Why does most new music suck?
This is what happens to people who listen to music from the 60's and 70's. Yes, it's the simple melodies. Cool video!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPymzatl2xg |
I just don't see the need for me to revisit these great groups of yesteryear with all of the great current new bands and bands that have been discovering for the past twenty years. Sure, I will listen to the Beatles if I hear them on the radio, but I spend 99% of time exploring new music and listening to bands and music that I find very enjoyable. |
I listen to contemporary musicians but find it absurd that I wouldn't listen to artists who have disbanded or died. Geez, my main man is Beethoven and he has been dead for nearly 300 years. This past weekend I listened to two albums (CD copies) produced in the late 60's and they both just killed me. Now that I have a really good-sounding system I enjoy the old stuff more than ever. It sounds brand new and fresh to my ears--it ain't nostalgia. Listen to what you feel like hearing. You needn't overthink it or hang inappropriate labels on a natural thing. |
We bend over backwards trying to find meaning in today's popular music, when the problem is that, as always, the music is simply reflecting life. In an earlier post, Orpheus10 was chastised for pointing to the politics and social movement of the times as important forces; he is exactly correct, those cannot be taken out of the equation. There will always be well crafted music; but, that does not great music make. It has nothing to do with wether it might be rooted in the blues or not. One can write (compose) a great poem (song) about Mickey Mouse; but, it's still just Mickey Mouse. What made a lot of classic rock great was not just how well crafted much of it was, but also, and most importantly, how relevant the subject matter was. Even if the subject matter was, say, love, it was very new (revolutionary) to speak (sing) about love/sex with so much abandon and openness. Today, that's all old hat. We live in a society with much complacency, smugness, and COMFORT on a level never seen before; we take a lot for granted. I am very hopeful, however. I am hopeful about the future of pop music because the problem is NEVER music's potential for greatness. First of all, I don't subscribe to the idea that the font of great melodies has run dry; it is a bottomless font, and that is the very meaning of CREATIVITY. More importantly, the forces that inspire greatness in pop music will come roaring back and hit creative artists in a big way. It is highly ironic that in spite of example after example of the failure of social trends that this country is currently flirting with, we continue to head straight for that inevitable disappointment (to put it mildly). THAT inevitable disappointment, and subsequent revolution, is what will ultimately inspire greatness in artists again. |
Actusreus, the operative here is not that it sucks, but the 'why' it sucks. I think the answer does require getting out your calculator. I take the OP's question to be rhetorical. To me it's irrelevant why it sucks. It just does. That said, I did answer your question nonetheless. You just need to read critically. |
The "classic rock" era was a great time for white guys singing the blues and hippies singing bout peace and love. Also a time when electronic instruments, guitars and keyboards mainly, came on board and broadened the horizons immensely from prior music. Other than that, nothing special compared to any other period really IMHO. Musics been mostly evolutionary rather than revolutionary since. Maybe that's part of why it does not seem as special these days. Think about today's pop/rock music compared to 40 years ago then pop/rock music of 40 years ago compared to what was around 40 years before that. Which period saw more change? The thing that's out there now that has potential for as big a revolution musically for average white guys down the road as classic rock/pop had back in the day is the "world music" trend. That is where things can still be shaken up in a big way for the typical US pop/rock groupie. But it will require a willingness to explore beyond the fairly easy to relate to vibe of the blues. |
Act, How many songs prior to 2000 match up to Watchtower? OTOH, Long and Winding Road? There's a very long list of those. You taste is your taste, and my takeaway is that todays innovative music is barking up a Different tree. If you limit yourself to first degree blues derivatives, I agree that the songs will, by definition, begin to mine familiar ground.....however that was also true in the 60s and 70s. That said, there's plenty of great post 2000 stuff already listed above that should move you. From your own list, I'd start with Todd Rundgren's cover album of Robert Johnson songs. Tho these are very old songs, they were already old songs when you loved them back in the day. Newer songs from older artists would include "Come" from Say You Will by Fleetwood Mac, "Guns are the Tongues" from Sweet Warrior by Richard Thompson, and "Spoonful" from I Feel Like Playing from Ron Wood, among many, many others. To varying degrees these will sound familiar, but as near as I can tell, this is what might work for you On the new artist side, I'd have started with White Stripes, and we know that didnt move you much, so I'll skip that part. Marty |
I'm 52 and I was finished with Led Zepplin et alii in 1979. I still have their records, sure, but life's too short to get stuck in nostalgia, which is what you've confused with "cool." Off the top of my head, The Strokes' "Machu Picchu" and Chuck Prophet's "Doubter Out of Jesus" are just two songs out of hundreds since 2000 that affirm my faith in rock and/or popular music. In my opinion, both genres are alive and well. Cheers. |
