The younger generation...is there any hope (1 Viewer)

[Jon Mahoney]

It's just a big cycle. 60's and 70's were great for music. Then the 80's came, and it was awful pop for the most part. (Please don't start an 80's Ruled fight) Then Nirvana and Pearl Jam exploded, off their influences from the Pixies to The Who. That eventually died down and the late 90's early 2000's have been back to the pop boyband crap. Listen to "Rock" radio now and its just a bunch of Pearl Jam rip-offs who are really awful, Nickleback, Creed and the rest of the crew. Nothing original at all.

It's just a matter of time before something great breaks out again. It'll happen, it may just take some time.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Let's go a few rounds, me and you.

Usually, I try my best to hear about music from other people. I would argue that MTV isn't inherently bad so much that everything else is just that much better.....wait a minute, I take that back, a lot of it is inherently terrible.

That Mahoney dude from Police Academy is right. Things happen in cycles.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Yeah Dome, you're really going down the tubes now.

You have to learn to break free from your age group and at least try and find some music from another generation. Just let us know your favorites and someone here will guide you in the right direction.

Gee Pamela, you're soo young! How about a da.. Oh wait - no can do. You want to hear old? I laughed at Bobby Sherman. How about Bobby Vee or Bobby Vinton? Ouch!

My hometown rejoiced when the second rock and roll station started up. How times have changed.

Glenn

 

[KrisM]

I find alot of the bad music from every generation is forgotten. The '60s had alot of great music, but for every Beatles there was a Freddy and the Dreamers or the Monkees. Same with the '70s. For every Zeppelin there was a Donna Summer. And its the same thing today.
The same argument could have been made in the '60s that '50s music is better and the music of the '60s is terrible. I'm sure there were many parents that complained about what their kids were listening to in the 60's. I know my grandma complained alot about my dad listening to Zeppelin in the '60s.
I find it more enjoyable to listen to music that I like and stay away from music I don't. I don't care if its from the '30s, 50's or was recorded yesterday.

Regards
KrisM

 

[chung_sotheby]

"Generation (Insert letter here) has no appreciation for good music. Why don't they listen to the music that is good, that we like, instead of the mainstream trash that is out there today. Wah Wah Wah."

I hear this $#!? way too much, and the answer is very simple. The reason why younger generations don't really listen to the "good" music of yesteryear is because they are not exposed to it. Case in point: Entertainment Weekly did an article on the influence of the Beatles on kids from 12-24, and while the article was mostly fluff, its main point was relevant; kids that have listened to the Beatles love them. I think that for the most part, if people are exposed to something of high quality, they will like it. This is true for almost all forms of arts and entertainment, from movies, TV shows, musicals, plays, exhibits, books, poetry, and music. The problem is that the nature of the music industry today is oversaturation and overexposure of product that appeals to the lowest common denominator. Much like summer movie fluff (Michael Bay, Simon West, Jan deBont, Brett Ratner, etc) the music industry of today is looking towards big marketing for big profits, especially since the advent of the MP3. But what the industry fails to recognize is that the quality of their product is the main reason behind sagging sales, NOT the ease of free downloading. But I am ranting.....

In my case, my parents and my older siblings exposed me to some really great music growing up (Everything from Sinatra to Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, The Door, The Who, Zepp, Floyd, the Stones, Beatles, Elvis, Chuck Berry, BB King, Charlie Parker, Talking Heads, Joy Division, Siousxie and the Banshees, The Pixies, Sugarcubes, Cure, Stravinski, Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi, etc.) and I was able to admire all these muscial talents while picking up some favorites of my own (Alice in Chains, Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, Beck, Radiohead, OutKast, Interpol, Nick Drake, Aimee Mann, etc). I think that while tastes might be different (I can't STAND Country) admiration for good music is pretty universal, but the only way people can admire good music is if they hear it.

