Keith Richards, Chuck Berry, John Lennon and Ringo Starr, just to name a few were definitely ugly, and today they wouldn't have sold way less
Music has become more and more a market, losing the need of being art.

Most of the music today relies on singles, more than full albums, even because the biggest revenue is downloading just a song or 2, just the ear catchers.
Most of the people doesn't enjoy a full album, but has their IPods full of single songs easy to hum.

So going through experimental music, search something new and fresh, sweat hours to learn to master an instrument and the theory of music is an hassle that doesn't pay at all.

Then it has become way too easy and too cheap to record stuff, so everyone can do it almost at home.
Today people just has to play the verse, the chorus and the bridge once, then you load ProTools and paste/copy everything.

So the market has overgrown, and it's hard to find gems into amounts of poo.

Even the genre I love (every form of metal) that has really low sales figures, is suffering for this even if the mastery of the instrument has become one of the column of the genre, after some records almost every band tries to sell out on the easy money path and they lose the energy and spirit that it's rooted in their music.

Music is a bit withering to the point that I miss the likes of Duran Duran, Roxette, A-Ha, Michael Jackson and the likes, mainstream bands that seemed insignificant at the time, they seemed poor and easy but appears like gems to me compared to the mainstream stuff that is out today...go listen carefully to "Wild Boys", "View To A Kill", "Take On Me", "Beat It", "The Look"...

I leave you with this...a taste of what great musicianship + current day tech + old just nice song can become

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlupRATWkm0		2011-05-14 16:26:00

Author:
OmegaSlayer
Posts: 5112

I'm sorry but I personally think that everything that is considered popular now (or at least here) is all pretty blah. I mean seriously, almost everything sounds exactly the same, and almost everything has the exact same content: Partying, love(sometimes), doing it with lots o' women, being rich and doing it with lots o' women, being on drugs/drunk aka feeling high, the colors black and yellow, and such things. People now seem to be incapable of opening their minds and listening to other things people don't try to sell them; apparently, they would much rather listen to all this crap than listening to something that might actually have some sort of meaning.

I'm amazed people like this sort of music, well I'm amazed they can even bear it. I hope this is as far as horrible music can go.

Hallelujah!! That's exactly what I think. Most of the bands that I like nobody's ever heard of. I really like the songs from the 90's and 80's but I haven't downloaded them. Not a big music collector. And yes, the music nowadays is shallow and stupid -.- Listening to "I just had sex" by some artist almost made my ears melt off.....I only lasted 25 seconds...not joking 		2011-05-14 16:42:00

Author:
Amigps
Posts: 564

Amigps, sometimes stances like yours are a bit funny

music nowadays is shallow and stupid -.- Listening to "I just had sex" by some artist almost made my ears melt off...
That's more an "against" kind of attitude that really a perception, it's just more how you metabolyze the song more than the value of the song itself.
That stuff is easy, made to be easy, you have to stop your leg to not follow it's beat
It's obtuse to say that it's stupid, because who made that music is actually smart enough to bet on the faster horse gain trucks of money and be in a 50 feet jacuzi pool in Hollywood.
If you say that this is ear melting I would have had nothing to say, even if I love it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X91e3HBrQxw

Many may say that music is dead, that the combination of the notes has been exploited, that's not true at all, they're ignorants trying to justify their ignorance.
Also contamination of genres is COOOL and a way to look forward.		2011-05-14 17:00:00

Author:
OmegaSlayer
Posts: 5112

Meh, I don't care for a few artist/songs.
Quite a bit of it is just rehashed versions of stuff thats already been done.

There's still good stuff left though.		2011-05-14 17:01:00

Author:
Maxi
Posts: 1176

Ok. Rant time. Anyone who knows me personally knows how much I ***** about this subject so thank you so much for bringing it up.

Disclaimer: My opinion.

The major problem is the money factor. The music industry today is just that, an industry. New shipment arrives, they assemble the parts, fine tune it until it's user friendly then it's off to shipping & marketing. Big record companies don't see artists, they see brands, merchandise, movie deals, modeling contracts, perfume deals. The music is just the foundation of what can be built up on into a 'celebrity,' it doesn't really matter to them. As long as it goes 1,2,3,4-1,2,3,4 and includes the latest fad (currently auto-tune) kids will eat it up like crazy...or rather there parents will.

