SoulAlive said:

rdhull said:

The 70's..for everything.

I agree that's my favorite musical decade.

I even like 70's One Hit Wonders better than the other decades One Hit Wonders lol

smoothcriminal12 said:

None of them. Let music progress.

I always used to say that too and welcomed the changes that came approximately every five years or so. That is, until music started going backwards instead of forwards. When the 1990s got fully kicked in, the majority of the R&B (mainstream that is) became slow to midtempo. That's not moving forwards, that's going back to the days when classical music ruled the scene and everything was slow and dull.

I haven't seen any major changes in mainstream R&B since the mid 1990s until just a very few years ago when a lot of R&B artists started mixing what they now call "electronica" in with their music. That's still not moving forward, because the sound of that electronica is what the white gay clubs used to play in the 1990s but it was called trance back then. They've just started mixing it with bubble gum artists and shit hop artists now so nothing has still not really changed since the 1990s. They just married two 1990s genres together, that's all.

daPrettyman said:

MickyDolenz said:

There's many people that don't know how to use a computer or can't afford the internet. So that's no good for them.

Very true.

I grew up in a small town in East Texas. For a lot of my friends and family, it's not that they can't necessarilly afford it, but they don't see it as a necessity to have a smartphone or pay for high speed internet yet.

It's funny because on Black Friday when PC's and all different types of electronic devices are on sale, you can still find the cheap computers, but the televisions are usually gone. To me, that says that they either can't get the high speed connections, or can't afford to have the satellite internet that runs about $100 a month.

The TVs are usually gone because everyone wants a TV. It's about making choices about which is more practical when you don't have the money for each and every little gadget out there. Everyone needs a TV if for nothing other than the local news and weather. Plus, with a TV, you don't HAVE to have cable and that rediculous monthly bill. A computer is no good without internet unless you're using it to just strictly work on it or play the card games that come in the computer.

When I moved two years ago into an apartment completely by myself, I had to make a choice of which I'd rather have because I can't afford both. I chose internet instead of cable and I'm not talking about a hundred dollar a month service because I could never afford that. I got a $40 a month service with a speed just high enough to where I could watch videos and download music. And the $40 is still too damn much for internet. Hell, I got it with a $20 a month trial for a year and after that I had to pay full price of $40 a month but I sure think about that damn $40 a month I'm shelling out for it when I'm trying to scrape for my rent every month. It's just damn rediculous that someone would have to pay a monthly bill anyway if they wanted to "search" for some good new music (not that there's any out there anyway...I use my internet to "search" for good OLD music ) when there's perfectly good free radio stations that need their asses beat for not playing good music. It just really trips me out that a lot of these younger folks these days just act like "well you can search for it" just like everyone on the face of the earth has a silver spoon in their mouth and can afford all these gadgets even if they were fool enough to give in and search for it (because Lord knows they shouldn't HAVE to....searching for it defeats that purpose. The record labels want you to search for it so you will keep your mouth shut while they continue to push cheap music down the mainstream's throat). As for cable, I don't even have it anymore and don't even want it because there's nothing on it these days but reality shows (yet ANOTHER form of so-called entertainment that is cheap to make that gets forced into taking over because younger people are content with it because they weren't raised on actual shows that were actually entertaining back when the studios and networks had to shell out millions of dollars per episode for actors, scenery, cars, locations, etc.). I have a converter box now and other than the local news, my box stays on either Antenna TV or ME TV.

As for all those cell phones, I have a normal home phone and that's all I've ever had or ever had a desire for. I find it useless for a phone to store music (hell I hated Walkman radios back in the day because I like my music to shake the walls....you can't have no party with folks gathered around the headphones ). And this texting and bullshit. Hell, just dial the number and TALK to the person instead of pushing all those damn buttons. I've also never had one because I don't want people to be able to reach me any time they want to. I like to stay lost sometimes. I have thought about getting one in case I had car trouble but I can't afford both a house phone and a cell phone. It's really all about simply making choices about which thing is more important to you because not everyone has money for all these little gadgets.

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[Edited 8/27/12 18:44pm]

MickyDolenz said:

daPrettyman said:

Very true.

I grew up in a small town in East Texas. For a lot of my friends and family, it's not that they can't necessarilly afford it, but they don't see it as a necessity to have a smartphone or pay for high speed internet yet.

It's funny because on Black Friday when PC's and all different types of electronic devices are on sale, you can still find the cheap computers, but the televisions are usually gone. To me, that says that they either can't get the high speed connections, or can't afford to have the satellite internet that runs about $100 a month.

