The direction music is headed?

[Waterpilot]

I'm not gonna read 6 pages about an Internet meme, but just in case no one has clues the peanut gallery in on this one: It's got 2.7 million views because it's so friggin' terrible... not because people actually like it.

Actually, it has over 14 Million views now and the song has climbed up to the 54th spot on the iTunes TOP 100. Seems to be quite a few people buying something they hate. Oh... And the hating part has been said many times.

Apple - iTunes - Browse the top music downloads

 

[sunilphilip]

down the drain but for a few gems,... its sad to see good musicians go pop, cause the label thinks that's what sells,...

It kills me to have Richard Bona do the pop stuff he is producing and loosing musicmanship (hear the difference with him live with guys like Mike Stern),... also derek Trucks compare his first two with the last two,... its still listenable only because they are basically good musicians.....

 

[DeathFromBelow]

As of this post it has over 10 MILLION views and is #69 on iTunes top 100 chart on it's first day.

Rebecca Black's Viral Hit 'Friday' Breaks Into iTunes Top 100 | Rolling Stone Music

As a side note, the "Glee Cast" has 7 songs in the top 15.

Six hours ago it had 13mill+ hits...

 

[IconBasser]

Real music has gone back to the underground where it belongs. I, for one, couldn't be happier. Its the only way for the artistic merit of music to remain unspoiled.

I think I agree. If decent music was actually in the limelight, there would be no demand for any of the creative fringe type music. Because people have to focus their attention elsewhere, it opens them up to little-known experiments and helps them thrive.

as an example: Heironymus Bosch
how would these (very talented, IMO) guys survive if they couldn't muster a decent underground following?

In the coming decades (starting now), we'll see the rise of numerous very powerful underground subcultures. These will be somewhat esoteric and difficult to first encounter, but once you do, there will be plethoras of material to discover and enjoy.

 

[Ubersheist]

I'll readily admit that I don't have the patience to go looking for great music. There's no way of knowing whether or not music was better in one era than it was in another. Yes, there have ALWAYS been cheesy songs and one-hit wonders, but you had no trouble finding artists and bands like Stevie Wonder, Led Zeppelin, the Stones, Parliament, James Brown, EWF, the Eagles, etc., back in the day. They were all in the Top 40 and on mainstream radio, along with the disposable pop fluff. I've taken a look at today's Top 40, and it just doesn't compare. Now, there may be artists today that rival those that I mentioned, but you can't simply turn on the radio and hear them. That's the difference, IMO, and I'm not looking through rose-colored glasses.

Ok... Let's put your theory to the test. I very randomly chose the year 1977, and pulled up the Top 40 songs for the year, according to Billboard. Here they are:

# 1
You Light Up My Life
- Debby Boone

# 2
Best Of My Love
- Emotions

# 3
I Just Want To Be Your Everything
- Barry white

# 4
How Deep Is Your Love
- Bee Gees

# 5
Theme From "A Star Is Born" (Evergreen)
- Barbra Streisand

# 6
Sir Duke
- Stevie Wonder

# 7
Torn Between Two Lovers
- Mary MacGregor

# 8
Rich Girl
- Daryl Hall & John Oates

# 9
Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band
- Meco

# 10
Got To Give It Up (Part 1)
- Marvin Gaye

# 11
Car Wash
- Rose Royce

# 12
You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)
- Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr.

# 13
Don't Leave Me This Way
- Thelma Houston

# 14
You Make Me Feel Like Dancing
- Leo Sayer

# 15
Dancing Queen
- Abba

# 16
Southern Nights
- Glen Campbell

# 17
Blinded By The Light
- Manfred Mann's Earth Band

# 18
Hotel California
- Eagles

# 19
I Wish
- Stevie Wonder

# 20
Gonna Fly Now
- Bill Conti

I don't know about you, but there's a solid amount of crap sprinkled in there between Stevie Wonder and The Eagles. I think there's a big disparity between how people perceive the past and the songs of yore, and the reality of what sold back then. Pick another year, and I think it'll be about the same.