That brings me onto my next problem, YOU!

Ok, maybe not you, but speaking in generalisation, you download most of your music online, usually for free. Be that a torrent, file sharing, YouTube rip whatever, you are getting that music without the artist/publisher seeing a dime. How does this affect the the music industry you may ask? Think about it, the average listener to todays pop music is around 7-14. Most of these kids will not know how to or have access to getting the music for free, so they turn to legitimate ways of doing it. Most of the time asking the parents to get it which in they will happily oblige. They don't want little Annie going down for 5 years due to piracy! (Or so they hear.)
So, in this scenario, we are the problem! The kids music goes up and everything else goes down. When will we learn?
Never. It's far to inconvenient for us to change our ways now, people simply do not care enough. It wouldn't make an immediate difference if we did, due to the first problem I mentioned, but it would give credit where it's due, the artists.

Now for, one of my zanier conspiracy theories.

The way the music is listened to.

The main audio output for listeners nowadays is either computer speakers, phone speakers or earphones. Earphones are the slightly better of the three, but are still pretty bad. If the quality of sound you listen to is so low, how can you tell what's good and what isn't? There's no room subtly anymore since it will just go overlooked by the "THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!" The bad will sound good by masking it through low output speakers. I don't know, maybe i'm a little far out here, but low quality music and low quality outputs seem to go hand in hand, don't you think?
Plus, if you're ripping songs off of YouTube you might as well stick your ear on your dogs backside. Same quality.

Todays music isn't all bad though, nothings changed other than the industry and the way it's marketed. You need to look further than what you're told to listen to and discover your own sound. Radio/TV stations don't give kids much of a chance, they blast out the same crap each and everyday until it sticks.

Finally, attention span.

The rate that technology develops and improves makes kids expect things faster and faster. The good stuff is instant, fast-food, fast-computers, fast music. I'm not talking about BPM's here, i'm talking about the way in which it all comes at once. "Fast forward it to the drop!" "Skip it to the solo!" all these things are just so over exposed and lose their impact. A good example would be a godawful remix I heard of Elton Johns "Tiny Dancer." If you know the song, you know there is a good few minutes until the chorus finally breaks, it's great because you've been waiting all that time for the best part and makes you appreciate it so much more. Now, the remix was just the chorus on a loop with a token pop star going "Uh, yeah, dats rite." It totally loses it's impact and sort of ruins it. The worst part is, musically oblivious kids will think it's the original! Kids just don't have the patience anymore.

TL;DR You're proving my point!

/rant.		2011-05-14 19:53:00

Author:
Mr_T-Shirt
Posts: 1477

Amigps, sometimes stances like yours are a bit funny

That's more an "against" kind of attitude that really a perception, it's just more how you metabolyze the song more than the value of the song itself.
That stuff is easy, made to be easy, you have to stop your leg to not follow it's beat
It's obtuse to say that it's stupid, because who made that music is actually smart enough to bet on the faster horse gain trucks of money and be in a 50 feet jacuzi pool in Hollywood.
If you say that this is ear melting I would have had nothing to say, even if I love it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X91e3HBrQxw

Many may say that music is dead, that the combination of the notes has been exploited, that's not true at all, they're ignorants trying to justify their ignorance.
Also contamination of genres is COOOL and a way to look forward.
Well to me music that doesn't have anything to contribute to me is just stupid : The way I see the "I Just Had Sex" song is that...ok well you just did. So what? What do I gain from knowing that? NOTHING!! I admit that I didn't even give the song a chance. I judge books by their cover literally and metaphorically. A trait of myself that I strongly dislike, but hey it's me right? Anyway anything in music that just annoys me, doesn't elicit an emotional response, or isn't "catchy" can just go away. All of this, of course, is personal taste, so yeah you are probably right in whatever you said about me. Too dumbtoo lazy to begin to comprehend your statement. I think I got the gist of it though??		2011-05-14 20:52:00

Author:
Amigps
Posts: 564

Thanks MrTShirt for writing the other things I thought, but I couldn't write a poem and I'm happy a humble guy like you did it for me.
*Fancies about how nice it could be writing the song Amigps mentioned, in an inspired artistic way every hour, even if just to keep it for himself, guesses it would be his first happy song, his ones are just sad and melancholic, guesses he knows the reason now "
I understand you Ami 		2011-05-14 21:11:00

Author:
OmegaSlayer
Posts: 5112

I feel quality music is getting just as good as the typical household music is becoming dull.

