My CD stacks are like rings of a tree, I can dig through them and almost tell what kind of gigs I was doing any given year.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!
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Does anyone else find the music world depressing?
- Thread starter ElectroVibe
- Start date
No.
Never more varied music being made, at a higher level of excellence, with it being easier to access and hear for those who make the effort.
Never more avenues for hard *WORKING* musicians and band to be heard and to make money.
These are the good ol' days.
Those who complain are typically those who couldn't name anything other than a top-40 act that's come out over the past decade, usually with their only exposure to new music coming from the vapid pop listening habits of their kids.
Same thing 20 years ago, and probably 40-60 years ago.
Never more varied music being made, at a higher level of excellence, with it being easier to access and hear for those who make the effort.
Never more avenues for hard *WORKING* musicians and band to be heard and to make money.
These are the good ol' days.
Those who complain are typically those who couldn't name anything other than a top-40 act that's come out over the past decade, usually with their only exposure to new music coming from the vapid pop listening habits of their kids.
Same thing 20 years ago, and probably 40-60 years ago.
I don't watch much ACL anymore either, but out of curiosity I checked out the latest episode and it's Mitski and Rainbow Kitten Surprise. That's NOT boring, soulless or homogenous in my book - even if you don't like those artists, you have to admit that is an interesting double bill.
The thing is, there is probably more good music that you would personally enjoy happening and accessible to you right now than ever before - but it may be harder to find because there are so many platforms and everything is decentralized. Also, rock is no longer a dominant form of music, so if you like rock, you gotta dig deeper.
The thing is, there is probably more good music that you would personally enjoy happening and accessible to you right now than ever before - but it may be harder to find because there are so many platforms and everything is decentralized. Also, rock is no longer a dominant form of music, so if you like rock, you gotta dig deeper.
According my monthly credit card statement, I'm having no problem at finding new music to buy.
Same! Been ramping up my purchases during the pandemic to help support the artists I like, and have discovered some new ones in the process. And I've bought a lotta T shirts.According my monthly credit card statement, I'm having no problem at finding new music to buy.
My initial thought was about the "glorification" of musical heroes and performers of the past.
Living in the past seems like a depressing situation, while ignoring the music of today. And the performers of today could be classical ones too.
Living in the past seems like a depressing situation, while ignoring the music of today. And the performers of today could be classical ones too.
Yes, I can relate. Especially nowadays. Been kind of returning to the era of my egg as a comfort. The major positive is that some of this stuff I have heard in years or cuts I never heard before. (I use Pandora). Some cuts have been remastered and such. I’m also listening with a fresher perspective. This music moves me. (Spiritual?) My favorite time period was from about 1965 through maybe 1983. I do like a lot of stuff in the 90s too. I tapered off in the early 2000s.
Not too bag too much on modern Pop music even its too homogenized. nowadays. Can’t tell who’s who nowadays with all the processing going on. I equate that with modern corporate radio too. Please don’t get me started on that subject. I will say in the old days, a lot of diversity in music was promoted by regional independent radio. That I miss, along with the brick and mortar record stores.
The modern technology I do like is the personalized stuff that helps musician developement and exposes new music to him or her. The internet especially. Examples are YouTube, Zoom, FaceTime, and of course TB. Truly, you guys key me into a lot of interesting stuff. Both modern and classic! Thanks!
Even though I still play a lot of it in bands, I lost interest in listening to most of the music of my youth many years ago. With the advent of streaming platforms, I have discovered a wonderful new world of music, genres and even 'b-sides' from artists who were known for other songs. There is s much great stuff ou there from Bossa Nova (new and old), Jazz and an enormous amount of music from around the world that I don't know what to call it. So I guess I've never been more excited about the music world because there is literally 'the world' to listen to now. And without ads!
In the commercial sense......YES! Very depressing! But thank God that there is plenty of old stuff and undiscovered old stuff that is very exciting and satisfying! (I'm 68 years old and I'm still hearing music from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s that I'm hearing for the very first time and LOVING IT!)
