Where has all the music gone?

Originally posted by DeusEx
Metallica sold their souls to the machine, period. They turned on their fans, on music lovers everywhere. Their bottom line was well-insured. In fact, they could have inaugerated a new era in musical history. Instead, they turned on us and shoved music sharing underground.

DE

They did inaugerate a new era in musical history - they invented thrash metal, which led to modern metal.

They get credit for that, but their recent sins are hard to forgive.

DE

Look at the "staying power" of most of todays bands. Just about any band that makes the MTV top 10 will be forgotten in 5 years, save for maybe a special like Where Are They Now. Alot of other bands people have mentioned here Zepplin, The Doors, Pink Floyd, etc are still getting play on the air to this day, and still sell records evern after their split or deaths (Floyd to this day averages about 1000 records sold a year) The thing is the music industry doenst want a band to have staying power, they have adopted the drag racer mentality, and just want a band that rockets to maximum selling power, then dissapears. Because its alot easeir to deal with them than to have a real band that takes time to build momentum and popularity.

On a semi-conspiracy related note, I read an article some time ago where a lab somewhere had discovered certain patterns in hit songs, and that by replicating these traits it was possible to engieneer songs to become hits. It was rather interesting and showed the true motivations of the record industry. Its no wonder people have turned to the internet and less-than-legal ways to aquire music, most of whats out there today isint worth the plastic that its printed on, and one good song on a CD of crap is hardly worth 18$.

Here's the problem in my opinon:

Hip Hop is about a beat and a rap with some background beeps to spice it up. There is no "music" created. It is a enhanced poetry reading.


The music industry is not about music, it is about selling youth rebellion and sexuality in whatever form it takes, and that form is in the hip-hop black culture. It is everything a wild ego teenager wants to hear: "sex, hate, anger, violence, power, and disrespect everyone" it is cool and what you should be about. Hip-hop is the ultimate rebellion right now and appeals to immature people's selfish desires and ignores all the consequences.


Rock and Roll did the same thing, now Hip Hop just does it harder, dirtier, and blacker (except for Eminem who at times out-nastys everyone). I like some hip-hop, but 90% of it sounds the same anymore...same beats, pops, sexy-girly background vocals, and give me my props thug/pretty boy rap. No wonder CD sales have tanked so bad...not everyone is 15-25 years old and into being a gangsta. Some of us have grown up...

(uh anyone wonder why Norah Jones just rocked the charts...I think she plays MUSIC...get a clue Sony and others)

Good music has always been around. I was raised on Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry etc. Good tunes for their time. The Beetles, while their music may not have been the best, they came up with the concept of the album, one song flowing into the next, not just a bunch of singles. A lot of bands, like Pink Floyd, flourished from that. The 70's, WOW, too many to name. I did like seeing that along with Zep, Sabbath and the like people are also into Queen, my pesonal fave, and Deep Purple. Lots of great bands there. The 80's metal kicked rocks ass. Yes, Metallica sold out but what about what came before. No collection is complete without "Ride the Lightning." 90's was grunge, and it was good. Nirvana, of course, but also Soundgarden, Pearl Jam etc. Rock also made a comeback. Now we have good bands too. I like the creativity of Tool, the sweet & sour sound of Evenecense, the simplicity of the White Stripes, whose music is selling now, and I bet it would have sold 40 years ago. The music is there, just remember that with all the variety of music it will appeal to many different people.

I listen to mainly "classic rock" from basically late 60s to early 80s...even though I am too young to have been around when these bands were big (like zeppelin), it is what I like..I agree most music these days sucks, especially rap/hip hop and pop music..I do like 2pac however, but he is the only rap artist I listen to. Usually just the classic rock for me

With the people in their 20's that I talk to, that is not uncommon. After all it was a great era of music.

Music isn't just music anymore to young people. It's as much a visual experience as an audible one.

But there's a LOT of really good music out there. More than ever before. Just gotta get off the radio.

