Todays Music

[ryhoyarbie]

I got a bone to pick with the current crop of "singers and bands" and their so called "music". I CAN'T STAND THEM!

I look at some singers and bands and ask "how in the world did you make it to the big leagues?" There are some people that just can't sing worth a poop, like Justin Timberlake. Yes he can't sing, even if you like the guy. What about Fergie. She can't sing! All she is good for is showing that body of hers, which is probably why she got a record deal in the first place.

Timberland! Why is he singing! He can't sing. He just uses pretty women to promote his so called music.

Nickelback's music sounds the same, completely utterly horrible!

Then there are singers who can sing but just make horrible music such as Beyonce Knowles, who seems to like to shake her bottom more than sing a good tune, and Christina Aguilera who sings wasted songs like "Genie in a Bottle".

And then there's rap. Don't even want to talk about it, other than the fact rap is horrible, although old school early 90's rap was good stuff.

I realize there are two factors as to why the current crop of singers and bands are big: Radio stations playing the same tired old tune and the people listening to what the radio dishes out.

Now I'm comparing todays music to the 1950's through early 1990's. it seems like around mid 1990's music started to drop south where it currently is now. As for my music tastes, I listen to anything from Bill Haley and the Comets (1950's) to The Cranberries (1990's).

Now there are some bands I like such as Coldplay and Maroon Five, and the last true great song I enjoyed was "Better Now" by Collective Soul that came out a few years ago which I thought it was really catchy.

Maybe I'm being old fashioned but it seems like no one wants to make good music anymore.

 

[Drtooth]

ahem

Today's music ain't got the same soul.

 

[D'Snowth]

ahem

Today's music ain't got the same soul.

I like that old time rock n' roll!

The problem is, Ryan, is that that's how stuff sells these days... it's not so much about talent anymore as it is appearances. I mean, look at TV today: today's TV series have sad (not "sad" as in boo-hoo, sad as in "Oh Lord, NO!") plots, bad acting, poor premises, but they still sell... why? Because the screen is filled up with what a friend of mine calls "attractive airheads".

A lot of people say the last worth-watching series TV had to offer was Seinfeld (when it initially aired)... that went off the air in 1998, and now here it is a decade later, and TV has since then crumbled.

Why do you think I watch TV Land all the time? Why is it that I study how these shows were put together? Because these are the shows that had what a show needs: solid writing, good structure, people who can actually act whether they have "house-hold names" or not. This is why whenever I write scripts, I'm VERY specific, and try to mimic the way a script for a TV show would've been written twenty, thirty, fourty, even fifty years ago because these were the shows that made watching TV exciting.

It's the same with music... music back in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and even some 90s was good music because the singers, artists, bands, etc had TALENT... they knew how to sing, harmonize, play instruments, and even write songs/music... what they offered back then was more important than how they appeared... I mean look at such artists as Mama Cass, and even Elvis eventually? People loved them because they did what they did very well. These days, the music industry is filled with said "attractive airheads" because apparently publicity agents think audiences don't even pay attention to how sucky their singing, performances are because they've got the looks.

That's just how it is... it's a little thing called "progress"... it may not seem like improvements to intelligent people like us who crave talent, but to fellow airheads who care about nothing more than appearances, they think it rocks.

That's my sermon.

 

[Drtooth]

I like that old time rock n' roll!

I reminise about the days of old....
something you did here:

The problem is, Ryan, is that that's how stuff sells these days... it's not so much about talent anymore as it is appearances. I mean, look at TV today: today's TV series have sad (not "sad" as in boo-hoo, sad as in "Oh Lord, NO!") plots, bad acting, poor premises, but they still sell... why? Because the screen is filled up with what a friend of mine calls "attractive airheads".

And not to mention unattractive air heads, since everyone's now copying the heck out of Napoleon Dynamite.

A lot of people say the last worth-watching series TV had to offer was Seinfeld (when it initially aired)... that went off the air in 1998, and now here it is a decade later, and TV has since then crumbled.

I will say things were getting better. In fact, this year, I actually had something good to watch each night of the week. Except Friday. That's always death. I think now that people are actually interrested in more original programs like Heroes, Pushing Daisies, and the Office. Too bad we have that strike, which frankly will never be settled.

Why do you think I watch TV Land all the time? Why is it that I study how these shows were put together? Because these are the shows that had what a show needs: solid writing, good structure, people who can actually act whether they have "house-hold names" or not. This is why whenever I write scripts, I'm VERY specific, and try to mimic the way a script for a TV show would've been written twenty, thirty, fourty, even fifty years ago because these were the shows that made watching TV exciting.

But let's not count out Reality TV. That has a stake in why TV is so bad these days as well.

