Getting tired of all the "no good music anymore" posts

[iri5h_punk21]

Flame me if you want, but I gotta say I'm getting a little tired of people saying that there is no good music anymore. I'll agree that the industry today tends to focus on a lot of less-than worthy acts, but to throw out the idea that there is no good music being made today is ludicrous.

There are more genres, and more bands out there today than ever, and one of the issues that pops up with this is that there are more of those terrible bands you have to look through to find the gems. I believe another TBer said, "sure there's more dirt you have to search through, but there are still gems to be found"

I tend to believe that those who are saying that there isn't any good music anymore are

a) just can't really get into the style of music that some of the better musicians of today are playing

or b) just aren't actually looking and assuming that Rebecca Black represents all of my generation's musical accomplishments.

Here's a short list of some of the great musicians of today (IMO of course)

Them Crooked Vultures
Tool
The Mars Volta
65daysofstatic
Vessels
LITE
And So I Watch You From Afar
Porcupine Tree
Pelican
Dub Trio
Battles


*dons flame suit*

[Fretless1!]

No flame suit necessary. You are correct.

I think what some people are saying, and I'd tend to agree, is that there's very little good music on the radio. For some of us older folks, I'm 48, radio was your ally. They introduced you to new and very talented bands and artists.

Radio was good about telling you what artists they were playing, too. Unlike today where I hear songs for years I like but the DJ, if there is one, never tells me who the artist is.

[BigOldHarry]

A agree completely. The whole "no good music thing" is mostly old guys bitching about the old days, and young guys wanting to look hip by rejecting what's out there and embracing old crap.

[jnuts1]

i agree in principle but not with that list. except the mars volta, they rule. i thought TCV would rule too but i was wrong

[C.Linton]

Agreed, but TBH, it's nothing new. I can guarantee people way back when were getting heat for listening to that new guy's awful music. What's his name? Something something Bach?

[jaywa]

To put a finer point on it, I think what is really being reflected in a lot of those posts is is frustration by cover band musicians (like myself), who came up in the 70s and 80s and made a lot of hay covering that music, only to now have to learn stuff like Black Eyed Peas, Pink, Lady GaGa, Enrique Iglesias etc. to stay employable. A lot of that stuff is little more than a weak auto-tuned vocal over some programmed beats and a bunch of synths. Some of the stuff I'm learning for a new band now doesn't even have a bass presence per se for large portions of the song (e.g., bass is out on the verses and bridge and only plays in the choruses... exactly the opposite of the stuff I grew up on where the bass played pretty much all the time). There's not a whole lot in that material for bassists to sink their teeth into and especially players whose roots are in things like old school R&B, Motown, Zeppelin or the prog-rock studs like Geddy Lee, Chris Squire etc.

I think most of us know there is still good music to be found if you want to go looking for it, but by and large the music being mass-marketed today is crap.

[onosson]

IMHO, it is faaaaar easier to find good music nowadays than it was when I was starting out in the 80s. There are many more avenues to search things out, a vast amount of music in places like YouTube etc. to be listened to for free, etc. There's just as much bad music - but the proportion hasn't changed as far as I can tell.

[Tampabass]

Originally Posted by Fretless1!

I think what some people are saying, and I'd tend to agree, is that there's very little good music on the radio. For some of us older folks, I'm 48, radio was your ally. They introduced you to new and very talented bands and artists.

Precisely. In addition: in the semi-early days of commercial radio, you really could hear a lot of genres played on one station. Now, commercial radio is far more segregated - one station is devoted to teeny pop, one to dance/R&B, one to hip-hop, one to metal. The only diversity you'll find on radio is on non-commercial/community stations. And in the Internet age, it's easy enough to tune in to any of these stations worldwide, with live streaming, etc.

[VanillaThundah]

Yeah there is definitely some great artists out there, but jaywa has a point on cover artists. Music seems to flux back and forth from being organic, to being all synthesized. In the 80's, it seems a synth or keyboard player was almost as common as a guitarist or considered just as vital. Whereas in the 90's when grunge music came around, the whole point of that was stripping away from that and cutting back the excess of hair metal as well. Most indie bands that I am exposed to by friends and other musicians seem to embrace a more simplistic and organic approach than some of the aforementioned pop artists (i.e. - Lady Gaga, Pink, etc). While I don't think its the most amazing genre ever, I do applaud indie artists who are keeping stuff more organic

[jaywa]

Pandora has been a godsend for me.

[skywalkerla5]

Originally Posted by BigOldHarry

A agree completely. The whole "no good music thing" is mostly old guys bitching about the old days, and young guys wanting to look hip by rejecting what's out there and embracing old crap.

It's not always young guys trying to look hip, some of us actually like that "old crap". My problem with modern music (besides a few on that list like Tool or TMV) is no one put's true emotion or heart into playing just great music. They're all just trying to pay the bills (smart and practical) and until people are willing to break that mold of "sound like somebody big" and tries something original for once (risky but fortuitous) we are gonna be in a deadlock of shite. That said, I do see a coming revolution within the rock genre that will have a uniquely, vintage-modern sound. I want to be part of it

[CapnSev]

There's stuff out there, but I think it's pretty hard to find. You have to leave the mainstream way, way behind.

[rythman6969]

" good " and " popular " are not always the same. there is a whole lotta great music out there. I am usually one of the ones who thinks " it was better back in the day" but then I put on my local college radio ( wprb , princeton or brookdale 90.5 ) and I am constantly blown away by the amount of awsome musicians I have never heard of.
and as far as being a musician and getting frustrated, it's gonna happen. but if you love doing it....that's all you really need.

[jaywa]

Originally Posted by rythman6969

and as far as being a musician and getting frustrated, it's gonna happen. but if you love doing it....that's all you really need.

Yup... couple of weekends ago I played "Bad Romance" in a cover band for my first time and while I was practicing it beforehand I thought "come on, are you serious?"... but when it came together in a slammin' band and the dance floor was beyond packed, my attitude changed a bit.

[OOZMAN]

Did anyone even say there is no good music anymore? Seriously, show me a post. I could be wrong.

[Zoa]

North Mississippi Allstars!

[BHopely]

I think many would be surprised at some of the lesser known works by even the most mainstream pop artists. For example, listen to Maybach Music III by Rick Ross (or most songs produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E league), complete with a full live strings section.

[Ric5]

Getting tired of all the "no good music anymore" posts


Check out Rebecca Black - Friday

[iri5h_punk21]

I couldn't find one in the search, which is kind of embarrassing cause I see posts like that all the time. To be clear I'm not saying that classic music is bad. I love me some Floyd, Led Zepp, and Who

I tend to think that the lack of emotion people hear in recordings today comes from the way recording is done. From what I understand, they used to do more live takes where everyone played together at once, which definitely allows for more emotion to bleed through into the recordings. Today everything's usually recorded and done separately.

But I still think there is emotion in today's music. You just have to wait until you hear it live usually. I am also starting to think that a lot of the bands that are pushing music forward today are instrumental. I think it's because they have to rely on their musicianship rather than on catchy non-sensical lyrics.

[iri5h_punk21]

Originally Posted by Ric5

Getting tired of all the "no good music anymore" posts


Check out Rebecca Black - Friday

I've seen the vid. I have also not met anyone who actually listens to that song. People just watch it for laughs.