Why does most new music suck?

How many parents in the 1960s and 70s asked their teenagers why they listened to all that garbage? I clearly remember that my dad didn't think much of the Beatles and the other popular groups when I was a teen.

One also doesn't have to dig very deep to find that parents in decades before didn't think much of popular music for young people. In fact, the basic premise of the movie "The Benny Goodman Story" is "The legendary band leader fights to make swing acceptable" (a quote from the TCM channel web site).

In another example, I read that J.S. Bach was almost fired from his first job as a church organist. They thought his style of playing was distracting the congregation.

In spite of being an aging baby boomer, I spend very little listening time reliving the music of my youth. I'm about 1/3 classical and 1/3 jazz. When I do listen to rock or popular music, the odds are substantially in favor of more recent indy stuff. (I don't find much that appeals in mainstream pop, but that's my taste. I don't need others to agree with me.)

But, that's the nice thing about music -- there's plenty of variety so there's something for everyone.

Frogman, the dictionary definition of "progress" is movement toward a goal.

With that in mind, not everyone has the same goals as you. So a style of music or artist can certainly be progressing but still leave a lot of people unimpressed.

Froggy, hate to debate the structure and use of a dictionary, but you actually posted seven =separate= definitions for the word "progress". Noun definition #1 is just as valid on a stand-alone basis as #2, #3 or #4. Same with use of either of the three verb definitions.

Whether music or any other subject, one can find plenty of situations in history where people now widely regarded as great were looked down on in their own time. I well remember what my dad thought of the now "classic rock" when I was in my teens.

Earlier in this thread I gave two examples: one where Bach was almost fired from his first job as a church organist and another where Benny Goodman fought for the respectability of swing music.

Many other examples exist: Tchaikovsky did not think Brahms constituted "progress" in music; in fact, he called Brahms a "giftless bastard", saying further that "It irritates me that this self-conscious mediocrity should be recognized as a genius."

So, regardless of which definition is used, the subject of what constitutes "improvement" is highly subjective. While I'll agree with those who say that a lot of modern pop music doesn't appeal to them, others disagree. It caught my attention a few weeks ago when I heard a music critic on National Public Radio explained how exciting some new rap artist (I immediately forgot the name) was. There are plenty of well regarded critics who will explain to those who wish to listen just how progressive and important rap music is.

I have a relatively simple formula that works for me. I'm always open to new music and artists. Then, I listen to the ones I like and ignore the ones I don't. I see no reason to waste time lecturing others as to what they should or should not like. Future music historians don't need my help to sort out the "progress" question.

Frogman: "Since when do music critics determine which music will be "important" in music history?"

Interesting, as nowhere in my comments did I say that current music critics determine what will be considered "important" in the future.

In fact, in answer to your question about the historic examples I mentioned, it should be quite clear that evaluations of an artist by his contemporaries often tells little about what those in the future will think of the art in question.

That was my main point in making my prior comments. The OP declared that "most new music sucks" and I simply pointed out that similar opinions have been pronounced in the past about people and music styles that are now held in high regard. As such, I don't spend much time worrying about the current state of music. I find plenty of current music that I greatly enjoy and have little problem ignoring the rest.