TonyVanDam said:

MikeMatronik said:

Check!

1. Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" video. I'm not a fan of videos by any means, but this one ruined everything. This was the first video that did away with actual scenes and instead became a montage of 2-second shots. Videos after that have totally sucked. And as much as I laugh at Whitney Houston, the real blame falls on whoever was the director of this travesty.

2. Nirvana. They ruined the spirit of rock n roll. Rock used to be about having fun, getting drunk and boinking chicks. Nirvana turned it into being about how much life sucks. Screw them. Life doesn't suck now and it didn't suck then.

3. Paul Reed Smith guitars. It's not that they're pieces of crap, it's how the younger generation has used them for the last 15 years or so. PRS guitars crunch like no other, which has led to a legion of one-finger-playing, power-chording, can't-play-past-the-fifth-fret, what-is-a-melody-because-they-sure-as-hell-can't-play-one hacks. The rock sound today is beyond unlistenable. I guess we don't have to worry about losing our hearing though, since these waifs never hit a note high enough to do any damage.

4. Eddie Vedder. He makes Rod Stewart sound like Pavrotti. At least Rod signs in the right register. This growling noice that Vedders passes off as singing is just depressing. What's even MORE depressing is that every rock singer in the last fifteen years thinks he needs to growl even more than Vedder. All of today's rock singers should be kicked hard in the nuts at least once, just to get their voices up where they need to be. And John Mayer needs to be kicked twice, just because.

MTV changed music for the negative.

The way it used to be, you'd hear something on the radio and instantly like it (which would make you want to go buy the album). If you didn't like it, you didn't like it, but based on its merits.

When I first heard Little Red Corvette, I honestly didn't even know what Prince looked like. We didn't have MTV right away. I LOVED that song (and 1999) for a long time before I saw a picture of Prince. Didn't really matter back then

Also, most of the acts back in the day earned their way to the top by tirelessly touring and getting word of mouth. Rarely was anyone an "overnight" success . . . if they were, odds are they were going to be one-hit-wonders.

Nowadays, if you're beautiful odds are you can get a record deal (no talent necessary). Looks and dancing ability seemed to have taken the place of singing/songwriting talents, and beats took the place of melodies.

Isn't it IRONIC that music TV (MTV) helped 2 de-VALUE music?

728huey said:

Pretty much exactly how I feel about the genre. Of course it wouldn't have lasted forever, but while some say it ruined rock, I say it simply brought us back down to earth and helped kill off all the hair metal crap. Not to mention some AMAZING albums resulted from it: Pearl Jam's Ten and Vs., Nirvana's In Utero (practically a raw, confessional punk record), Alice In Chains' Dirt, Soundgarden's Superunknown... to be honest, it was actually the lame imitators of bands like these that contributed to the ruining of a lot of mainstream rock, IMO.

As far as R&B goes, styles used to change approximately every 5 years or so. For instance.....

Doo Wap - Early 60s
Motown Sound - Late 60s
Soulfoul R&B (Al Green, Gladys Knight, etc.) - Early 70s
Funk (Jazzy, Horn Type) & Disco - Late 70s
Funk (New Wave, More Modern Type) - Early 80s
Adult Contemporary R&B (Shitney Houston type) - Late 80s
House - Very early 90s
Shit Hop (stripped down, midtempo, boring shit) - Early 90s to the Present

When shit hop slowed down and became stripped down in the early 90s, that's when styles stopped changing. Why? Because it's the cheapest bullshit to make the most profit.

And concerts started looking like Broadways shows with all that damn choreographed dancing instead of a stage full of instruments and musicians and the entertainer just dancing the way he or she wants because they actually feel the music. The focus in a concert used to be more on the music.

The problem started when they started trying to get played on the pop stations. When groups like Con-Funk-Shun, Zapp, Lakeside, The Barkays, etc. were hot in the early 80s, they knew who there audience was and made the best possible music for them rather than weakening it and watering it down for a broader audience.

Lionel Richie was one of the first to sellout to this but it wasn't until a certain little Miss Goodie Two Shoes came on the scene that I saw loads of other artists follow suit.

Anything she did made things for the worst.....with her little stiff Barbie doll ass.

vainandy said:

Oooh....mouwie ouwie....I MIGHT tell on yo behind....

TonyVanDam said:

I don't buy that. In 1987, full rap LPs weren't even the norm yet.

vainandy said:

This is most accurate. When I hear a song like "I Want You" by Marvin Gaye, one of my thoughts is... wow, that sounded expensive to record.

TonyVanDam said:

amen buddy! your right on!

RodeoSchro said:

totally agree

LoveAlive said:

MUSIC NOT CHANGE

LOVEALIVE GOT OLD

AND HIGH SCHOOL KID BUY DIFFERENT RECORD

THAT ALL

POOK said:

EXCUSE POOK

POOK GOT OLD TOO

ALL ORGER DO

SOMEDAY ALL POOK FAVORITE BAND GONND DIE TOO

BUT THERE ALWAYS RHINO REISSUE TO LOOK FORWARD TO!

Mazerati said:

VoicesCarry said:

Mainstream funk died before the mid 80's
[Edited 1/7/07 6:52am]

POOK said:

I dont think its necessarily that I got old. I can remember listening to "Songs In the Key Of Life" and the Brothers Johnson in 4th grade(the late 80's). I always was into "music" but at the same time that I was listening to what I call "real music", I still like the pop scene(Paula Abdul, Janet, etc). It wasnt until about 1995 that I started to really begin to dislike mainstream r&b/pop and by 1998, I was totally into instrument based music almost exclusively. Maybe its just that my tastes changed..

CinisterCee said:

Besides Cameo and EU, what black funk bands were left standing during 1987, when rap was rising?

Go ahead and think about it, I'll wait!!!

[Edited 1/7/07 18:29pm]

FuNkeNsteiN said:

I say by 1987 at worst.

TonyVanDam said:

Gap Band was still hanging in there. Zibble, zibble!

AlexdeParis said:

You mean with that song I'm Gonna Get You Sucka?

When I drove my Chevy to the levee,
I noticed the change.
It was no longer alive.

TonyVanDam said:

That was a top 20 R&B hit. Some others:

Zibble, Zibble (Get the Money) (1987) - top 20
All of My Love (1990) #1
Addicted to Your Love (1990) - top 10
We Can Make It Alright (1990) - top 20

After the deaths of Tupac and Biggie sort of killed Gangsta rap and some decent socially conscious songs as hip hop became more about bling bling and materalism and video hos (oops I mean girls) which continues to this day, Im afraid.
If I want to listen to today's hip-hop, I might as well listen to the ones from the late 90s at least they were much better listen to. The style of mainstream hip hop have been the same for nearly 8 years now and it needs for a change damnit.
I also have some friends who are still pissed that Nirvana and grunge came to the scene that slowly ended heavy metal.

TonyVanDam said:

One event didn't "cause" the other though.

ladygirl99 said:

I hated it when the grunge scene exploded, i couldn't believe people actually enjoyed listening to that shit. Self absorbed, indulgent whining crap. The irony is of course is that many of these bands loved metal and classic rock. Radio killed metal in the end of course, record companies jumped up to sign any old crap that whined and major labels dictate what is going to played. Ultimately the industry will kill itself.
[Edited 1/7/07 21:09pm]
[Edited 1/7/07 21:10pm]

When moneyman came in and continues to tighten the hold.