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Why Modern Music Is Awful

"Modern Music" is a term that doesn't really mean much.
I think the video, which has made the rounds on TB for a while, is referring to just radio pop.
The first thing to understand about radio pop, or the sort of music that wins awards, is that it is mostly irrelevant. Pop has always been a bottom feeder, but with digital creation and distribution, the market is spread out all over the place. There are a bunch of niches out there. People that actually like music don't really pay attention to pop; which is just a mass produced commodity to entertain people looking for a distraction. It is devoid of depth and complexity because it is designed not to have them. Don't expect Kobi beef in a McDonald's hamburger.

Then of course there is the massive problem with familiarity bias. Nostalgia has the pull of a sun. A ton of studies have been done about how personal preferences tend to get locked in at a certain age for most people. Life isn't static, everything is constantly in flux, so one shouldn't expect to like current music as they get older. It isn't written for them.

Finally, I disagree because I buy new music made by my age or younger artists all the time. None of it will ever be on the radio or TV (with the rare exception of Mastodon or Slipknot on late night TV talk shows) and that's just how it is. I have trouble keeping up with all the bands and releases I have to sort through. Sure, a lot of it is junk, but again the digital creation and release cycle means more content with fewer "gatekeepers" to filter it.

PS: This guy starts off by polishing his bayonet about the Beatles. F him. He clearly is stuck in the past and doesn't know much about modern music. If you think music peaked 50 years ago, there isn't a conversation to be had.
 
I didn't watch the video, but will say that I think Miley Cyrus has a terrific voice. I'm not into her music that much, but I appreciate her talent.
I appreciate her ability to manipulate an audience and the media. That isn't really a complement, nor is it meant to be one.
I think she sounds like a bleating sheep. If I had to pick between Perry or Cyrus to listen to and look at, Perry wins EVERY time.
 
Every year, decade, generation, epoch, etc... there has been music that I have liked and music that I don't care for.
That does not make the music I don't care for awful. Just that I don't like it.

Like the whole rock is dead BS. Gotta look around. There's some great new music out there.
The generalizations that are thrown around about the state of music today is ridiculous.

Just go back to yelling at the kids to get off your lawn...
 
Don't worry. In a couple decades A.I. will write our hits for us. This was written in the spirit of a Beatles song and it's all A.I. created.


I thought that song was crap when I first heard it. Today it's kind of appealing to me. Don't think it's a hit or anything, but not all the Beatles' songs were hits, either. Most were :D but nobody has that kind of batting average anymore, and I doubt AI will, either.
 
I really dont know how people can make this statement when I quite literally find new musicians/bands weekly that make my jaw drop. OP, if you need some proof, may I direct you towards the likes of Snarky Puppy, Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles, Jacon Collier, Cody Fry, Dynamo, Owane, Intervals, Plini, Sungazer, Ripe, The Motet, The Main Squeeze. Plenty of new talent and interesting music if you're willing to look even a little bit past the radio.
 
Why Modern Music Is Awful


Something to kill some time :p


I thing the biggest issue is our Feeder System has gone. Who was the last time you heard a young bunch of kids outside singing at their top of their lungs? When was the last time you walked down a residential block and heard live music, and if you did, how many different houses had somebody playing an instrument?

Back in the day this was a very common occurrence. It was so ingrained in our national fabric to be in a band that major retailers were selling advanced hobbiest level musical equipment.

I was in 3 to 4 different musical entities all through middle and high school. In addition, at school I was in band, jazz band, concert choir, concert choir ensemble, and also fit in 2 years of college level music theory before I graduated high school.

I said this not to brag, but that opportunity is just not available today. If you wonder where the players and writers are, they just aren't being produced. Without good writers, a musician is like an actor without a script.
 
To stay on track...

The OP boils down to the parameters by which we rate the quality of music.

-Melodic complexity
-Lyrical complexity
-Range/number of instruments used
-Number of layers to the song (instrumental or vocal)
-Technical proficiency required to perform the music
-Amount of lyrical repetition
-Emotional response you feel when listening
-Your intended use of the music (relaxing? dancing? Jamming along with it?)

I'm sure there are more, but you get the idea. We all have our own subjective constraints within which we consider music "good", and outside of which we consider music "bad".

As musicians, a lot of us are probably biased and take more factors into account than the average music listener.

Me personally, I find most EDM or club music as terrible when rated by the first 5 parameters I listed above. But if all you're trying to do while listening to it is dance, then it not quite as terrible.

Maybe a better question is how do you rate the quality of music? What's most important in your assessment of "quality" music?
 
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