Man, music just ain't what it used to be...

ogruskie

ogruskie

Professional
I feel a bit depressed, actually. I've been listening to Pink Floyd all afternoon, and the beauty of their music simply captivates me. Its the perfect music for me to sit back in a recliner after a long, hard day's work, and sip a cool drink while my mind melts to the psychedelic sounds and synthesizers, with the hypnotic vocals of David Gilmour.

I guess I'd consider myself to be a hard rock fan. You know, the type of rock that makes your ears cringe from the heavy guitar shredding. But for the past few weeks I've been jamming Led Zeppelin like there's no tomorrow. Not to mention Queen, AC/DC, and Radiohead (although they're much "newer", I still consider 90's music to be classic).

The reason why I feel musically depressed is because all the bands I just listen are...I dunno...perfect. Their music is beautiful, catchy, interesting, never gets boring. Today's rock is generic, boring. There are some indie/underground bands that I enjoy, but they've got nothing on the 60's - 90's era.

It just makes me think, what I were a teen during the years of Pink Floyd and Zeppelin? Going to their concerts must be electrifying. I wish I lived in those times.

Ah.
 
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ogruskie said:
I feel a bit depressed, actually. I've been listening to Pink Floyd all afternoon, and the beauty of their music simply captivates me. Its the perfect music for me to sit back in a recliner after a long, hard day's work, and sip a cool drink while my mind melts to the psychedelic sounds and synthesizers, with the hypnotic vocals of David Gilmour.

I guess I'd consider myself to be a hard rock fan. You know, the type of rock that makes your ears cringe from the heavy guitar shredding. But for the past few weeks I've been jamming Led Zeppelin like there's no tomorrow. Not to mention Queen, AC/DC, and Radiohead (although they're much "newer", I still consider 90's music to be classic).

The reason why I feel musically depressed is because all the bands I just listen are...I dunno...perfect. Their music is beautiful, catchy, interesting, never gets boring. Today's rock is generic, boring. There are some indie/underground bands that I enjoy, but they've got nothing on the 60's - 90's era.

It just makes me think, what I were a teen during the years of Pink Floyd and Zeppelin? Going to their concerts must be electrifying. I wish I lived in those times.

Ah.
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I have the same thoughts. If I was living during the 60s and the 70s. Would've been awesome to see Zeppelin play, see Moon drum, everything.
 
I couldn't agree more. Today's music is so... manufactured. I think it's sad when the majority of your concert cannot be played without the aid of a drum machine. When performing with a live band is the exception instead of the rule, I think there's a definite problem. It seems to me like all the musicianship has gone out of mainstream music. And the lyrics! Ohmfuhguh (That's the phonetic pronunciation of omfg, just a little fyi there), if I have to listen to the lyrics "Throw her on the bed" one more time, I will be forced to punch a baby. I used to think "You Shook Me All Night Long" was filthy, but by today's standards, its clean as a whistle. I dunno, I just can't stand the complete committal to phoning it in. Half the time, I feel like they're saying "Allright... we need a ninth track for this album... here I'll play G C D over and over and over again and you sing some sh*t about that girl from the bar in Reno."

Another thing that really annoys me is music videos... in general. Its been a long time since I saw a music video that had anything to do with the freaking song...and/or made sense. Anyone seen the video for "Knights of Cyodonia" by Muse? (Incidentally I don't think that song is horrible... it actually possesses some degree of musical talent...) What the hell, man?

Excluding classical music (because it really shouldn't even be considered in this topic... though I could go on about how the modernist atonal music really just pisses me off... excuse me Mr. Frankenpohl, why does this chord sound like processed donkey crap? Oh it's supposed to it builds tension... never understood writing something to intentionally sound bad.... okay I'm good), music written from the 50's to the 80's was clearly the best music ever written. Ever. That was back when people actually mastered their instruments before they went out and played with people... nowadays any punk who can play GCD and a couple powerchords is fronting a band.

And then theres the fact that pitch isn't really important anymore when one sings. I don't care if they're trained to sing or not, but dammit they should at least know how to sing. And another thing that just makes me angry is the fact that every male singer these days has to falsetto a random note like four octaves above the rest of the melody... and then go on like nothing happened. Why?! Tell me why you feel the need to scare me and ruin the song by jumping all around like that. And on top of that, apparently its a prerequisite and every song written now that you have to sing the chorus once really really quiet without drums or riffs. Just chords. And that used to be really neat, but now I can't stand it cause its frikkin everywhere.

