Riverman37 said:

I would like to ad a Danish singer-songwriter, who tends to combine the raw grungieness of the nineties, with the 'perfect pop-song' material of Paul McCartney and Neil Finn: Tim Christensen.

He has been busy far before 2009, but nonetheless i like to mention him, because he is very overlooked:

Wonder of wonders

http://www.youtube.com/wa...rePYzwm8XM

Whispering at the top of my lungs (great use of dynamics)

http://www.youtube.com/wa...mp;ob=av2e

How far you will go

http://www.youtube.com/wa...wntvlhuH38

It sounds good, I'll give it a listen. In this post and in others, I've read that you like composers of "perfect pop songs". Me too, and I wonder if you have listened to Sondre Lerche, a Norwegian musician influenced by Paddy McAloon (I adore him, by the way), Elvis Costello, etc. If not, you may like it.

It was very, very poor period in the history of music:
Adele - 21
Eminem - Recovery
Hurts - Happiness
30 Seconds to Mars - This is War

These are all very good, that I can recall.
There are interesting releases, but nothing masterpiece.

If the last few Lady Gaga and Prince albums are what some people consider to be their favorites of the last few years, no wonder they don't have a high opinion of today's music. There is much better stuff out there than that.

sextonseven said:

If the last few Lady Gaga and Prince albums are what some people consider to be their favorites of the last few years, no wonder they don't have a high opinion of today's music. There is much better stuff out there than that.

c'mon

09-11 is so bad, that it even makes 04-08 look like an underrated golden era, lol

JoeTyler said:

sextonseven said:

If the last few Lady Gaga and Prince albums are what some people consider to be their favorites of the last few years, no wonder they don't have a high opinion of today's music. There is much better stuff out there than that.

c'mon

09-11 is so bad, that it even makes 04-08 look like an underrated golden era, lol

I disagree--which is why I posted 30 albums. Again, there is much better stuff out there than Lady Gaga and Prince.

sextonseven said:

If the last few Lady Gaga and Prince albums are what some people consider to be their favorites of the last few years, no wonder they don't have a high opinion of today's music. There is much better stuff out there than that.

That's entirely subjective, Born This Way is an increadible pop album in my opinion and I don't see why I can't enjoy it just as much as ArchAndroid or Body Talk which are in both of our lists.

RKJCNE said:

sextonseven said:

If the last few Lady Gaga and Prince albums are what some people consider to be their favorites of the last few years, no wonder they don't have a high opinion of today's music. There is much better stuff out there than that.

That's entirely subjective, Born This Way is an increadible pop album in my opinion and I don't see why I can't enjoy it just as much as ArchAndroid or Body Talk which are in both of our lists.

Of course it's subjective.

But you weren't one of the people complaining that music today is lame so my post was not directed at you obviously.

I have to add Bjork's new album, Biophilia. Hearing the entire album on NPR was breathtaking. Bjork always had some nice material anyway. I admired her style for the longest time.

RKJCNE said:

sextonseven said:

If the last few Lady Gaga and Prince albums are what some people consider to be their favorites of the last few years, no wonder they don't have a high opinion of today's music. There is much better stuff out there than that.

That's entirely subjective, Born This Way is an increadible pop album in my opinion and I don't see why I can't enjoy it just as much as ArchAndroid or Body Talk which are in both of our lists.

That's part of the reason I started this thread, was to rebut subjective opinions about the allegedly sorry state of music today. I don't doubt that LG's work may be good; I don't know. The main point was there is now a direct correlation between quality of music you find and the level of effort you put into finding it.

It wasn't always that way; in the 70's and 80's, many if not most of the great artists were stars or stars in the making. In the 90's, videos from music across the spectrum were widely played on a few stations (from Yo' MTV Raps to 120 Minutes, BET, etc.) and underground artists were able to find their way to a larger audience. DJ's had more flexibility to put together their playlists. For so many reasons, mass outlets for lesser-known artists have shrunk in the 21st century (even the stars aren't selling what they used to) BUT there are so many other ways to find them.

We have to make the effort if we don't dig what's they're selling. But subjective minds can disagree on the quality of what's selling.

namepeace said:

RKJCNE said:

That's entirely subjective, Born This Way is an increadible pop album in my opinion and I don't see why I can't enjoy it just as much as ArchAndroid or Body Talk which are in both of our lists.