I see some people (including a few homeless) using the PCs at the public library, but many sites are blocked, and you can't download anything. There's also a time limit, as there's other people waiting.

My mom's hometown is a small rural town, with a current population of about 630. They don't even have a fire or police department. They come from another town 20 miles away. If your house catches on fire, it's a waste of time to call 911. By the time they get there, your place will be gone. Technically, there's a local volunteer fire department, but I've never seen anyone there. But even if there were, it's would only be a help to someone really close to it.

[Edited 8/27/12 16:15pm]

Honey, them homeless is in that library to get inside and hang out in that cool air conditioning and bum a little change when the library employees aren't watching. I worked in a convenience store for nine years so I know their little tricks. But in the Spring and Fall seasons, they were sitting right outside our backwall worring the hell out of customers until they gathered up enough money, not to get a sandwich, but to get a cheap single beer. The manager fixed their asses though. He raised the price of the single Milwaukee's best up to the same price as the Budweiser. Talk about some pissed off winos. But hey, that cut down on a LOT of that bullshit. But let it get extremely hot or cold outside, they'd have their asses parked up in that library up the street. I know because the librarian used to come into the store after work. She said she needed a beer HERSELF after cussing them out all day for bothering customers.

vainandy said:

The early 70s were still kinda bleeding off of the 1960s and the late 80s became overrun with adult contemporary. I would choose 1974-1984. Disco came in and changed R&B around that time and the R&B era of the early 80s still kinda bled off that disco tempo.

I almost agree with you exactly but I would go a little further back to around 1970. While there was some R&B that used a lot of synthesizers back in the early 80's, it was just used to enhance the sound that was already being played by organic instruments (Zapp/Roger, Midnight Star, Mtume). Around 1985, though, the R&B sound relied way too much on synthesizers, and while it was cool and funky at the time, it sounds sterile and dated today. It became even more prevalent in the 90's though, as a lot of producers not only dumped rhythm and horn sections for synthesizers but dumped live drummers for drum machines. In some cases, producers actually had to use samples to make the sound seem more organic.

But I think the best R&B music came out during the 1970's. It was the era of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Parliament/Funkadelic, Earth, Wind and Fire, the Ohio Players, and other funk-infused R&B acts. And while disco did get a grip into R&B during the late 1970's, some, if not most of the best disco music of the era came from the R&B bands who dabbled in it rather than the pure disco groups.

I'll go 1975-1984, please!

728huey said:

vainandy said:

The early 70s were still kinda bleeding off of the 1960s and the late 80s became overrun with adult contemporary. I would choose 1974-1984. Disco came in and changed R&B around that time and the R&B era of the early 80s still kinda bled off that disco tempo.

I almost agree with you exactly but I would go a little further back to around 1970. While there was some R&B that used a lot of synthesizers back in the early 80's, it was just used to enhance the sound that was already being played by organic instruments (Zapp/Roger, Midnight Star, Mtume). Around 1985, though, the R&B sound relied way too much on synthesizers, and while it was cool and funky at the time, it sounds sterile and dated today. It became even more prevalent in the 90's though, as a lot of producers not only dumped rhythm and horn sections for synthesizers but dumped live drummers for drum machines. In some cases, producers actually had to use samples to make the sound seem more organic.

But I think the best R&B music came out during the 1970's. It was the era of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Parliament/Funkadelic, Earth, Wind and Fire, the Ohio Players, and other funk-infused R&B acts. And while disco did get a grip into R&B during the late 1970's, some, if not most of the best disco music of the era came from the R&B bands who dabbled in it rather than the pure disco groups.

Oh, I agree. I love the way synths and drum machines were used during this era because they were simply icing on top of the cake to give it a more modern feel but the actual cake (the real drums, real bass, etc.) was still there. When it became all icing and no cake underneath it (1990s), it lost it's power and strength because all the foundation underneath it was stripped completely away so it ended up sounding like something made on a cheap Fisher Price toy rather than something to be released for adults to enjoy in clubs.