Allright, thank you, I'm good now.
 
Shawn Phillips - interesting guy...

The Prog Files:
You're often considered to be a progressive folk artist, and it's obvious in watching the evolution of your work over the years that you embrace the growth, even at the cost of music industry abandonment. Perhaps this question is more-so about your world view in light of music in general, but what would you like to see happen in the future of music?

Shawn Phillips:
Oh dude, you done pushed the button now. I want the music business to stop being driven by the hormones of adolescent teenagers, and for the individuals who are in positions of power in that same industry to recognize the musicians who dedicate their lives to the creation of music that truly touches the souls of all who listen. Only those who can send that shiver up your spine, or give you goosebumps, should be granted the privileges that many morons in the business today have. Most of these people won't have anything to do with music in the latter years of their lives, and it is only in the latter stages of creative evolution that the true musician comes into his/her own. It has always befuddled me that someone who puts on a baseball cap with the bill sideways on their head doesn't realize what an idiot they look like. Or that if you wear a cowboy hat, that makes you a musician. However, that being said, I grant all due respect for the effort. The industry can make the same amount of money from quality music that they do from trash."

http://www.theprogfiles.com/shawnphillips.php
 
I tease my kids by asking them where are their generation's Beatles? What songs on the radio today are going to be on the oldies station when they are my age? Rather then defend the current music, they agree that the older music was better.
 
Radiohead is still putting out music (In Rainbows is supposed to be one of their best and it came out last year I think). Check the Flaming Lips too. They reminded me of a happy, goofy Pink Floyd and they are still releasing new music.

I have to agree with you though that mainstream music seems so packaged and autotuned these days.
 
Nuke said:
I tease my kids by asking them where are their generation's Beatles? What songs on the radio today are going to be on the oldies station when they are my age? Rather then defend the current music, they agree that the older music was better.
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Yep, we might be young, but not all of us are delusional :)
 
one thing I think we are all feeling about today's music is that even the good stuff is without. I am not sure what word or phrase it is without, but it is lacking in comparison.

I wonder how much of that is lost because of musical talent of artists, or the ability of anyone to produce now?


a kid with a mac can produce an album just the same as Mutt Lange or someone like that.

Also, lossey compression of mp3 kills alot of the soul of music, but that is just a personal thing. I much prefer the sound of vinyl.
 
The OP is sooo right! Ever see shows like "Don't Forget the Lyrics"? None of the songs are at all recent. Almost none of the new music is at all memorable. Rap is dominant, and that's a big problem. Concerts back then were a gas.
 
Steady Eddy said:
The OP is sooo right! Ever see shows like "Don't Forget the Lyrics"? None of the songs are at all recent. Almost none of the new music is at all memorable. Rap is dominant, and that's a big problem. Concerts back then were a gas.
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Are we talking about music played on Clear Channel radio, or music in general? 90% of the current music played on the radio sucks. There is a TON of great music out there if you're willing to dig below the surface and explore outside of the radio. Concerts are still great, and there are still great bands out there. You just have to put in a little work nowadays.
 
Sure, there's some "decent" songs now, but absolutely none of the 60s, 70s and 80s classics. Maybe 5-10% of my iPod is recent music of the last decade. I'm not gonna hear another equivalent of Hotel California or Sultans of Swing.:cry:
 
The genre, rock music, has been played out after forty years of
great innovation and success. It's all been done, just like classical music stagnated after an incredible flowering under Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, etc.
Unfortunately artistic movements have a productive life span just like individual people do and when they're done, then they're done.

And other factors have been in the mix, like the death of the recorded music business as it existed before
technology made pirated music so viable. The appearance of Hip Hop and rap "music" as a dominant form.

There are still a handful of bands that would have been viable in earlier decades, like White Stripes, U-2, Flaming Lips and, ummm, there must be a couple more.

It was great seeing Led Zeppelin, The Kinks, Paul McCartney, Queen, The Who, Van Morrison (who has always existed in his own separate musical sphere)etc. but no one has
stepped up to take the mantle. Just try to see these geezers in person, if you can, before they die.
 