Pop songs are just artificial scientifically-produced products that are aimed for 9-14 year old girls via talking about a teen's impression of love and whatnot. Certainly easy music to listen to, not a lot of thinking involved, and since all their friends like it, they have to like it, too.

The less-than-appreciated quality music coming out today I think is great and is still wide open to possibilities. In such a disposable society, a lot passes by rather unnoticed. Emmys and publicized award shows are mainly based on sales and popularity more than anything else, which I think is pretty unfortunate.

I'd rather see things like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rpD_eclfTY) than that (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGrqW3nx5HM) getting rewarded for whatever it is.		2011-05-14 21:16:00

Author:
Voodeedoo
Posts: 724

With songs like I whip or flip my hair back and forth(whatever the name) you can see that most music now sucks. Just that title alone kills me. Bands like nickleback that are so huge just make me laugh. They play a three chord progression over and over for every song. They all sound the same. I'm not saying all 'three chors bands' suck, look at greenday and nirvana. Some great song written with three chords, heck two or even one chord. My point is as far as radio music it all sucks. I think I've liked maybe 3 bands on the radio in the past two years. kings of Leon, The muse and I think linkin park has earned a nice spot.

Another thing that bothers me about music today is sex. Don't get me wrong I love sex. But it's gone a little to far. If I had a son or daughter I'd feel uncomfortable with them listening to the radio. Just look at a show like American idol. An artist comes out to perform their hit song half naked talking about how to screw the right way. I'm not talking about the contestants I'm talking about the hit artist that plays on vote night that has a trillion sales and is playing in the ears of every 8-16 year olds headphones or bedroom. I'm not shocked that this stuff gets released I'm shocked parents allow these kids to listen to this crap. Back to American Idol. Look at what happens to the kids on there just in those 10 weeks. Some of them totally transform. I'm not even gonna talk about a few years later lol.


Just think about this for a second. Think about the songs that were a hit last year. I couldn't remember a single one if my life depended on it. Yes they are catchy by they don't stick for long. Now take a musician or band like Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, or nirvana. Those artist wrote songs that are forever in our brains, well most of out brains. Whatever happened to an artist writing their own music. It seems like now nobody writes for themselves. Every song is bought and produced in no time at all. Albums are already pre made for certain artists. I have a very good friend in nashville that works at producing studio. They get the tracks of music released today and beef them up before they are sent out to the public. He personally told me yay Avril lavagne has one of the worst voices he's ever heard. A true artist in these days are someone like Eminem. Not everyone likes him but if you ever took the time to listen to the words he speaks you'd see he's telling a story or delivering a message. I'm not a rap or hip hop guy at all but I do appreciate great music in any form. That's all I have to say. Now go put in a Pink Floyd album and listen to what real music sounds like. Take the journey that the artist has created for you.		2011-05-20 04:57:00

Author:
METALPUNKS
Posts: 306

Where's mah Weezer? I want mah WeezerD:

But yeah, most of today's music is nothing.		2011-05-20 05:01:00

Author:
JspOt
Posts: 3607

It's their crap. Let them listen to it. Besides, we have our own "crap" to listen to.2011-05-20 05:29:00

Author:
Outlaw-Jack
Posts: 5757

Modern Day Music just... no depth I guess. The subjects are pretty much too focused on young teens and a TAD overdone (hur hur hur secks), and sometimes can just be annoying to listen.

Now, don't get me wrong, but I prefer music like Beethoven or other orchestrated cake. Those I enjoy lots better 		2011-05-20 08:03:00

Author:
Fang
Posts: 578

Music has become fragmented.
Yes, the "Popular" charts are dominated by light, fluffy, throwaway music, with no more musical integrity than a nursery rhyme.