Oh, how I love synth funk with mostly robotic elements.

vainandy said:

It's just damn rediculous that someone would have to pay a monthly bill anyway if they wanted to "search" for some good new music (not that there's any out there anyway...I use my internet to "search" for good OLD music ) when there's perfectly good free radio stations that need their asses beat for not playing good music. It just really trips me out that a lot of these younger folks these days just act like "well you can search for it" just like everyone on the face of the earth has a silver spoon in their mouth and can afford all these gadgets even if they were fool enough to give in and search for it (because Lord knows they shouldn't HAVE to....searching for it defeats that purpose. The record labels want you to search for it so you will keep your mouth shut while they continue to push cheap music down the mainstream's throat). As for cable, I don't even have it anymore and don't even want it because there's nothing on it these days but reality shows (yet ANOTHER form of so-called entertainment that is cheap to make that gets forced into taking over because younger people are content with it because they weren't raised on actual shows that were actually entertaining back when the studios and networks had to shell out millions of dollars per episode for actors, scenery, cars, locations, etc.). I have a converter box now and other than the local news, my box stays on either Antenna TV or ME TV.

I think that's why some folks are surprised when country music has a higher CD purchasing rate than pop or R&B. The labels think only teenagers listen to music, so market to them, but they're the main people downloading free music. The people who don't have or want computers can't look for new music. The clubs just play whatever the hit songs are. They can go to a bar and hear a covers band, which are just playing the same overplayed songs from the classic rock stations.

Moonbeam said:

Oh, how I love synth funk with mostly robotic elements.

I was loving the hell out of the whole 1999/Planet Rock/Pack Jam/Freak-A-Zoid era of 1982-1983. I thought we would all be living like The Jetsons by now and vacationing on other planets.

definitely the 80's: rise of janet, whitney, mj at his peak, prince at his peak, anita, new edition, the time, sade, the beginning of new jack swing, the "soul men" like luther, freddie, jeffrey osbornes solo career, alexander o'neal etc. the "wannabe" janet's like jody watley, pebbles, karyn white etc. too much to name.

i would have said the 90's initally, but r&b music kinda went downhill around 97/98.

Which ever decade Miguel is in.

The 1970's for sure followed by 1980-1985.

However 1981-1984 was a great period for music.

MickyDolenz said:

vainandy said:

It's just damn rediculous that someone would have to pay a monthly bill anyway if they wanted to "search" for some good new music (not that there's any out there anyway...I use my internet to "search" for good OLD music ) when there's perfectly good free radio stations that need their asses beat for not playing good music. It just really trips me out that a lot of these younger folks these days just act like "well you can search for it" just like everyone on the face of the earth has a silver spoon in their mouth and can afford all these gadgets even if they were fool enough to give in and search for it (because Lord knows they shouldn't HAVE to....searching for it defeats that purpose. The record labels want you to search for it so you will keep your mouth shut while they continue to push cheap music down the mainstream's throat). As for cable, I don't even have it anymore and don't even want it because there's nothing on it these days but reality shows (yet ANOTHER form of so-called entertainment that is cheap to make that gets forced into taking over because younger people are content with it because they weren't raised on actual shows that were actually entertaining back when the studios and networks had to shell out millions of dollars per episode for actors, scenery, cars, locations, etc.). I have a converter box now and other than the local news, my box stays on either Antenna TV or ME TV.

I think that's why some folks are surprised when country music has a higher CD purchasing rate than pop or R&B. The labels think only teenagers listen to music, so market to them, but they're the main people downloading free music. The people who don't have or want computers can't look for new music. The clubs just play whatever the hit songs are. They can go to a bar and hear a covers band, which are just playing the same overplayed songs from the classic rock stations.

Exactly. That's one thing I can say for country, it's still actual music and it's fans still stick with it.

As for the clubs, that's true, all they play nowadays is what is a radio hit, even down to the black gay clubs which have always previously been known for having music of their own. And in the white gay clubs, it's trance music that is sooooo far underground that no one has ever even heard of it. The trance songs all sound alike, most of them don't even have lyrics, and it's more like just background music that nobody is really paying attention to and when they do dance, it's not like they're dancing because they're enjoying it but more like it's because they've been asked to dance and they're just being sociable. The black gay clubs are the only thing that got me through the 1990s because I hated mainstream R&B radio even back then. But in the clubs back then, even though none of the songs were radio hits, everybody in the club knew the names of the songs and artists and would seek the jams out themselves in the record store. It was a complete underground world of music but we still knew every single artist being played in the club because the jams were so great, one person would ask the DJ and word would spread all through the club. It's not like that now. Nobody cares who the song or artist is because it all sounds like generic background music.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Which ever decade Miguel is in.

Luis Miguel? He's Spanish adult contemporary, isn't he?

vainandy said:

Moonbeam said:

Oh, how I love synth funk with mostly robotic elements.

I was loving the hell out of the whole 1999/Planet Rock/Pack Jam/Freak-A-Zoid era of 1982-1983. I thought we would all be living like The Jetsons by now and vacationing on other planets.

