If you can’t kill a message kill the way it’s conveyed: My thoughts on the music industry!

Modern music has has lost the plot!!

OK... When i was young I promised myself that i would never say that

I remember my parents berating me about modern music and how it was so much better in their day!!

But as I’ve grown old I’ve noticed more and more how the music industry is less about the music and more about the image... It seems that you have to be one of the following to qualify for a recording contract...

Slutty skinny supermodel, Metro sexual urban male or Gangster tough guy.

Am I just an old fart?? Have i become what i promised i wouldn’t?? Has my mind closed over the years, leaving me trapped reminiscing about the "good ole days" ?

I don’t think so... but then I would say that wouldn’t I

Here me out though... this is not just a rant...

My era was the late 80's early 90's... and even then I could see that the music of "my time" was going downhill. There were some great artists but I could see, even back then, a shift in emphasis away from vocals and towards image!

In fact... my parents were right... If i compare the 90's to the 60's or 70's then, quite frankly, it’s a joke! And if i compare the 60's and 70's to today... well... you just can’t because there is NO comparison!

The truly great era's, in my opinion, was the 50's, 60's and 70's.

Artist like...

Aretha Franklin
James Brown
Nat King Cole
Buddy Holly
Big Bopper
Roy Orbison
Ray Charles
Stevie Wonder

All fantastic artists who, had they been born today, would never make it in the music industry... Either to ugly or to fat to get a contract (by today’s standards)

What has happened to music? It just seems so manufactured and empty... No soul... no heart...

Help me out here... Are there any current tracks that can compete with the deep lyrics of songs like...

Bob Dylan - Blowin in the wind
Marvin Gaye - What’s going on
Bob Marley - Redemption song
Johnny Cash - Drive on
Stevie Wonder - Living in the city
Credence Clearwater - Fortunate Son

All of these tracks have amazing deep lyrics the can stir emotions... Compare it to Lady Gagas...

Rah, rah, ah, ah, ah
Roma, roma, ma
Gaga, ooh, la, la
Want your bad romance



Are there any modern artists who can match the smooth vocals of Marvin Gaye? Or the richness of Nat king Cole? What about the gospel sound of Aretha Franklin? The baritone soul voice of Lou Rawls and Barry White? The silk of Karen Carpenter or Barbra Streisand?

We seem to have lost everything that is important in music... The lyrics are empty, the vocals are average at best (when they don’t have a vocoder or auto tuner) and the message is wrong. All of this seems to have been bypassed in favour of image and attitude.

Don’t get me wrong... there are artists from the past who had image and attitude... but they normally had the lyrics and voice to back it up.

Could you imagine if the War in Iraq had happened in the 60's?? The amount of artists who would have wrote songs about it and give their opinion would be mind blowing compared to today levels.
Marvin Gaye was singing about the state of the planet years before anyone had even heard of global warming...

What has happened?? How did our music become so watered down???

Or do you think i am just an old fart who time has come and gone???

My person thoughts are this.... Music is one of the most powerful ways to convey a message... If you write a newspaper article about a war you might make some people angry... If you write a song about it you WILL make people cry.

TPTB know this... and I believe that there has been an orchestrated effort to dumb down our music... Instead of the political message... instead of love songs... instead fantastic voices... we have the hypnotic robotic droning designed to keep us good consumers who do not question world events.

Or, maybe, I’m just a paranoid old fart!


Be interested to hear your thoughts!!


Peace

Actaually, Lady Gaga is the only person I'd consider a musician within mainstream music.

But I don't think modern music has lost the plot. It's where you look.

For excample, if I turned on KISS FM tommorow morning, I will be blasted by mainstream left right and centre.
But If i were to listen to BBC Radio 3 tommorow evening with Zane Lowe, I know I will be hearing the most awesome tracks out today, wether it be Dance, Alt Rock, Pop, Funk... if it's a tune, he plays it.

I always look up new bands @ my local venues as well, because I love finding new music. I know those are the musicians that are in it for the music not the money. it upsets me that the music industry now a days is so fundementally based on money and finances :-/ But thats what helps divide the people that are in it for cash, and the people in it for the passion of playing

It's honestly where you look though mate, because there is SOOOOO much new music out there today, it's hard to find music you don't like.

_______________________________________________________________________________________[/b

Edit To Add: I think that bands are trying to convey a more politi]cal issue in their songs. Muse, Dream Theater, Linkin Park, Rage Against The Machine are all big names putting out some strong political views, and because their audience is so massive, they're actually getting a message through.

