EmmaMcG said:

So called "popular" music has always been very much a mixed bag. A lot of those artists mentioned in the OP were never big commercial acts. Even Prince had relatively little chart success. Shakin' Stevens had more UK top 10 hits in the 80s than Prince did. So even during his heyday, Prince was never in the same category as the likes of Michael Jackson and Madonna. Now, I think his music is miles ahead of pretty much any 80s act but talent has never been equal to chart success. And it's the same now. The charts are predominantly filled with crap, manufactured pop acts. But great music still exists and just like most other decades, you have to look outside the charts to find it. Acts like Mayer Hawthorne, Ekkah, Tuxedo, Chromeo, Niki & The Dove, Boulevards, Chromatics, Gaslight Anthem, Harts etc are all relatively new and all put out quality music.

Uh, excuse you! To Prince fans, Michael Jackson and Madonna were "never in the same category" as Prince! All Michael could do better than Prince, was dance, but Prince wrote his own songs, played his own instruments, and could sing his ass off, in both low and high pitch. He wasn't some one note, commercialized puppet, who only thought that "making the charts and having chart success" was his end all and be all.

[Edited 12/10/20 11:44am]

EmmaMcG said:

So called "popular" music has always been very much a mixed bag. A lot of those artists mentioned in the OP were never big commercial acts. Even Prince had relatively little chart success. Shakin' Stevens had more UK top 10 hits in the 80s than Prince did. So even during his heyday, Prince was never in the same category as the likes of Michael Jackson and Madonna. Now, I think his music is miles ahead of pretty much any 80s act but talent has never been equal to chart success.

Just gonna take about 20% issue with this, only in the regard that they were in the same category when it came to domination of the charts and pop culture. It started with Thriller, then Like A Virgin and Purple Rain. Madonna modeled her early career after Prince. Prince showed up at a couple Victory Tour shows to watch, and MJ saw Prince's talent and asked for that duet. Prince & M would later duet. They all had a great and healthy synergy and competition between them. We just sorta vacillated from one to the other depending who had what out at the time. They all raised eye brows with what they did, and everyone dressed and acted like them. The plethora of boy toys at M shows rivaled that of folks in purple at a PR show. That is equally rivaled by white gloves at the Victory Tour.

That said, they were all the same category when it came to pop perfection, exposure, media, and making great music. Their aesthetics were copied and propegated from Chess King to Jeans West to The GAP. No one was trying to dress or act like Bruce Springsteen (arguably the distant 4th in line for biggest 80s act) and anyone who dressed like a new wave or new romantic act was one of many bands who did. So in those regard, they were very much in the same category of epic proportions.

EmmaMcG said:

So called "popular" music has always been very much a mixed bag. A lot of those artists mentioned in the OP were never big commercial acts. Even Prince had relatively little chart success. Shakin' Stevens had more UK top 10 hits in the 80s than Prince did. So even during his heyday, Prince was never in the same category as the likes of Michael Jackson and Madonna. Now, I think his music is miles ahead of pretty much any 80s act but talent has never been equal to chart success. And it's the same now. The charts are predominantly filled with crap, manufactured pop acts. But great music still exists and just like most other decades, you have to look outside the charts to find it. Acts like Mayer Hawthorne, Ekkah, Tuxedo, Chromeo, Niki & The Dove, Boulevards, Chromatics, Gaslight Anthem, Harts etc are all relatively new and all put out quality music.

Exactly! Good music is still here... You just have to look in the underground to find it.

Music today does suck. While music is a mixed bag, there is still solid music and people know it when they hear it. Sure, charts and counting plays or streams etc are different, but who is humming a Taylor Swift song? Who's humming "The Thong Song" or "Umbrella?" Those almost seem like novelty songs at this point, not bangers. You can't put a Rihanna album against an 90s TLC record and expect Ms Fenty to survive.

Solid music is just not there like it used to be. I don't mind production changes in music or new ideas. That's what makes music interesting and appealing. But so much of it now is just garbage. It's the same few writing teams or producers rewriting the same song for a half dozen artists. Or it's some wannabe prodigy who is producing everything in their bedroom with a bootlegged copy of ProTools or GarageBand on their MacBook Air.

I guess that while some artists depend on those things to make music, it also robs them of their real creativity to make a rich and full song. Music doesn't have teeth anymore. There's no grit, no by-the-seat-of-your-pants mentality to it. Where are folks like Dallas Austin, Nelle Hooper, Brown Banister, anyone who doesn't feel the need to be on the record, chanting their own name (looking at your Rodney)? Where the fuck is Jill Scott or Erykah Badu? Where is goddamn Maxwell? I'd even settle for a new Hootie & The Blowfish album at this point, or Jon Secada to make a comeback. What about Jon B? The Tony Rich Project? Soul II Soul? Hell, even those boy girl acts like Boy Meets Girl ("Waiting For A Star To Fall"), Will To Power, etc?

It's no wonder I listen to a yacht rock station when I do some quilting or another task. To put on the top 40 of today? Pffft, bitch please. And they say rap encourages violence? Put on something from today and see if I don't start punching a wall. LOL

I'm glad for folks like Mayer Hawthorne (who has such a love for 80s music), Chromeo (who has a huge stake in the 80s), or Confection (Aussie act who makes 80s-inspired music), or Sneaky Sound System. But even Fitz and the Tantrums have all but disappeared. But that stuff is so far and few between....

Alexa. Play yacht rock station on Amazon Music in the lounge.

