What Is Wrong With Modern Music?!?

[DawnOfTheDead]

Okay.... I'm fed up. In the 70's, disco was at its height- thus, mainstream music sucked. In the 80's, cheesy synth-pop was at its height- thus, mainstream music sucked. And in recent years, horrible Nu-Metal acts, Teen Pop groups, and Pop-Punk bands are soaring the charts- thus, mainstream music sucks. I don't understand why the music that is popular at any time is the worst music around. In my 3rd bell this morning (yes, im in highschool, a sophomore), imagine my dismay when I see a fellow student thumbing through the latest issue of Rolling Stone, skipping right past the Joe Strummer article to a Justin Timberlake pictorial. I just don't get it- how classic rock 'n roll figures such as Strummer can be overshadowed by talentless, faceless teen idols. A few weeks ago, I was trying to start a good, old-fashioned music conversation with a female pier of mine. As the conversation progressed, I began to realize that this girl was not very culturally inclined. But what capped it all off was when I mentioned John Lennon, and she asked, "Isn't he the singer for Korn?". I was in complete shock. I later discovered that she had never heard of The Rolling Stones, The Doors, or even The Beatles period. Among her favorite groups were Blink 182, Good Charolette, New Found Glory, etc. Pop-punk, the worst assault to music since Bill Shatner recorded his album. A slap in the face to great american punk bands. Punk rock, being my preferred musical choice, is being massacred! Look at me, I'm rambling. Any agreements? Disagreements?

DeRiCh

[Girlntereptid13]

i totally agree with you, especially about the shit that is so fucking popular now. but first, i'll back up a little bit. everyone knows the 60's was a landmine for quality music, what with legends such as hendrix, joplin, the doors, black sabbath, zeppelin, the who (i'm big moon fan), the beatles, etc. after woodstock i guess it was pretty discouraging, with stars dropping like flies of overdodes and whatnot. of course later there was disco, which tarnished and clings to the 70's, but i still think it was a very productful decade, with the birth and explosion of punk roughly after '76, with the clash, ramones, and my personal favorites, the sex pistols. sure, the 80's were littered with glam rock and hair bands, but i appreciate such bands as siouxsie and the banshees, bauhaus, etc. plus, and i guess this is rather shameful, some popular bands of the era weren't that bad, and i'd have to say i've fallen victim to some of the 80's more thorny and kitschy songs... then there was the whole rap outburst, which i still think is completely pointless, but all in all some things in the early 90's weren't so dreadful... take for example nine inch nails, nirvana (pre-nevermind, in my opinion), 'live through this' hole, and in my opinion, even pantera... after '95 or so though, it's pretty much been hell. the teen pop is one of the worst, with boy bands and slut fucks polluting the airwaves, but for me, the worst came 2002, with the whole 'new generation' of rock thing. i personally despise taproot, queens of the stone age, audioslave, system of a down, papa roach, linkin park, and pretty much every other band that has aired on mtv... then there's the new "punk" bands, like blink 182, good charlotte, new found glory, and possibly the scariest thing after fat-las-vegas elvis, avril lavigne. those bands are making a mockery of a whole brilliant genre and fans, and i personally find it disgusting. never until now have i ever found the phrase 'punk is dead' to be so true... even worst than these bands are the fans- i'm not going to even start on the teenyboppers, that's just wrong, but what strikes a chord with me personally are the current 'rock' fans. i don't know to many people in my school who appreciate 'classic rock' (i shudder at the word...it sounds as if i am reffering to dinosaurs or something), the only thing we have are the stupid korn and bizkit fans... whenever i try to talk to them, about let's say black sabbath, they totally shoot me puzzled looks, until you mention ozzy, which is pretty sad, considering how pathetic he currently is... another example- i tried to befriend this so-called 'goth' a while back, just for the sheer reason that everyone in my community is pretty much a walking gap ad, and when i tried to bond over such bands as sisters of mercy or the aforementioned banshees and bauhaus, he was totally dumbfounded. apparently this genius thought manson single-handedly invented 'goth' music, and would'nt even listen to my argument that everything after 'antichrist superstar' is glam rock (and no, i am not a big manson fan). what i'm trying to say is i can sympathize with you, some of us were just born into the wrong decade...

p.s. did you hear about the 'DOTD' remake?

[SubMethod]

The problem with modern music isnt really a problem with the music at all. In fact it's a problem with society and the people who listen to the popular music. There are so many great bands out there but since modern society loves to wallow in mediocrity they don't get radio play and don't get recognition.

[DaN]

Yes, it is unbelievable: the lack of talent and creativity. It hurts to think about it and is near death to listen to. There is no more punk rock. It is pop. Nothing else. Sure some bands have survived like Bad Religion and NOFX (to name the big bands) but new ones just blow.

We can all agree that music is at rock bottem. If it got worse...well I can't picture it and I don't want to know. I mean, people don't even know who Zeppelin is! Or the Beatles!? No, that's just unacceptable.