That's part of the reason I started this thread, was to rebut subjective opinions about the allegedly sorry state of music today. I don't doubt that LG's work may be good; I don't know. The main point was there is now a direct correlation between quality of music you find and the level of effort you put into finding it.

It wasn't always that way; in the 70's and 80's, many if not most of the great artists were stars or stars in the making. In the 90's, videos from music across the spectrum were widely played on a few stations (from Yo' MTV Raps to 120 Minutes, BET, etc.) and underground artists were able to find their way to a larger audience. DJ's had more flexibility to put together their playlists. For so many reasons, mass outlets for lesser-known artists have shrunk in the 21st century (even the stars aren't selling what they used to) BUT there are so many other ways to find them.

We have to make the effort if we don't dig what's they're selling. But subjective minds can disagree on the quality of what's selling.

I do agree with that statement alot, although I think you can find a great deal or enjoyment and even sometimes quality in pop music, I wish there were more variety in the types of music that pop radio plays.

A lot of good stuff out there, especially if your listening habits are not isolated to "Pop" music only.

Just a very small sampling from last year.


Pat Metheny

[img:$uid]http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drn300/n331/n33156bj3k2.jpg[/img:$uid]

...Orchestrion



Gil Scott-Heron

[img:$uid]http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drn300/n373/n37367iisjj.jpg[/img:$uid]

...I'm New Here



Lionel Loueke

[img:$uid]http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drn500/n526/n52649mlplg.jpg[/img:$uid]

...Mwaliko



Jeff Beck

[img:$uid]http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drn500/n554/n55417vs21u.jpg[/img:$uid]

...Emotion & Commotion



Jimi Hendrix

[img:$uid]http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drn400/n407/n40741xklc1.jpg[/img:$uid]

...Valleys of Neptune



Christian Scott

[img:$uid]http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drn300/n359/n35927p7wqz.jpg[/img:$uid]

...Yesterday You Said Tomorrow



Bobby McFerrin

[img:$uid]http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drn500/n553/n55309o5hpf.jpg[/img:$uid]

...VOCAbuLarieS



Steve Lukather

[img:$uid]http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drp200/p245/p24578a6uix.jpg[/img:$uid]

...All's Well That Ends Well



Bill Frisell

[img:$uid]http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/dro000/o041/o04129e8q72.jpg[/img:$uid]

...Beautiful Dreamers


And for productive adults that don't have a lot of time to scour the internet, a lot easier to find.



Music for adventurous listeners

tA

Tribal Records

RKJCNE said:

I do agree with that statement alot, although I think you can find a great deal or enjoyment and even sometimes quality in pop music, I wish there were more variety in the types of music that pop radio plays.

Somtimes thar comes with time. I have a longstanding bias against radio (going back to when the best hip-hop was underground, go figure), but I suspect that I'm missing some decent stuff on the radio today. It can't be all bad, there have got to be some jewels in the rough, right?

I feel sorry for people who limit themselves to whatever is playing on top 40 radio. That is a short road to nowhere these days, and you'll miss all the good music!

Some suggestions...

2009

Bat For Lashes - Two Suns

Bif Naked - The Promise

Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM

The Dead Weather - Horehound

Fever Ray - Fever Ray

Florence + the Machine - Lungs

The Horrors - Primary Colors

Maxwell - BLACKsummers'night

Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

Noisettes - Wild Young Hearts

Peaches - I Feel Cream

RES - Black. Girls. Rock!

Royksopp - Junior

Spinnerette - Spinnerette

St. Vincent - Actor

Vivian Girls - Everything Goes Wrong

XX - XX

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!

2010

Beach House - Teen Dream

Best Coast - Crazy For You

Bilal - Airtight's Revenge

The Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards

Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be

Erykah Badu - New Amerykah pt.2

Goldfrapp - Headfirst

Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid

Kelis - Flesh Tone

Marina & The Diamonds - The Family Jewels

Nina Sky - The Other Side

Robyn - Body Talk (pt.1 & pt.2)

Shakira - Sale el Sol

Sleigh Bells - Treats

Toro y Moi - Underneath the Pine

thekidsgirl said:

I feel sorry for people who limit themselves to whatever is playing on top 40 radio. That is a short road to nowhere these days, and you'll miss all the good music!

I'm actually PISSED at people who do torment themselves listening to top 40 radio.