SlapShot said:
Are we talking about music played on Clear Channel radio, or music in general? 90% of the current music played on the radio sucks. There is a TON of great music out there if you're willing to dig below the surface and explore outside of the radio. Concerts are still great, and there are still great bands out there. You just have to put in a little work nowadays.
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You're probably right. I listen to my old music at home and in the car. The times I'm exposed to new music is when I see bands on Leno, Letterman, or SNL. Then I hear the radio in the car, and at the gym. So from what I experience, yuuu...
 
Man, this generation just ain't the same as the old one.


Also, SNL usually has great bands.

I was pretty surprised to see Vampire Weekend on there, recently.

Maybe Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin will get on there someday.
 
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There's some unique stuff going on in the Ska scene, but none of it is commercially popular, and it's got to be really popular to pay for a band that has 6+ members. And Ska is nearly dead at this point.

For now, let's blame guitar hero for taking away any hopes or dreams we had of another great rock band. Instead of learning to play a real guitar, the hendrix's of the future are pushing buttons to cover songs.
 
Gmedlo said:
There's some unique stuff going on in the Ska scene, but none of it is commercially popular, and it's got to be really popular to pay for a band that has 6+ members. And Ska is nearly dead at this point.
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They're not the most ska band out there, but I love what the RX Bandits have done.
 
Nuke said:
I tease my kids by asking them where are their generation's Beatles? What songs on the radio today are going to be on the oldies station when they are my age? Rather then defend the current music, they agree that the older music was better.
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Oasis will be the sole survivor from this group :).

Oh and agreed about Ian Brown, though the Stone Roses are technically 80's/90's. They'll go on for a while too.
 
The music culture is totally different than it was in the 60s, 70s and 80s. There's a lot more music available to people now than back then, and as a result, you're probably never again going to see a band that reaches the status of say the Rolling Stones or Pink Floyd.

There are so many good bands out there these days, you just can't be afraid to dig around a little to find them. New rock radio stations don't like songs or bands that deviate from the current garbage standards they've created, so you have to look elsewhere for songs that don't follow the same boring formula.

The argument about which songs out now that will be played on oldies radio stations in the future is ridiculous. If you're only getting your musical opinion from what you hear on the radio, that's your first problem.
 
Nuke said:
I tease my kids by asking them where are their generation's Beatles? What songs on the radio today are going to be on the oldies station when they are my age? Rather then defend the current music, they agree that the older music was better.
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If you're talking in terms of moving units and writing songs that it seems everyone knows, the Foo Fighters have to be considered. They've been around for 10+ years, have released numerous hit singles, and still sell out arena shows.
 
Both Foo Fighters and Weezer are vying for the Cheap Trick (or New Order) of their generation. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are the Aerosmith of their generation. Pearl Jam is the Phish of their generation, and Phish is the Grateful Dead of their generation. And Creed was definitely the Journey of that generation. ;)

While I think every generation feels the previous one was "The Golden Era" (see Sampras), media's expressed that in various places now. Hip hop people talk about the mid-90s as being an golden age of hip-hop, before you really had this distinction between hip-hop MCs and "rappers." Punks bemoan all the fashioncore "emo" that's out today. American metalheads are still recovering from the effects of nu-metal. Brit inkies quietly wish for another true Britpop era (see Verve comeback.) Hell, *I* miss that Britpop era.
 
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There's quality music out there today - you just have to search for it.

The 1960s, IMHO, produced the best music. But, even then, repetitive, dull bands without insight or creativity often dominated popular music.

The fact of the matter is: every decade has quality musicians and every decade has crappy musicians. The key is to listen to the good and ignore the bad. Listen to the Beatles, ignore the Angels. Listen to Radiohead, ignore Britney Spears.

-Adam :)
 
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Music produced today is highly digitally adjusted and altered. You could argue hardly anyone plays music anymore. Numerous small segments from a few recordings of the same song are pieced together by the engineer and there you have a song for commercial consumption. A marginal talent like Ashley Simpson only has to come up with one good take in the studio and then the engineers can use that to put into whatever other tracks they put together. No wonder she can get by lip syncing through live performances (along with dozens of other live so-called performers).
 