 

[OOZMAN]

Right. The over abundance of cookie monster lyrics, auto-tuning of clean lyrics, a-melodic shredding, technicality over soul....

Hahaha, okay captain expert

 

[Saxn]

Ok... Let's put your theory to the test. I very randomly chose the year 1977, and pulled up the Top 40 songs for the year, according to Billboard. Here they are:

# 1
You Light Up My Life
- Debby Boone

# 2
Best Of My Love
- Emotions

# 3
I Just Want To Be Your Everything
- Barry white

# 4
How Deep Is Your Love
- Bee Gees

# 5
Theme From "A Star Is Born" (Evergreen)
- Barbra Streisand

# 6
Sir Duke
- Stevie Wonder

# 7
Torn Between Two Lovers
- Mary MacGregor

# 8
Rich Girl
- Daryl Hall & John Oates

# 9
Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band
- Meco

# 10
Got To Give It Up (Part 1)
- Marvin Gaye

# 11
Car Wash
- Rose Royce

# 12
You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)
- Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr.

# 13
Don't Leave Me This Way
- Thelma Houston

# 14
You Make Me Feel Like Dancing
- Leo Sayer

# 15
Dancing Queen
- Abba

# 16
Southern Nights
- Glen Campbell

# 17
Blinded By The Light
- Manfred Mann's Earth Band

# 18
Hotel California
- Eagles

# 19
I Wish
- Stevie Wonder

# 20
Gonna Fly Now
- Bill Conti

I don't know about you, but there's a solid amount of crap sprinkled in there between Stevie Wonder and The Eagles. I think there's a big disparity between how people perceive the past and the songs of yore, and the reality of what sold back then. Pick another year, and I think it'll be about the same.

I can see the point you are making here; I am sure there are several above that have the same sort of repetitive, droning melodic structure and trite lyrics... but can you find one that also includes autotuning in its entirety, bad grammar, and lyrics that are just that plain ******** above? I bet not.

Yes, there was a solid amount of crap in that list above. This, however, is a new level of crap. IMO.

 

[AuntieBeeb]

First time I've heard that. Ouch.

I must admit, I was, until recently, blissfully oblivious to the fact that pop music had reached such a depressingly dire nadir. It was only after my new flatmate moved in - I found out he would just listen to whatever was on the radio and popular at the time. Fair enough, I thought, I can't expect everyone to like the same things as me, to each their own.

It was a few weeks after he moved in that my girlfriend came round, heard the music coming from his room, and pointed out that he was listening to Justin Bieber. I expect it's only a matter of time before Ms Black's puerile abomination is heard echoing through the hallway.

 

[Saxn]

I must admit, I was, until recently, blissfully oblivious to the fact that pop music had reached such a depressingly dire nadir. It was only after my new flatmate moved in - I found out he would just listen to whatever was on the radio and popular at the time. Fair enough, I thought, I can't expect everyone to like the same things as me, to each their own.

It was a few weeks after he moved in that my girlfriend came round, heard the music coming from his room, and pointed out that he was listening to Justin Bieber. I expect it's only a matter of time before Ms Black's puerile abomination is heard echoing through the hallway.

LOL Love you Brits and the way you word things! Perhaps YOU should have written some lyrics for 'Ms Black' but NOOO... we have to get an escaped chimpanzee with half his brain removed for science experiments to do THAT...

 

[Spino]

130 posts about sh!t ???

 

[Altitude]

In the coming decades (starting now), we'll see the rise of numerous very powerful underground subcultures. These will be somewhat esoteric and difficult to first encounter, but once you do, there will be plethoras of material to discover and enjoy.

+1, and drastically fewer dedicated professional musicians. With the recording technology and distribution ability the average person has access to now, we will be hearing great, high quality, compelling music made by hobbyists who are professionals of another sort in their lives as well.