But I'm going to try to look at the better side of modern music (it's small but it's there). Queens of the STone Age (they've been around since I think 96) are a good band and have a much better different sound. Audioslave is good. Flogging Molly is decent. System of a Down isn't too bad. A little known band called Pomeroy is pretty good.

I know not all of these are brand brand new, but they're still very recent. At least they know what a fucking instrument is.

[electriclite]

I think the real issue here is that the people who only listen to mainstream aren't really music fans to begin with.

Think about what the mainstream really is: Music that is chosen to be presented easily to the public. In other words, no effort is necessary to hear these tunes

Think about it. Most people aren't really looking for music, they're just looking for something to dance to or bob their heads to, and that's mainly it.

Bonus points if you can attach good looking people to easily likable tunes and you can sell loads of units, which is what the record industry is all about. They know that much of the population is either too lazy or too busy to find and enjoy more talented musicians/songwriters, so they give them what they can get easily (mentally and literally).


That girl who passed over the Joe Strummer article for the Justin Timberlake spread, most likely does not know who Joe Strummer or cares, nor does she probably know music that came before 1997. But that's her perogative, not yours.

What matters is, if you like music then don't waste your time bumming about someone else's musical illiteracy and use your time expanding your own.


Life is less frustrating when you avoid bitching about other people's shit.

[Hucksta G]

Some of the problem is a lot of it sounds the same.

[Girlntereptid13]

i agree that perhaps the problem isn't just untalented bands, it's also the listeners. but i think it is unfair to totally dismiss the fact that right now, as dan said, music has indeed reached rock bottom. let me think of another example... in 2000 george bush was elected president. a lot of people think he's a moron. so yeah, you could say that there is something wrong with the people who voted that year, talk about their generation and morals, do some polls and percentages and shit, but that doesn't change the fact that george bush is still a moron. it just adds volume to the 'problem'.

by the way, i was just using dubya as an example. i am sorry if i offended any republicans or other dubya fans in this post. it was purely hypothetical. ok, 99% hpothetical. i still think he's a moron.

;)

[S. PLISSKEN]

I personally don't think modern music is bad at all. It is most of the popular/mainstream music that is the corporate-produced garbage. I enjoy the challenge of looking for bands that most people have never heard of. I don't think I can agree that music is at rock bottom right now. Let me name a few examples:

Wilco
Ryan Adams
Beck
The White Stripes
The Strokes
Foo Fighters
Ben Folds
Rhett Miller
Phish

[Haddonfield]

well I think modern music didnt really turn untill the mid to late 70's and the disco craze. Before that there were some pretty damn good bands rocking the charts, ie The Beatles, Stones, Clapton in his variuos bands, Zepplin, Queen, and many other great rock n roll bands...but then disco came and it all went to shite.

but there is always going to be sub groups in any popular catagory. For every number one stones song there is a barry manalow (sp?) for every good clapton tune we get 3 from garth brooks. I find it odd that country music has its own chart...

[CeMeTaRy_GaTeS]

What's wrong with mainstream music?

The answer is that now it is more about the look than the sound. What looks good sells good. Singing ability, who needs it when ya got sex appeal.

Plus electrite is right. The mainstream isn't even for music fans that would put their precious time into searching for what it good. Because there is a lot of new artists out that are worthy.

[shoe1985]

In my opinion it all comes down to the person's taste in music. Most of the new music is about look, but there are some talent. I don't like most of the big music from the past, some examples would be The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and there are others. If you like them bands, good for you, having different tastes in music makes it more interesting. I like to listen to rap, but most rap music out now is total crap. The new albums are nowhere near as good as they were a few years ago. An example would be the Ja Rule cd, I listened to it once all the way through, thought it was ok, and have listened to a few songs since. The music now days doesn't have the lasting appeal songs from the past has, because of overplaying from MTV and radio.

[DaN]

Originally posted by S. PLISSKEN
I personally don't think modern music is bad at all. It is most of the popular/mainstream music that is the corporate-produced garbage. I enjoy the challenge of looking for bands that most people have never heard of. I don't think I can agree that music is at rock bottom right now. Let me name a few examples:

Wilco
Ryan Adams
Beck
The White Stripes
The Strokes
Foo Fighters
Ben Folds
Rhett Miller
Phish

I agree with you there, BUT: One must realize that bands like Beck, Foo Fighters,and Phish have been around for quite some time. And thankfully they haven't really fallen to the crap today. I dont care for the white stripes but that's just because my taste doesn't match theirs. It's not crap. I hate Ben Folds though (sorry) and I don't care either for the strokes. But again, that's just me. I don't know all that much of wilco, adams, or miller.

Shoe: What youd said was so true. But what I have found with many many many many people is that their taste is what corporate labels, MTV, and "the new shit" tells them to like. In other words, they're puppets. There are those who are like, "Dude I love POD but I hate rap but that new Eminem song is tight." It's just that their tastes aren't THEIR tastes, it's what the TV tells them to like. That's what's getting to be dissapointing.