But if you want to get a baby to sleep, then a nursery rhyme is exactly what you need.

If you are angry or upset at the "popular" charts, then just remember - they are obviously not aimed at you (primarily being aimed at 12 year old girls and menopausal women).

That's why things have become departmentalised/fragmented.
If you like Classical music, there are now many outlets specifically for Classical Music, likewise - Jazz, Rock & Roll, Country, Dance etc. Name a genre and there will be an outlet where you can listen to that genre and only that genre.

We are actually in a golden age of music - with more musicians producing more music than has ever been produced in the history of the world.
Granted this means that the market is now flooded with half-talented wannabees - but it also means there is more properly talented musicians than before.
It's your job to find it.

The mainstream has always been dominated by the lowest common denominator - and it always will be. If you don't like the mainstream, then move towards the edges... if you don't like the centre ground, go to the fringes 		2011-05-20 08:58:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970

I believe that the vast majority of mainstream modern music are all incredibly generic and uncreative. Most of the music I listen to is either fairly old or indie. I strongly believe that the musical world needs variety in general.2011-05-28 19:19:00

Author:
Veyneru
Posts: 115

I find most music that "normal" people listen to is displeasing to my ears. So no, I don't like much modern music.

I'll stick with this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4IRMYuE1hI

Warning, contains mature language.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcTLJ692F70		2011-06-03 04:22:00

Author:
JamesDNaux
Posts: 757

I find most music that "normal" people listen to is displeasing to my ears. So no, I don't like much modern music.

I'll stick with this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4IRMYuE1hI

Warning, contains mature language.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcTLJ692F70


Of course, you are playing that through the modern medium of YouTube - which has also fundamentally changed the face of the music industry. And on Modern instruments, using modern recording techniques.
If you love the music of the past that much - then why not listen to it on a gramophone or phonograph?

Or is that old medium "displeasing to your ears"? 		2011-06-03 11:26:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970

Of course, you are playing that through the modern medium of YouTube - which has also fundamentally changed the face of the music industry. And on Modern instruments, using modern recording techniques.
If you love the music of the past that much - then why not listen to it on a gramophone or phonograph?

Or is that old medium "displeasing to your ears"?

What's displeasing to my ears is the music itself, not what it is played on. There are many modern songs I love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67gQ1v2iRZA Basicly, I like just about any kind of music, I'm just very particular, I can like a country song, but not like other country songs. Really, whats displeasing to my ears is probably just Justin Beiber shreaking like a little girl-boy-thing, or Lady (if you can call her that) Gaga blabbering mindless nonsense instead of actually singing something.

Either way, I'll just stick with this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNcIAC30mWI

The Beethoven thing was just making a joke on the whole "modern" thing... Oh forget it.		2011-06-04 00:27:00

Author:
JamesDNaux
Posts: 757

Of course, you are playing that through the modern medium of YouTube - which has also fundamentally changed the face of the music industry. And on Modern instruments, using modern recording techniques.
If you love the music of the past that much - then why not listen to it on a gramophone or phonograph?

Or is that old medium "displeasing to your ears"?
Hey! If I get that BioShock 2 box with an actual LP with the game's soundtrack (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjEF6gjHpP8), and you get me a gramophone, then I'll have pleasure in playing it while playing this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIx3aMRDUL4) and this (http://www.rainymood.com/).

But that's probably not happening, so I'll keep it as a nerd trophy.		2011-06-04 00:56:00

Author:
gdn001
Posts: 5891

Music today is awful. Modern music is unoriginal, the lyrics suck, and most of it is sappy. Plus, it sounds horrible....

I will stick with my underground music...

