Does anyone else find the music world depressing?

[ElectroVibe]

When I was growing up, I really began a love of music which started with the Beatles. Then I got into some of the great band of the 70's and 80's. Led Zeppelin. Ramones. I was so absorbed in it. Classic rock. Some punk and metal. Lots of alternative rock.

But now I hardly ever listen to that kind of stuff. (One exception being U2).
I watch Austin City Limits on occasion (when I don't feel too nauseated beforehand), and to me it just seems like modern rock music is dead, because ACL used to actually be a great show that had great music every week. But I haven't seen anything interesting on it for decades, practically. It's this new rock. Alternative rock. Alt-country. Whatever it is called right now.

So now, I'm more into deeper spiritual music. And all of the great music of the 70's artists that I used to love, just seems so spiritually dark and meaningless. I'm not going to name any names, but you can guess. The early metal and punk bands. The artists who inspired an entire generation of musicians.

So today, if I'm not listening to spiritual music, then it's either contemporary jazz or classical. There is just more depth to these musical forms that is missing from what I used to love. It's more enduring musically, and I feel it will be still be listened to after all the classic rock bands are forgotten. It's more "grown up".

Can anyone else relate?

 

[Gluvhand]

So you're older, less angry, and can't relate to the music of your youth anymore and have found other music that fills a void. Cool. I still dig a lot of the music of my youth and have added a few newer bands to my rotation. As far as what you like now being more enduring...time will tell but it's not like classic rock doesn't have a pretty long track record already. It's not called classic for nothing.

 

[Guild B301]

When I was growing up, I really began a love of music which started with the Beatles. Then I got into some of the great band of the 70's and 80's. Led Zeppelin. Ramones. I was so absorbed in it. Classic rock. Some punk and metal. Lots of alternative rock.

But now I hardly ever listen to that kind of stuff. (One exception being U2).
I watch Austin City Limits on occasion (when I don't feel too nauseated beforehand), and to me it just seems like modern rock music is dead, because ACL used to actually be a great show that had great music every week. But I haven't seen anything interesting on it for decades, practically. It's this new rock. Alternative rock. Alt-country. Whatever it is called right now.

So now, I'm more into deeper spiritual music. And all of the great music of the 70's artists that I used to love, just seems so spiritually dark and meaningless. I'm not going to name any names, but you can guess. The early metal and punk bands. The artists who inspired an entire generation of musicians.

So today, if I'm not listening to spiritual music, then it's either contemporary jazz or classical. There is just more depth to these musical forms that is missing from what I used to love. It's more enduring musically, and I feel it will be still be listened to after all the classic rock bands are forgotten. It's more "grown up".

Can anyone else relate?

You clearly don’t remember the earliest couple of years of Austin City Limits. It’s gone full circle 360 back to the kind of music it started featuring. Remember the original theme song?

 

[buldog5151bass]

Most people relate to the music of their youth, and think the new music is terrible.

The record player killed live music, so did synthesizers and digital recordings. Sinatra and jazz killed pop music. The "yeah yeah yeah" and haircuts of the Beatles was an abomination. Etc

Ask most youths what they think about your Beatles and Ramones, and they will be pleased how music has evolved.

 

[CB3UK]

It's just more homogenized across all genres. I'm in my 30s. I constantly search out and find new up and coming unheralded bands on Youtube and through Spotify, friends, fellow musicians, etc. Plenty of good new stuff out there that doesnt get its due on the radio like it used to in days gone by.

But I still find myself seeking out more and more older music. It WAS better. It's not some old fart ranting at the sky. Music WAS objectively better once upon a time. That doesn't mean there isn't good music out there now. But what passes for popular today...it sucks. Lets just be honest.

 

[Guild B301]

A major problem with finding the cream of the crop today is that Anyone can put their music out there to the masses. There used to be A&R departments, and managers and promoters, in charge of culling the herd, so to speak. Only the best and most proven, even got signed, and therefore heard. Everyone else was left in obscurity. Sometimes unfairly. But, there was a filter between the listener and the artists. Now you can hear anything - even if it’s not ready for prime time.
Blame Napster and all other free file sharing (stealing) that stopped the music business from being highly profitable.

 

[Afc70]

I still feel a deep spiritual connection to music when I listen to early Kansas (Kerry Livgren/ Dave Hope era)
Those songs Kerry wrote reveal his own spiritual quest & journey for answers to some of the deepest philosophical questions ever posed... What is life all about? What happens when we die (we all will face death, it’s unavoidable)..
I rarely listen to new “popular” music- tho lately I’ve been checking out some great stuff by a couple Brazilian Jazz bass players-
The great thing about great music- is that it is always stands the test of time - from Bach to the Beatles...

 

[Frunobulax]

Absolutely.
I can't find musicians to play the stuff I want to play. Even if I did find them, there's a very small amount of venues that would give you the chance to play.
I've been going to auditions recently and everyone is playing the same old stuff. It's like the music world is dead from the neck up. Sure it can reproduce but it's only reproducing clones. So you are left feeling bored playing boring music for boring people who dont realise how boring their lives really are.

 

[hrodbert696]

I think we're blessed to live in an era when there is SO much music available to us that we can pick and choose what suits our sensibilities just right and ignore the rest. There was a time when the only music you would EVER hear AT ALL was what the local church choir was singing and what the village fiddler happened to know. And in some ways, maybe, it was more magical then, just the miracle of sounds being able to be made in harmony at all.