My friends were actually talking about the war in Iraq, and how it's not right, and were not getting the whole story the other day, based on a song they heard... that's what I mean, because they are very un political people, but thanks to music, this message is being put across

edit on 19 3uSunday10 20 by vanhippi because: More info

reply to post by vanhippi


That’s a fair and valid point... But, back in the day, you didn’t have to search for music with meaning and depth, it was everywhere!

All of the artist i mentioned in the OP was chart toppers and mainstream. This meant that the young had easy access to them without having to search hard. Like i touched on before... find me a song about the Iraq war that has been in the charts?

However, same question regarding the Vietnam War and you will be spoilt for choice!

But i hear what you are saying and respect it...

Peace


Edit to add...

Just seen your edit

Muse, Dream Theater, Linkin Park, Rage Against The Machine. Are these really big names?? That’s not rhetorical but a real question... i always thought of those bands as kinda underground but just breaking through... Most people i know only heard of Rage against the machine due to the anti X-Factor campaign!

Peace

reply to post by Muckster

Yes, lost the plot because commercial music was hi-jacked by the Tavistock Institute during the 1960s as explained in the recent thread "The British invasion of 1964..." by Protoplssmic Traveler.
I agree with every single point of both OPs. I am from the right generation and location to witness everything first-hand.

reply to post by Muckster


Haha. Star and Flag my friend. I was making a similar rant last night. I went and dissected the hits of 2009-2010 compared to some of the billboard top 10 from the 'self absorbed 70s' its pretty depressing. To be honest i expected to find that perhaps things had become more sexualized, but they'd both be equally vapid....no....things are far worse today.

THE GREAT SELF-ABSORBED CULTURE BOXING MATCH

Perry and Gaga v. Simon and Garfunkel, Black Eyed Peas v. The Beatles, 1970 v. 2010. LETS GET IT ON!

You're an old fart

Seriously though people have a tendency to cherry pick artists from earlier decades. There has always been garbage in mainstream music. Mainstream music is and has always been designed for people who are causal listeners. Every artists image and sound is designed by committee to appeal to the largest demographic. It sole purpose has been to make money not to exist as art.

The only difference now from the past is that the companies have almost perfected the formulas used to create and market these "artists".

I personally believe we are living in what will be remembered as a golden age. The tools to create and be heard are more accessible then ever. In my opinion it will not last once some label/corporation/business person discovers or invents a way to control the means of production by the independent artists.

See something was kind of left out here. While those people that were mentioned such as lady gaga are mainstream, its mainstream pop. ( or as i say, crap,) but have you listened to metal? Not only has it come out of its undergroundish shell and away from the curtain, but there is alot of meaning put behind and into those songs. i would say about 60 percent of people playing in that area of music do it for the fun and passion because as me and some friends were discussing last night ( we are aspiring musicians ourselves) there is really very little money to be made in the industry because of illegal downloading.
As well, i remember seeing somewhere on the news a month ago this ladies music video caused alot of uproar because she was well stripping walking downtown for the video but i think it was a political video im not completely sure though.
System Of A Down was an almost entirely political band, a few of there songs about the Armenian genocide too. All this before there breakup (*tear*) of course.

My Two Cents

reply to post by Muckster



Your just looking in the wrong places.. you wont find music on the TV.. You have to goto festivals, listen to indie radio stations. There is some amazeing bands around Kasabian, MGMT,MUSE,Florence and the Machine,Mumford and sons,The Doves,White Lies,Wolfmother.White Stripes.The Libertines,Pete Dotherty every one of the names mentioned above deserve a spot in the history of music and the list goes on, music is amazeing at the moment but its all Live... Different Strokes for different folks but just look outside the box.. Go to Glastonbury

Pop music and hip hop are today's equivalent of the Black Plague, choking the creative life out of evey living creature they come across. It is criminal to market this hollow rubbish as some sort of art, since it creates more harm than good to a society.

A good deal of the great music of the past was produced by independent labels, who, unlike today's greedy corporate scumbuckets, had neither a political, nor a financial agenda to fulfill. All the fertilizer you hear today on the radio is put out by the big five corporate labels. These individuals do not have a clue about how to discover, develop and harness musical talent.