My Godzilla music, The Stone Roses, Pink Floyd, REM, Public Image LTD, Soundgarden cds sound better than any modern band out there.......		2011-06-06 16:28:00

Author:
Godzilla
Posts: 224

I think that there is always great music being made, but you need to look a little further than MTV and mainstream radio to find it. Personally, I don't have a specific genre that I adhere to and have very ecclectic tastes. I love black/doom metal, goth, prog-rock, southern rock, drone, low-fi, experimental, techno, dubstep, drum and bass, rap, motown, R&B, shoegaze/dreampop, pastoral folk, country, blues, indie and eastern traditional all in equal measure, which means there is always somebody making something that I like to listen to. 2011 has been a particularly good year for music IMO, but most of the best stuff will never be discovered by the casual listener. Here's a few of my favourite tracks from this year...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76uNE0iitfo&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxC2XLePDWQ


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSXKWQz_R-Q


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd0yCsxzlJU&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEBWCvj8kBw


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvsfGhEqnXE


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TTPGAy5H_E


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYOtnfo1Rew		2011-06-06 17:32:00

Author:
Ungreth
Posts: 2130

I subscribe to the Beavis & Butthead School of Musical Classification.

I like stuff that is cool and I hate stuff that sucks.

It doesn't have to be of a certain genre or artist. Even the greatest band has bad days - even the worst band might have one good song.

What I think is "cool" and what "sucks" maybe completely different to you.		2011-06-06 17:33:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970

i have found some good tunes in the likes of Bonobo, Wax Tailor, The Knife, and other such artists, but stick to my 90's roots (see above post) as well.2011-06-06 17:35:00

Author:
Deftmute
Posts: 730

What do you think of music today?

Wait, people still make music?

All I hear lately is synthesizer-synthesizer-rapbeat-samenotevocals-rinsewashrepeat. :/

Either that or some dude singing like a girl and whining about how much his life sucks and that it's smeared his eyeshadow.

But I'm not a bitter old man or anything.


I think music, production wise, is great. Better than it has ever been. But I think music should be about more than and overload of serotonin...Music should be more emotionally diverse and deep. Music has become a bit shallow imo...I agree, but I think music these days is hyper-produced. Auto-tuning (Blech! Please, someone STOP this!!!), the absence of real instruments, the emphasis on show rather than substance... it's all gone downhill if you asked me. Give me a good band who can jam onstage for 45 minutes and I'll show you real music.

There just doesn't seem to be any new sounds in the mainstream anymore... the only good 'new' bands are underground (until they sell out, of course.)		2011-06-06 17:37:00

Author:
schm0
Posts: 1239

Give me a good band who can jam onstage for 45 minutes and I'll show you real music.

Beware - down that road lies improvisational free-form jazz
http://www.meetyasserkhan.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Stop.png		2011-06-06 17:39:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970

Beware - down that road lies improvisational free-form jazz flute (http://ryangruss.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/anchorman_jazzflute.jpg)



Fixed that for you.

To be honest, I'm not a huge jazz fan... most of what is considered jazz too esoteric for me to pay attention to for any extended period of time. But I'll listen to a good jazz tune now and then and nod along to the (off)beat. Now, fuse jazz with any other genre and you'll see me grin.

But for those of you who want to truly understand what music really is, take a listen to John Cage's 4'33". Now that's MUSIC! I've burned that song to CD and put it on repeat many times... so much I've almost got it completely memorized (except the middle part.) It also makes great music to fall asleep to.		2011-06-06 17:59:00

Author:
schm0
Posts: 1239

seems that while i was posting, ungreth was posting something much more significant...2011-06-06 18:12:00

Author:
Deftmute
Posts: 730

for those of you who want to truly understand what music really is, take a listen to John Cage's 4'33". Now that's MUSIC! I've burned that song to CD and put it on repeat many times... so much I've almost got it completely memorized (except the middle part.) It also makes great music to fall asleep to.

But.. that song... and the... but... and the silence... I don't understand...

People pay to see proffesional musicians perform that song? That is probably the most pretentious thing I've ever heard of. :/		2011-06-06 18:16:00

Author:
booXely
Posts: 654

But.. that song... and the... but... and the silence... I don't understand...

People pay to see proffesional musicians perform that song? That is probably the most pretentious thing I've ever heard of. :/

having now done some research on the subject of the artist and the composition of this piece, i believe it may actually the most pretentious bit of "music" in recorded history.		2011-06-06 18:31:00

Author:
Deftmute
Posts: 730

having now done some research on the subject of the artist and the composition of this piece, i believe it may actually the most pretentious bit of "music" in recorded history.


But don't try and do a cover version (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/2276621.stm) 		2011-06-07 11:53:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970

having now done some research on the subject of the artist and the composition of this piece, i believe it may actually the most pretentious bit of "music" in recorded history.