While there is some really good music coming out today (Blackalicious, Interpol, Sondre Lerch, The Roots, Rufus Wainwright, Kenna, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, System of a Down, The Streets, Staind, QOTSA, Audioslave, White Stripes, Strokes, Coldplay, N.E.R.D., The Walkmen, Kings of Leon, The Postal Service, Robert Randolph, etc), a majority of these artists do not fit into the top40 mold, and therefore get limited airplay, since so many stations are only top40 so that their advertisers will get the coveted 14-20 yr olds to listen to their shlocking. I think that the best way to listen to new artists is either by checking them out on music sites on the web, or listening to college radio stations (if you can). That's it. I'm out

 

[David_Stein]

things do happen in cycles, but i say that things are too different now for another real cycle to come.

certainly things were much different back in the 60s/70s. i dont think anyone is going to argue that, but people who (desperately want to, i think) believe in cycles like to point at the early 90s and the grunge breakthroughas proof that it wasnt so different from earlier times and indeed the cycles theory is supported.

however, i argue that things were in fact signifigantly different than today, different enough to suppress any cycles.

i still remember when grunge hit it big, i was just beginning to listen to music on my own but i remember. it caught the industry off guard. they were scrambling to sign any band that were slightly grunge or from seattle, as well as trying buy or distribute these big indie labels (like subpop).

but even though the industry was caught off guard the explosion still happened, why?

i remember distinctly that Pittsburgh (not a large city at all) had not one, but TWO independent (or at least i believe they were completely independent, they might have been owned by small companies, since thats all that was allowed) alt.rock radio stations: 106.7 the force and 104.7 the revolution. independent stations with independent DJs playing their mix of what they liked, what was popular in alt.rock, and what was new. therein lies the difference.

now all thats left is clear channel and infinity (for the most part), and college radio, if you happen to be near a good one. pittsburgh has one alt.rock station and (105.9 the X) which is owned by clear channel, and plays the same songs every day (i know this because i would work out at the same time every other day and the X would be on in the weightroom). its maddening, and its the same everywhere in the country.

but thats not all, what about the record labels? oh yeah, they have been merging too. how many people control what bands get marketted and which dont? a dozen? 2 dozen? certainly many less then there were when nirvana struck it big.

and what of technology? television? no, mtv and vh1 are both owned by viacom and neither of them even prefer to play videos as opposed to either stupid pseudo-dramas and flashback shows, respectively. the internet? nope, the record companies effectively shut down internet radio, and are spending huge amounts of money squashing mp3 trading.

what happened to the power of the consumer? what happened to healthy competition? what else is left?

face it, the cycles have been suppressed, and unless someone realizes (or rather cares) how bad deregulation is for the CONSUMER, as opposed to the profit margin of companies, things arent going to change.

 

[Mike Broadman]

I like her music, but it's hardly jazz, just kind jazzy-sounding pop.
Even instrumental jazz in the mainstream is that smooth-jazz-lite stuff. The real jazz music is relegated to classical-setting concert halls and, for the few that can access it, underground clubs. At best, people pay lip-service to it but no one really listens to it anymore.

There are 12 radio stations in the entire country that play jazz full-time.


Anyway, I find the nostalgia stuff funny, especially when it bashes new music while sometimes lauding material that I find to be dull. So much 70s rock is, IMO, so dreadful and corny that I'd rather watch MTV.

David, you're right: the continuing push towards mediocrity via merges and unification will only harm music.

 

[John Watson]

What happened to "noblesse oblige" or aspirations to excellence?

I am reading a biography of Glenn Gould, and it is stated clearly that the big cheeses of the corporation he was signed to enjoyed and subsidized classical music.

Not so sure that happens today.

Mass culture entails a lot of dumbing down. But I'm sure that those who need to express something more than the flavour du jour will continue to do so, and if there ambitions are realistic, some of them will find an audience.

Once more, I will say that I find myself more often listening to music from before my time, because apart from the innovations of rap,and (excessive) reliance on technology, most music goes in cycles, and I've heard all that has been offered in my lifetime, and most of what I used to like is boring at this stage, so I have to get into real jazz and classical music.

PS : Some of the Who songs stand-up, most of the Kids are still alright, and they'll get over it.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

Dome,

Indiscriminate teenagers who hang out in shopping malls may listen to Hilary Duff and Broccoli Spears, but the cool kids listen to THE WHITE STRIPES and THE STROKES.

I like some of today's pop music, but not from the U.S. Check out Wales' Super Furry Animals, particularly their RINGS AROUND THE WORLD album (or better yet, DVD). It is clear that they have listened to their Beatles and their Beach Boys and have drawn upon this and other great music of the past, yet they manage to sound new and fresh.

I also love Japanese "hipster" music known as "Shibuya-Kei". It is a pastiche of various American, British, French, Brazilian, and Jamaican pop styles from the last half century. A little girl group, a little Motown, a little punk, a little disco, a little dancehall reggae, a little hip hop all blended together and presented to a young audience. Check out CORNELIUS or FANTASTIC PLASTIC MACHINE or PUFFY AMIYUMI or the godfathers of Shibuya-Kei, PIZZICATO FIVE. P5's six disc DVD set comes out in a month and I can't wait!!!

