knarleybass
Commercial User
I gotta' say that I love these discussions, to me good music and good food are the nourishment for the soul, I personally think we are starving.
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Music is declining
- Thread starter Araillac
- Start date
I think Visirale has much more valid points than the OP does. I am generally referred to as a "metalhead" but I listen to Emily Haines (new wave?), Aesop Rock (hip hop), Earth (doom metal), Crystal Castles (electronic), The Red Chord (metal/metalcore), Kyuss (stoner metal)... Some cuban music... There is SO MUCH music out there, you just need to start looking. Check out the pandora website, that can help you find new bands as well.
It's really easy to offend people by making blanket statements like you did, Araillac. What about all the people on TB today who are playing in those bands on the radio? What about the tons of people who make electronic and hip hop music that are arguably better musicians than you? Even if you don't like their music you should at least respect their talent and devotion enough not to insult them with bigoted stereotypes.
It's really easy to offend people by making blanket statements like you did, Araillac. What about all the people on TB today who are playing in those bands on the radio? What about the tons of people who make electronic and hip hop music that are arguably better musicians than you? Even if you don't like their music you should at least respect their talent and devotion enough not to insult them with bigoted stereotypes.
I like modern pop music. 
Every generation, people like you say that "today"'s music is degenerate. If you were right, then by now, after this many generations, music would have degenerated into some guy banging his head on a door.
Every generation, people like you say that "today"'s music is degenerate. If you were right, then by now, after this many generations, music would have degenerated into some guy banging his head on a door.
As other people have said, if you don't like what's on the radio, start looking for music. I hate it when people go "aw man, all the music in the world just sucks today", when there's no way in hell they have heard every single musical piece out there.
And with the internet today, it's easier than ever to find great music. If you really want great music, you have to put in a bit of effort to find it.
And with the internet today, it's easier than ever to find great music. If you really want great music, you have to put in a bit of effort to find it.
People have been saying this (thread title) since rock music was created, maybe even earlier... probably when Scott Joplin started cranking out that sex music they call ragtime. There are great new bands out there, as stated, you are probably not going to find them on the radio. Radio rarely gives us the purest example of the genres it represents. I've said it before, I use to hate hip hop because all I knew was the crap on the radio. I started listening to some "underground" artists and became a fan. The same goes for rock, jazz, funk, bluegrass, country, folk, etc.
The thing you have to take into account, the majority of people ARE NOT music fans. I've discovered through a lot of my friends that music is more often viewed as background noise to cover up all that yucky unwanted silence. A lot of people get nothing from music, and where else would you get nothing but the radio.
The thing you have to take into account, the majority of people ARE NOT music fans. I've discovered through a lot of my friends that music is more often viewed as background noise to cover up all that yucky unwanted silence. A lot of people get nothing from music, and where else would you get nothing but the radio.
see, that's your problem right. there. radio? commercial radio?
really?
yo, there's this thing called the internet. you type stuff in, and it shows you stuff. sometimes, you can find music on it.
check it out, it's pretty cool.
also, there's college radio.
also, you realize that your blanket statement about crap music has rendered us all invalid and worthless, right?
The only band from the 80's I can still listen to is Joy Division; they had something timeless about them.
my statement is about the general popular music. I understand that there is good music out there still. But also, this is only just an opinion. We all have our opinions. I may think it's bad but lots of other people think it's good. I only bring in the radio because that is one of the main sources of popular modern music.
And stop saying I'm old people. I'm only 18
here's the billboard top 25 from 1967 (the year sgt. pepper's came out):
01. To Sir With Love » Lulu
02. The Letter » Box Tops
03. Ode To Billie Joe » Bobby Gentry
04. Windy » Association
05. I'm A Believer » Monkees
06. Light My Fire » Doors
07. Somethin' Stupid » Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra
08. Happy Together » Turtles
09. Groovin' » Young Rascals
10. Can't Take My Eyes Off You » Frankie Valli
11. Little Bit O' Soul » Music Explosion
12. I Think We're Alone Now » Tommy James & The Shondells
13. Respect » Aretha Franklin
14. I Was Made To Love Her » Stevie Wonder
15. Come Back When You Grow Up » Bobby Vee & The Strangers
17. Sweet Soul Music » Arthur Conley
18. Kind Of A Drag » Buckinghams
18. Expressway To Your Heart » Soul Survivors
19. Soul Man » Sam & Dave
20. Never My Love » Association
21. Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie » Jay & The Techniques
22. Come On Down To My Boat » Every Mothers' Son
23. Incense And Peppermints » Strawberry Alarm Clock
24. Ruby Tuesday » Rolling Stones
25. It Must Be Him » Vicki Carr
Almost all of that is cheesy, soul-less pop music. The worst part is that back then you only had the radio to listen, so if you didn't like that drivel you were screwed.
01. To Sir With Love » Lulu
02. The Letter » Box Tops
03. Ode To Billie Joe » Bobby Gentry
04. Windy » Association
05. I'm A Believer » Monkees
06. Light My Fire » Doors
07. Somethin' Stupid » Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra
08. Happy Together » Turtles
09. Groovin' » Young Rascals
10. Can't Take My Eyes Off You » Frankie Valli
11. Little Bit O' Soul » Music Explosion
12. I Think We're Alone Now » Tommy James & The Shondells
13. Respect » Aretha Franklin
14. I Was Made To Love Her » Stevie Wonder
15. Come Back When You Grow Up » Bobby Vee & The Strangers
17. Sweet Soul Music » Arthur Conley
18. Kind Of A Drag » Buckinghams
18. Expressway To Your Heart » Soul Survivors
19. Soul Man » Sam & Dave
20. Never My Love » Association
21. Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie » Jay & The Techniques
22. Come On Down To My Boat » Every Mothers' Son
23. Incense And Peppermints » Strawberry Alarm Clock
24. Ruby Tuesday » Rolling Stones
25. It Must Be Him » Vicki Carr
Almost all of that is cheesy, soul-less pop music. The worst part is that back then you only had the radio to listen, so if you didn't like that drivel you were screwed.