It gets into the whole meta aspect of what "music" actually is. It's kinda like the debate over what "art" is, which has been discussed elsewhere on this forum. While the song may not fit your traditional conventions regarding music, but it's a song (complete with score) nonetheless.

I was bringing it up as a silly example of music... I'll try not to derail the thread again. :/

So... anyone else here dislike the "Lady Gaga" phenomenon as it relates to the OP?		2011-06-07 14:17:00

Author:
schm0
Posts: 1239

So... anyone else here dislike the "Lady Gaga" phenomenon as it relates to the OP?

That's a safe bet


Lady Gaga epitomises all that is wrong with the modern music industry.
Style over substance/It's not about what you sound like, it's about what you look like/auto-tune covers a multitude of sins/The Majority have the intellect of a child so are pleased by Nursery Ryhmes.


I am so sick of formulaic Pop, ie;
Intro - Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Bridge - Solo - Verse - Chorus - Chorus - End

It's just so repetative and unimaginative - by the time they've repeated the chorus for the 2nd time (with Zero Variation) I'm already bored with it.

I like my music to go somewhere - so that it's different at the end to what it was at the beginning... and isn't just repeating the same annoying melody over & over & over & over & over & over & over & over again		2011-06-07 15:09:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970

I am so sick of formulaic Pop, ie;
Intro - Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Bridge - Solo - Verse - Chorus - Chorus - End

It's just so repetative and unimaginative - by the time they've repeated the chorus for the 2nd time (with Zero Variation) I'm already bored with it.

I like my music to go somewhere - so that it's different at the end to what it was at the beginning... and isn't just repeating the same annoying melody over & over & over & over & over & over & over & over again

ABACA is ok by me, as it's been around (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rondo) for a several hundred years and seems to work pretty well... it all depends on the genre/melody/mood for me. I'm not averse to pop music, but it has to be interesting pop music. Lady Gaga doesn't interest me for the reasons you cited above, and I will immediately turn off anything with auto-tune that attempts to resemble actual vocals. (Synthesized auto-tuned vocals in electronic music being the sole exception, as this is where this technique was honed into the signature sound it is today.)		2011-06-07 15:31:00

Author:
schm0
Posts: 1239

ABACA is ok by me, as it's been around (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rondo) for a several hundred years and seems to work pretty well... it all depends on the genre/melody/mood for me. I'm not averse to pop music, but it has to be interesting pop music. Lady Gaga doesn't interest me for the reasons you cited above, and I will immediately turn off anything with auto-tune that attempts to resemble actual vocals. (Synthesized auto-tuned vocals in electronic music being the sole exception, as this is where this technique was honed into the signature sound it is today.)

My problem is that I was born in the wrong decade... for me, the Golden Age of Music was the late sixties to early to mid seventies. That's when all of the best bands were at their best;
Black Sabbath, Led Zepplin, The Who, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendricks, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Beatles, Kinks, Zombies, Leonard Cohen, Pink Floyd, Cream, Rory Gallagher etc etc etc... all reached their creative Zenith during that period.
No time period before or since has matched it.

Brutal Legend sums it up perfectly;
Eddie: Ever feel like you were born at the wrong time?
Roadie: You mean, the seventies?
Eddie: No, earlier than that - like - the early seventies! 		2011-06-07 15:52:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970

this is why i support human extinction.

edit: just noticed i missed a whole page of posts... this was in reference to the lawsuit.

as far as the "what is art?" argument i am typically pretty openminded, but i get irked when people try to do things like copyright silence.		2011-06-07 17:26:00

Author:
Deftmute
Posts: 730

There is a problem with the modern Music Industry - if not with modern music.

Financial pressures on music publishers have meant that the small ones have collapsed - and the big ones have all merged to become even bigger. Meaning there are actually fewer "outlets" for your mainstream commercial artists. And those big companies are less inclined to spend money developing several different artists and instead focus all of their attention on the "big" artists - which is why we see all of these deals being signed for record amounts - and so little variation in mainstream music.		2011-06-08 11:50:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970

the music nowadays is shallow and stupid -.- Listening to "I just had sex" by some artist almost made my ears melt off.....I only lasted 25 seconds...not joking

Ya, that's not a serious song, if you were wondering. Unless I am thinking of a different one. But that's by The Lonely Island if I remember correctly, with their other songs including (from a quick youtube search):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLnWf1sQkjY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avaSdC0QOUM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI6CfKcMhjY

So yeah, I wouldn't read too much into that song...