No, you're not getting old; you're just realizing that humanity is in a serious creative rut, and the music industry, along with the other corporate media wankers (news, movies, tv, etc.) reflect this fact loud and clear.

Your comment about little or no music being produced in regards to the Afghan War, Iraq War, 9/11 is quite telling, since this is where corporate censorship has put on its stranglehold. When you have a bunch of corporate dirtbags, who are profiting from the misfortune of others, running the show, do you really expect them to allow the artists to release music which does not suit their warped and wicked agenda? Therefore, we have to be subjected to candyass fluff, at a time when the world needs something profound and thought inspiring.

Peace and cheers to a time when music was mostly about its deep message and not its shallow image.

Nreply to post by SphinxMontreal


So there are no songs about the current wars? There most certainly are. Here's the first one that came to mind.

Bright Eyes - when the president talks to god

www.youtube.com...

Or

Mason Jennings - the field

www.youtube.com...

Or

Josh Ritter - girl in a war

www.youtube.com...

Desparecidos - happiest place on earth

www.youtube.com...

reply to post by Muckster


This has been plaguing me forever!! My band and are a rock band committed to making music that we want to hear..almost to the point of obsession and we want to write the best music around...and what drives me nuts is venues aren't booking rock bands anymore...they only want rap, emo pop, and death metal...yet every time we play people swarm us...begging us for cd's and our facebook page...we've even had suits from the industry come and talk to us saying "we loooooovvvveeeee youuuuuuu" and then tell us later that the labels don't want rock music anymore...because no one listens to rock! WTH everyone listens to rock...that's why they are suffering...that's why nobody is buying cd's because the industry forgot their real market...NERDS! NERDS BUY CD'S! THEY BUY THEM IN BULK!


i dunno maybe my band is the last of a dying breed.

Raarrr

Muse, Dream Theater, Linkin Park, Rage Against The Machine. While I will admit, as a pretty big DT fan, they are a niche band and not real political. I haven't really delved into their last two as they were kinda boring - maybe Portnoy leaving will help them with their doldrums.

The other three are pretty big, I'd say, and I don't listen to any of them. Not superhuge but very viable.



There's a lot of good stuff in the heavy metal and prog genres - mostly unknown in the US, though - Helloween, Gamma Ray, Opeth, DT, Spock's Beard, Magic Pie, I could list many more but those are a few I dig. Not stuff you'll find on the radio, and that's the problem here. Radio sucks, even satellite kinda bites, although it's better than terrestrial. For the most part, I gave up on terrestrial radio in 1990. I was so damn sick of Led Zeppelin that unless forced to listen I won't. That's what cd's and cassettes - yeah, I still listen to cassettes (does that make me a old fart also?) - are for.

It's become corporate rock, Clear Channel and the RIAA have ruined it. Their head honchos are as evil as they get, but that's not saying much as they are part of a corporation.

Corporations suck.

Janis Joplin would never make it today. I'm no huge fan of hers but I recently saw a doc about the 1970 Festival Express through Canada and she seemed pretty cool and was very capable of belting it out on stage. Helluva voice that we would never see today as she doesn't fit the model the corporations want. Who the hell are they to say who we are able to listen to, who gets a chance? Bunch of suits that know nothing about music.

Originally posted by SphinxMontreal
Pop music and hip hop are today's equivalent of the Black Plague, choking the creative life out of evey living creature they come across.

Underground Hip-hop has some of the most creative musicians/lyricists I've ever listened to. Check this out while reading the lyrics.

"There will be no ape with a fire for a face, singing a word like fate while banging a fork on a plate. No gates, no stakes, no planes that are fake. Just the simple tetrahedron and it's vagina of states. Did you really think that hydrogen was made to make apes, or maybe made to make an ape to make a net for catching whales in space?"

The way I see it, is musical taste all comes down to personal opinion. There is no such thing as objectively "good" or "bad" music. Just because you don't like a song, doesn't mean it's bad. Your opinion is no more valid than the person who likes the music you dislike.

reply to post by Muckster

find me a song about the Iraq war that has been in the charts?

OutKast- Bombs Over Baghdad

But I do see your point. Just the other day in one of my courses me and a friend were talking about some meaningful music we both listen to and a nearby girl said, "How do you guys find all this music?" Even as we were telling her, I could tell she had no clue what to do and wouldn't try to find out unless someone baby walked her through it at her house. (not a bad idea though...)

please tell me the point of this sorta crap and why is it being aimed at our youth? i agree with the op and still cannot believe that this kinda music is being played for our children.....as soon as school lets out around 3pm this song and others like it starts up on the main radio station here where i live. its pathetic and this station loves to claim that its a family radio station. i just cannot believe that they play this crap over and over and over again....and it is going to get worse as the years roll on. they have stole our humanity and our souls and it all starts with the children....


