Did music die?

[robbyg]

It's not just music. Most TV shows & movies they put out nowadays are just garbage. Like people are too stupid to know any better. OK I'll crawl back into my 1980s timewarp hole now.

It's true, they talk to the audience like we are simpletons! The same environmental or #metoo type message is broken down into little 5 year old sound bytes that I assume is what they think we can understand and then they barrage us with it for a full hour. The in-between dialog is so weird that one has to wonder what planet these people come from. The big problem I see with kids today is that they have very poor social skills. When I was in high school if you tried to act to cute or lied to people or simply did not focus in on peoples body language, you would pay the price by getting into a lot of fights. These were lessons that served me well through out life as real people are not like TV characters. Most kids today have so little un monitored interaction with other kids that they end up lacking these skills. When I was 14 I would say to my Dad on a Saturday morning at 8 am that I was going out to play and my Mom would say be back before dark and if not call us. That was it! I was off for the day, sometimes 10 miles from home by some river bank fishing, sometimes riding bikes down a mountain and at other times just listening to music with a group of friends. Today we put GPS trackers on our kids when we send them to school and we have to know exactly were they are at all times.

 

[sawdonkey]

Nah!! Music was kind of dying in the late 90s and has just about been dead from 2000 onward. Yes good songs still come out but nothing like in the past. In the 80s you had a new hit song coming out every week, sometimes two a week.

The truth is that there are tons on people today who can sing and play great music but almost nobody left who can write great music. It’s so bad that a cookie cutter music industry has been formed by Max Martin and “Dr” Luke who I think are both from Canada. They have both written 90% of the songs that have made the music charts in the last 20 years. That’s why all the stuff sounds the same or is a rip from an older song. They sell their songs to all the well known musicians of today.

There is tons of great music being written, played, and sung every day. The easy to find radio stuff is mostly garbage though. File sharing and now streaming have made it super easy to access music so all of our tastes are spread out. We don’t generate superstar musicians these days because even when someone puts out a stellar album, five more are put out the next week and we have access to every single one of them via Spotify etc. I’d almost argue that’s there is too much good music and we don’t stay focused on any one thing for very long.

 

[Malifry97]

Same with rap. Once No Limit took over it was done.

Check out Mark Battles...he is the only rapper I can stand anymore. He doesn’t y’all about drugs or being a thug. He is lyrical and raps about his life. Great dude who doesn’t get enough credit.

 

[robbyg]

There is tons of great music being written, played, and sung every day. The easy to find radio stuff is mostly garbage though. File sharing and now streaming have made it super easy to access music so all of our tastes are spread out. We don’t generate superstar musicians these days because even when someone puts out a stellar album, five more are put out the next week and we have access to every single one of them via Spotify etc. I’d almost argue that’s there is too much good music and we don’t stay focused on any one thing for very long.

Can you name me some of these great songs from let’s say 2019?

 

[sawdonkey]

Ok, bare with me....I listen to a pretty wide variety of music. For example, I think Of someone like Marlon Williams....he’s like a young Roy Orbison with an amazing voice and clever songs....yet he’s fairly unknown.

For rock bands, I think of PUP. They put out fun rock that’s pretty accessible to most. Yeah, they can sell out 500 person venues here in Chicago two days in a row, but you’ll never hear them on the radio.

Better Oblivion Community Center (Connor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers) put out an amazing album this year, but. Most people have probably never heard of them.

Father John Misty comes to mind too. He’s an amazing entertainer, songwriter, and singer, but the peak of his career was playing SNL.

Leon Bridges, Maggie Rogers, Vince Staples (if you’re into rap), and Deafheaven (if your into black metal) all come to mind.

I understand music is a personal preference, but these are all bands/solo artists that I think are phenomenal, but will never be hugely popular due to the availability of great music. This is not a bad thing in my opinion.

Another thing that changed things is that people listen to a lot of playlists rather than whole albums. You never really drill an album into your head.

 

[flsalty]

Well if you are only into one genre then your music is probably dead. There's always good music coming out. Disco wasn't the death of rock. Rap wasn't the death of rock. Techno wasn't the death of rock. Katy Perry thinks she is rock, but rock will still survive...lol

 

[Humblefish]

It's true, they talk to the audience like we are simpletons! The same environmental or #metoo type message is broken down into little 5 year old sound bytes that I assume is what they think we can understand and then they barrage us with it for a full hour. The in-between dialog is so weird that one has to wonder what planet these people come from. The big problem I see with kids today is that they have very poor social skills. When I was in high school if you tried to act to cute or lied to people or simply did not focus in on peoples body language, you would pay the price by getting into a lot of fights. These were lessons that served me well through out life as real people are not like TV characters. Most kids today have so little un monitored interaction with other kids that they end up lacking these skills. When I was 14 I would say to my Dad on a Saturday morning at 8 am that I was going out to play and my Mom would say be back before dark and if not call us. That was it! I was off for the day, sometimes 10 miles from home by some river bank fishing, sometimes riding bikes down a mountain and at other times just listening to music with a group of friends. Today we put GPS trackers on our kids when we send them to school and we have to know exactly were they are at all times.

