[Wayner]

I'm not negative on the old music, God knows I have lots of it. I don't like (as I said). putting things in a box like some people have said, all new music sucks or at least that's my take on what they said (or meant).

Lets take Lord Huron for example. Lonesome Dreams in particular. Not much air play, but probably should have got a Grammy award. Why? minimalist music (I doubt there is any MIDI stuff), organic (lots of basic instrumentation), played in a minimalist style, yet the space between the notes is as important as the notes. It leaves me wanting to listen to the whole LP time and time again. NO POLITICS. Just mostly songs of wonder or lost loves. Everyone in the band is a superior musician (IMO).

I've been into music for a long time. My Grandfather played violin for Lawernce Welk when he was younger. Not my favorite music, but was certainly a gateway for me.

For those that bash the new music, I'll hand you my Martin or Fender Tele and lets see what you can come up with.

[Early B.]

I hear cymbals clearly and naturally in all kinds of jazz recordings.

Me, too.

OP -- what kind of music do you listen to? And how revealing is your system? It takes a helluva system to get cymbals right.

[Huck]

Me, too.

OP -- what kind of music do you listen to? And how revealing is your system? It takes a helluva system to get cymbals right.

I don't listen to jazz,classical or rap,or pop and I can tell maybe 15 seconds in if the tune will sound good,as long as it's not a quiet part and depending on what version I am listening to,at least that is what I hear in my system.
If the tune doesn't sound any good on my speaker rig,I usually play that track or title on my other rig,headphones,which generally sounds a little better. Huck

[Stercom]

In my opinion, it's not "music" if they NEED a computer to reproduce it.

[Jeff_From_Michigan]

I'm not negative on the old music, God knows I have lots of it. I don't like (as I said). putting things in a box like some people have said, all new music sucks or at least that's my take on what they said (or meant).

Lets take Lord Huron for example. Lonesome Dreams in particular. Not much air play, but probably should have got a Grammy award. Why? minimalist music (I doubt there is any MIDI stuff), organic (lots of basic instrumentation), played in a minimalist style, yet the space between the notes is as important as the notes. It leaves me wanting to listen to the whole LP time and time again. NO POLITICS. Just mostly songs of wonder or lost loves. Everyone in the band is a superior musician (IMO).

I've been into music for a long time. My Grandfather played violin for Lawernce Welk when he was younger. Not my favorite music, but was certainly a gateway for me.

For those that bash the new music, I'll hand you my Martin or Fender Tele and lets see what you can come up with.

You're right - generalizations can get us in to trouble. Especially when it comes to art of any kind. To be clear, I don't think all new music is bad, nor all older music good.  Far from it.

I listened to Lord Huron yesterday and again this morning.  It sounds very nice, and is a perfect example of great music coming out that isn't at the top of the charts.

I try to listen to all of the new releases every Friday on Qobuz, and I've discovered many (new to me) artists that I enjoy that way - Dry Cleaning, Popa Chubby, Anat Cohen, Idris Muhammad, Dub Colossus, Anoushka Shankar, etc.. the list goes on...

My dad's love for the big bands was my gateway to jazz awareness.  He grew up in Flint, MI, and he and his friends would hitch-hike down to the Fox in Detroit to see the greats. My grandma loved Lawrence Welk and would watch him every week with my parents (and sometimes me).  At that time, I chose Motown and R&B, then Rock and Roll in high school, was lucky to see Muddy, Freddie King and Mayall during that same time so how can I not also be a blues fan?

A good on-air radio personality spinning music through the car stereo was and still is my favorite way to discover new music.

We have a great public station here in Detroit - WRCJ (We Are Classical and Jazz) - that plays classical for 14 hours during the day, then jazz for 10 at night. 

Please let me know if you're serious about selling that Telecaster at a good price!  LOL

[rbbert]

I'm surprised that posters don't remember that there has always been "bad" music out there.  If it seems like there is more today I suspect the main culprit is the (relative) ease of a musician finding ways to distribute and otherwise make his music more widely available, something that was quite difficult before streaming and the internet.  There is also the challenge of coming up with music that is truly new and interesting, given the easily accessed recorded legacy of the last 75+ years.  More than that, pop music (which certainly includes much of what is called "modern country") has always appealed to the lowest common denominator and often depends on some sort of "hook" which has immediate but not lasting musical appeal.

IMO a much bigger problem with most of today's music is not the music itself but the horrible dynamic compression and aggressive tonal EQ in most of today's commercial releases.  Reading the OP I suspect that is much of what he complains about rather than the music itself.

[VinceT]

For those that bash the new music, I'll hand you my Martin or Fender Tele and lets see what you can come up with.

There are some really good vocalists in modern music. Not so much as far as musicians generally speaking with popular mainstream modern.

Glad you have a telecaster because you can probably outplay these drop d power chord players of today. 

Who is the modern "guitar god" because we had dozens in the 60s,70s, 80s and even in the 90s. Bass players...drummers.... modern players can't hang period. That's why people still talk about Jimmy Hendrix, John Bonham, Entwhistle, etc etc etc.

I can't name a player that has some out in the last 10 years that isnt a hired gun. I'm sure there are a few out there, but overall these modern musicans are no where near as talented conpared to 20-40 years ago.. The fact is the musicians playing in the bars blow these modern bands out of the water as far as musicianship.

Not all of us focus on vocals, like I said there are a few modern good vocalists; but the music behind them is not as musical. Lady Gaga (pop stuff) Billy Eilish...good vocalists, but the music is digitally produced samey poop. As soon as i hear the cell phone ring tone hi hat or cymbal splash in a song... I'm done. That's not musical.



