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Who is moving music forward today?

#126
Oh an re: the rest of this thread, some interesting discussion points. Food for thought.

Personally I think pop/rock music at it's apex is visual/aural/cultural all at the same time, and often not to far removed from conceptual art. Ideas behind the music can be more just as important as the sound, no?

Sorry if that seems vague, but I can't think of a better way to phrase it!
 
#128
pbass2 said:
I could go on and on about particular band's contributions like The Clash for example, but generally speaking, punk moved music forward in a HUGE way by opening the doors to, well, EVERYBODY to just go for it and express yourself musically, regardless of things like musical training, instrumental prowess, etc. The ramifications of that are still being felt today in too many genres to list and will never go away(and not just in music!).
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Well stated! And to continue...
Mayers said:
Kind of sad if you ask me. It opened the door to making music simplier and simplier to the point of making it dumb. For Punk band it is way more the message than the music, the same could be said for rap and hip hop.
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Wow, I don't think I could disagree more. Punk stripped music down at first, yes, but (aside from that being necessary at the time, IMO, to rid the world of 30-minute drum solos) that doesn't make it dumb--just as complexity doesn't equal intelligence. Minimalism is a completely valid artistic choice that can be born of intelligence.

And punk quickly split into subgenres that have produced some of the most exciting music of the past 50 years. As for rap, I think it's greatly misunderstood. A lot of people my age (late 40s) dismiss it based on the snippets they hear on the radio, and that's their loss.
 
#129
GregC said:
Minimalism is a completely valid artistic choice that can be born of intelligence.
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Indeed, again too many examples to list, but to name a few Satie, Philip Glass, Jobim, Eno . . .heck, Jack White . . .

GregC said:
And punk quickly split into subgenres that have produced some of the most exciting music of the past 50 years. As for rap, I think it's greatly misunderstood. A lot of people my age (late 40s) dismiss it based on the snippets they hear on the radio, and that's their loss.
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I'm your age and IMHO, hip hop has influenced "popular" (and lots of "not-popular" music too:) music in a sweeping way possibly more than anything else in the last 20 years. And it's mostly been good.
 
#130
pbass2 said:
Indeed, again too many examples to list, but to name a few Satie, Philip Glass, Jobim, Eno . . .heck, Jack White . . .



I'm your age and IMHO, hip hop has influenced "popular" (and lots of "not-popular" music too:) music in a sweeping way possibly more than anything else in the last 20 years. And it's mostly been good.
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Hip-hop is not moving music forward it's only a genre. Hip hop, rap whatever you call it is a lot like county. Country's been country as long as dirts been brown. Same old thing.

Who(m) moved music:
'50s - Chuck Berry
'60s - Beatles, Hendrix and Elvis
'70s - Allman Brothers, King Crimson, Greatful Dead and Pink Floyd (cross over)
'80s - The Cure, Joy Division, The Clash
'90s - Nsync
'00s - Deadmau5, The Chemical Brothers, Cocteau Twins
'10s - Arcade Fire
 
#132
Jawbone said:
Hip-hop is not moving music forward it's only a genre. Hip hop, rap whatever you call it is a lot like county. Country's been country as long as dirts been brown. Same old thing.

Who(m) moved music:
'50s - Chuck Berry
'60s - Beatles, Hendrix and Elvis
'70s - Allman Brothers, King Crimson, Greatful Dead and Pink Floyd (cross over)
'80s - The Cure, Joy Division, The Clash
'90s - Nsync
'00s - Deadmau5, The Chemical Brothers, Cocteau Twins
'10s - Arcade Fire
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elvis belongs in the 50's. i find most of the rest of your list hilarious. nsync...lol!
 
#134
van_gogh_bass said:
Porcupine Tree, and just about anything else Steven Wilson touches, seems like a move foward to my ears.

I'd bareley heard of anything by him less than two years ago. Now I've bought every CD, dowload and DVD I could find.
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+1

And as far as Michael Manring, when I saw him with Michael Hedges - I don't know if it was moving music forward but it was some wayyy out there sH*t.
 
#137
plekan said:
By the way, anyone trying to tell me Bowie wasnt influential obviously doesn't know history or is just looking to pick a fight with me. :)
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The odd thing about Bowie is that he resisted, and continues to resist (such as his output today is) being pigeonholed. I'm not a huge fan, so I can be dispassionate about Bowie - but it can hardly be denied that Ziggie influenced a TON of musicians - - But can the same thing be said about his other albums? I'll give him credit - he does what he wants, even if I (or others) don't care for it. But Ziggie - man, everytime I listen to that album I just shake my head. Very fresh, even today.

But Bowie today is... well, he's old and tired (like so many of us) and he certainly ain't Ziggie anymore. And he ain't alone.

As for today, I am pretty certain that out there, on the interwebs, there are artists who are doing new and interesting things that one could say are moving things "Forward". Recent artists I really dig include The Decemberists, Oz Noy, Porcupine Tree... All are fresh and interesting...


But "Forward" isn't always better - - Ornette Coleman, John Cage or Arnold Schoenberg leap to mind.. Can *anyone* actually listen to their music - yet they are considered master innovators that moved music "Forward" (In Coleman's case, I'm convinced that he's an example of the emperor having no knickers, but that's another discussion...)?
 
#139
BigOldHarry said:
The odd thing about Bowie is that he resisted, and continues to resist (such as his output today is) being pigeonholed. I'm not a huge fan, so I can be dispassionate about Bowie - but it can hardly be denied that Ziggie influenced a TON of musicians - - But can the same thing be said about his other albums? I'll give him credit - he does what he wants, even if I (or others) don't care for it. But Ziggie - man, everytime I listen to that album I just shake my head. Very fresh, even today.
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Yup. It's not just Ziggy Stardust. Aladdin Sane, Station to Station, Low, Heroes Lodger are enormous Scary Monsters. Not just "cool records". Musically, they have a gigantic, resounding imprint on so much that came after.
 

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