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Where has music and art gone?
- Thread starter WyrmDL
- Start date
- Sep 9, 2007
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- Endorsing Artist: Eventide, GHS Strings, G&L Guitars, NS Design, Tsunami Cables
Bingo. We had a conversation like this at the theatre about a month ago, and one of the guys (that was a huge hip-hop fan) made the comment that mainstream hip-hop right now is in its "Hair Metal" phase and that it's going to take someone on par with the vision of Kurt Cobain to really turn it upside down and change it.
Another factor in all this is that as one ages, one's perspective changes. Sometimes when someone says, "Things used to be so cool but now they have gone to hell" simply means that that person used to be on the youthful bleeding edge but now others have taken over that position.
That's a good way to look at todays "popular" music.
Since the music industry is a business ... the faster you can put out stuff, the more $$ you will make ... the ol' strike while the iron is hot, idea.
Just like the "hair bands" of the 80's and the "grunge bands" of the 90's ... nowadays there is a flooding of the market, of groups/soloists who just about sound the same. For the most part, todays popular music (top 40) is another turn and burn, over saturation of the market, with basically the same basic recipe ... Find a hook, and go from there. Cats like Timbaland make millions on that same recipe. Although I find him to be a highly talented producer ... his ability to make hit after hit ... keeps artists knocking at his door; all the while, keeping todays "popular" music stagnant.
** Frankly blame Autotune, and ProTools! With the invention of these products, just about any halfway talented artist or producer can make a "hit" song.
With all that said ... there seems to be a slow change towards "musicianship" in some of todays "pop" music. Cats like Jay-Z are turning their backs on Autotune, and slightly Pro Tools, while trying bring back some sort of musicainship to their genre ... it seems that P-Diddy (or whatever he calls himself today) is trying to follow suit, by having a "band" as his backup; and not just a backing track. With this new found admiration of "musicianship", I'd imagine Pro Tools will start to decline as well (or at least I hope).
When one looks at the charts ... one can see more and more "bands" showing up; and less and less "solo artists" and "hip hop" artists. With that, it seems that the days of overproduced "hip hop and rap" will go of the way of the 90's grunge bands ... still around, but not as popular.
As far as "art" is concerned ... it's still alive and kicking, but does not have the widespread popularity/interest that it once did. Nowadays the television and advertising, as well as the internet, has taken the place of art and even reading. However there are areas of the US. where artistry is still doing well ... NC. for example has many towns/cities where the Arts is apart of it's everyday life and commerce.
I do hear you here, and I agree. I guess I did take the other statement a bit differently than it was intended. Personally I think a lot of this apathy and confusion is symptomatic of a disconnection from natural life. I mean, a lot of these young people have no idea, for example, where their food comes from (or even that it grows on plants!). I think this type of superimposed reality affects the arts greatly, perhaps creating a glut of really inane music.
I think this is definitely true. It is also cultural. What we consider the greatest music in our history might not mean much to the people of another age, or vise-versa. It is an interesting thought, for sure.
p.s. I must add that I empathize with the sentiments that prompted this post originally. I gag on the regurgitated crap I hear on pop radio nowadays. It can make one wonder what the heck happened to the good stuff.
Music -as well as art in general- is not an entity. It is not some storybook creature or ridiculous biblical god that graces our collective existence to amuse us. It is not some long-winded journey we are doomed to forever travel down. It was never born, therefore it cannot die.
Music is excrement. It is the simplest and purest interpretation of the world we live in and the thoughts/desires that plague our mind.
It is a monkey furiously bashing rocks together. It is an effeminate bard plinking away at his lute. It is some romance-period man wanking himself off on a harpischord. It is some 19th century drunk pretending to play showtunes on a player piano. It is a Swing band playing to a bunch of coked up flappers. It is a lonely blues man playing on his porch. It is a southern pretty boy shaking his hips and screaming into a microphone. It is telling Sally that she better slow her Mustang down. It is four British gentlemen saying that they want to hold your hand. It is an unwashed hippie playing a drum solo. It is four destitute New Yorkers bashing away at power chords. It is some metalheads making peoples' ears bleed. It is some slovenly twenty somethings whining about teen spirit. It is some insecure black man going on about his cars. It is some horny forty-somethings trying to pick up divorced women by copying the music of their childhood.
