[Larkston Zinaspic]

Pavlov's Dog and The Millennial Whoop is going to be the title of my next studio album.

Every day when I'm driving to work in the morning, almost invariably, someone will pass me by blasting something in their vehicle that is probably loud enough to be heard several blocks away, with their windows closed. Do they care about the quality of what they're listening to? Is it just a wall of noise to keep yourself awake? Are there any worries about hearing loss? I would suspect not.

Despite all the personal bias about what might be considered "good" or "bad" music, we seem to live in a culture that requires us to be almost constantly over-stimulated. We're constantly glued to the damn phone, usually caffeinated or over-medicated, constantly on the internet, perpetually bombarded with bad news and entertainment and arbitrary sensationalism. I don't know about brainwashing but it seems more like addictive behavior. Some people can't seem to live without constant noise and I'm not just talking about sound.

Modern day music being "awful" may point to a symptom but not necessarily address the actual problem.

[charmerci]

I want to like new music but I almost always listen to about a minute and then.... bleah. Machine music, repetitive drumming, the same 8 bass notes (and most of the other instruments) from the beginning to the end of the song, no phrasing by the singers, no transitions, no or very few or simple breaks in the song, etc, etc.


The only "new" type of music that I like (though it's been around 20+ years) is some lounge music - like Hotel Costes vol. 3 - though that is about 20 years old. I noticed a big change (popular music) in the early 80's. By the end of the 80's there was hardly anything that I cared for.


There was a series of videos on Youtube for a while about rock music decade by decade. The super groups of the 70's, mainly the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac brought the big money into the music industry which lead to the producers taking over the direction of the music rather than the musicians themselves in the studios.

[charmerci]

Every day when I'm driving to work in the morning, almost invariably, someone will pass me by blasting something in their vehicle that is probably loud enough to be heard several blocks away, with their windows closed. Do they care about the quality of what they're listening to? Is it just a wall of noise to keep yourself awake? Are there any worries about hearing loss? I would suspect not.

Modern day music being "awful" may point to a symptom but not necessarily address the actual problem.

I go to the library a lot. There is hardly ever a time in which some adult isn't blasting the headphones watching videos at such a level that I can hear them several feet away - sometimes with my headphones on!

[Bendingwave]

This is the reason I quite to go rock concert, last time I go to a show was this Jap band which they advt as Jazz Rock, but unfortunately was a funk pop Jap band>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrdwlLy3wys

Jap, adjective, noun Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive.
a contemptuous term used to refer to a Japanese person.

[arthur]

I am not sure if anyone watched the video that this thread is about, but it’s not about how 10% of music in the past was better than X% of music now. It’s about scientific studies comparing the two. Don’t know about the validity of the studies, but either way it’s not about comparing apples to oranges.

[dB Cooper]

There is totally nothing wrong with the current music.

Yes there is

[dB Cooper]

This is the reason I quite to go rock concert, last time I go to a show was this Jap band which they advt as Jazz Rock, but unfortunately was a funk pop Jap band>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrdwlLy3wys

of·fen·sive
adjective
adjective: offensive

    1.
    causing someone to feel deeply hurt, upset, or angry.
    "the allegations made are deeply offensive to us"
    synonyms:   insulting, insolent, derogatory, disrespectful, hurtful, wounding, abusive; annoying, exasperating, irritating, galling, provocative, outrageous;
    rude, impertinent, discourteous, uncivil, impolite;
    crude, vulgar, coarse, improper, indecent

[CanadianMaestro]

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/science-proves-pop-music-has-actually-gotten-worse-8173368/


Long story short: Less creativity among musicians today.

(Same thing with Hollywood -- same old themes, sequel merry-go-'round, recycled plots)

[Mag]

I want to like new music but I almost always listen to about a minute and then.... bleah. Machine music, repetitive drumming, the same 8 bass notes (and most of the other instruments) from the beginning to the end of the song, no phrasing by the singers, no transitions, no or very few or simple breaks in the song, etc, etc.

I can understand a person not liking the electronic/trance/new age/ambient type music I listen to. It is an acquired taste from listening to years of electronic music beginning in 1980, earlier if you count Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Bands like Tangerine Dream for me was more about themes, stuff you can do with a synth that isn't easily done with real instruments. Having listened to stuff like Kraftwerk, Klaus Shulze 'X' led to my transition to Trance. Good Trance sounds powerful/creative/energetic which I climax on.

[FireGuy]

I can understand a person not liking the electronic/trance/new age/ambient type music I listen to. It is an acquired taste from listening to years of electronic music beginning in 1980, earlier if you count Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Bands like Tangerine Dream for me was more about themes, stuff you can do with a synth that isn't easily done with real instruments. Having listened to stuff like Kraftwerk, Klaus Shulze 'X' led to my transition to Trance. Good Trance sounds powerful/creative/energetic which I climax on.

