What's wrong with popular music?

[distortedrumble]

are you guys including those hip hop pop artists in there too? cause I'd like to flip lil' flip off of a bridge. as a matter of fact....any artist that needs to have his name repeated inside his own song is depressing. that tells you how fast we forget about music. they have to repeat the artists name to drill it into your head to remember it.

 

[jfrog]

are you guys including those hip hop pop artists in there too?

That's a whole different forum! Let's limit this one to MUSIC!

 

[Mark7]

One NZ artist everyone should check out is David Kilgour. Great songs played by a consummate musician.

 

[mshilarious]

Any opinions?

We are just waiting for the next breakthrough, just like it's 1990, or 1975, or 1960 all over again. Be patient . . . all things must pass.

 

[sdallen24]

It's not easy to make good music

If anyone should know how difficult it is to make good music, it should be the readers of this forum. (Good) Songwriting is HARD!! How did the Beatles do it? So AMAZING!! Think about your favorite modern album and ask yourself if the bands next album was even close. There are very few bands today that can consistently produce good music. (Even on one album) I think there are only a handful in each genre of music.

Another big problem is the structure of the music business. The industry is focused on producing hits instead of developing talent. I'll admit this has always been true, but it's way worse than 10-20 years ago. They are also overly concerned with image. (Since when do rock stars have to be good looking). Watch CMT or GAC someday and see if you can spot an ugly female country singer. I doubt if you can.

BTW, is there really any need for more than one EMO band? They sound exectly the same. Same for Rap.

 

[Aaron Cheney]

The industry is focused on producing hits instead of developing talent.

The bigtime music industry isn't even satisfied with hits anymore... they want a bona-fide media phenominon that can have a hit, plus.... look good in a Pepsi commercial, star in a sitcom, develop their own line of cologne, be a spokesman for Ford, and pose for an underwear catalogue. They want someone w/ huge crossover potential that looks beautiful. And finally, they want this person to already have a big enough audience that their risk is minimal.

That's what big-biz wants.

A

 

[JaQsonA1]

you its funny that we have this many people who are displeased with the music industry today and every where i got people are complaining about that. then why hasnt anything changed? are there really that many teens out there buying records and influencing the entire industry to keep putting out the same ole crap? i m just wondering because i am tired of listening to the same ole boring mess....... will someone please tell r. kelly to go on a sabbatical or something to come up with freshideas because eventhough he is working with different artist its still the same sound and style.

 

[glimmer_doll]

i don't hold my breath for the industry to ever change...

I think we're on a perpetual downhill slide...

Who cares if they suck...they look cool! the producer will make them sound good, and they can use backing tracks when they perform "live"...

that pisses me off...when i pay to see a band..I expect them to actually be playing everything...hence, a LIVE performance...i don't care about your dance moves, can you actually pick up an instrument and give me a little emotion...?

 

[YeshuasFan]

The problem basically boils down to exposure-or a lack thereof. The "pop-tarts" [Hilary-Christina-Jessica-Britney] got exposure through other media, so they had a fan base built up before they ever set foot in a recording studio. That created an instant market for their products. God help us if the Olson twins ever suffer musical pretensions.

I think there is also something to be said for the fact that our musical tastes seem to settle on what we listened to as teenagers and young adults. I guess the great thing about growing up in the 1960s-early 1970s was that even the much maligned "Top 40" programming format was an exercise in eclectic musical tastes. Consequently, I find myself enjoying Bob Dylan, the Beatles and Led Zeppelin as much as I enjoy Jan & Dean, the Beach Boys, and Jim Croce.

 

[nickjc]

One NZ artist everyone should check out is David Kilgour. Great songs played by a consummate musician.

right on sir.

I'd like to flip lil' flip off of a bridge. as a matter of fact....any artist that needs to have his name repeated inside his own song is depressing.

also right on sire. burn him. burn him slowly.

Well when I played the Finn's new album my gf said "Oh, that's Crowded House" - so the NZ flak seems justified, but I still like it.

I like it too - if it ain't broke . . . I guess that's another discussion

 

[AdrianFly]

I've never read so much angry hate text in all my years.

All ya'll needs to see the light and drink the Kool-aid. Don't dilly dally neither.. drink it down and move along. Plenty more Top-40 hits waitin in line for some peak limiting!

 

[jfrog]

I've never read so much angry hate text in all my years.

All ya'll...

Proposed new forum rules:

1. Don't use the word "Y'all" unless you're from the south and can actually use it correctly.

2. Don't drink and post!

 

[Rokket]

It's the industry!