Music is what you make of it. I listen to metal (well, I listen to metal by the genre definition, without going into all the subgenre crap, which I couldn't care less about. Of course, if you ask the elitist ****s then half the music I listen to isn't metal, but they're ****ers so that's irrelevant.) Anyway, the popular stuff is popular because people want to listen to it. Therefore artists will make music they know people want to listen too, and as a result the radio and the charts etc. are dominated by mainstream crap. But is that really the artists fault, or is taht our fault (by 'our' I mean us in general) for encouraging the creation of that music?

You can always find good music, you might just have to stop using charts to find it... But whatever, the elitist ****ers will always stand above people and tell them that all music other than that which they themselves listen too is garbage, something that is exacerbated on forums, due to the fact that it is these people who will go out of their way too post something that is derogatory to other peoples tastes... I know, I used to do it

But yeah, we can't just say 'music now is worse than ever', because to a lot of people (not nescessarily myself, though there is a lot of modern music I like, just not radio-ish stuff) music now is better than ever.		2011-06-08 12:33:00

Author:
Unknown User

Anyway, the popular stuff is popular because people want to listen to it. Therefore artists will make music they know people want to listen too, and as a result the radio and the charts etc. are dominated by mainstream crap. But is that really the artists fault, or is taht our fault (by 'our' I mean us in general) for encouraging the creation of that music?

Actually, that statement isn't entirely accurate.

I have studied music, and in the Legal & Management classes (laugh a minute they were) - the tutor would always hand us that weeks copy of music week and tell us to check "The Charts";
Not the singles charts - but the AirPlay charts... that weeks singles charts were completely irrelevant - what was important was the current weeks "Airplay" chart. because guaranteed - what ever song was the "Most Played" by the radio station (40 or 50 times a day) - would be number one in the singles charts the next week.
It's a managers job to ensure that their band gets adequate airtime - the more airtime you get, the higher you will position in the charts.
Also, it wasn;t charted by artist or song - but by management house - of which there were only 3 main ones. So no matter who the artist was, they would be under the management of one of the "Big 3" (this has since reduced to "The Big 2".

I also have a friend who's a producer for a commercial radio station. Each month he will get a visit from a Sony Exec, who hands him a big check and a list of songs he wants them to play and how often they want them to play it... it's not called "commercial radio" for nothing.

Now tie these two facts together - the more you pay the more your band will get played - and the more your band gets played the higher they will be in the charts;
It means that if you are not part of the inner circle of the music industry - you don't stand a chance.

playing a song 40 or 50 times a day is equivolent to brainwashing.		2011-06-08 13:24:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970

Yeah but if people don't like it then they can play it as much as they want, it won't sell. Artists cater to what the masses want (whether it is good or not)2011-06-08 17:56:00

Author:
Unknown User

Yeah but if people don't like it then they can play it as much as they want, it won't sell. Artists cater to what the masses want (whether it is good or not)

The general public are gullible and easily manipulated. Especially when it comes to music, it has an insipid way in which it enters your brain... and most people can't distinguish between something that has been "forced" into their mind through repetition and a song that they actually "choose" to have in their mind because they 'like' it. Especially if it's catchy - which is why repetition plays such a big factor in western music.

It really is a case of the Emperors New Clothes... or Monkey See/Monkey Do... if radio stations around the world were to play - lets say someone farting on a snare-drum - 40 or 50 times a day and claim that it's "The Next Big Thing"... I can guarantee you that if it isn't number 1 in the Charts the next week, then it would at least have charted pretty highly. Because when people are browsing for music to buy, they are more likely to pick the song that they have buzzing around in their head. Which is why the "Airplay" charts are more of an important indicator than the actual charts themselves.