I very much agree, this modern day genre is far from unpleasant. 

My fav source:  http://somafm.com/thetrip/

[Doublej]

Back in the 1890s elders were complaining about 'young People'. 1920's 1950s 1960s etc
I bet the Romans back in BC same thing.
There is totally nothing wrong with the current music. What is wrong is YOU ARE NO LONGER YOUNG.

Bingo!

[dB Cooper]

I object to the assertion that if you don't like today's pop, you must be a closed-minded old fart. My musical tastes are as far-ranging as anyone I know. I listen to everything from 19th century classical music, to music of my parents' generation, to contemporary stuff. I am forced to listen to a lot of modern pop due to where I work, and I can't imagine people listening to it 50+ years from now like, say, 'Kind of Blue' (or 'Sergeant Pepper' for that matter.). It is all cranked out in Garbage Band or something of that ilk and is lifeless, soulless, and tends to go from nowhere in particular to nowhere at all. There are islands of good stuff, but pop- the stuff that gets The Big Push from the record companies, anyway- is uniformly caca.

[thunderbrick]

+1!   I work at a college, and a lot of the kids stick with the old rock.

[Doublej]

I object to the assertion that if you don't like today's pop, you must be a closed-minded old fart. My musical tastes are as far-ranging as anyone I know. I listen to everything from 19th century classical music, to music of my parents' generation, to contemporary stuff. I am forced to listen to a lot of modern pop due to where I work, and I can't imagine people listening to it 50+ years from now like, say, 'Kind of Blue' (or 'Sergeant Pepper' for that matter.). It is all cranked out in Garbage Band or something of that ilk and is lifeless, soulless, and tends to go from nowhere in particular to nowhere at all. There are islands of good stuff, but pop- the stuff that gets The Big Push from the record companies, anyway- is uniformly caca.

Yeah tastes vary. Classical music and the Beatles are as uniformly caca to me as Pop is to you.

[CanadianMaestro]

 

[mix4fix]

I object to the assertion that if you don't like today's pop, you must be a closed-minded old fart. My musical tastes are as far-ranging as anyone I know. I listen to everything from 19th century classical music, to music of my parents' generation, to contemporary stuff. I am forced to listen to a lot of modern pop due to where I work, and I can't imagine people listening to it 50+ years from now like, say, 'Kind of Blue' (or 'Sergeant Pepper' for that matter.). It is all cranked out in Garbage Band or something of that ilk and is lifeless, soulless, and tends to go from nowhere in particular to nowhere at all. There are islands of good stuff, but pop- the stuff that gets The Big Push from the record companies, anyway- is uniformly caca.

Modern music does suck. There are some nuggets in that huge mound of dirt. But, it's still all dirt.

I also believe there are other reasons why music sucks so bad. With digital being the norm, I wonder if that has an effect on music quality (as in the art form). All you need is one song. No need for a whole album. Release a video on YouTube to hook the audience. It seems to me that everybody is a "star" now. Everybody downloads that song until the next thing comes along.

It also seems that all these talent shows are not necessarily helping. It seems that any old fool can go on one of these shows and become a star without putting in the work. As much as I generally like Kelly Clarkson, I do have to question it.

I also believe the art form has taken a hit. I can play a classic rap song and a current rap song and most people would choose the classic rap song.

PS: Since MTV doesn't play music videos anymore, I wonder how the whole industry really cares about the music.

[lokie]

Modern pop music sucks but there is tons of great "new music" out there.

You wont find it on the radio though.

[Wind Chaser]

Modern pop music sucks but there is tons of great "new music" out there.

You wont find it on the radio though.

Depends on the radio stations you tune into. North American, not so much; Europe is where it’s at! That’s why I won’t bother with Tidal. American music today is crap.

[JerryM]

Yes, pop music sucks now compared to its past. The definition of pop has changed over time.

The pop music festival of all pop music festivals was the Monterey International Pop Music Festival in 1967.

By the old standard, pop music still kicks ass. But, as previously mentioned, you'll not hear it on the radio.

[Tyson]

I object to the assertion that if you don't like today's pop, you must be a closed-minded old fart. My musical tastes are as far-ranging as anyone I know. I listen to everything from 19th century classical music, to music of my parents' generation, to contemporary stuff. I am forced to listen to a lot of modern pop due to where I work, and I can't imagine people listening to it 50+ years from now like, say, 'Kind of Blue' (or 'Sergeant Pepper' for that matter.). It is all cranked out in Garbage Band or something of that ilk and is lifeless, soulless, and tends to go from nowhere in particular to nowhere at all. There are islands of good stuff, but pop- the stuff that gets The Big Push from the record companies, anyway- is uniformly caca.

I'd put anything from Wilco, Radiohead, Tool, or Bjork against anything created in the past.  Great bands, great music, all modern.  I hear they are kind of popular too