Gotta get my 2 cents in on this. Sorry.... It is the industry, as they are always out looking for the next big thing. And when one company finds it, the others go out and look for a clone and try to outdo each other getting a recording out in oder to be the "first next big thing". The other problem I see, and this is coming from a guy who played guitar for 15 years before I ever even jammed with someone else, is the average playing time in terms of experience has declined considerably. In the '70's the average guitar player (in a professional band of some sort) had 18 years on his/her instrument. In the 80's it dropped to about 15 years. Now, and it hurts to say this, the average is about 5 to 7 years. The emphasis has shifted from the guitarist to the band, which is good in some aspects, but sonically and musically I personally believe (and it's only my opinion) the music suffers. I watch music videos and see these young kids up there trying hard to look like who they claim are their idols (but they sound nothing like them). And that's it. They have the look, which from what I see, is derived from the grunge days, and every band is interchangable with every other band, in terms of look, sound, and even the lyrics of the songs. Almost every band out there could trade playlists with any other band, and I bet the fans wouldn't be able to tell the difference. That's it, I have a headache and I'm out of breath... Forgive the rant!

 

[Rokket]

God help us if the Olson twins ever suffer musical pretensions./QUOTE]

If you had "tween"-aged daughters, you'd know.... uh, they have put out albums, but on the same level as their straight-to-video movies. You could only order them from their company. They didn't try to get any exposure for the music, thank God!

 

[topolino]

are you guys including those hip hop pop artists in there too? cause I'd like to flip lil' flip off of a bridge. as a matter of fact....any artist that needs to have his name repeated inside his own song is depressing. that tells you how fast we forget about music. they have to repeat the artists name to drill it into your head to remember it.

it's the same in hip hop as in other genres: the artists you hear about are the shitty ones. if you sort of do some digging on your own, you'll come up with some quality eventually. I guess it's a matter of priorities. Imagine if the government decided to pay anyone who was interested in music a salary to just soak in as much music as possible, and spend 8 hours a day listening to free albums they'd receive in the mail, and at nights go see live bands. unfortunately we don't have time to sniff down every trail that interests us. The world is finite; our hopes spill over its rim.

 

[NationalSandwic]

hmmm,,, that's not the most positive post =) i think musicians and other artists should be exempt from personal tax (as in france, i believe). that's one way the gvnmt could lend a hand.

oh, all this whinging about the industry...Adrian-fly's got a point, you've got to move beyond the top 40 issues. it'll never stop, because it makes so much money, it CAN'T stop. the industry has worked itself into a corner, where in order to turn a profit, they need a huge amount of income. and because of the silly easy-money-MTV-pop stuff they've been pushing over the years, their audience isn't interested in anything else. They've manipulated the audience into a narrow little band (even tho they'll try to convince you that they support a broad variety; far as i'm concerned britney, lil' kim, nickelback, ronan keating, good charlotte, etc. are all siblings...), and the audience wants more. I call it heroine-pop; one hit and you're hooked for life. The industry has very little room to manouver, and still needs to make over-heads. Very sad, 'cos I'm sure some of the head-honchos actually did have music as a priority at one point. It's greed, my friends...

So, accepting that Big Business has dug it's own hole, and that there's no point in whining about it, the questions we should REALLY be asking in this forum, is what can musicians like ourselves do to have meaningful, fulfilling careers as performers, composers and writers. Let me pose that question then... =)

 

[InTheFire]

I agree. One thing specifically would be make an honest attempt to communicate/connect with our audiences(not friends).

The scene here in KC suffers because of lack of interest and popularity contests. Lots of people here consider this area to be "indie-rock". True or not, a lot of bands do that sound here. If everyone in your band has enough friends, you've got a good crowd.

I'm serious, around here people either listen to the radio and stay at home or go to "indie-rock" shows to support their buddies.

Aside from that, there's an awful metal scene from the local suburbs...

...(shudders)...

I personally hope to break down whatever barriers there are in this town and unite the variety of artists in the area.

 

[NationalSandwic]

Wow InTheFire, that sounds just like my hometown (johannesburg). we have the same scene.... I feel really sorry for these often dreadful bands with crowds of mates who just stand there 'supporting'....

however the "indie-rock" tag is now just applied to all unsigned bands. far as I've felt, the real 'indie' sound comes out of the north eastern states of the US and out of the UK, and is associated with bands signed to independent record labels. Might be wrong about all that though?

not sure how to go about reforming the audience here. i've just decided that if I am going to have success, I am going to have to leave the country and return with some industry-experience clout. No one here is prepared to admit that they don't understand the industry, or are out of touch with the audience.

 

[Benreturns]

Music is a stagnent fish pond. Indie - that shit died years ago. No one seems to notice guitars just aint cool anymore. Hip Hop, R n B is in a rut becase they are basiclaly recycling old stuff. It has reached a point where there is nothing else to say but 'give me money, respect and ho's' What else is there mainstream. As good as they are Amy winhouse or Joss Stone... music yer auntie likes...

This fish pond needs a firework throwing into it. Make those dead fish just float right up and start again.

Anyone heard anything about a Beatles reunion?

 

[Rokket]

I heard the only thing missing in a Beatles reunion is three more bullets. Seriously, though, they wouldn't be the Beatles without John.... And I can see everyone pretty much has the same ideas that I do. It's the money driving the machine, and it always will be...