Yes, yes, yes!

vainandy said:

MickyDolenz said:

I think that's why some folks are surprised when country music has a higher CD purchasing rate than pop or R&B. The labels think only teenagers listen to music, so market to them, but they're the main people downloading free music. The people who don't have or want computers can't look for new music. The clubs just play whatever the hit songs are. They can go to a bar and hear a covers band, which are just playing the same overplayed songs from the classic rock stations.

Exactly. That's one thing I can say for country, it's still actual music and it's fans still stick with it.

As for the clubs, that's true, all they play nowadays is what is a radio hit, even down to the black gay clubs which have always previously been known for having music of their own. And in the white gay clubs, it's trance music that is sooooo far underground that no one has ever even heard of it. The trance songs all sound alike, most of them don't even have lyrics, and it's more like just background music that nobody is really paying attention to and when they do dance, it's not like they're dancing because they're enjoying it but more like it's because they've been asked to dance and they're just being sociable. The black gay clubs are the only thing that got me through the 1990s because I hated mainstream R&B radio even back then. But in the clubs back then, even though none of the songs were radio hits, everybody in the club knew the names of the songs and artists and would seek the jams out themselves in the record store. It was a complete underground world of music but we still knew every single artist being played in the club because the jams were so great, one person would ask the DJ and word would spread all through the club. It's not like that now. Nobody cares who the song or artist is because it all sounds like generic background music.

It's interesting that Japan has funk bands now, and you can find old funk albums there, when here it's out of print or it's only hits compilations. In the early 1990's it was British groups that was making band R&B/funk, but they called it "acid jazz". The popular R&B in the US was new jack swing or Boyz II Men AC ballads.

MickyDolenz said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Which ever decade Miguel is in.

Luis Miguel? He's Spanish adult contemporary, isn't he?

There's another Miguel out right now.

That's because Japan knows what's up. Most other countries including our own act so backwards...

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Which ever decade Miguel is in.

The Pop Ascension of the late 1980s destroyed real r&b music from its very root......

MickyDolenz said:

It's interesting that Japan has funk bands now, and you can find old funk albums there, when here it's out of print or it's only hits compilations. In the early 1990's it was British groups that was making band R&B/funk, but they called it "acid jazz". The popular R&B in the US was new jack swing or Boyz II Men AC ballads.

This is why an American band like Soulive (Funk/Jazz/Groove), who basically has only a cult following here, is treated like royalty in Japan.

Music for adventurous listeners

tA
Tribal Records

728huey said:

MickyDolenz said:

Luis Miguel? He's Spanish adult contemporary, isn't he?

There's another Miguel out right now.

To each his own but i don't get the hype over this song. Sounds very average to me.

alphastreet said:

70's and 90's r&b music

the 80's stood out for dance, new wave, freestyle, funk and rock.

THIS pretty much

My favourite records from Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Sly Stone, Al Green, Bill Withers, Curtis Mayfield, David Bowie, Marvin Gaye, Queen, Rolling Stones and James Brown all came out in the 70's, so that's game over for me.

Honourable mention to the 60's, followed by 90's and I thought the 80's were too cheesy sounding for R&B.

MickyDolenz said:

vainandy said:

Exactly. That's one thing I can say for country, it's still actual music and it's fans still stick with it.

As for the clubs, that's true, all they play nowadays is what is a radio hit, even down to the black gay clubs which have always previously been known for having music of their own. And in the white gay clubs, it's trance music that is sooooo far underground that no one has ever even heard of it. The trance songs all sound alike, most of them don't even have lyrics, and it's more like just background music that nobody is really paying attention to and when they do dance, it's not like they're dancing because they're enjoying it but more like it's because they've been asked to dance and they're just being sociable. The black gay clubs are the only thing that got me through the 1990s because I hated mainstream R&B radio even back then. But in the clubs back then, even though none of the songs were radio hits, everybody in the club knew the names of the songs and artists and would seek the jams out themselves in the record store. It was a complete underground world of music but we still knew every single artist being played in the club because the jams were so great, one person would ask the DJ and word would spread all through the club. It's not like that now. Nobody cares who the song or artist is because it all sounds like generic background music.

It's interesting that Japan has funk bands now, and you can find old funk albums there, when here it's out of print or it's only hits compilations. In the early 1990's it was British groups that was making band R&B/funk, but they called it "acid jazz". The popular R&B in the US was new jack swing or Boyz II Men AC ballads.