Timmy84 said:

thekidsgirl said:

I feel sorry for people who limit themselves to whatever is playing on top 40 radio. That is a short road to nowhere these days, and you'll miss all the good music!

I'm actually PISSED at people who do torment themselves listening to top 40 radio.

I only get aggravated by people who don't like what's being played BUT make judgments on the state of today's music SOLELY by listening to the radio.

namepeace said:

Timmy84 said:

I'm actually PISSED at people who do torment themselves listening to top 40 radio.

I only get aggravated by people who don't like what's being played BUT make judgments on the state of today's music SOLELY by listening to the radio.

namepeace said:

Timmy84 said:

I'm actually PISSED at people who do torment themselves listening to top 40 radio.

I only get aggravated by people who don't like what's being played BUT make judgments on the state of today's music SOLELY by listening to the radio.

I only get pissed off when people who like generic pop music turn around and trash quality pop music that they are biased about. ... People like that are never taken seriously

There were a handful of good albums of this decade. This definitly wasnt a great year for music definitly the worse exactly for pop.

[Edited 10/20/11 9:25am]

mjscarousal said:

namepeace said:

I only get aggravated by people who don't like what's being played BUT make judgments on the state of today's music SOLELY by listening to the radio.

I only get pissed off when people who like generic pop music turn around and trash quality pop music that they are biased about. ... People like that are never taken seriously

There were a handful of good albums of this decade. This definitly wasnt a great year for music definitly the worse exactly for pop.

[Edited 10/20/11 9:25am]

I getcha on the first part. That's aggravating.

I think the jury is out on this year. I think Raphael Saadiq and Van Hunt released some of their very best work, Jill's album was good, as were mayer Hawthorne's and Kweli's, Watch The Throne had its moments, TVOTR continued to break ground and Me'Shell and (allegedly) Maxwell are on deck.

And I really think if you look at this decade (10-11 OR 00-11) you can easily find dozens of good albums and several great ones. But as said above, that's subjective!

namepeace said:

Timmy84 said:

I'm actually PISSED at people who do torment themselves listening to top 40 radio.

I only get aggravated by people who don't like what's being played BUT make judgments on the state of today's music SOLELY by listening to the radio.

I agree. It's like either they're internet-illiterate or do have the internet and are biased.

namepeace said:

Yes, if you listen to the radio.

No, when you put the effort into finding and supporting talented artists.

I say this because I was just thinking today about the slew of standout albums released since 2009

Maxwell -- BLACKsummersnight

Janelle Monae -- The ArchAndroid

Jill Scott -- Light Of The Sun

Mayer Hawthorne -- A Strange Arrangement, How Do You Do

Talib Kweli -- Gutter Rainbows

Erykah Badu -- New Amerykah Pt. 2 -- Return of the Ankh

The Stepkids -- The Stepkids

Raphael Saadiq -- Stone Rollin'

Van Hunt -- What Were You Hoping For

TV On The Radio -- Nine Types Of Light

Me'Shell Ndegeocello -- Devil's Halo, Weather

Bilal -- Airtight's Revenge

Newer artists like Empress Hotel, Electronica artists like Miguel Migs, and other hip-hop artists like Big Boi, Tanya Morgan, and several other artists not listed have made good music during that time. And that's just the music I've listened to; there's more to be mined.

List yours if you like.

Nice list, dude.

But you can't really say that music today is worse than it was before, can you? I mean,

if you look at the billboard chart top 100 singles/albums since its inception, America's taste

in pop music has always sucked. Look at what was charting in the 70s - disco shite.

Look at the chart toppers in the 80s and 90s - more shite.

The reason why we think music today sucks is because we have more music. Music

is being made by anyone with a laptop and a Casio. Therefore, we have a bigger chance

(and we do) of hearing suckiness than we ever did before.

I don't get the argument - to say that music today sucks means that:

1. There is a consensus that there was a time in history when music was good

2. There is a consensus as to when the decline of that mystical good music began to disintegrate

The thing is, we will never be able to pinpoint a moment in time when music was good and we'll never be able to pinpoint when it began to become bad. Good music has always been nestled with shite music, mutatis mutandis. For every Mozart, there's a Scalieri or Clementi. For every Coltrane, there's a Mulligan. For every Beatle, there's a Monkee. For every Stevie Wonder, there's a Remy Shand. For every Aretha Franklin, there's a Alicia Keys. For every Van Hunt, there's a Prince.....

hey o!

