I want to point out that I disagree with the general theory of, “Music didn’t get bad, you got old”
First of all, it’s completely possible and has happened in the past for pop music to just fall into a shitty trend.
Also, scientifically, it’s been shown that a couple of years ago top-40 music is more homogenous than at any point in time since the 50’s. I’ve never heard anyone defend autotuning. And I think the idea that a musician writing their own music and being proficient on an instrument is a universal one.
As for Ke$ha…I hated her utterly at first. Her music is sing-songy predictable crap that covers the same tired subjects of bling, club, partying ,we won’t stop, yolo…blahblahZZZZZ.
But anytime an artist can make fun of themselves and not take themselves too seriously…they’re all right in my book.* Okay Ke$ha, come on in. You’re okay.
*Doing a “Kesha as a Disney Princess” video. Being a smurf on Robot Chicken.
The stuff I really liked back when I cared about popular music is all from '64-'78, with a bit of '80s and '90’s music of the same ilk. Pretty much British Invasion era, hard rock, and a bit of metal, new wave, prog, and alt rock thrown in. Age wise, that puts me in the tot through twenty-five range. I credit my youthful knowledge of the Beatles and the Stones to my sister, who is nine years older than me. I got dragged along to Crosley Field twice in August '66 because she had to see the Beatles, only to wait in the parking lot with my dad.
My teen years were in the mid-late 80’s & early 90’s but I mainly listened to oldies (50s & 60s) then got into classic rock (Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, etc) and then in college got into alternative: the MTV 120 Minutes stuff. I always carried favorites from each era with me. Before my teens, I listened to Top 40 stuff so all the usual 80’s nostalgia songs are still familiar to me as well and I can sing along to Men Without Hats or the Go-Gos with the best of 'em.
These days I have favorites from all those genres in my collection but also a lot of stuff from the past decade and in between. Probably half of what’s on the USB stick in my car is from the year 2000 onward. Most of my new stuff is still probably under the “indie” umbrella so it’s not as though I’ve branched off into gangster rap or Peruvian pan flute music but I’m not still listening purely to Dark Side of the Moon either. Make of that what you will for your theory.
Well, nowdays that seems obvious, but it’s not as though the idea of people who sing songs other people wrote and are backed by instruments they can’t play is brand new. There was a time when that was the status quo, and being a self contained band or artist was a novelty.
Plus, you can’t just judge today’s music by what’s topping the charts - the charts are more useless than they’ve ever been, what with pirating, free downloads, Pandora, etc. One of the biggest myths about the 2000/2010s, IMO, is that the music is crap. In reality, there’s an enormous range of great music out there - it just can be a bit tricky to find. Regina Spektor, Neutral Milk Hotel, Iron and Wine, Panic at the Disco, Ingrid Michaelson, My Chemical Romance, Modest Mouse . . . I could go on. And it’s not as if they’re unknown - it’s all quite popular, albeit not represented on the charts. Pop/rock music in general has actually been experiencing a drop in processing and production what with the rise of anti-folk and, on a larger scale, indie music. It’s quite an exciting time to be alive. Everything looks blander when you’re living it.
Too late to edit: Also, the disconnect between what tops the charts and what is remembered as legendary isn’t new. The Beatles are known both for being ridiculously good and ridiculously popular - for good reason. But in 1969, the year of freakin’ Abbey Road, the number one song was “Sugar, Sugar”. A peppy song about love, girls, and sugar played by a cartoon band. :dubious:
Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In, The Fifth Dimension
I Can’t Get Next to You, The Temptations
Honky Tonk Women, The Rolling Stones
Everyday People, Sly and The Family Stone
It just seems to me around 2004 when I could dig a good portion of what appeared on TV or the radio (Modest Mouse, The Killers, Wolfmother…etc…) everything went nuts.
Another measure of how shitty top 40 music is now compared to the 60’s-80’s…look at todays top 40, do you REALLY think any of those songs will have movie titles named after them or used unironicaly in a scene?
Yeah, If I think a singer has got the chops and can bring it, I’ll give them credit. I like Pink quite a lot. I like Lady GaGa who can craft a hell of a pop song, and play a decent piano.
Fair enough - there really was a time when the pop charts were reflective of what was good. My overall point, though, was that I think that time is gone; the music these years will be remembered for isn’t what’s topping charts. Comparing the charts today to those of the 60s isn’t fair, simply because the way people consume music in the age of the Internet has changed the charts’ relevance. Of course, only time will tell.
Agreed. I just don’t get the constant complaints of " . . . and they can’t even PLAY AN INSTRUMENT!!1!" Uh. . . Frank Sinatra, anyone? Bing Crosby? Ella Fitzgerald? Talking about autotune, overprocessing, etc can be a good debate, but crucifying anyone who doesn’t write their songs and play their own instruments sure does indict a lot of the greats.
I was born in 1980. I grew up listening to oldies (my favorite), classical (my mom’s favorite), and heavy metal (my sisters’ favorite).
To this day oldies are still my absolute favorite. I love 80’s hair bands. I love classical - especially opera. I also love classic rock, country, and modern music of all kinds. There aren’t many genres of music I don’t like. Actually I don’t think there are any I don’t like as a whole. I just don’t like certain songs or certain bands. I’m not a big Elvis fan. I could do without Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, and U2. The music I like the least is the stuff that was popular when I was a teenager but even that I’ll listen to (except Nirvana - complete crap).