Also, THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS and WEEN could have ended up as novelty bands, but they are still going strong, 15 or 20 years later.

 

[CraigL]

I'm amused that all of the original posters favorite people are males. There are no female artists or artists that wouldn't fall into a type of "rock" category. THAT alone makes me ask if there's any hope for YOU...

 

[David_Stein]

Females are underrepresented in rock music period. for every sleater kinney there are probably 50 all male bands. i would imagine that it gets even worse when you goto some genres, like metal or hardcore, and better in others like Indie rock. there are very few female artists in hiphop comparitively.

i dont think its necessarily saying anything about individual people here. i know i could rattle off a listen of bands/acts/artists with a strong female presence that i enjoy, and i would assume most others could do the same. id say that this is due to statistics and the small sample size.

also, what do you mean by "rock" category? havent most of the bands we have mentioned been "rock" (and all the rest been jazz or classical)? maybe i am missing your point?

ps. just so someone has mentioned a non-"rock" female artist: billie holiday had a much better voice than ella fitzgerald. there i said it.

 

[Stu Rosen]

You're confusing what's "out there" with what you hear on the radio or see on MTV. There's plenty of wonderful music being made right now (and I'm 45, so I don't think I over-value today's music).

Now if you want to argue that what's popular right now pales in comparison to other eras, you may have a better argument (though we all tend to overvalue what we grew up listening to).

 

[Ted Lee]

i consider myself another one of the lucky ones.

my uncles were all into music, a couple of them *big time*. they were playing all the bands already mentioned, so i was exposed from the very start (we're talking elementary school) to them. i always think i was probably the only kid in my school who walked around going "i am the walrus..."

so that was music from their generation.

in high school, i was all about the alternative scene (cure, depeche, smiths, etc...) and i *still* listen to them now.

so that was music from my generation

now, i can barely stand what i hear. i almost never listen to the radio anymore. heck, i just recently figured out who beyonce was.

so, that's music from todays generation.

so there ya go ... three generations wrapped up in one post.

oh ... and if you want to listen to really good music, check out the ecclectic stream at Link Removed -- it's the only monthly based internet service i pay for. yes, it's *that* good.

 

[Marty M]

I am 55 years old and vividly recall my father's reaction to Jerry Lee Lewis almost 45 years ago -- "What's that shit". I don't particularly like a lot of today's rock music, but I refuse to revert to the same reactions as my father.

Each generation has to define a music that is their own. Having said that, it is interesting to see my 17 year old son's CD collection. He has raided my collection and has taken my Doors, Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Who, and even Frank Sinatra. It is interesting that the music of the 60s and 70s is still popular with each generation.

 

[JordanS]

I'm a 22 year old college student. When I was young, I used to listen to a lot of rap music.

I now don't listen to it at all. I mainly listen to these bands:

Pink Floyd (my favorite band of all time, i'm a fanatic)
Led Zeppelin
The Who
Dire Straits (Mark Knopfler = God)
Jimi Hendrix
The Eagles (Hell Freezes Over - one of the best ever)
Radiohead
Classical Music

 

[David_Stein]

i think my reaction to jerry lee lewis right now is "what the shit!?"

 

[Brian L]

Who says the younger generation don't appreciate good music?????

Have you heard Love Over Gold? Fabulous! I am getting back into vinyl afetr a lot of years without, and this LP (I have a mint original copy) is bar none, the best sounding album that I own.

BGL

 

[Yee-Ming]

I'd hardly call Depeche Mode alternative. Were they considered alternative in the US? In the UK they were pretty "mainstream", but then again, in the 80s UK music was a lot edgier and "alternative" compared to 80s US music. Even The Smiths and The Cure seemed pretty "mainstream" from my perspective (not that I was in the UK, but around here the UK influence is and always has been pretty strong -- especially when it comes to football... )

 

[MikeH1]

You just answered your own question.

 

[Ted Lee]

hmm...not really sure. they are quite popular here, so i guess we could call them mainstream. but ... when they first started out (people are people, master & servant, etc..) they were still "relatively" unknown. during that wonderful phase (i hate it when bands i like become uber-popular) i would definitely call them alt.

smiths? definitely alt. cure? same story as dm.

anyway, the term is so generic, who knows if it really applies. okay...how about bauhaus, echo and joy division -- that should satisfy ya!