 Even Jazz which I love. The new stuff has gotten stale. Lots of sleepy piano or they now add electronica to it and call it jazz... vomit! What happened to people that can flat out play some darn music? I'm too young to hate disco, but I believe it has been rebranded and taken over....lol. I'm not a Boomer and do not listen to Steely Dan more than once a year. So flame me if you will, call me close minded, but I stand by what I say. Music has been dumbed down and musicianship is lacking in modern music compared to the older stuff in all genres. I'm done trying to pretend to like this new stuff and the trends of modern music. Bring musicianship back to music.

[MttBsh]

Funny Vince - I was just writing of my similar view. All of these popular TV shows like "America's Got Talent" seem to focus almost exclusively on vocalists who can hit and sustain the highest note the longest, gushing with emotion. I literally can't stand it. When I was a young man attending lots of concerts, it was always the band's ability to play, to jam that got the audience going, great musicianship, virtuosity. Of course even back then we had Robert Plant screaming like a banshee for Led Zeppelin, but Jimmy page was more the star of the show. I would love to see a return to appreciation for musicians' ability to play their instruments, I rarely if ever hear an instrumental solo in any modern music whether it's pop, hip-hop, rap or even alternative, but then I rarely ever listen to those types of music so maybe I'm way off here.

[dB Cooper]

Even Jazz which I love. The new stuff has gotten stale. Lots of sleepy piano or they now add electronica to it and call it jazz... vomit! What happened to people that can flat out play some darn music?

They're out there. There's Joel Ross, vibes. Todd Marcus, bass clarinet. Many more. I have found many great releases right here in the ' What Jazz Album Are You Listening To' thread. Plenty of players, the genre just doesn't have the dominant place in the music landscape that it once did. Classical, same deal. But it has its audience and its practitioners, just like jazz does.

"The future of music? Everybody will be able to just push a button and say "'Hey, I'm a f***in' musician'." -Josef Zawinul
And heeeeere we are...

[simoon]

It's easy to generalize about the sorry state of modern music, if one is trying to find new music in the mainstream genres and sources.

I only listen to prog, jazz and classical. I have no problems finding new musicians, bands, composers on a constant basis. My problem is keeping up with the constant stream of new music in these genres. Musicians with serious musicianship, creative compositions, good production, etc. abound

But then, I have no interest nor knowledge of popular musical genres. Haven't for years.

Even Jazz which I love. The new stuff has gotten stale. Lots of sleepy piano or they now add electronica to it and call it jazz... vomit! What happened to people that can flat out play some darn music? I'm too young to hate disco, but I believe it has been rebranded and taken over....lol. I'm not a Boomer and do not listen to Steely Dan more than once a year. So flame me if you will, call me close minded, but I stand by what I say. Music has been dumbed down and musicianship is lacking in modern music compared to the older stuff in all genres. I'm done trying to pretend to like this new stuff and the trends of modern music. Bring musicianship back to music.

There is so much great jazz out there that doesn't fit your descriptions at all.

Steve Coleman, Michael Formenak, Tim Berne, Mary Halvorson, Alex Machacek, Richard Hallebeek, Hiromi, Dominique Pifarély, Craig Taborn, Darcy James Argue, Jonathan Finlayson, Slivovitz, Ghost Rhythms, Avashai Cohen (trumpet), and so many more...

[simoon]

Funny Vince - I was just writing of my similar view. All of these popular TV shows like "America's Got Talent" seem to focus almost exclusively on vocalists who can hit and sustain the highest note the longest, gushing with emotion. I literally can't stand it. When I was a young man attending lots of concerts, it was always the band's ability to play, to jam that got the audience going, great musicianship, virtuosity. Of course even back then we had Robert Plant screaming like a banshee for Led Zeppelin, but Jimmy page was more the star of the show. I would love to see a return to appreciation for musicians' ability to play their instruments, I rarely if ever hear an instrumental solo in any modern music whether it's pop, hip-hop, rap or even alternative, but then I rarely ever listen to those types of music so maybe I'm way off here.

All the stuff you long for in modern music, that you think no longer exists, STILL EXISTS!

Just not in the sources you are looking at.

Just as one example: I have tickets to see the Polish band, Riverside on 2/25 here in the LA area. Here we have a band with wonderful levels of musicianship, emotional compositions and arrangements, thoughtful lyrics, playing 25 gigs in the US, in small venues. 

[VinceT]

It's easy to generalize about the sorry state of modern music, if one is trying to find new music in the mainstream genres and sources.

I only listen to prog, jazz and classical. I have no problems finding new musicians, bands, composers on a constant basis. My problem is keeping up with the constant stream of new music in these genres. Musicians with serious musicianship, creative compositions, good production, etc. abound

But then, I have no interest nor knowledge of popular musical genres. Haven't for years.

There is so much great jazz out there that doesn't fit your descriptions at all.

Steve Coleman, Michael Formenak, Tim Berne, Mary Halvorson, Alex Machacek, Richard Hallebeek, Hiromi, Dominique Pifarély, Craig Taborn, Darcy James Argue, Jonathan Finlayson, Slivovitz, Ghost Rhythms, Avashai Cohen (trumpet), and so many more...

Maybe we should start a thread with some of these modern finds to share with everybody. I look at the new stuff suggested by the streaming services and don't find much of interest. I think many are seeking good sources of new material and unfortunately it seems much of it is not being widely talked about and promoted. Thanks for sharing! I will investigate these artists, I heard of a few of them.