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Mainstream Music Stinks!

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Glenn Johnson

Glenn Johnson

Aug 23, 2019
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Long Island, NY
#1
Am I just getting old or is the current mainstream, over-produced drivel pretending to be music the garbage I believe it to be. Sure, once in a blue moon something halfway worthwhile mysteriously finds it's way onto the radio, clubs, etc. - but that's rare. It"s almost as if the music moguls have brainwashed our youth into thinking that what they're hearing is worthwhile.

Anyone agree/disagree? Thoughts? Comments?

Edit: Yes, I know I sound like my dad.
 
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#7
Miss the days of Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers, Sly and the Family Stone, Chic, Toto, etc. Brilliant musicians and songs.

Trying to embrace modern music... Travis Scott, Disclosure have got my attention, because the groove is nice and danceable. Otherwise, most modern stuff is cold trash to me.... it seems to be about a certain image and production rather than what music was meant to be. People used to love top 40 music enough to buy the records and listen to the radio. It was worth going to the clubs to hear a good top 40 cover band.
 
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#8
Glenn Johnson said:
I am new on talkbass and venting I guess.
Click to expand...

Welcome to Talk Bass! You have already met two important criteria for success on TB. One, you are venting, and two, you think modern pop music sucks.

Other criteria include: strong options about flats vs. rounds, tort pick guards, Rickenbackers, how many strings on a bass are best, slapping, and which bass is best for metal.

Welcome, brother.
 
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#10
Glenn Johnson said:
Am I just getting old or is the current mainstream, over-produced drivel pretending to be music the garbage I believe it to be. Sure, once in a blue moon something halfway worthwhile mysteriously finds it's way onto the radio, clubs, etc. - but that's rare. It"s almost as if the music moguls have brainwashed our youth into thinking that what they're hearing is worthwhile.

Anyone agree/disagree? Thoughts? Comments?

Edit: Yes, I know I sound like my dad.
Click to expand...
I had a pretty famous radio DJ tell me the public only wants safe, familiar music. They don’t care about the skill of the musicians, the quality of the recording, or any of the other aspects of bringing music to market. All they want is something familiar that doesn’t push boundaries or ask hard or awkward social questions. Basically, anything that upsets parents or has kids asking questions is no longer acceptable to station owners and program directors.
 
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#13
RichardW said:
Welcome to Talk Bass! You have already met two important criteria for success on TB. One, you are venting, and two, you think modern pop music sucks.

Other criteria include: strong options about flats vs. rounds, tort pick guards, Rickenbackers, how many strings on a bass are best, slapping, and which bass is best for metal.

Welcome, brother.
Click to expand...
Okay, DEFINITLY Rickenbacker, can't slap to save my life ( moot point ), flats can be useful, I sometimes play my 5 string ( but not often ). Tort looks great ONLY on white basses, and Schecter for heavy metal. Let's see how many feathers I ruffle. Lol. Cheers!
 
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#16
fhm555 said:
I had a pretty famous radio DJ tell me the public only wants safe, familiar music. They don’t care about the skill of the musicians, the quality of the recording, or any of the other aspects of bringing music to market. All they want is something familiar that doesn’t push boundaries or ask hard or awkward social questions. Basically, anything that upsets parents or has kids asking questions is no longer acceptable to station owners and program directors.
Click to expand...
Sad, isn't it. This is really all about politics, which is about power, which is about money, but let's not go there! Cheers!
 
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#18
Chad Michael said:
Miss the days of Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers, Sly and the Family Stone, Chic, Toto, etc. Brilliant musicians and songs.
This exactly.
Trying to embrace modern music... Travis Scott, Disclosure have got my attention, because the groove is nice and danceable. Otherwise, most modern stuff is cold trash to me.... it seems to be about a certain image and production rather than what music was meant to be. People used to love top 40 music enough to buy the records and listen to the radio. It was worth going to the clubs to hear a good top 40 cover band.
Click to expand...
 
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#19
Mainstream music outlets have become much more conservative than they were when I was growing up. Label budgets have also gotten considerably smaller. Add to that the fear of losing listeners due to rapidly diminishing attention spans and the fact that many other entertainment/distraction options now exist and are easily accessed (thanks mainly to the internet) and what you get is cookie-cutter, cheap-to-produce (relatively speaking) predictable pablum on an unprecedented scale. Sure, there was always bad pop, but anyone with half an ear can tell that there's been a significant shift in terms of the variety (and quality) one could expect to hear on mainstream playlists. Yes, it used to be better. No, it's not just because you're older. Yes, that meme of grandad from The Simpsons yelling at a cloud (the meme that is bound to pop up in this thread any minute now) is trite but to be expected. :)
 
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