TrivialPursuit said:

It's no wonder I listen to a yacht rock station when I do some quilting or another task.

Same here there is an excellent yacht rock station on SiriusXM that I really enjoy...I go crazy when I hear songs like "Reminiscing" by Little River Band.That's REAL music to me!

TrivialPursuit said:

JayCrawford said:

TrivialPursuit said:

Music today does suck. While music is a mixed bag, there is still solid music and people know it when they hear it. Sure, charts and counting plays or streams etc are different, but who is humming a Taylor Swift song? Who's humming "The Thong Song" or "Umbrella?" Those almost seem like novelty songs at this point, not bangers. You can't put a Rihanna album against an 90s TLC record and expect Ms Fenty to survive.

Solid music is just not there like it used to be. I don't mind production changes in music or new ideas. That's what makes music interesting and appealing. But so much of it now is just garbage. It's the same few writing teams or producers rewriting the same song for a half dozen artists. Or it's some wannabe prodigy who is producing everything in their bedroom with a bootlegged copy of ProTools or GarageBand on their MacBook Air.

I guess that while some artists depend on those things to make music, it also robs them of their real creativity to make a rich and full song. Music doesn't have teeth anymore. There's no grit, no by-the-seat-of-your-pants mentality to it. Where are folks like Dallas Austin, Nelle Hooper, Brown Banister, anyone who doesn't feel the need to be on the record, chanting their own name (looking at your Rodney)? Where the fuck is Jill Scott or Erykah Badu? Where is goddamn Maxwell? I'd even settle for a new Hootie & The Blowfish album at this point, or Jon Secada to make a comeback. What about Jon B? The Tony Rich Project? Soul II Soul? Hell, even those boy girl acts like Boy Meets Girl ("Waiting For A Star To Fall"), Will To Power, etc?

It's no wonder I listen to a yacht rock station when I do some quilting or another task. To put on the top 40 of today? Pffft, bitch please. And they say rap encourages violence? Put on something from today and see if I don't start punching a wall. LOL

I'm glad for folks like Mayer Hawthorne (who has such a love for 80s music), Chromeo (who has a huge stake in the 80s), or Confection (Aussie act who makes 80s-inspired music), or Sneaky Sound System. But even Fitz and the Tantrums have all but disappeared. But that stuff is so far and few between....

Alexa. Play yacht rock station on Amazon Music in the lounge.

I don't know how old you are but you sound pretty young. Who actually thinks artists like Maxwell, Jill Scott, Erykah Nadu Soul II Soul Tony Rich product are even great? Let alone some of producers you mentioned were not even great. Who in the hell is actually going to be humming to their songs? Real talent happened throughout the 60s-80s MJ, Prince, Donna Summer, Marvin Gaye, Beatles, Rolling Stones and so much more legendary talents. The producers from the golden age Quincy Jones, Giorgio Moroder, Gamble and Huff, Brian Eno, Phil Spector and loads more. That is real talent

He ain't young...like I ain't.

purplethunder3121 said:

looby said:

TrivialPursuit said:

TrivialPursuit said:

looby said:

Prince wrote his own songs, played his own instruments,

So what? Paul McCartney can do that.

MickyDolenz said:

JayCrawford said:

It's a shame that music has been awful for the past 27 years.

That's your opinion. I'm pretty sure the people who buy it or listen to it don't think that. Also why make 20 threads about the same "get off my lawn" topic?

MickyDolenz said:

JayCrawford said:

MickyDolenz said:

JayCrawford said:

It's a shame that music has been awful for the past 27 years.

That's your opinion. I'm pretty sure the people who buy it or listen to it don't think that. Also why make 20 threads about the same "get off my lawn" topic?

JayCrawford said:

I don't know how old you are but you sound pretty young. Who actually thinks artists like Maxwell, Jill Scott, Erykah Nadu Soul II Soul Tony Rich product are even great? Let alone some of producers you mentioned were not even great. Who in the hell is actually going to be humming to their songs? Real talent happened throughout the 60s-80s MJ, Prince, Donna Summer, Marvin Gaye, Beatles, Rolling Stones and so much more legendary talents. The producers from the golden age Quincy Jones, Giorgio Moroder, Gamble and Huff, Brian Eno, Phil Spector and loads more. That is real talent

Let me be clear: I'm mentioning anyone that made remotely better music than anything on the radio in the last 10 years. If that means I have to hear "Back To Life" again instead of something by Lil' _____ or (Name) The (Noun), so be it.

And I'm 52. I'm a Gen X'er. Born in 1968.

If you don't think Jill Scott, Maxwell, or Erykah Badu are great, well, that's on you. Who Is and Urban Hang Suite are two of the best neo-soul records ever released. (And both beat D'Angelo's Voodoo, IMO.)

Prince, Donna Summer, Marvin Gaye, half the Beatles, and most of the Rolling Stones are dead anyway.

purplethunder3121 said:

He ain't young...like I ain't.

TrivialPursuit said:

TrivialPursuit said:

purplethunder3121 said:

He ain't young...like I ain't.

TrivialPursuit said:

and most of the Rolling Stones are dead anyway.

They're all alive except Brian Jones and he passed in the 1960s.

MickyDolenz said:

TrivialPursuit said:

and most of the Rolling Stones are dead anyway.

They're all alive except Brian Jones and he passed in the 1960s.

^^I'm more surprised that Mick Jagger & Ronnie Wood are still having children in their 70s