That's true. Even down to our local bands like Freedom and Wynd Chymes that recorded right up the street from where I used to live, you can't find a CD version of their stuff in the States at all. It's all on Japanese imports. The local DJs used to always say those two groups were over in Japan touring and we all thought they were lying trying to hype the groups up. Turns out they weren't lying.

rdhull said:

SoulAlive said:

I agree that's my favorite musical decade.

I even like 70's One Hit Wonders better than the other decades One Hit Wonders lol

same here a song like "Play That Funky Music" sounds so much better than the one-hit wonders of this generation.

80's and 70's for me, although both had their not-so-great moments. R&B was watered-down by Disco in the 70s and Hip-Hop in the 80's. But, I think think they were the best decades for R&B/Soul music.

mrjun18 said:

definitely the 80's: rise of janet, whitney, mj at his peak, prince at his peak, anita, new edition, the time, sade, the beginning of new jack swing, the "soul men" like luther, freddie, jeffrey osbornes solo career, alexander o'neal etc. the "wannabe" janet's like jody watley, pebbles, karyn white etc. too much to name.

i would have said the 90's initally, but r&b music kinda went downhill around 97/98.

loooove jody though I hear more funk/pop, Karyn is also awesome

vainandy said:

daPrettyman said:

Very true.

I grew up in a small town in East Texas. For a lot of my friends and family, it's not that they can't necessarilly afford it, but they don't see it as a necessity to have a smartphone or pay for high speed internet yet.

It's funny because on Black Friday when PC's and all different types of electronic devices are on sale, you can still find the cheap computers, but the televisions are usually gone. To me, that says that they either can't get the high speed connections, or can't afford to have the satellite internet that runs about $100 a month.

The TVs are usually gone because everyone wants a TV. It's about making choices about which is more practical when you don't have the money for each and every little gadget out there. Everyone needs a TV if for nothing other than the local news and weather. Plus, with a TV, you don't HAVE to have cable and that rediculous monthly bill. A computer is no good without internet unless you're using it to just strictly work on it or play the card games that come in the computer.

When I moved two years ago into an apartment completely by myself, I had to make a choice of which I'd rather have because I can't afford both. I chose internet instead of cable and I'm not talking about a hundred dollar a month service because I could never afford that. I got a $40 a month service with a speed just high enough to where I could watch videos and download music. And the $40 is still too damn much for internet. Hell, I got it with a $20 a month trial for a year and after that I had to pay full price of $40 a month but I sure think about that damn $40 a month I'm shelling out for it when I'm trying to scrape for my rent every month. It's just damn rediculous that someone would have to pay a monthly bill anyway if they wanted to "search" for some good new music (not that there's any out there anyway...I use my internet to "search" for good OLD music ) when there's perfectly good free radio stations that need their asses beat for not playing good music. It just really trips me out that a lot of these younger folks these days just act like "well you can search for it" just like everyone on the face of the earth has a silver spoon in their mouth and can afford all these gadgets even if they were fool enough to give in and search for it (because Lord knows they shouldn't HAVE to....searching for it defeats that purpose. The record labels want you to search for it so you will keep your mouth shut while they continue to push cheap music down the mainstream's throat). As for cable, I don't even have it anymore and don't even want it because there's nothing on it these days but reality shows (yet ANOTHER form of so-called entertainment that is cheap to make that gets forced into taking over because younger people are content with it because they weren't raised on actual shows that were actually entertaining back when the studios and networks had to shell out millions of dollars per episode for actors, scenery, cars, locations, etc.). I have a converter box now and other than the local news, my box stays on either Antenna TV or ME TV.

As for all those cell phones, I have a normal home phone and that's all I've ever had or ever had a desire for. I find it useless for a phone to store music (hell I hated Walkman radios back in the day because I like my music to shake the walls....you can't have no party with folks gathered around the headphones ). And this texting and bullshit. Hell, just dial the number and TALK to the person instead of pushing all those damn buttons. I've also never had one because I don't want people to be able to reach me any time they want to. I like to stay lost sometimes. I have thought about getting one in case I had car trouble but I can't afford both a house phone and a cell phone. It's really all about simply making choices about which thing is more important to you because not everyone has money for all these little gadgets.

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[Edited 8/27/12 18:44pm]

That's true, but the way things are structured now, you don't necessarilly need a television if you have a computer and a high speed internet connection. I know a few people that have cut out cable all together and bought the boxee service as well as pay for netflix and hulu plus. That way they can watch all of their favorite shows without having to pay the $100 cable television service.