Cruzer said:
Music produced today is highly digitally adjusted and altered. You could argue hardly anyone plays music anymore. Numerous small segments from a few recordings of the same song are pieced together by the engineer and there you have a song for commercial consumption. A marginal talent like Ashley Simpson only has to come up with one good take in the studio and then the engineers can use that to put into whatever other tracks they put together. No wonder she can get by lip syncing through live performances (along with dozens of other live so-called performers).
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You could argue that, and while with major label acts, it may be true, I'll argue that there are easily as many truly talented artists out there that aren't selling out arenas. Look to the Amos Lees of the world.
 
My own feeling is music available today is better than any time in history by virtue of the Internet. It's just the culture has changed. People who actually like music look for their own niche nowadays on different sites like Pitchfork or even just going around Youtube. Emo kids listen to this. Hipsters listen to that. They don't have to meet each other halfway. There's much less consensus, and therefore there's less interest (and therefore "importance") in actual mainstream music, except in hip hop.

In terms of bubblegum pop music, I think the only era where bubblegum wasn't a strong part of the pop market was the early-to-mid 90s. (The two greatest "boy bands" in rock were the early Beatles and the Six Pistols.) Then it came back with a vengeance.
 
Don't get me wrong, its not as if I completely shun today's music. I still listen to The Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, Muse, Disturbed, Rage Against The Machine, Wolfmother, The Kooks, The Shins, The Fratellis, and stuff like that. I just prefer the oldies.
 
Most of my ipod is oldies, but I do have a variety of newer bands like Muse, Dragonforce, Wolfmother, even the new Coldplay album. But its mostly ACDC, Cream, Journey, Hendrix, Beatles, etc.
 
I'm also stuck on oldies...

Just saw Mark Knopfler less than 2 weeks ago. Hoping to see Steely Dan soon. Be nice if Supertramp and Alan Parson Project would tour...
 
tricky said:
My own feeling is music available today is better than any time in history by virtue of the Internet. It's just the culture has changed. People who actually like music look for their own niche nowadays on different sites like Pitchfork or even just going around Youtube. Emo kids listen to this. Hipsters listen to that. They don't have to meet each other halfway. There's much less consensus, and therefore there's less interest (and therefore "importance") in actual mainstream music, except in hip hop.

In terms of bubblegum pop music, I think the only era where bubblegum wasn't a strong part of the pop market was the early-to-mid 90s. (The two greatest "boy bands" in rock were the early Beatles and the Six Pistols.) Then it came back with a vengeance.
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Freakin' pitchfork.

I really want Radiohead to make a horrible album just to see if they'll gush over it like they usually do.
 
Also, lossey compression of mp3 kills alot of the soul of music, but that is just a personal thing.
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Absolutely, and also the current method of mastering (clipping) kills even good music of the past. Songs that once had space now are clipped with remastering jobs and new ones are clipped by default.

Sound quality has really tanked. I try to avoid listening to lossy compression whenever possible. Even at "insane" 320k, mp3 and AAC sound vapid.
 
I like classic rock, but it mellows me out. Which is good after a dissapointing loss or when I'm tired, but I like modern stuff to get me pumped up for a match or just for no reason.
Has anyone heard if the new Weezer album is good?
 
Although I've mainly listened to "classical" for many years, I still like some "popular" music. The most current band I've heard that I can stomach is Interpol, and their most recent album isn't good. Their previous albums had some good music coupled with bad lyrics.
 
superstition said:
Although I've mainly listened to "classical" for many years, I still like some "popular" music. The most current band I've heard that I can stomach is Interpol, and their most recent album isn't good. Their previous albums had some good music coupled with bad lyrics.
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Completely agree about Interpol. "Our Love to Admire" is lifeless to me, which is very much unlike their first two albums. They're a great band to see live, by the way.

I read an article about compression and the damage it does to song quality, and it's unfortunate that mp3s seem to be the trend to replace CDs.
 
Nadal_Monfils said:
I agree, all I listen to is older music, mainly classic rock. In fact, I'm listening to the Beatles right now!
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The Beatles could pull a song out of their ass and it would be better than anything today. Some of their demo tapes are better than anything out there. They had so many good songs they actually donated a few songs to other bands and singers without asking for any credit. And, surprise surprise, they ended up becoming hits.
 