Music is just changing, diluting & specializing to people tastes, because Radio is dead, people listen to cable radio, podcasts whatever. People seem to find out about bands through word of mouth Internet/youtube/I tunes now, not what Clive Davis shoves down your throat.
The old days of true Super bands is really hard to do nowadays. It's a thing of the past. People are overloaded by a zillion different bands now.
I know a lot of young people who look to classic old rock groups as islands in a sea of the zillion bands as go to music that defined music.
Music is progressing in my opinion, look at metal (screaming growling singing) Solo bass bands like Lightning Bolt. Foreign music (not world music) has made a huge impact, with bands not singing English and being huge (Rammstein). Music is definitely changing, evolving as is what the role of the Bass guitar is, weather you like it or not.
It's exciting times for bassists & music fans today, in my opinion.
The old days of true Super bands is really hard to do nowadays. It's a thing of the past. People are overloaded by a zillion different bands now.
I know a lot of young people who look to classic old rock groups as islands in a sea of the zillion bands as go to music that defined music.
Music is progressing in my opinion, look at metal (screaming growling singing) Solo bass bands like Lightning Bolt. Foreign music (not world music) has made a huge impact, with bands not singing English and being huge (Rammstein). Music is definitely changing, evolving as is what the role of the Bass guitar is, weather you like it or not.
It's exciting times for bassists & music fans today, in my opinion.
Cobain ruins Nirvana for me. I do however love the Foo Fighters. Grohl is a legend.
EDIT: Forgot to mention, the Foo's new album should go down in history. Seriously it's got to be the best record I've seen come out recently. First 3 songs are pure gold.
Yeah... My dad was saying stuff like this about radio back in the day, and his dad before him, and blah blah blah. The degradation of popular music in the minds of the generations immersed in it is nothing new.
I also agree wholeheartedly with Mike's assessment of both Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl...
i absolutely hate when people say that music today sucks. it makes one sound the highest level of both stupid and ignorant. sure, most of what is on the radio today, with the exception of some college, alternative, jazz, and other specialty stations, is mostly terrible and not worth half a listen. but music that is on the radio today is generally designed to be radio music. it is created with a formula, which goes something like this:
Intro+verse+chorus+verse+breakdown or bridge or whatever you might call it+chorus+chorus+fade out+Good Looking singer+Lip Synching Practice+many other variables = under 3 and a half minutes = radio play
I used to think that all new music sucked too, when in middle school going through my intense classic rock stage, now i am more into jam bands, and most of what i listen to is from the last 10 years, a lot of it from the last few years. No matter who you are or what you like, there is music coming out everyday that you will enjoy, you just have to know where to look for it.
Intro+verse+chorus+verse+breakdown or bridge or whatever you might call it+chorus+chorus+fade out+Good Looking singer+Lip Synching Practice+many other variables = under 3 and a half minutes = radio play
I used to think that all new music sucked too, when in middle school going through my intense classic rock stage, now i am more into jam bands, and most of what i listen to is from the last 10 years, a lot of it from the last few years. No matter who you are or what you like, there is music coming out everyday that you will enjoy, you just have to know where to look for it.
i forgot to mention satellite radio. my mom has that in her car and every time im home i try to take a ride in that thing, i usually turn on the joint, a reggae station, and being a huge reggae fan, i hear new artists EVERY single time i listen. and its all good music too. this goes for all of the other satellite stations, too.
Basically it goes like this. Congratulations, you are one of the *enlightened* few. you see through the pathetic front that radio tries to display. Anyone that listens to the radio must be a sap, a sucker, or a loser, and everyone else points and giggles at those fiddling with their FM dials. Maybe you should lay off the LSD before you start trying to tell people that Television is garbage and rots our brains, or that the government is corrupt or something rediculous like that.
Maybe it's generational but most new music is sounding self absorbed and dull to my ears. Or maybe I'm just sounding like one of those guys in my parent's generation that would say to me when I was young "The rock 'n roll you kids play is garbage...but the big band era...now that was really something". I guess history repeats itself.
Yes, I find it amusing that a waitress who is a member of generation Y (born in the 1980s) asked me some of the music I liked, and I told her about The Cure, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Smiths, Cocteau Twins, Joy Division, Bauhaus, Magazine, PIL, Japan, Throwing Muses, Bowie, The Church, etc.. (mostly 1980s post-punk stuff). She said "Oh yeah, that retro stuff is great!" That made me feel old
+1, very easy to say that things were musically "much better back then" as that is our natural tendency (for some reason)...in some ways they were (more gigs for us musicians), but as far as the availability of good music to listen to I believe things must be much better now.
For instance...look at how many virtuoso bassists are making music which is easily obtainable on the web. It's so much easier to make, share and listen to music now.
I'm inclined to agree. It's a very barren time for creativity, especially in the heavier guitar driven genre's. And here I thought it was just me getting old.