I congratulate the posters who find the present times replete with "great" pop/rock music. Sadly, I myself cannot. I'm not a statistician or mathematician, but I believe there is something to the contention that great melodies have been exhausted and we are in the era of repetition, imitation, and influence that eliminates originality. As much as I enjoy some of the contemporary rock bands such as The White Stripes, The Black Keys, Wolfmother, or Alabama Shakes (and countless others), they are all a far cry from the classic rock experience. Pop, well, is just hopeless. Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Cream records are sought year after year at my local record store, just to mention a tiny few. Those acts stopped recording over forty (40!) years ago. Name one band that records today that you honestly think will be sought after forty (40) years from now. Any candidate linked or mentioned in this thread is a pathetic wishful thinking. I enjoy certain modern acts, admittedly. I then put on Led Zeppelin, Jimi, Beatles, Doors, Cream, Black Sabbath, Van Morrison, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd, early Foreigner, Todd Rundgren, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Santana, Supertramp, and many, many more from that era, and I get the visceral reaction to the first few chords that no modern pop/rock act can possibly evoke. Please tell me what rock/pop songs in the past decade evokes the same reaction in you that "Stairway to Heaven," "All Along the Watchtower," "Light My Fire", "No Quarter," "The Long and Winding Road," or "Wish You Were Here," just to mention a tiny few, does in you. Fucking seriously, name one song from the year 2000 and later that gets you going as much as "All Along the Watchtower." I am limiting the list abhorrently as there are dozens upon dozens bands and songs from the '60s and '70s that simply rock and put you in a different state of mind that no modern song or band could possibly put you in. Yes, most of new music sucks!!! Please indulge me and go along with this analogy with me. My father was a truck driver in the communist Poland in the '70s, '80s, and '90s. The guy never missed a day of work his entire life. He would get up at 4:45 AM to make 6 AM at work (yes it was local). He would wet-shave every morning smoking a cigarette with nobody watching him. He would never shave without smoking a cigarette. To this day I still do not understand how and why he did it, but I look back at it and it epitomizes the notion of "cool" for me. Now, when I look at what's considered "cool" today, all I see is imitation, influence, pretending, and wanna-be cool. It is impossible to declare someone original or cool today as they are all in some way influenced by what already created the concept. It is no different for rock (and pop) music. Metaphorically, show me a musician who shaves with a cigarette when nobody is watching. Nobody does. It is all imitation, repetition, and influence. Jimmy Page might have stolen or been influenced by the grass-roots blues, but what he did with it till today shapes peoples' musical tastes and defines what rock music is. With the best acts of the current era what is served is a very diluted attempt to emulate what was created a few decades ago with a few very, very rare exceptions. Is it all hopeless for me? No, I do have a few "modern" acts that stand up to the originality and uniqueness of the classic rock/pop era. Kate Bush, Portishead and Jeff Buckley are my personal picks of acts that offered something so unique as to call them classic that bridged musical eras. U2 through "Achtung Baby" was another act that to me continued the originality of rock'n'roll music at its best. This is all gone today. It's all a regurgitation of all that was original and good a few decades ago. Not of all it sucks, but even the best acts today are a far cry from the originality of the classic era. Oh, btw, I am 40-years-old. |
Marty, I believe the simplest melodies are in fact the best but all it has to be is good. I consider all the older stuff to be in that category even though some of it may be more involving. It's when you get into the 'complicated territory' that things seem to fall apart. As I mentioned before, Bowie pretty well scraped the bottom of the barrel imo. |
Notec, I listen to Alternative Rock/ alternative Pop, Alt Folk,Alt Country, in other words bands not found on commercial radio. You will find these bands played on Public radio, NPR etc... I have also found that some members here have introduced me to some great bands/albums which I find really enjoyable ! Please Notec, enlighten us with music from your impeccable taste. I have found the 2013 best album thread a bit weak as you have noticed as well. Not all the worst as you said, in fact I am really enjoying the New Vampire Weekend album alot!! You are so quick to put down others suggestions as crap , but I have yet to get a viable suggestion from you. So, what are you listening to these days? I as am sure many others would welcome your input being that are taste sucks , as yours does not. |
Ok Frog, glad you are digging the Raconteurs! I like Jack White as well, but to me these two albums are near flawless. Ok , so that makes me two for two with the Frog. ;-) I am still working on my list for essential albums / bands in the Pop Rock and singer songwriters. There will be some Alt. Country as well. My list is over 80 albums strong! Frog, ( and anyone else who dares) the next band I would love you to test drive is Alt. J . They won best new band in England this year. When I first heard this band I was like, what the hell is this??!! In a great way though . The connection was immediate . The album is called, An Awesome Wave. And what a ride it is!! Be prepared to hear a voice and sound unlike any other band. Start with these selections : Tessallate, Breezeblocks, please crank up the volume for Fitzpleasure ! , Something Good, Matilda An open mind is needed for this band as the lead singers voice may sound like Kermit the Frog . But the music , his voice , works together to create a musical experience that must be heard to be believed. Enjoy!! |