Fewer rock stars, fewer people making a fortune playing music (there weren't many anyway), but exponentially more people able to express their art.

 

[Russell L]

There is always junk on the radio and charts. I hardly ever listen to the radio anymore, unless it's an oldies station that plays a decent book.

I remember the late 70s and what was popular. I worked for Record Bar at the time and sold that stuff. It was disgusting what we had to put on the front display racks, based on what was selling. I suppose today isn't any better. I hear stuff everywhere that turns me off. Matter o" fact, I quit a band last year to get away from playing stuff I don't like. I find myself going back to styles I DID like in the past, not being able to find much nowadays that's fresh AND worth listening to. Maybe I'm just getting too old.

But even in the old days, I didn't listen to crap, but listened to and played stuff that I found in places other than on the radio or Billboard charts, although there were still a few good ones there as well. It's just that everyday folks seem to like all that shallow stuff too much for my tastes.

 

[GregDunn]

Egads... whine, whine, whine, whine... I GUARANTEE that musical snobs have been complaining about the decline of the quality of music since polyphonic chording was invented 1000 years ago. Ever since the music industry sorta got its act together with mass distribution in the 1950s or so, there's always been crappy, cheesy music that sells like gang busters. Every single era has its Justin Bieber or Shawn Cassidy. There's plenty of one-hit wonders that sold a crapload and then were abandoned by the music industry going back as far as the 1950s.

My grandparents thought the stuff coming out in the 1960s was utter crap. My parents thought the stuff coming out in the 1980s was crap. My friends all seem to think the stuff coming out today is all crap..... It's an old and trite thought that's been said a billion times before.

There's plenty of great music out there. In fact, the ability for good musicians to get their stuff out to people has never been easier or more accessible. The same tools that allow hacks to put up whatever they want allows great musicians to put up whatever they want, too.

I remember someone doing a psychological study a number of years back. They studied a bunch of people of all ages. They found out that people when they turn about 35 years old stop buying new music, and only buy what they grew up with and listened to in their 20s. It's no coincidence. People get stodgy and pine for the music of yore, no matter how old they are.

Good talent always makes good music, no matter what the technology presents itself with at any given time, and pretty people selling bubblegum music will always outsell quality stuff. It's just human nature. That is the playing field. Now, people can either whine about how better things used to be, or, if they're so knowledgeable, they can step up, go out and create some music that proves just how bad they perceive modern music to be.

+1000. Sorry for quoting the whole thing, but every point the OP makes in this post is worth re-reading.

I'm staring 60 in the face, and haven't yet stopped buying music (new or old). There are many musicians out on tour that I'm looking forward to seeing this year, most of whom will never be known by the average consumer. Music continues to be made, and made well, despite the tendency of the media to glamorize and prostitute the flavor of the week to the pre-teen mentality. Stop letting other people decide who you listen to; get out to some clubs, hang with younger people who have an ear to the pipe, and pay attention to a variety of styles.

My iTunes library continues to get larger (even though most of it is ripped from purchased CDs, not downloaded) and once it stops growing, I think it's safe to heap dirt on top of me because I've stopped growing as well.

 

[FilterFunk]

Ok... Let's put your theory to the test. I very randomly chose the year 1977, and pulled up the Top 40 songs for the year, according to Billboard. Here they are:

