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Mainstream Music Stinks!

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#41
Charlzm said:
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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Thank you for stating the exact problem!
 
#46
Chad Michael said:
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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This. .
 
#48
Altitude said:
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.

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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I agree, but stuff like that isn't mainstream today.
 
#50
GBBSbassist said:
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.



Ok....now you definitely just sound like a jaded old-timer...
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A jaded old timer who knows how to give correct change without a cash register.
 
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#51
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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yes it's true , it seems big Music companies have given up, on the Music industry. Can you think of 1 current band that you're waiting for their next/new album release? I can't. its sad, when I'm hoping Taylor Swift or some Kpop Band with a virtuoso in it will come out with a "retro" throwback Rock album! to "shake it up!" I'm guessing the music industry has changed too much! With everyone "stealing" music the music industry can't or doesn't know how to make any money, so they just gave up & we in the general public suffer! until some new tech comes out to change that.

I wonder how much new talent is just dying on the vine!

Hopefully that changes soon! Until then we have to go to the clubs ourselves to see Tribute bands to check out any new talent! GL!!
 
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