I see a real underground opening up, the way it did in the 80s. While there were more musicians making a living back then, about half of the stuff that a lot of us think of as classic 80s music, whether in punk-influenced pop or hip-hop, was made by underground bands who, by and large, were barely making a living, and were recording under conditions that were worse (given the limitations of non-pro technology) than people are recording in now.
It's difficult to make a living playing music now, but it was difficult to make a living for a lot of people then as well. The most that even the popular underground artists were selling in the mid 80s was 20,000 to 25,000 records. So bands like Husker Du, Replacements, Black Flag, etc. and a lot of rappers like Skooly D or whoever, were either barely making a living or not making a living. Nowadays you can find 50 people on YouTube teaching you how to play their songs.
Anyway pop music is atomized and incomprehensible, and our society is so polarized into small groups anyway, I see a viable, cohesive underground ahead, or rather multiple undergrounds. What it'll sound like, who knows? At least some of it will be played primarily on meatspace instrments, though.
When I was a kid, a lot of shows I went to were in basements, community centers, etc., and there are still shows in those places. The next huge American rock band will be never, or at least not until after the next huge American Jazz band.
It's difficult to make a living playing music now, but it was difficult to make a living for a lot of people then as well. The most that even the popular underground artists were selling in the mid 80s was 20,000 to 25,000 records. So bands like Husker Du, Replacements, Black Flag, etc. and a lot of rappers like Skooly D or whoever, were either barely making a living or not making a living. Nowadays you can find 50 people on YouTube teaching you how to play their songs.
Anyway pop music is atomized and incomprehensible, and our society is so polarized into small groups anyway, I see a viable, cohesive underground ahead, or rather multiple undergrounds. What it'll sound like, who knows? At least some of it will be played primarily on meatspace instrments, though.
When I was a kid, a lot of shows I went to were in basements, community centers, etc., and there are still shows in those places. The next huge American rock band will be never, or at least not until after the next huge American Jazz band.