It's the same with music... music back in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and even some 90s was good music because the singers, artists, bands, etc had TALENT... they knew how to sing, harmonize, play instruments, and even write songs/music... what they offered back then was more important than how they appeared... I mean look at such artists as Mama Cass, and even Elvis eventually? People loved them because they did what they did very well. These days, the music industry is filled with said "attractive airheads" because apparently publicity agents think audiences don't even pay attention to how sucky their singing, performances are because they've got the looks.

It's called the entertainment industry. They make what the masses like, and screw us little guys. My itunes is filled with stuff I had to download because it isn't commercially available. Of course, my playlist is Cartoon themesongs from all over the place, so it's not unusual to hear one song in English, than another in japanese, and all the sudden French. Half my collection is that stuff, the rest is muppets and stray Weird Al songs. I have weird tastes.

But as for talented musicians. They do exist. Probelm is, you'll never hear them. There are great indie rock bands and rap artists that actually speak about things, and not just fall into the same stereotype of Pimp juice or Emo Napoleon Dynamite wanna bees. I said this somewhere else, but once something gets into the popular culture, say good bye to it being cool. Now I can't even like the 80's anymore, since 15 year old kids are wearing Heman T-shirts. Do they even know who Heman was? I used to think I was special sharing bizzare old cartoons to everyone, and they even managed to take that away.

Look at geekdom. it used to be fat guys and star Trek. Now it's all cool attractive nerds buying up those crappy expensive blind box vynal figures (thanks for ruining toy collecting, Kid Robot). us ugly dorks can't get anything now.

But me? I stay as induvidual as I possibly can. Most of the time, not by choice. Even when Anime became popular, I found unpopular stuff to like.

it all comes back down to what's marketable. We have a group of people who think and act outside of the box, and as soon as it catches on, it cultivates posers. And this isn't even a new thing. Look at the Hippies of the 1960's. Tell me, half of them could care less about the peace movement. They just took a popular culture and turned it into a fashion statement.

 

[ryhoyarbie]

Agreed on both posts. Although, I liked "The Simpsons" and "Home Improvement" before they started to go down hill in their later years.

Yes, it does seem like music, tv, cartoons, and entertainment in general cater to those people who care more about looks than talent, like the aforementioned Fergie.

 

[Drtooth]

I hink now and again a few talented people trickle through the machine and produce some good stuff. I like Nora Jones, who is talented and hot. But it seems like she's a Starbucks exclusive CD away from becoming commercialized hip.

But, if this stuff bothers you so much, you have to find a way around it. Luckily with My Space, you can listen to up and coming local indie bands (though there are a lot of hacks there as well). And then, you can always do what I do, listen to old music.

The fact of the matter is, you have to keep on your own path. Even if that path has been sanatized, and repackaged in a shiney glossy shadow of it's former self.

This song sums up what I'm talking about

 

[Fragglemuppet]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you just saying the opposite; that you strayed away from paths once they became sterilized and repackaged?

I agree with much of what you all are saying about music, TV, Etc., but it is important not to generalize. I believe that things have deteriorated in about the past 10 years, but not everything bsack then was good, just as not everything today is bad.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you just saying the opposite; that you strayed away from paths once they became sterilized and repackaged?

I actually thinkg music has become both too nasty and too sweet. On the one hand, music is getting more and more tasteless and downright evil hehe. On the other hand, other types of pop music have lost all their edge and quality and given way to pretty and perfect.

I agree with much of what you all are saying about music, TV, Etc., but it is important not to generalize. I believe that things have deteriorated in about the past 10 years, but not everything bsack then was good, just as not everything today is bad.

It is important not to generalize, definitely. But I still find this debate every difficult. It really does seem to me that there was more good music years ago, than there is now.

To a certain extent this is nothing new. The mainstream has never been hailed for its quality, just its popularity. We love the classic Rock n Roll now. But back in the day, it was mainstream and people who liked Folk Music, Jazz, Blues and Classical felt left out.

 

[Drtooth]

Can I say I hate what Jazz has become? it's so sanitized and white now. These people don't have the soul of classic Jazz musicians. It's pathetic crap people listen to to think they're sophisticated.

Just like Andre Riue and his slaughter of Classical music. I can't stand it.

Everything is marketable, even our memories. No wonder why music sucks now. best bet, you go to some club or something, and find a struggling musician selling CD's of his/her work from the car for 5 bucks. Chances are, it's better than anything you can hear mainstream.

As I said. me? I listen to Classic Rock and Cartoon Theme songs. Plus Weird Al. Let's not forget the weird one.

 

[Son of Enik]

While I feel really good music ended in the 80's, I did like a few scant artists in the 90's and the 2000's. The Spice Girls are perhaps my guiltiest pleasure from the 90's, but I also enjoyed Hootie & The Blowfish, Stone Temple Pilots, Everclear, Counting Crows and a few others. After 2000...I liked Gorillaz, Bad Ronald, Afroman and Gnarls Barkley to name a few. Of course, any band from the 70's and 80's still making records deserve credit for their longevity.
In short, not all of the music out now is bad...but alot of it is.