One more thought re: a preference for simple melodies. If you're a fan of Zep, then you probably like involved melodies more than you might think. While the vocal melodies and the riffs in their music are generally pretty simple, the melodies that Jimmy Page supplies via guitar are anything but... Just sayin' Marty |
FYI Raconteurs fans. I'm a huge Jack White fan, but Brendan Benson is a (some might argue the) major contributor to the sound of that band. All of BB's solo stuff is worth checking out. Regarding the NME 150 list, That thing looks like it was assembled by committee. You start with a sprinkling of Mumford, add a little Rihanna and Gnarles Barkley on the one hand, a bit of Coldplay on the other, and Radiohead all the way around, just to be safe from criticism. I always try to be open minded regarding music and actually enjoy music from each of those genres, but this list reeks of political, rather than artistic, considerations. It's not a terrible job, but no one should view that list as indicative of today's SOTA. Marty |
I find that these days I tend to like a lot of specific songs or pieces of music that I hear, but do not levitate much to many new artists in particular. I think that being older and more interested in the music than the much younger people making it is the reason. Nothing against them, just that there is an age and life experience difference between myself now and most rock/pop artists. I still find its mostly the same old geezers that I tend to like still as artists in that I can relate to them more I suppose. |
Toddnkaya, been checking out The Raconteurs. I was aware of Jack White from a few White Stripes performances that I had heard by chance. My thought was always: "that kid deserves a much better drummer". But then, it wouldn't be The White Stripes; would it? Kinda the way some are quick to point out how Ringo was not a great drummer, when in fact he was THE PERFECT drummer for THAT band. Anyway, Jack White is one talented dude! He's got "the thing"; a true artist. Really good band "The Raconteurs". Man, they can ROCK! Interesting writing and really good playing. Thanks for another recommendation that works for me. |
Notec, I thought this thread was also addressing modern Pop music as well. Alt J being a perfect example of of a great Pop Rock band that impresses me with their innovative style and fatantastic song writing and musicianship. Ray, is there any bands /albums that you find fantastic in the past 5 years or so? |
I was anxious to see what all the other posters considered to be good music. I wanted to see if there was any common ground to engage in a discussion of muisic. I don't see any common ground. The list submitted by Ohnwy61 just confirms it even more. This is not a criticism just the truth. I am sure most of you would find my taste equally incomprehensible. Other than Amy Winehouse, I have to confess, I have never even heard of these people, let alone, heard them. And to think that this is the best of the best? Wow! I will conclude that I am out of touch. But, since we have LPs and CDs, we can all listen to the stuff we like. Past or present. Now that Tiger has finished hitting the ball all over Pennsylvania, I think I will try to chill with a little grape and Bach. He is old school, like me. :) Bach, you know, that old German dude. No, No, he didn't play with the Stones. Cheers |
Ohnwy61, thank you for the link. I am trying, really trying; trying to find meat in a lot of this music. It's just not there. I listened to #1-10, and, frankly, almost couldn't stand it. That list is important to this discussion because it goes to the core of the OP's question re popular new music. The "best" 150 tracks of the last 15 years; according to NME.com. I confess that I have no idea what/who NME.com is; but after listening to #'s 1-10, I frankly don't care to know. Conceptual value is subjective to a much greater extent than sheer musical skill. There are certain things about musical skill that are simply not up for debate. The fact that drummer A can play a groove so hard that it can make one forget about how good the beer tastes, only makes drummer B sound that much more like a garage band drummer; even if he is part of a conceptually "artsy" band. So, we can disagree about what is good conceptually, but in my book there is not much room for disagreement about musical skill. One can disagree about wether Hendrix was a better (or preferred) guitarist than Clapton, but not about the fact that they both deserve to be in "the best" category. I like the Amy Winehouse cut, and I admit that it is the only tune that I had heard previously. She had a soulful, if very one-dimensional, voice. I find that pop singers like her garner a lot of attention, at least in part, because it is such a relief, in the overall scheme of pop music, to hear a singer with some real grease. I liked The Libertines cut. Pretty interesting voice and concept, but unmemorable instrumental playing. The Strokes held my attention with their concept and a pretty good singer, but the playing is embarrassing. Listen to that drummer; nothing going on. This one just blew me away. That bullshit such as the cut by "Hot Chip" should garner the # 7 slot in a "best 150" list leaves me at a loss for words. It has been said many times; that music is a reflection of the times. I believe it is really true. I find a lot of this music to have a common thread that mirrors what I think is a sociological force that is much more prevalent today than in the past. To me, when I listen (and watching videos makes that much more obvious) to a lot of this music there is a sense of narcissism evident. "I am good because I say I am good". I don't think so! Please notice that I said "a lot", not all. The music appeals to a younger generation (duh!), and likewise reflects something prevalent in today's younger generation. I am the father of two boys; I know. Maybe there are some gems in the other 140, but I need some time time to recover for the first 10. Thanks again; sincerely. |
