isobelfq said:

Which is why these times are really scary.

namepeace said:

Maybe your favorite artists from decades previous will not be as great as they once were, but I promise there is new talent that will blow you away.

All you have to do is take the leap of faith and listen to names you aren't familiar with.

Try discovering an independent record label, and follow their roster. Artist information isn't difficult to find (all you orgers have the internet, obviously ).

Also, pay attention to your fellow orgers.

NO REALLY!
[Edited 3/24/05 0:33am]

vainandy said:

VoicesCarry said:

I know you're young (only a few months younger than me, actually ) so you're forgiven, but don't lump all us babies together in one big squirming mass of bad taste and musical ignorance.

The vast majority of us do seem to be like that though. What a depressing thought...

But on a cheerier note: the high school I went to offers a course called The History of Rock 'n' Roll. It talks about the origins of the sound going back to the '20's and earlier, who influenced who to do what and why, and just as importantly -how political and social events in the western world affected popular music and songwriting, and vice versa.

One point I found interesting was that throughout the 20th century, music worked on a continuous cycle. Approximately every thirteen years or so, there'd be a surge of creativity; an upheaval in style, delivery, and even business dealings on the "industry" side. Providing something hasn't happened to break that chain, we're about due for a revolution.
[Edited 3/24/05 2:39am]

isobelfq said:

I've heard it said (fucked if I can remember by who -I'm tired) that when the world is more dangerous, more conservative, more regimented, art becomes better because it has something to react to, or against. Safe, leftist times make for bad art because there's nothing to say.

So perhaps the current state of popular music is not just due to the fact that corporations are taking over, but possibly also because the western world has been too safe these past 15 years?

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Yes but let's not get carried away with our rose-tinted glasses...We remember the outstanding acts from this era, but don't forget that there was plenty of manufactured, copy-cat, corporate shit around then too.

Same can be said of the 80's - looking back, it was a very exciting time in music with a lot of diversity. At the time, it seemed like a wash of kiddy pop and plastic, "image-over-content" bands. Hindsight will prove that these times we are in now are as creative and diverse as any of these so-called "golden" times also.

For the most part,I've given up on today's music.I listen to mostly 70s stuff,and some stuff from the early 80s.There are only a handful of modern artists that I like.

As someone who grew up in the 70s,I was amazed at all the great music that I was exposed to.Like Supa said,there was alot of creativity and things were being done for the first time.Unfortunately,that's not the case with today's music.R&B is on life support,I haven't heard a decent rock hit in years,and if you take a look at the Top 40,you will see that most of it is mindless pop garbage or sample-heavy hip-hop crap.Yeah,I know it's a cliche to complain that "things aren't as good as they used to be",but in this case,it's a valid argument.

DavidEye said:

The point is you shouldn't be looking there to find today's finest.

CinisterCee said:

That's what makes it so pathetic.

CinisterCee said:

True,but I still think it's sad that "good songs" don't make it to the charts.It's as if standards have been lowered.Why do we always have to go "underground" just to find some decent music? It sure wasn't like this when I was growing up.

DavidEye said:

If "good" music doesn't get into the charts , that means people aren't buying the stuff.. If we're talking about singles in particular (and I can only talk about our experiences in the UK, as I have no idea what is happening elsewhere)I think the change in the charts is less to do with changes in taste in music and more to do with changes in the way we buy music.

The digital age has put a lot of people off buying singles as a) they can download stuff illegally b) copies are much better quality than a cassette copy used to be.
The bizarre marketing and pricing suicide of the record industry has put a lot of people off singles - the price rise of singles compared with the price drop of albums (relatively speaking). Also, they service tracks to radio and TV WAY too early, and tracks are played WAY too much, so that, well, what's the point of buying it? I can hear it any time I want anyway!
Chart policy - Oh you can't have too many tracks on a single. Er, why, in case it becomes good value and a worthwhile product that people may actually wanna buy?!
Record companies - No longer willing to risk time and money on developing artists. You can reel off a list of your fave artists and I bet that the majority wouldn't get past their first album in the current marketing climate. Who sells mega-amounts on their debut? A lucky few, that's all.


All we can do is to support quality music by buying it and promoting it to our friends and urging them to buy it.




"All this shite kiddie pop makes me spell badly" edit
[Edited 3/24/05 5:11am]

Very true. If it doesn't get played on the radio, how are you supposed to know it exists? Back in the 1980s, when music was still good, I liked a little underground music also. I sometimes bought a record because I liked the album cover or it had an interesting track list. I was taking a 50/50 chance that I would like it. Sometimes I liked it, sometimes I didn't.

When the 1990s rolled around, I started buying more and more music that I had never heard before, going by album covers and track lists. Around 1993 or 1994, everything I bought, I hated. It costs too damn much money to be taking chances like that these days. I don't doubt there is good stuff out there, but nowadays, it is way underground and very scarce.
[Edited 3/24/05 22:52pm]

I knew coming into this thread was bad news.

*exiting*

vainandy said:

the internet?

can someone please explain to me what "good" music is? There are over 6 billion people on this planet, and there are likely 6 billion different definitions of good music.

There is this perception that whatever is new somehow doesn't measure up to the "good old days". I can never understand that.

No.

You still have to know what to search for. Even then, you only get a small sample which really doesn't let you hear much.

vainandy said:

This is true due to damn copyright infrigement laws shit. Damn, sometimes the legalities fuck it up for everybody.

JonSnow said:

You musat realize that the standards were set really high back then.Remember,there was a time before MTV....a time when you HAD to have real talent,a time when you couldn't rely on a music video to expose you to a wide audience,a time when you really had to bring the goods,a time when you couldn't build a career out of using samples.Those days are long gone,which is why many people keep longing for the "good ol' days".

DavidEye said:

I'm not disagreeing. All I'm saying is that what I highlighted STILL holds for the outstanding artists of this generation. Although most make videos, few get in "heavy ro" and must depend on indie radioplay and word-of-mouth buzz to make a living.

There have been some really, really fine records produced by indies/underground artists in the last several years. The new paradigm requires US to go find them. Our radio and tv stations ain't gonna just bring'em to us.