(why did my post come out all retarded? I like form, you know).

Oh man I forgot Amy Winehouse and Adel! Definetly including those too expecially Amy

sextonseven said:

I have heard LOTS of albums I love that were released in the last three years. My top ten for each:

2011

The Horrors - Skying
Dum Dum Girls - He Gets Me High
Wild Flag - Wild Flag
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Björk - Biophilia
Crystal Stilts - In Love With Oblivion
The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar

Dum Dum Girls - Only In Dreams
The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts
Austra - Feel It Break

2010

Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be
Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid
Tamaryn - The Waves
Sleigh Bells - Treats
Goldfrapp - Head First
The Like - Release Me
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - I Learned The Hard Way
The Dead Weather - Sea Of Cowards
Robyn - Body Talk

2009

The Horrors - Primary Colours

The xx - xx
The Joy Formidable - A Balloon Called Moaning

Fever Ray - Fever Ray
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
Alicia Keys - The Element Of Freedom
God Help The Girl - God Help The Girl
Maxwell - BLACKsummers'night
Company Of Thieves - Ordinary Riches

Shit, , I have not heard any of these albums (or others mentioned on this thread)... In fact, I have not bought any new music in the last decade or so apart from Lady gaga (which I find light fun) and David Guetta (catchy as hell). I should get back to orienting myself. My Girlfriend keeps up with new Tori Amos, Kate Bush and Dolly Parton albums, which I dig.

hendrikus said:

sextonseven said:

I have heard LOTS of albums I love that were released in the last three years. My top ten for each:

2011

The Horrors - Skying
Dum Dum Girls - He Gets Me High
Wild Flag - Wild Flag
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Björk - Biophilia
Crystal Stilts - In Love With Oblivion
The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar

Dum Dum Girls - Only In Dreams
The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts
Austra - Feel It Break

2010

Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be
Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid
Tamaryn - The Waves
Sleigh Bells - Treats
Goldfrapp - Head First
The Like - Release Me
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - I Learned The Hard Way
The Dead Weather - Sea Of Cowards
Robyn - Body Talk

2009

The Horrors - Primary Colours

The xx - xx
The Joy Formidable - A Balloon Called Moaning

Fever Ray - Fever Ray
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
Alicia Keys - The Element Of Freedom
God Help The Girl - God Help The Girl
Maxwell - BLACKsummers'night
Company Of Thieves - Ordinary Riches

Shit, , I have not heard any of these albums (or others mentioned on this thread)... In fact, I have not bought any new music in the last decade or so apart from Lady gaga (which I find light fun) and David Guetta (catchy as hell). I should get back to orienting myself. My Girlfriend keeps up with new Tori Amos, Kate Bush and Dolly Parton albums, which I dig.

Yeah don't just listen to dance music.

Timmy84 said:

hendrikus said:

Yeah don't just listen to dance music.

I forgot to mention Prince gems such as Mplssound..

Actually, I discovered a lot of 'old' music through other people. Allen Parsons, Dolly Parton, Kate Bush. Not much contemporary music though. A lot of it doesn't stick with me. I heard a cd from TVontheradio and thought it was ok. But I quickly forgot about it.

hendrikus said:

Timmy84 said:

Yeah don't just listen to dance music.

I forgot to mention Prince gems such as Mplssound..

Actually, I discovered a lot of 'old' music through other people. Allen Parsons, Dolly Parton, Kate Bush. Not much contemporary music though. A lot of it doesn't stick with me. I heard a cd from TVontheradio and thought it was ok. But I quickly forgot about it.

I see lol

2009;