So for me, yeah - there's all kinds of music that I have no use for. And I'm certainly no longer bothering with what's popular on the radio or what Spotify wants to push as the flavor of the moment. But I still get a deep satisfaction from music, some old, some new. I got a vinyl player once again and have been focusing just on what I can pick up in thrift shops and such, which has made for some fun eclectic listening - Bessie Smith and the Art of Noise. I was playing a Tito Puente collection in my car yesterday. And I'm always finding new artists I like - HUGE Samantha Fish fan (though maybe I shouldn't keep calling her "new" when she has five or six albums out), among others.

I'd start posting clips of artists but don't want to hijack this into another old vs. new music thread.

 

[brianrost]

The only thing I'm depressed about in contemporary music is gig opportunities

I never would have thought I'd get bored with rock in my 40s (late 1990s), but I did. I still listen, but many of the recordings I bought in the 60s, 70s and 80s now have me scratching my head wondering why I ever thought they were any good. I totally lost track of the contemporary rock scene during the grunge era.

What's more surprising is how many LPs and CDs I find on my shelves that I not only forgot I owned but are so great that I'm glad I had the sense back then to buy them!

 

[MrLenny1]

Taste changes with age, at least for me. The only music
I like now is modern jazz/ fusion. As for gigs now Classic rock still
prevails in my circles and I am totally bored with it.

 

[two fingers]

I'm pretty lucky. We didn't start having kids until I was almost 40. So my girls are 10 and 12 amd I'm almost 50. That forces me out of my comfort zone. I want to let them listen to "their" music. I certainly don't want to force "my" music onto them. So I wind up listening to current music a lot.

(I draw the line at rap. So much of it is disrespectful of women. Even the positive message stuff mostly has awful language in it for kids.)

Sean Mendez actually has some good songs with nice chord structure. Dua Lipa has some serious groove. Maren Morris has some good songs. Lady Gaga is all over the place. I love some of her songs and can't stand others. Imagine Dragons, Jonas Brothers (or Nick), Bruno Mars, etc. all bring some good stuff to the table. If I want to "share" music with them, and not drag them into my music, I have to go toward them. It's been a fun experiment, actually. There really is some good music out there today. You just have to give it a chance and keep an open mind.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

So much good new music its crazy.
You just have to know where to find it. One clue.....its not on the mainstream « radio ».

 

[40Hz]

I find the music business world depressing. Always have.

The music world itself remains a source of joy however. And likely always will.

 

[JRA]

It's more "grown up".....Can anyone else relate?

sorta....

i started in my youth playing pop/rock/RnB stuff in the 60s, but i went immediately to jazz in my early adult years, and have been there ever since....until i retired. now i'm playing some rock classics, rearranged with jazz twists. even my writing is some attempt at recovering 'old vibes', while implementing some jazz and improvisation.

so i'd say that i started where you seem to be now and i'm ending up closer to where you started!

it's all good!

 

[JRA]

i forgot: i voted "no" --- i don't find anything about music as "depressing." not gigging is a "bummer."

 

[bass12]

A lot of my favourite records cost a lot of money to make. Those records (style aside) would not get made today. So while there is still good music being created, the kinds of productions I most like to hear are largely a thing of the past.

 

[starjag]

I would love to understand what's on your playlist. Can you please PM me in case you don't want to post here? Thanks.

When I was growing up, I really began a love of music which started with the Beatles. Then I got into some of the great band of the 70's and 80's. Led Zeppelin. Ramones. I was so absorbed in it. Classic rock. Some punk and metal. Lots of alternative rock.

But now I hardly ever listen to that kind of stuff. (One exception being U2).
I watch Austin City Limits on occasion (when I don't feel too nauseated beforehand), and to me it just seems like modern rock music is dead, because ACL used to actually be a great show that had great music every week. But I haven't seen anything interesting on it for decades, practically. It's this new rock. Alternative rock. Alt-country. Whatever it is called right now.

So now, I'm more into deeper spiritual music. And all of the great music of the 70's artists that I used to love, just seems so spiritually dark and meaningless. I'm not going to name any names, but you can guess. The early metal and punk bands. The artists who inspired an entire generation of musicians.

So today, if I'm not listening to spiritual music, then it's either contemporary jazz or classical. There is just more depth to these musical forms that is missing from what I used to love. It's more enduring musically, and I feel it will be still be listened to after all the classic rock bands are forgotten. It's more "grown up".

Can anyone else relate?

 

[starjag]

If you post some Tito Puente no one will get upset

I think we're blessed to live in an era when there is SO much music available to us that we can pick and choose what suits our sensibilities just right and ignore the rest. There was a time when the only music you would EVER hear AT ALL was what the local church choir was singing and what the village fiddler happened to know. And in some ways, maybe, it was more magical then, just the miracle of sounds being able to be made in harmony at all.

So for me, yeah - there's all kinds of music that I have no use for. And I'm certainly no longer bothering with what's popular on the radio or what Spotify wants to push as the flavor of the moment. But I still get a deep satisfaction from music, some old, some new. I got a vinyl player once again and have been focusing just on what I can pick up in thrift shops and such, which has made for some fun eclectic listening - Bessie Smith and the Art of Noise. I was playing a Tito Puente collection in my car yesterday. And I'm always finding new artists I like - HUGE Samantha Fish fan (though maybe I shouldn't keep calling her "new" when she has five or six albums out), among others.

I'd start posting clips of artists but don't want to hijack this into another old vs. new music thread.

 

[MonetBass]

Good on you for finding different music that you find interesting. While I still listen to the music of my youth (and thoroughly enjoy it, especially now that our son is getting into it as well), many other genres get as much or more play by me these days.