DC

Originally posted by DeusEx
Metallica sold their souls to the machine, period. They turned on their fans, on music lovers everywhere. Their bottom line was well-insured. In fact, they could have inaugerated a new era in musical history. Instead, they turned on us and shoved music sharing underground.

DE

"Some people think we're sellouts. That's right - every show, every time" Jason Newstead

I am a die hard Metallica fan. They are the reason I play guitar.

I really didn't like their new stuff for a long time, but I love it now. It's different, but James, I think went back to his roots, I mean, come on. He's a redneck if there ever was one. I think his anger has subsided a little with age, as has mine. I like WHAT he's singing about in his new stuff. More about personal pain, rather than the pain of the world.

DeltaChaos

I mostly listen to the gernes called Gabrielesque and Floydian music.

What albums were released that I really have been waiting for in say... 5 years?

1999:


2000:


2001:
"No More Shall We Part" Nick Cave

2002:
"Up" Peter Gabriel
"Alice"/"Blood Money" Tom Waits

2003:
"Nocturama" Nick Cave

4 albums that I consider splendid...
there was 3 or 4 more but they were bought for pure pleasure ("Stankonia")
or because they were released by my favourite artists (but not as great as other albums), example"OVO"


I think more could be added to this... can you add to the list?

If that's what you like check out John Prine,he's good especially live.

One mans music is another mans headache...it's all a matter of personal taste...

Has music taken a turn for the worse?...In my opinion, it has become complacent...recording companies, promoters...and sadly some bands/manufactured musicians, as well have come across a FORMULA...it works...and it generates money all the way around.

Music has become a BUSINESS...big business...because it deals, in a way with the human psyche...with emotions...and talent is not necessary to that equasion...it can be manufactured by a computer...INSTANT TALENT....and the masses are happy and everybody makes money.

Creativity, when it is exhibited by a band or an individual in a band, is very quickly nipped in the bud, either thru pressure from the record company or the fans that don't like the experimentation, causing record sales to fall off...and either the group goes on extended vacation...or does a side project or two in order to complete their contractual requirements.

People have suggested listening to groups on the underground scene...good idea..but we must remember that they too have been influenced by somebody...that their "sound" may also contain some feeling influenced by the bigger groups of the past.

History of music, Rock and Roll, etc will show that it has been a progression...Folk, gospel, rock...it's all connected..there are only so many conbinations of notes and sounds one can come up with before it must repeat the same thing over again...

We should also notice that society has a BIG influence on what is popular....in a world where so much is expected, where patience seems to no longer exist....where instant gratification has become the norm...why wouldn't those same traits transfer to the music/lyrics people listen to...the more everything is the same...the easier it is to control...and music would be a perfect medium in which to use that control.

Yes, there was an article that has shown that certain musical tones affect the human brain with either pleasure or pain..and that many of the better selling musicians have somehow mastered this phenominon...again...back to one mans pleasure is another mans pain.

What i have said has touched on several things...altho the bottom line is....listen to music with an open mind...personally my tastes are quite eclectic...there are several styles i tend to enjoy...from death metal.....to classical....so don't expect anymore than you are willing to give to it.

~oracle

Originally posted by TekNo88
Check out local bands. They're usually pretty unique.

...agreed. As others have mentioned, Mainstream music is becoming like lyrical McDonalds...mass produced, cloned and reprocessed...do you want fries with that?

I like music that is still raw, from bands that are still gaining ground, still experimenting and 'perfecting' their sound...so they stay fresh. Metallica was mentioned...I have been a fan of Metallica since early Garage Days/No Life till Leather...through to Lighting, Kill em All, Puppets, Justice. Puppets is by far my fav Metallica album, closely followed by Kill em All...their sound was clean enough, but still had that element of rawness, passion and energy. Dunno what happened with the 'Black Album'...from that one on me and Metallica parted company in some way They seemed too 'mass-produced' after that.