Ke$ha - Take It Off





There's a place downtown,
Where the freaks all come around.
It's a hole in the wall.
It's a dirty free for all.

When the dark
Of the night comes around.
That's the time,
That the animal comes alive.
Looking for
Something wild.

And now we lookin' like pimps
In my gold Trans-Am.
Got a water bottle full of whiskey
In my handbag.
Got my drunk text on
I'll regret it in the mornin'
But tonight
I don't give a
I don't give a
I don't give a

There's a place downtown,
Where the freaks all come around.
It's a hole in the wall.
It's a dirty free for all.

And they turn me on.
When they Take It Off.
When they Take It Off.
Everybody Take It Off.

There's a place I know
If you're looking for a show.
Where they go hardcore
And there's glitter on the floor.

And they turn me on.
When they Take It Off.
When they Take It Off.
Everybody Take It Off.

Lose your mind.
Lose it now.
Lose your clothes
In the crowd.
We're delirious.
Tear it down
'Til the sun comes back around.

N-now we're getting so smashed.
Knocking over trash cans.
Eurbody breakin' bottles
It's a filthy hot mess.
Gonna get faded
I'm not the designated
Driver so
I don't give a
I don't give a
I don't give a

reply to post by Muckster


Star and flag.......................wish it could be 100 of each.
Music today has no meaning, it mostly seems like people singing their own therpy.......
Even the one hit wonders of the 70's were better at story telling.................
You're always gonna have some bands with a political message, no matter the era, but for them now a days it seems all about the message and not about how it's conveyed...................and frankly how to profit from it.

I'm from the same era, and yup...Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin.........even the easy listening from that era had statements....Helen Reddy, Carol King etc..............

Personally, I love the Blues better than anything........Muddy Waters, Tampa Red, Betsy Smith, et al, and there will never be anything like that again in history..............a shame too, as none of them relied on looks or repetative hooks..............they told a story and had real emotion and feeling behind their tunes, even when they were being humerous........................excellent post, thanks for making my day on here.

heres one more....i put a post on this vid that explains the way i feel about this sorta music....of course i think i was the only one that didnt like the vid.....

this crap gets so old....nothing but porno suggestive music. no substance whatsoever no soul just empty and lost. nothing is worse than seeing this cept knowing that kids are listening and watching it.  of course thats who is suppose to be watching it tho right? yeah...get freaky everybody is hahaha what a joke

I'm a DJ for college radio and I play a lot of punk, hardcore and metal. Currently, I lean more towards metal and I've really jumped into the various sub-genres of metal. It has this ability to be complex and powerful music, something that's lacking in today's mainstream music.

I would recommend bands such as Riotgot, Monster Magnet and Grand Magus to start with. Then, there's bands like Knut, Kyuss and Electric Wizard. Plenty of awesome progressive metal too (Baroness, Mastodon, Pelican, Isis).

Mainstream music is complete garbage. Ever notice that most of the mainstream nu-metal songs all sound the same or have the same basic structure ("chunky" sound, horrible vocals, average instrumentation)?

reply to post by Muckster


One more thing: For every Bob Dylan, there's an Abba or whatever crappy 70s rock band that you can think of.

There was garbage from those eras too. The difference is that it's so well-revered, that people have become blind to just how bad it is.

I was a teenager in the 80's but these days I am a huge fan of politically conscious rock and metal bands like Linkin Park:
Cause I'm sick of being treated like I have before.
Like I'm stupid standing for what I'm standing for.
Like this war's really just a different brand of war.
Like it doesn't cater to rich and abandon poor
(Hands Held High)

Five Finger Death Punch:
Have you no honor? Have you no soul?
What is it they're dying for? Do you really even know?
Have you no backbone? Have you no spine?
Whatever happened to, NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND!!
(No one gets left behind)

Hurt:
Men of destruction reap iniquity
When heroes of courage die with dignity
How many weapons did I help create?
How many lives will I devastate?
(War)

Other Bands:
Smile Empty Soul
Breaking Benjamin
Avenged Sevenfold

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