# Bringing back Why is there no good music anymore like in the 70s and 80s **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [January 16, 2026, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736 "2026-01-16T04:15:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jrmellem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrmellem/32/20589_2.png) [@jrmellem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrmellem)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/1 "2026-01-16T04:15:16Z")
My only thought is this. Somehow God came down and mass blessed many of the musicians in the late 60s through the 80s. And he hasn’t been back to do that so the artists tried to make it on their own but every one of them failed miserably. If you listen closely to the blessed music you will hear what heaven sounds like. All they could do after that sounded like hell. That’s the only explanation I can come up with. Your soul will verify the truth in it when it is immersed in those beautiful sounds.😇 ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/2 "2026-01-16T04:17:34Z")
Ever heard the expression “95% of everything is crap”? That was true back then as well. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/3 "2026-01-16T04:23:45Z")
I’m also guessing there’s a pretty huge dose of “Music was better in _MY_ youth.” going on here too. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/4 "2026-01-16T04:25:12Z")
This is a video posted today of a live performance. Tell me this isn’t good. > **[Little Barrie & Malcolm Catto - Full Performance (Live on KEXP)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3VLBnNKS7c%2F)** > > http://KEXP.ORG presents Little Barrie & Malcolm Catto performing live at ESMA in Rennes, France, during Trans Musicales 2025. Recorded December 3, 2025. Son... ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/5 "2026-01-16T04:26:47Z")
Moderating: As there is no debate clearly framed here and this discussion seems better suited to Cafe Society, I’m moving the thread there. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/6 "2026-01-16T04:29:41Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Ever heard the expression “95% of everything is crap”? That was true back then as well. We’ve got satellite radio and on long trips I like to turn it to one of the 80s stations. Very often they’ll play the top 40 songs from a particular month or year, and I’m always surprised by how many of them I don’t recognize. I’m sure I heard them, but I don’t remember them at all. They sound like generic 80s music you might hear in a cheesy 80s movie. Like if the protagonist go to a club or something, that’s the music you’d hear the band playing. Sometimes I wonder about musical scores for motion pictures. I can scarcely think of many that have been memorable in the last 25 years or so. Harry Potter is the theme I find most memorable and I’m not really a fan of the franchise. Next would be The Avengers, but I think it’s kind of boring. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/7 "2026-01-16T04:41:03Z")
> [@jrmellem](#): > > That’s the only explanation I can come up with. “I don’t like newer music, so it must be because of God withholding blessings to newer musicians.” OK, then. Certainly a _much_ more likely explanation than, “music has changed, my tastes haven’t.” ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/8 "2026-01-16T04:44:54Z")
For your listening pleasure, one of the mass blessed musicians from the late 60s, [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QXflk5OJlbA/maxresdefault.jpg "My Pal Foot Foot") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXflk5OJlbA) ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/9 "2026-01-16T04:47:24Z")
One of my favorite bands of all time! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/10 "2026-01-16T06:00:28Z")
Music doesn’t have to have mass appeal anymore thanks to less expensive production and distribution costs. That’s liberating for artists and listeners alike. They still make music like they did 40 years ago, it’s just not 100% of the total anymore and doesn’t necessarily appeal to people who weren’t listening to it when their tastes were formulated. ---
**Author:** ![jrmellem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrmellem/32/20589_2.png) [@jrmellem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrmellem)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/11 "2026-01-16T06:10:28Z")
Chuck Berry they ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/12 "2026-01-16T06:42:46Z")
I’m not going to argue music is better or worse now. However, there are styles _I_ dislike a _lot_ that are very popular now; I find much of pop and hip hop grating. I’ve been told that there aren’t bands much anymore ‘cause it’s cheaper to produce single artists. Whatever the reason, I miss bands, and I miss rock, and driving blues. I’m sure they’re still around, but they aren’t big news or heavily played anymore. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/13 "2026-01-16T09:55:51Z")
Something that is different now than it used to be is that there are fewer bands, or other multi-person collaborations, anymore. Instead one person will be able to do the majority of the mixing and producing, using off-the-shelf digital tools. It potentially makes music more homogeneous if you don’t have a group of disparate talents working together, and instead hand all the work over to someone with a singular vision. I do think there’s no experimentation, no attempt at basic key changes or unusual instrumentation, no risk taking. But I don’t really understand music myself, so maybe that’s not true at all. Or, alternatively, music is fine and it’s just that it’s not meant for us old people anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/14 "2026-01-16T10:08:19Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > We’ve got satellite radio and on long trips I like to turn it to one of the 80s stations. Very often they’ll play the top 40 songs from a particular month or year, and I’m always surprised by how many of them I don’t recognize. I’m sure I heard them, but I don’t remember them at all. … I’m the same, only I listen to the 70s on 7 channel mostly. But it’s the same thing. Sometimes, they replay a recording of Casey Kasem’s “American Top 40” from this week in 1974 or similar, and I’m always surprised at how many tunes I remember, but the last time that I heard them was … well, 1974. Some songs just couldn’t survive, contrary to what Gloria Gaynor would tell us in 1978. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/15 "2026-01-16T10:30:52Z")
One factor to consider: the era of rock music is over. It ended in the early 1990s. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/16 "2026-01-16T11:13:40Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > For your listening pleasure, one of the mass blessed musicians from the late 60s I’ll see you that and raise you the musical genius that is the Legendary Stardust Cowboy. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9EEZAivzl1Q/hqdefault.jpg "Legendary Stardust Cowboy Paralyzed") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EEZAivzl1Q) ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/17 "2026-01-16T12:23:39Z")
This is not a fact. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/18 "2026-01-16T12:45:59Z")
> [@Sylvanz](#): > > I’m not going to argue music is better or worse now. However, there are styles _I_ dislike a _lot_ that are very popular now; I find much of pop and hip hop grating. This is pretty much it for me. As well as the “95% is crap” and “it was better in my youth.” I’ve often wondered if the various factors of being in one’s teens-young adulthood combined to attract that individual to a certain segment of popular music. After that stage of life, I wonder how common it is for someone to really fall in love with “new” styles of “popular” music. Yes, old fogies will chime in with their love of rap or K-pop. But I (with no data) imagine they are less common that legions of teens singing along with popular radio/streaming. Personally, while I still very much enjoy the narrow ranges of popular music I liked in the 70s-80s, my tastes have changed. I now like bluegrass and oldtime, and that is most of what I listen to and play. There is a ton of great new music being made in those genres, but it would be a herculean stretch to call it popular. With the possible exception of a Billy Strings and maybe a Molly Tuttle. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/19 "2026-01-16T13:12:30Z")
Is it drafty in here? It feels drafty in here. Everybody likes the baseball team they cheered for when they were ten. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736/20 "2026-01-16T13:13:34Z")
We got old. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bringing-back-why-is-there-no-good-music-anymore-like-in-the-70s-and-80s/1026736.md?page=2)