Nowadays parents can get arrested for letting their kids wander off too far. I saw one of the news where the parents were arrested for letting their 8 year old walk to the park by herself; another where the mother was arrested because her child was playing 100 feet away, but out of mom's sight. When I was 5-6, I was all over the neighborhood. We are living in a world that has been flipped on its head...

I'm also tired of every news story I read basically being an editorial. Just tell me what happened (just the facts), and I'll decide for myself what to think or how to feel about it. I'm not a fan of social engineering.

We are living in very strange times, my friend.

 

[Cell]

Check out Mark Battles...he is the only rapper I can stand anymore. He doesn’t y’all about drugs or being a thug. He is lyrical and raps about his life. Great dude who doesn’t get enough credit.

Love me some Blackalicious and Jurassic 5. Also clean rap.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

What do you think of Tool's new album?

I went to a Tool concert earlier this month, and have to admit it seemed like a place for old people to go and enjoy the music (I fit right in). I like their new album, although they don't disappoint with the complexity of the music, if you're a musician you really appreciate everything that encompasses the album.

I, like most people in this thread see that music has evolved since being a teenager in the 90s, unfortunately for me, I haven't evolved with it. I will keep hoping that these older bands keep coming out with new albums, because I can't get behind digitizing your voice so that you can carry a tune. Where's the skill in it?

 

[Malifry97]

Love me some Blackalicious and Jurassic 5. Also clean rap.

Yea I’ll check them out.

 

[outerbank]

IMO, most of the new radio/pop stuff sucks. However, there is some great music out there. Some, not so new but not old, examples are Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Joe Bonamassa.

 

[rusty hannon]

I love music from the 70’s 80’s 90’s and early 2000’s. Smashing pumpkins, The Cure, Tool, At The Drive In, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Thrice, to name a few. But I struggle to find anything in the past 10-15 years that grabs me. I have an Apple Music account and I can’t find anything to listen to. Maybe I’m getting old (probably). Did music go downhill or am I just aging? ;Meh

i think we are just ageing.ps you forgot rush and megadeath.have a good one .R

 

[fishguy242]

i think we are just ageing.ps you forgot rush and megadeath.have a good one .R

agree ,deep purple,nugent,muddy waters,queen,zep,beatles .....etc

 

[Cell]

Part of the problem, if you want to call it that, is that there's just so much content to sort through on so many different platforms. It used to be hard to get your music out there, now you just have to hit a few buttons or get "liked" by the right person. It's a blessing and a curse, really, in terms of finding good, new music.

 

[rusty hannon]

I love music from the 70’s 80’s 90’s and early 2000’s. Smashing pumpkins, The Cure, Tool, At The Drive In, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Thrice, to name a few. But I struggle to find anything in the past 10-15 years that grabs me. I have an Apple Music account and I can’t find anything to listen to. Maybe I’m getting old (probably). Did music go downhill or am I just aging? ;Meh

i forgot to tell those who dont know TOOL just came out with a new album if its still called that and it takes me back to the golden days .and any Rainbow or DIO fans

 

[Cell]

Live bands are becoming a thing of the past. Electronic music dominates almost all genres now. You probably don't even notice it now, because it's everywhere, not just bars and clubs. It's in lobbies, elevators, department stores, maybe even your dentist's office.

 

[rusty hannon]

Funny thing is, every time I pick up a classical guitar, I play Nothing Else Matters by Metallica first. It’s just habit

used to b stair way to heaven.even waynes world banned that one for to much exposier i guess. Party on.R

 

[Steve Elb]

I love music from the 70’s 80’s 90’s and early 2000’s. Smashing pumpkins, The Cure, Tool, At The Drive In, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Thrice, to name a few. But I struggle to find anything in the past 10-15 years that grabs me. I have an Apple Music account and I can’t find anything to listen to. Maybe I’m getting old (probably). Did music go downhill or am I just aging? ;Meh

I like jazz myself which is fairly timeless. I play jazz guitar myself and tend to like Allan Holdsworth Adam Roger's and a whole slew of modern players. I was weened on Bird Miles and Trane

 

[sawdonkey]

Live bands are becoming a thing of the past.

I don’t think this is true at all. I live in Chicago and on any given night, there are at least 20-30 shows going on all over the city. Not just local bands, but nationally touring bands. Album sales, unless you get huge, don’t make any money because of Spotify etc, so the only way smaller band can be musicians for a living is to tour.

 

[minus9]

As a musician, I relied on my friends and other musicians to introduce me to other music, never radio. I think if you're friends with someone who loves music, you'll find new music out there. The problem, like tv and film, is that the market is over-saturated with content and not quality, so it takes a little effort to find good music or tv shows. Fortunately, the bands and musicians I like are still making music, but like art, it's all relative.
Some bands to check out if you haven't done so already.

Failure
Mastadon
The Sword
Anything with Mike Patton, Mark Lanegan or Greg Dulli