Here's a list from 2011 from the magazine NME. It's their 150 best tracks of the past 15 years. It doesn't matter whether you agree with their selection or not, but it does represent a nice collection of recent pop/rock music. If you are truly interested in finding good recently recorded music it's a good place to start. |
I happened to be in Kastle, Germany in 70'-71'. In a Hungarian boarding school run by priests and nuns. I was 14 at the time and I first heard 'Whole Lotta Love'. That and Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Hendrix, and the Beatles were the mainstay there at the time. Oh, and Lee Micheals' one hit wonder, 'Do you know what I mean'. It was fabulous growing up now that I think of it. |
It seems useless to me to spoon feed someone music deemed good by one person. As has been pointed out, individual preferences abound naturally. Seems like a pointless effort. Sadly, most folks posting here on aGon (self excluded) regarding rock music - have decent taste in it or rocks myriad of styles, as evidenced by this thread here. (Daft Punk, Alt-J is NOT rock and is case in point to the title of this thread). And yes, at the end of the day to each their own - ala subjectivity. @OP - yep, 99% of all commercial music (reference: on radio / and on the major labels et al.) blows. I knew that by the time I was 13 yo tho... that's why I don't listen to commercial radio or buy 99% of it released by the majors (we're still talking new releases here). If you haven't found any new music that suits you by now - you are NOT looking hard enough. If you really thought this - and did even a minimal search on the web (bandcamp/rdio/somafm/pandora etc) - a spark would ignite and send you down many many paths of discovery. enjoy the music... there's a kid or kid's in a basement or garage somewhere, anywhere, kicking out the jams that are waiting to find an audience.... |
"there is only one Led Zeppelin" For sure. and only one BEatles... and Dylan... and The Who... and Elvis... and so on.... I used to always be looking for the new "fill in the blank" but eventually learned to avoid that trap and appreciate each act for what they are (or are not). Tough to do sometimes once the bar gets set high! |
Cool Frogman, there is only one Led Zeppelin !! I listened to Zep almost exclusively my entire senior year in high school. I actually saw Jimmy Page play in the band The Firm. So you want something that will get your blood pumping , something more visceral. Try the Raconteurs , album is Broken Boy Soldiers. Jack White is the lead singer in this band. This album is complete and kick ass!! I also love Consolers of the Lonely !! This one is on Spotify , Broken Boy is not. Frog are you using Spotify or MOG? It's free with a short 30 second Spotify commercial every five songs. Ten bucks a month for premium service. You can listen to 300,000 albums or so. About 30 million songs. It's just a fantastic way to listen to new music/bands without blowing money on a cd or album. |
The Frogman: Now Zeppelin does bring back memories. One of the first Rock bands to catch my ear. Germany early 70s. 'Whole Lotta Love' was a favorite of mine. My little Sansui Receiver could barely keep up. That music brings back the times and the people. Esp the girls. :) The stereo equipment as well. Music is History. Cheers |
Obviously, not all new music is rock n roll, but one of the things that I miss (and I have a feeling it is one of the things that Goose also misses) is this kind of raw abandon and "I don't give a f&@k attitude": http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0WzG64syKHA |
This is just my opinion, at any given time "90% of everything is crap" is true in general but I threw this out specifically as a response to this thread. Many of us are listening to something from the 10% of the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc. or the present. I don't believe that more "new music sucks" any more than more "old music" does. In other words, there is definitely new music that's worth hearing but probably about 10% will stand the test of time. I'd venture that approximately the same percentage holds true for the Baroque or Romantic periods. Not everyone was a Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms or Schubert and there's plenty of obscure, forgotten repertoire in existence. However, the fact that repertoire is forgotten or obscure may not alone relegate music to the 90%. Other factors, such as geographic isolation or a reclusive composer, could have been responsible. Such music could achieve a place in the 10% upon initial assessment or reassessment at a different time. Conversely many once extremely popular composers are almost unheard of today. Again, I'm throwing this out to illustrate that the "90%" axiom is not absolute and may change with time, place and new or different perspectives. |
Agree with Toddnkaya Talent always rises like cream. There are 80,000 to 300,000 bands online. That makes for a big pool. All the music I listen to is new bands. I love new music. Bored to death with iconic bands. They had their place and time. But the time is now. I could care less for four decades ago. 2013 is where it is at in 2013. |