Akron/Family // Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free
Amina Alaoui // Gharnati
Alva Noto // Xerrox Vol.2
Tori Amos // Abnormally Attracted To Sin
Animal Collective // Merriweather Post Pavilion
Antony and the Johnsons // The Crying Light
Mulatu Astatke & the Heliocentrics // Inspiration Information vol.3
Atlas Sound Logos
Au Revoir Simone // Still Night, Still Light
Balmorhea // All is Wild, All is Silent
Bat For Lashes // Two Suns
Beirut // March of the Zapotec (with Realpeople Holland)
Bell Orchestre // As Seen Through Windows
Bibio // Ambivalence Avenue
Andrew Bird // Noble Beast
Björk // Voltaic
Black Mold // Snow Blinding Is Crystal Antz
Black Moth Super Rainbow // Eating Us
Burial / Four Tet // Moth / Wolf Cub (12")
Julian Casablancas // Phrazes For The Young
Neko Case // Middle Cyclone
Circulatory System // Signal Morning
Clarke // Totems Flare
Claro Intelecto // Warehouse Sessions
Graham Coxon // The Spinning Top
Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse // Dark Night Of The Soul
Deer Tick // Born on Flag Day
Vldislav Delay // Tummaa
Depeche Mode // Sounds Of The Universe
Do Make Say Think Other Truths
Emeralds // What Happened
Excercise One // In Cars We Rust
Expatriate // In the Midst of This
Fenech-Soler // (demo's)
Fever Ray // Fever Ray
The Field // Yesterday & Today
Fink // Sort Of Revolution
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five // The Bridge
Florence and the Machine // Lungs
Fontän // Wintherhwila
Freeland // Cope™
Fridge // Early Output 1996-1998 (BO)
Fuck Buttons // Tarot Sport
Fuckpony // Let The Love Flow
Laurent Garnier // Tales of a Kleptomaniac
Laura Gibson // Beasts Of Seasons
Girls Album
The Gossip // Music For Men
Grizzly Bear // Veckatimest
Handsome Furs // Face Control
Lisa Hannigan // Sea Sew
Pj Harvey & John Parish // A Woman A Man Walked By
Mayer Hawthorne // A Strange Arrangement
Health // Get Color
Imogen Heap // Ellipse
Heinrichs and Hirtenfeller // Dark Orbit
Here We Go Magic // Here We Go Magic
Hildur Guðnadóttir // Without Sinking
Jon Hopkins // Insides
Howling Bells // Radio Wars
Jori Hulkkonen // Man From Earth
In Flagranti // Brash & Vulgar
Joakim // Milky Ways
Jónsi & Alex // Riceboy Sleeps
Kings Of Convenience // Declaration Of Dependence
Krikor // Land of Truth (with the Dead Hillbillies)
The Leisure Society // The Sleeper
Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas // Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas II
Lokai // Transition
Louderbach // Autumn
The Low Anthem // Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
Martyn // Great Lengths
Dent May // Girls On The Square
Mike Snow // Mike Snow
Moderat // Moderat
Andrew Morgan // Please Kid, Remember
A Mountain Of One // Institute Of Joy
N'Dambi // Pink Elephant
Me'Shell NdegéOcello // Devil's Halo
New Found Land // We All Die
Jeb Loy Nichols // Strange Faith And Practice
Nosaj Thing // Drift
Nudge // As Good As Gone
Raz Ohara & The Odd Orchestra // Raz Ohara & The Odd Orchestra
OOIOO // Armonico Hewa
Pains Of Being Pure At Heart // The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
PANTyRAID // The Sauce
Papercuts // You Can Have What You Want
Pastels/Tenniscoats // Two Sunsets
Pentatonik // A Thousand Paper Cranes
Peter Bjorn and John // Living Thing
Madeleine Peyroux // Bare Bones
The Phantom Band // Checkmate Savage
Phoenix // Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Point 7 (Chris Cunningham) // What?
Port O'Brien // Threadbare
Prince // LotusFlow3r
Prince // MPLSoUND
Rec.Tangle // Heavy Maple
Redshape // The Dance Paradox
Royal City // Royal City (1999-2004) (BO)
Röyksopp // Junior
Russian Circles Geneva
Serengeti & Polyphonic // Terradactyl
Sonic Youth // The Eternal
Bruce Springsteen // Working on a Dream
St. Vincent // Actor
Sunset Rubdown // Dragonslayer
Sven van Thom // Schatz Halts Maul
Tortoise // Beacons Of Ancestorship
Trentemøller // Harbour Boat Trips 01 - Copenhagen By Trentemøller
Various Artists // Permanent Vacation - Selected Label Works Vol. 1
Various Artists // Collision Course - The Best of Luscious Sounds
Various Artists // 10 Years Of BPitch Control
Various Artists // Death Before Distemper --- Volume 3 --- A Fistful Of Ferrets (by The Idjut Boys)
Vetiver // Tight Knit
Vitalic // Flashmob
Voodeux // The Paranormal
Vowels // The Pattern Prism
Andrew Weatherall // A Pox On The Pioneers
Wendy & Lisa // White Flags Of Winter Chimneys
The Whitest Boy Alive // Rules
Wild Beasts // Two Dancers
EdwardWilliams // Life on Earth: Music from the 1979 BBC TV Series
Wisp // The Shimmering Hour
The Wooden Birds // Magnolia
Wye Oak // The Knot
The Xx // Xx
Yeah Yeah Yeahs // It's Blitz!
Thom Yorke // Feelingpulledapartbyhorses (12")
Yppah // They Know What Ghost Know