Times change - tennis rackets change, football boots change, music changes. Everyone needs to get over it and find some of the great stuff that's being pumped out!
 
superman1 said:
The Beatles could pull a song out of their ass and it would be better than anything today.
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At the risk of sounding like a broken record, are you talking about radio hits, or just music written post-1972?

There is a TON of great music being written and recorded currently. Not a lot of it ends up on the radio. Look past what Clear Channel feeds you and you just might find something great.
 
This is ridiculous.

At the end of a decade, there are going to be about 40-50 classics songs.Assuming that these were the average quality is just ridiculous.The 70s for example had great stuff like Led zeppelin-pink floyd et al, the 70s also had terrible stuff like Neil Diamond, Wings, Abba and the Osmonds, not to mention disco.

You people are ridiculous.
 
In the last 2-3 yrs I have grown tired of all radio music..I guess that has to do with being in ATL...We have basically 4 types of music....Rap, Classic Rock country and pop..I guess. 99x went away and now we cannot get alternative, So we miss out on all the new stuff that isn't in the above categories....

Well all that changed 2 months ago. a friend invited me to go to Bonnaroo with him and man , were my eyes opened.....I had heard of Phish but since they are never on the radio, I didn't know much about them...WOW.

I also fell in love with the Decemberists, Of Montreal, got re-aquainted with David Byrne...he is still way ahead of his time, Govt Mule sounds like Classic Rock but is fresh.

If you want some new bands that sound like the stuff you grew up with check out Pandora.com

Also check out the new Umphrey's McGee record called Mantis. Sounds alot like Floyd, Rush, Etc.
 
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There are still some good modern bands out there. I saw Rise Against live last month, and the show totally kicked butt. Thrice is good too. Opeth is still making good progressive death metal. Alice In Chains is releasing a new album this year at some point, and hopefully that will be good. Although they were best back in the early 90's with Layne Staley.
 
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ogruskie said:
I feel a bit depressed, actually. I've been listening to Pink Floyd all afternoon, and the beauty of their music simply captivates me. Its the perfect music for me to sit back in a recliner after a long, hard day's work, and sip a cool drink while my mind melts to the psychedelic sounds and synthesizers, with the hypnotic vocals of David Gilmour.

I guess I'd consider myself to be a hard rock fan. You know, the type of rock that makes your ears cringe from the heavy guitar shredding. But for the past few weeks I've been jamming Led Zeppelin like there's no tomorrow. Not to mention Queen, AC/DC, and Radiohead (although they're much "newer", I still consider 90's music to be classic).

The reason why I feel musically depressed is because all the bands I just listen are...I dunno...perfect. Their music is beautiful, catchy, interesting, never gets boring. Today's rock is generic, boring. There are some indie/underground bands that I enjoy, but they've got nothing on the 60's - 90's era.

It just makes me think, what I were a teen during the years of Pink Floyd and Zeppelin? Going to their concerts must be electrifying. I wish I lived in those times.

Ah.
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I am a nostalgic, like you, although unlike you I prefer classical music to today's. It just had so much more depth and harmonic complexity, not to mention purity.
 
If you look for it, there are a lot of very good music out there and a lot of variety as well. Go beyond mainstream radio to find the artistic music. Dark Side of the Moon was good then, it's trite now, personal preference and opinion of course. Sigur Ros and Radiohead would be my suggestions. Concert wise, the best I have been to live are Rage Against the Machine, the Prodigy, Sigur Ros and Marilyn Manson. Whaaa? Marilyn Manson? Hell yeah.....
 
rommil said:
Dark Side of the Moon was good then, it's trite now, personal preference and opinion of course. Sigur Ros and Radiohead would be my suggestions. Concert wise, the best I have been to live are Rage Against the Machine, the Prodigy, Sigur Ros and Marilyn Manson. Whaaa? Marilyn Manson? Hell yeah.....
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Are you out of you frickin' mind, Rommil?? Bad-mouthing "Dark side of the Moon" AND praising a bunch of crap?

Anyway, here's what I've been doing musically for the last 72 hours: Listening to various versions of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and "Walk Away Renee" over and over. Sprinkling in a little "Postively 4th Street" and "Mr. Bojangles" for variety.
 
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