And, there are many young people carrying the "torch" of excellent music in every genre imaginable. It's just that we have to look for it. It won't jump into our laps. Youtube has it all! We can find anything!
Good music is alive and well and living on Planet Earth. Although it might not be commercially popular.
And, there are many young people carrying the "torch" of excellent music in every genre imaginable. It's just that we have to look for it. It won't jump into our laps. Youtube has it all! We can find anything!
Good music is alive and well and living on Planet Earth. Although it might not be commercially popular.
To me the greatest loss is writing music for an iPod world. You will never develop as an artist trying to write the best single ever NOW! Gone are the days where you needed 10 songs and hoped 2 might get you noticed, and you worked on your overall concept as a group.
Not at all! My musical taste has opened up immensely since when I was young.
When I was young I was a rocker(classic, thrash, metal), then a New Waver. Then came Joy Division, indie rock, the Hacienda(Manchester) music scene, and the Mad-chester music scene. That was followed by funky stuff like Jimiroquai, female vocalists/songwriters in folky stuff, and some EDM.
Then early 30s I got a bass and started checking out lots of bass heavy stuff like hip hop, funk, reggae. The last 10 years I've got more into jazz and crossover stuff with funk, soul/rnb, and hip hop, and these account for about 80% of what I listen to now. The other 20% being everything except: metal/thrash, rock, opera, and 'rave music'(I'm allergic to it from my younger days).
Apart from some sentimental stuff, I rarely if ever listen to any of the music of my youth because it's like school maths lessons watching the clock
. It belongs in the past, and it feels like a relationship which has been thoroughly exhausted to the point that there's just nothing there anymore.
So musically, I'm in a much happier place now than I've ever been really. Apart from the music that belongs in the past, there is very little that I don't listen to and won't be open to. I'm constantly checking out new bands and new styles on YouTube and internet radio. There's some amazing music out there being made right now, but you've just got to look for it.
With music streaming I think is one of the best things to happen to music in decades because it allows people to listen to music that they would have previously ignored. The model completely changes the music listening dynamics.
When I was young I was a rocker(classic, thrash, metal), then a New Waver. Then came Joy Division, indie rock, the Hacienda(Manchester) music scene, and the Mad-chester music scene. That was followed by funky stuff like Jimiroquai, female vocalists/songwriters in folky stuff, and some EDM.
Then early 30s I got a bass and started checking out lots of bass heavy stuff like hip hop, funk, reggae. The last 10 years I've got more into jazz and crossover stuff with funk, soul/rnb, and hip hop, and these account for about 80% of what I listen to now. The other 20% being everything except: metal/thrash, rock, opera, and 'rave music'(I'm allergic to it from my younger days).
Apart from some sentimental stuff, I rarely if ever listen to any of the music of my youth because it's like school maths lessons watching the clock
. It belongs in the past, and it feels like a relationship which has been thoroughly exhausted to the point that there's just nothing there anymore.So musically, I'm in a much happier place now than I've ever been really. Apart from the music that belongs in the past, there is very little that I don't listen to and won't be open to. I'm constantly checking out new bands and new styles on YouTube and internet radio. There's some amazing music out there being made right now, but you've just got to look for it.
With music streaming I think is one of the best things to happen to music in decades because it allows people to listen to music that they would have previously ignored. The model completely changes the music listening dynamics.
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It's depressing to me if I spend too much time in the past or focusing on the same old thing. If I keep going down the same avenue forever, I get bored and have to find what's on the side streets.
Nostalgia vision means you look at the very best music over a twenty or thirty year span and then compare that to what you hear today. There was a lot of crap back in the day, but it fell into obscurity or was never heard. I listen to a Nashville station (Franklin, TN technically) and they have a ton of of great new music. I find old music that I enjoy, I find new music that I enjoy.
People never remember all the garbage they complained about on the radio when it was new in the good old days.
The funny thing about that is when I hear a song I might have really hated when I was young, it does tickle the time machine element in my brain and take me back.
