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Mainstream Music Stinks!

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#26
Glenn Johnson said:
Anyone agree/disagree? Thoughts? Comments? Edit: Yes, I know I sound like my dad.
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you definitely sound like someone's dad! :laugh:

which is the problem, right? if dad doesn't like it = it's got something going for it! :D

my advice on "mainstream music": open up your head. open your ears. take a chance! take a bunch of chances --- just like you did when you were young! there's tons of great stuff out there (and here!). i love the 'old stuff' of my youth --- but i'm playing/writing/gigging in the 21st century! i'm constantly being turned on to contemporary gems/jams. all of us have to get old...but none of us have to get stuck!

good luck getting off the couch! :thumbsup:


old cats bemoaning 'what is' = nowhere, man!
 
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#30
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.
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I agree, you're just getting old.
 
#35
If you look back over a broad time period, mainstream music always seems to have simple and overused chordal structures and always sounds predictable as part of a larger musical fashion at whatever time.

But, the melodies and lyrics are often very good in my opinion. To wit, Herbie Hancock recorded an album of covers on then-current mainstream songs in the mid-90s called "The New Standard" which is wonderful. It has a cover of "All Apologies" (Nirvana) and "Thieves In The Temple" (Prince) on it.

I'll throw out a challenge - go to your streaming service. Listen to "Don't Dream It's Over" (Crowded House) and "Time After Time" (Cyndi Lauper), both mainstream hits in the 80s that seemed (to me) unremarkable at the time. Then listen to a few of the covers of each song that strip away the 80s production and lay bare the bones of the song. They are both outstanding pieces of work.
 
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#36
Nearly all the popular music I hear these days (and by "pop music", I refer to Billboard's top singles/songs chart) has pitch-corrected vocals to the extent that it sounds like a robot is singing. There are no live instruments - everything is sampled or programmed. Generally, the music is incredibly simple and unsophisticated and has little to offer beside sonic hooks (particular sounds or noises) and vocal/lyric hooks. I tend to refer to it as "machine music" or "robot music" since there seems to be very little humanity to it.

I'm going to blame the cut-and-paste practices tied to the rise and growth of hip-hop in the 80's and 90's for the general dumbing-down of pop music over the last 30 years; based on their product, most commercially successful producers in these genres don't seem to understand any theory beyond the very basic rudiments, caring far more about "beats". This results in skeletal "songs" that occasionally have no discernible chord progressions and only the vaguest notion of overall harmony, and that came from whatever was sampled to create the "new song".

For examples, check out this week's crop of top songs.

Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart
 
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#38
JRA said:
you definitely sound like someone's dad! :laugh:

which is the problem, right? if dad doesn't like it = it's got something going for it! :D

my advice on "mainstream music": open up your head. open your ears. take a chance! take a bunch of chances --- just like you did when you were young! there's tons of great stuff out there (and here!). i love the 'old stuff' of my youth --- but i'm playing/writing/gigging in the 21st century! i'm constantly being turned on to contemporary gems/jams. all of us have to get old...but none of us have to get stuck!

good luck getting off the couch! :thumbsup:
I AM off the couch, and I know that there is great music out there, but I resent the fact that I have to seek it out and download it and all that technical stuff that tech unsavvy me hates. I wish the good stuff was more easily accessible is what I'm saying - that and that today's youth are listening to a lot of what I consider "fake" music, and don't even realize it. Of course, if they enjoy that, who am I to disagree? Sure wish they would be exposed to real music though. Their attitudes might change. Probably wishful thinking though. Anyway, tonight me and the band will be playing real music, covers and originals, all unproduced 3 of us. Sorry for the rant. Lol. Cheers!

old cats bemoaning 'what is' = nowhere, man!
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I realize that there IS great music out there, but I lament the fact that it gets little airplay, and has more of a cult status, and that I have to search for it, and download it and it's all such a hassle to technology unsavy m
JRA said:
you definitely sound like someone's dad! :laugh:

which is the problem, right? if dad doesn't like it = it's got something going for it! :D

my advice on "mainstream music": open up your head. open your ears. take a chance! take a bunch of chances --- just like you did when you were young! there's tons of great stuff out there (and here!). i love the 'old stuff' of my youth --- but i'm playing/writing/gigging in the 21st century! i'm constantly being turned on to contemporary gems/jams. all of us have to get old...but none of us have to get stuck!

good luck getting off the couch! :thumbsup:


old cats bemoaning 'what is' = nowhere, man!
Click to expand...
 
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#39
You may be noticing and hearing this, at least in regards to pop music or mainstream music.



That doesn't mean no one is making good music these days though. They are, but in many cases, it's just not nearly as marketable.

Glenn Johnson said:
Lack of attention span is definitely a problem I've noticed with todays youth - that and not being able to give you the correct change without the cash register telling them how much. You make some really valid points I think. Thanks.
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Ok....now you definitely just sound like a jaded old-timer...
 
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