# 1
You Light Up My Life
- Debby Boone

# 2
Best Of My Love
- Emotions

# 3
I Just Want To Be Your Everything
- Barry white

# 4
How Deep Is Your Love
- Bee Gees

# 5
Theme From "A Star Is Born" (Evergreen)
- Barbra Streisand

# 6
Sir Duke
- Stevie Wonder

# 7
Torn Between Two Lovers
- Mary MacGregor

# 8
Rich Girl
- Daryl Hall & John Oates

# 9
Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band
- Meco

# 10
Got To Give It Up (Part 1)
- Marvin Gaye

# 11
Car Wash
- Rose Royce

# 12
You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)
- Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr.

# 13
Don't Leave Me This Way
- Thelma Houston

# 14
You Make Me Feel Like Dancing
- Leo Sayer

# 15
Dancing Queen
- Abba

# 16
Southern Nights
- Glen Campbell

# 17
Blinded By The Light
- Manfred Mann's Earth Band

# 18
Hotel California
- Eagles

# 19
I Wish
- Stevie Wonder

# 20
Gonna Fly Now
- Bill Conti

I don't know about you, but there's a solid amount of crap sprinkled in there between Stevie Wonder and The Eagles. I think there's a big disparity between how people perceive the past and the songs of yore, and the reality of what sold back then. Pick another year, and I think it'll be about the same.

The Top 20 of one year doesn't reflect the totality of what one would hear on a mainstream station during the course of a year. I clearly stated that there was plenty of "disposable pop fluff" in the '70s. I'll still put what was played on free mainstream radio overall throughout the '70s against the same thing over the past decade any day. Remember, I'm talking about free mainstream radio, not specialized Sirius satellite radio or stuff you have to look for on the Internet.

 

[NYCBass]

We're All Doomed ! ! !

 

[Waterpilot]

For those that keep coming in with the "Hate it" angle... Over 16 Million views as of this posting, and it is still rising in iTunes Top 100 chart to number #31. Wonder if radio has or will pick this up...

 

[nutdog]

Ok... Let's put your theory to the test. I very randomly chose the year 1977, and pulled up the Top 40 songs for the year, according to Billboard. Here they are:

There are a good number of butt-kicking tunes that still get regular airplay on that list.

"Friday" reminds me of a 70's tune that was big when I was a kid: "Saturday Night" by the Bay City Rollers. Interestingly, the chord progression is basically the same, I VI IV V, which is shared by an innumerable host of other pop songs.

People get too uptight about what's "real" music and what's not. I've been guilty of it myself. It takes the fun out of life. I sense much bitterness here.

I saw the GMA interview with the girl. Just a young girl that want's to sing. Understands her own talent level also. "I don't think I'm the worst singer, but I don't think I'm the best singer".

She's taken a lot of crap from people who never get off the couch and do anything. I imagine most of the people on this board couldn't produce much better. If only she had droned on the same note in drop H tuning at max volume in a hockey mask.

 

[FilterFunk]

I can see the point you are making here; I am sure there are several above that have the same sort of repetitive, droning melodic structure and trite lyrics... but can you find one that also includes autotuning in its entirety, bad grammar, and lyrics that are just that plain ******** above? I bet not.

Yes, there was a solid amount of crap in that list above. This, however, is a new level of crap. IMO.

^Exactly. I'll be even more specific - I want to hear great R&B/funk bands. I mean REAL, FULL BANDS that sing, play, write, record and tour together. I'm talkin' vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, horns, etc. I turn on a radio and tune in a mainstream station in the '70s, and what can I hear? Parliament/Funkadelic, James Brown and his JB's, Average White Band, the Isley Brothers, EWF, Kool & the Gang, the Commodores, LTD feat. Jeffrey Osborne, the Ohio Players, the Bar-Kays, and Cameo, among others. Now, I turn on a radio and tune in a mainstream station in the 2000s, and what R&B/funk bands can I hear? You tell me.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

I think music is headed slightly to the left. Or is it right... Depends on where you're standing.

 

[LiamPodmore]

Quite funny this, i just had to do an essay question on this in one of my GCSE mock exams. I tend not to hear the original versions of most mainstream stuff nowadays, i can't stand some of it, but i will admit there are some artists that arent bad at all, such as Bruno Mars, that guy really is talented, but for the most part it's utter *****, just get the odd one or two that are actually good. Can't believe that some of this is aimed at and liked by people of my age, they need some taste in REAL music.

Liam