The kids have not lost their way, the world is simply changing as it always has. And if you can't handle those changes so you pine on and on about the better days, then you my friend are just obsolete and nothing more.
The world will not stop spinning so you can comfortably stay in the familiar past.
This seems to satisfy my rant quota for the day, so I will see myself out.
Music is excrement. It is the simplest and purest interpretation of the world we live in and the thoughts/desires that plague our mind.
It is a monkey furiously bashing rocks together. It is an effeminate bard plinking away at his lute. It is some romance-period man wanking himself off on a harpischord. It is some 19th century drunk pretending to play showtunes on a player piano. It is a Swing band playing to a bunch of coked up flappers. It is a lonely blues man playing on his porch. It is a southern pretty boy shaking his hips and screaming into a microphone. It is telling Sally that she better slow her Mustang down. It is four British gentlemen saying that they want to hold your hand. It is an unwashed hippie playing a drum solo. It is four destitute New Yorkers bashing away at power chords. It is some metalheads making peoples' ears bleed. It is some slovenly twenty somethings whining about teen spirit. It is some insecure black man going on about his cars. It is some horny forty-somethings trying to pick up divorced women by copying the music of their childhood.
The kids have not lost their way, the world is simply changing as it always has. And if you can't handle those changes so you pine on and on about the better days, then you my friend are just obsolete and nothing more.
The world will not stop spinning so you can comfortably stay in the familiar past.
This seems to satisfy my rant quota for the day, so I will see myself out.
Exactly. Nobody remembers the huge amounts of crap produced in the past, because, well, it was crap and therefore not very memorable.
The same is true with film.
- Jul 8, 2009
- 1,612
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- A&R, Soulless Corporation Records
I think the problem is that kids are convinced that they do listen to rock or metal. They think that they "know" Iron Man or Smoke on the water. They think that they "Love" Metallica just because they heard One on Guitar Hero. They won't open up and expose themselves to it because they are convinced that they already have. They are also convinced they don't like it, when they have such an absolutely miniscule sample space. Due to this, they shut down their acceptance of it and turn to this Rap and Pop crap. That's my personal theory.
On the other hand, if I can tell they actually know more than 1 song, then I accept that. Because I can tell they actually looked into it.
On the other hand, if I can tell they actually know more than 1 song, then I accept that. Because I can tell they actually looked into it.
Most people are just looking to music as audio wallpaper--they're not connected to it on the deeper level that I imagine anyone posting here would be. I'd wager about 85% of the population doesn't really care about music, so you can't really be surprised when they don't have any problem listening to things those of us who are in the know, so to speak, can't stand.
And I'd wager that its never been any different throughout human history.
And I'd wager that its never been any different throughout human history.
Generally, I'd agree. It's a direct resemblance of the direction that humanity is going. This isn't true for all music though...
There will always be outsiders and people with a dire need for attention regardless of whether it is negative or not.
Their music tends to follow that mindset as well, does it not?
Music and art are still alive.
Historically there's always been "pop", or disposeable crap music. There always will be.
God music will survivie.
Historically there's always been "pop", or disposeable crap music. There always will be.
God music will survivie.
As a fine arts major, I see the same thing. The 15th century produced masters. MASTERS. Dont take that term lightly. We have Jackson Pollock as one of our most venerable modern painters? ***. I dig jazz, a lot, but in my opinion classical masters have it beat too. But we get technology and a more equal society where every Tom Dick and Harry gets a say and an opinion and influence. Think about it.
On the other hand - there is no doubt that orchestras today are far more technically proficient than their counterparts in previous centuries and are playing music that was considered impossible even in the 19thC !!
Mahler's symphonies where just too difficult for even the top orchestras/conductors of the day who just could not make sense of them - whereas in the last few decades we have seen virtually every orchestra take them into its repertoire.
Messaien's orchestral music has fiendish difficulty - on occasions strings are split into about 20 separate solo parts - which would have been beyond previous generations - Ligeti's orchestral works incorporate microtonality ...I could go on and on with examples of where the demands on modern orchestras go way beyond anything tackled before!