The NZ Music scene is producing some rather good talent in my opinion...it isn't mainstream yet, though some bands are being snapped up by the larger record companies...its still fresh, raw, passionate and energy-filled...from grungy rock, wailing screeching metal, frantic Drum n Bass and hypo break-beat, dirty lyrical Hip Hop, soul-moving ballads...love it all.

Ultimately...if you are looking for something that still has spark...still sits you on your azz in amazement or brings you to your feet to jump around like a rabbit on crack...then your standard Music Store shelves are no longer the place to be looking.



Peace,
ALIEN

well at least im still an original i sing my own songs that go like this lalallalalalalallalalalallalallaa....not like those britney spear people who sing oops i made my boobies one more size

When's Colonel going to come and call us racists for insulting hip-hop and rap???

Originally posted by DeusEx
They get credit for that, but their recent sins are hard to forgive.

DE

Ya, it's sort of ironic how metallica never got any airplay on the radio or on MTV in the 80s, but they still became famous thanks to all of the illegal bootlegs of their songs that were being shared within the underground metal scene. Then in the past few years, they turned on the very system that got them famous.

I can't stand rap. I hate all of these kids trying to be gangsters. There are a bunch in my school, as rap music is very popular around here. They don't care about even trying in school or anything. I can't wait until they're pumping my gas so I can throw it in their face. So I can laugh at them for throwing their lives away.

"Oops! You got pregnant when you were 17 and married the guy because you "loved" him and he "loved" you! O what's that? He left you? Why am I not surprised?! What's that? You're 23, dirt poor, have a kid, you're single, you don't have a High School diploma and you live with your mother? "

Eminem is the only rapper I find tolerable, and that's because he has better things to rap about than his bitches, hos and sex, money and drugs... but that's only sometimes.

I like my emo. The Starting Line is the best band ever... that's probably because they haven't experienced a blink-182 style decrease in quality... yet. Dude Ranch was definitely their high point, with a gradual decrease ensuing with Enema of the State. I have to admit it, though, I find "Give Me One Good Reason" on Take Off Your Pants and Jacket to be absolute bliss when the bridge kicks in. Still, it doesn't compare to Dude Ranch, and neither does their new album. That's just my opinion...

As much as I hope it doesn't happen to the Starting Line, I know it's probably going to. I guess all a fan can do is sit around, wait for them to blow up, get their 15 minutes, cool down, and then I can stay a fan. I really think that TSL is the best band in the world (that I have listened to anyway) and it bugs me to hear the main riff from "Best of Me" played as background music on TRL, while the host talks about random things that no one with half a brain cares about.

I was flipping through the channels the other day, and I saw Yellowcard's "Ocean Avenue" video on "Pre-RL", which is apparently a segment of TRL where they play a song from a band to see how people react to it. To see if it... sells. I like the song, but I don't care to let MTV know about it. The last thing I want is for one of my favorite bands to become "the next big thing" and then burnout. At least blink-182 is fading away...

[Edited on 2/28/2004 by CarrierAnomaly]

I think the main difference between music these days and music even 30 years ago is the real inspiration, motive and content in songs...songs aren't as "genuine" it seems. Lots of old music had great lyrics that really meant something (favorite of mine is Bob Dylan, some don't like him, but he was a lyrical genius), nowadays so many songs make money because they have a cool sounding beat, and the lyrics? They usually talk about how great, rich, and famous the musician is. And most artisits these days (at least in the pop and hip hop genre) are just looking to make a quick buck, instead of put out heartfelt, quality music that actually communicates the feelings and emotions of the artist..back in the 70s all the music reflected back on society and the way people felt. Turn on a radio these days, you will most likely hear something like "Im rolling in my bentley sipping cristal, smokin a J, with two honeys in the back, yea im a pimp like that" or some other BS that means nothing to anyone, other than it might look and/or sound cool. This doesn't apply to all music these days, but most popular music fits in...

Metalllica? haha. I've known they suck for years.

(puts on some 311 and hauls ass away from this thread)

Originally posted by Lysergic
Metalllica? haha. I've known they suck for years.

(puts on some 311 and hauls ass away from this thread)

Metallica rules.