2010;

Sufjan Stevens // The Age Of Adz

Fenech-Soler // Battlefields

Autolux // Transit Transit

Yeasayer // Odd Blood

We Have Band // WHB

The Inbetweens // Quantum Cowboy

The Black Angels // Phosphene Dream

Nina Nastasia // Outlaster

Gold Panda // Lucky Shiner

Wolf People // Steeple Tidings

Working For A Nuclear Free City // Jojo Burger Tempest

Stafrænn Hákon // Sanitas

Holy Fuck // Latin

Archie Bronson Outfit // Coconut

Erykah Badu // New Amerykah Part Two: Return Of The Ankh

The National // High Violet

Laurie Anderson // Homeland

Glasser // Ring

Prins Thomas // Prins Thomas

Gil Scott-Heron // I'm New Here

Deerhunter // Halcyon Digest

Liars // Sisterworld

Walls // Walls

Owen Pallett // Heartland

These New Puritans // Hidden

Women // Public Strain

Here We Go Magic // Pigeons

duccichucka said:

namepeace said:

Yes, if you listen to the radio.

No, when you put the effort into finding and supporting talented artists.

I say this because I was just thinking today about the slew of standout albums released since 2009

Maxwell -- BLACKsummersnight

Janelle Monae -- The ArchAndroid

Jill Scott -- Light Of The Sun

Mayer Hawthorne -- A Strange Arrangement, How Do You Do

Talib Kweli -- Gutter Rainbows

Erykah Badu -- New Amerykah Pt. 2 -- Return of the Ankh

The Stepkids -- The Stepkids

Raphael Saadiq -- Stone Rollin'

Van Hunt -- What Were You Hoping For

TV On The Radio -- Nine Types Of Light

Me'Shell Ndegeocello -- Devil's Halo, Weather

Bilal -- Airtight's Revenge

Newer artists like Empress Hotel, Electronica artists like Miguel Migs, and other hip-hop artists like Big Boi, Tanya Morgan, and several other artists not listed have made good music during that time. And that's just the music I've listened to; there's more to be mined.

List yours if you like.

Nice list, dude.

But you can't really say that music today is worse than it was before, can you? I mean,

if you look at the billboard chart top 100 singles/albums since its inception, America's taste

in pop music has always sucked. Look at what was charting in the 70s - disco shite.

Look at the chart toppers in the 80s and 90s - more shite.

The reason why we think music today sucks is because we have more music. Music

is being made by anyone with a laptop and a Casio. Therefore, we have a bigger chance

(and we do) of hearing suckiness than we ever did before.

I don't get the argument - to say that music today sucks means that:

1. There is a consensus that there was a time in history when music was good

2. There is a consensus as to when the decline of that mystical good music began to disintegrate

The thing is, we will never be able to pinpoint a moment in time when music was good and we'll never be able to pinpoint when it began to become bad. Good music has always been nestled with shite music, mutatis mutandis. For every Mozart, there's a Scalieri or Clementi. For every Coltrane, there's a Mulligan. For every Beatle, there's a Monkee. For every Stevie Wonder, there's a Remy Shand. For every Aretha Franklin, there's a Alicia Keys. For every Van Hunt, there's a Prince.....

hey o!

(why did my post come out all retarded? I like form, you know).

I got it . . .

I think that your main point -- which, as I understand it, is that the world of popular music has always been one of wheat and chaff -- is one i generally agree with. And it is from that vantage point that I challenged a premise many have adopted as truth in this forum -- today's music is terrible. The problem is that, unlike many of the examples you offered, today's quality artists don't have the name recognition enjoyed by many of the lesser lights, who have always landed on the charts, but "seemingly" the wheat/chaff ratio is tipping towards the latter.

Saying "today music is terrible" is like saying "the world will end in December 2012".