"True" artists create works of art - irrespective of wether it's popular or not. But they won't get signed by a big label (and therefore played on commercial radio stations) unless they are creating 'populist' music. So the only artists that the masses are exposed to are the lowest common denominator "populist" artists.

Now, just another quick point that proves that the tail wags the dog and not the other way around.
A&R men from the big record labels decide in advance what genre of music will be popular the next year (because it takes around 12 months to record/promote/tour the material). When I was studying music my Management tutor informed us ahead of time that Latin based pop would be big next year ... not because all of a sudden ordinary people were listening to latin based music... but because the A&R men were signing latin based acts in preperation for what they were going to make popular for the next year. They then pay all of the commercial radio stations to play their acts - and 'as if by magic' - all of a sudden, latin based pop was topping the charts.

Another way to think of it... In fashion - who decides what is fashionable? - is it the general public (who actually buy and wear the fashions), or just a handful of designers (who have to make the garments ahead of time, 'before' they are actually fashionable)?		2011-06-09 15:22:00

Author:
Macnme
Posts: 1970

Those songs that you hear on the Radio...
a couple of them are good

but i am sure if people dug underground artist they will find really good music
like for example.
Do you hate Rap?and Gangsta Songs?
Fort Minor is a good Rap Group that does not include Gangs,drugs,Cars and you know..
same with Styles of Beyond
I Have a pretty diverse Taste in Music from all eras and genres
50's-2010's
Elvis,JohnnyCash,Led Zeppelin,BB King,Carlos Santana,Ice Cube,Fort Minor,Linkin Park(prefer old albums through),Michael Jackson

Something that makes me mad is that Kids these days don't use the internet to look for better artist its always about the Radio and TV.		2011-06-11 00:14:00

Author:
Unknown User

My feelings precisely (http://stansdad.com/season15/episode7/)

someone might have said that already i didnt read all the posts.

I totally agree with Macnme last post too, it even scarier when you find out that researchers are carrying out thorough research (http://www.healthzone.ca/health/newsfeatures/article/815640--researcher-studies-earworms-for-insight-into-ocd) into how to make catchy tunes.		2011-06-11 16:14:00

Author:
Skalio-
Posts: 920

This thread sort of reminds me of the latest South Park episode.

I'm going to be the black sheep and be the first to say that I actually like a lot of the mainstream music. It's catchy. I listen to it because I like it just like you listen to your music because you like it.		2011-06-11 18:53:00

Author:
GameRoom
Posts: 200

Here's a thought:

As gaming becomes a more powerful medium and may eventually overtake television, what do you think will happen to music? If games like LBP are anything to go by I can see a huge amount of indie bands coming through to greatness. Now that will change the charts.		2011-07-20 09:41:00

Author:
Tecnoguy1
Posts: 206

i hate mainstream music (except a few)
thats why i stick to indie music,cuz it doesn't suck.
pop songs and autotune killed our generation.		2011-08-03 23:10:00

Author:
majormel84
Posts: 398

IMO, today's songs have no meaning other than to talk about love, and or, uhh, stuff I can't say on the wonderful forums XD

I listen to some good old Smash Mouth, BFS, The Hives, cause their songs actually have a point.

On a somewhat side note, the song "You're Dressed Up For Armageddon" by the Hives talks about the stupid emo songs/bands		2011-08-04 00:59:00

Author:
flyinhawaiian
Posts: 357

IMO, today's songs have no meaning other than to talk about love, and or, uhh, stuff I can't say on the wonderful forums XD

I listen to some good old Smash Mouth, BFS, The Hives, cause their songs actually have a point.

On a somewhat side note, the song "You're Dressed Up For Armageddon" by the Hives talks about the stupid emo songs/bands

You're probably talking about mainstream music, which ― I agree, hardly ever revolves around deep issues, but which ― I disagree, doesn't do justice to today's music.		2011-08-05 18:01:00

Author:
Oddmania
Posts: 1305

touche, good point2011-08-10 02:34:00

Author:
flyinhawaiian
Posts: 357

Speaking of talented musicians today...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpD51-evUc8

He is the best at jazz and electronic. although one of his latest songs is rap, it is not about secks or drugs.

Its about being yourself =O.		2011-08-17 16:50:00

Author:
Cactii
Posts: 426


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