The Decline of Phenomenal Bands and Music?

[GrandDesigner]

I think the collection of bands I listen to today is better than ever, and most of them were formed in the 2000's. But like others have said, they are a lot less popular than before and required digging.

[Narps]

There's almost nothing that annoys me more than people who assume that there's no good music anymore or that "rock is dead" when there's tons of fantastic rock and metal bands out there that aren't played on the radio.

Don't get to upset. Its mostly old folks like me who just don't know any better.... :codger:

[adace1]

There's almost nothing that annoys me more than people who assume that there's no good music anymore or that "rock is dead" when there's tons of fantastic rock and metal bands out there that aren't played on the radio.

Don't get to upset. Its mostly old folks like me who just don't know any better.... :codger:

It's not ignorance per se that bugs me, just people like Gene Simmons who are both ignorant AND assume that today's music sucks while only having heard a tiny fraction of what's out there.

[Lorraine]

There's almost nothing that annoys me more than people who assume that there's no good music anymore or that "rock is dead" when there's tons of fantastic rock and metal bands out there that aren't played on the radio.

 

No one is assuming anything. The thread title has a question mark at the end in case you missed that.

 

Several members here have made remarks the past year or so that music today isn't what it once was. That is what got me thinking and why I started the thread.

 

I don't know why you are taking it so personally. It's only music. :)

[Narps]

There's almost nothing that annoys me more than people who assume that there's no good music anymore or that "rock is dead" when there's tons of fantastic rock and metal bands out there that aren't played on the radio.

Don't get to upset. Its mostly old folks like me who just don't know any better.... :codger:

It's not ignorance per se that bugs me, just people like Gene Simmons who are both ignorant AND assume that today's music sucks while only having heard a tiny fraction of what's out there.

You made my point. He is old too but he should however know what sh*tty music sounds like first hand....

[bathory]

There's almost nothing that annoys me more than people who assume that there's no good music anymore or that "rock is dead" when there's tons of fantastic rock and metal bands out there that aren't played on the radio.

 

and it always seems to correlate with age...

[bathory]

but anyway, there's tons of great shit out there. my all-time favorite stuff is old, sure, but there's plenty of good stuff being made. all you gotta do is dig a little deeper. if radio rock's always been your thing, of course you won't find anything good now. you're listening to a radio.

[J2112YYZ]

There's still a lot of great music out there now. Unfortunately, radio doesn't play that stuff like they used to 30-40 years ago. You gotta dig around on the internet to find the good stuff today. It's a bit of a pain to have to weed through all the crap that's out there but once you find something you really like, it's worth it.

That post explains alot when you are old and lazy. Its just easier to listen to a sure thing....

 

True.

 

There's nothing wrong with listening to the sure thing that you know you'll enjoy no matter what. In fact, over the last couple years i've found myself going for the sure thing more often when it comes to listening to music. I still try to find new stuff but I don't do as often as I did 5-10 years ago.

[Narps]

There's still a lot of great music out there now. Unfortunately, radio doesn't play that stuff like they used to 30-40 years ago. You gotta dig around on the internet to find the good stuff today. It's a bit of a pain to have to weed through all the crap that's out there but once you find something you really like, it's worth it.

That post explains alot when you are old and lazy. Its just easier to listen to a sure thing....

 

True.

 

There's nothing wrong with listening to the sure thing that you know you'll enjoy no matter what. In fact, over the last couple years i've found myself going for the sure thing more often when it comes to listening to music. I still try to find new stuff but I don't do as often as I did 5-10 years ago.

This may seem silly to the younger folk here but I have tried at least a little lately. I have gone with proven bands but have listened to some more recent stuff. I have listened to Yes "Fly from Here" 3 times the past week and really like it. It doesn't seem like much but for me it is a big deal when I could listen to so much tried and great material by them..... :codger:

[greyfriar]

The problem nowadays is not a decline, it's more a problem of too much shitty bands, who make it difficult for the really good ones to break through. We didn't have that amount of shit in the 60's or 70's and people weren't overflown by "talent" shows or technology, like the internet. Plus there was a kind of spirit of optimism, a will for rebellion and of course more good stuff. :smoke:

[RushBoingo]

Plenty of good stuff in all genres, its just harder to find instantly, you have to work to discover good music these days. I personally think that music has gotten better and better as the internet became more an more relevant, as before hand people had to be mainstream enough to get a record deal, to be noticed on a large scale. But with the dawn of the internet, anyone can post their music to the masses regardless how accessible you are, where as before the innovative musicians that actually got a record deal basically won the lottery.

 

Oh Yeah, and Animal Collective. Nothing tops them in my books, and they have only gotten better as time went on since the debuted in 2000.

[goose]

Do you think any of these bands be talked about or listened to in fifty or more years?

Yes, certain bands mentioned so far could. Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, are Mastodon are giants today and (some) were giants 20 years ago. When Pearl Jam or Foo release an album, they still top the charts and sell out arenas well beyond their relevance.

Nirvana will be talked about like the Doors continue to be. They were a phenomenon.

[goose]

 

 

Then the 90's rolled around and grunge killed any sort of musicianship the 70's and 80's had to offer.

 

Grunge was a return to the musicianship of the 70's, albeit with a much heavier sound. Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Temple of the Dog...

[invisible airwave]

When poppy shit like Coldplay, One Republic, Maroon 5, Imagine Dragons et al is considered to represent "rock" in the mainstream, you know the shit just hit the fan. Not that MTV has any credibility anyways but Lorde winning "rock" video?

 

Adam Levine, Ryan Tedder et al are this generation's Pat Boone and it makes me sick.

 

Imagine Dragons is close, and I find them pretty listenable. Kinda like The Killers early stuff in a way.

 

Used to love the Killers but Day and Age was hit or miss and Battle Born was awful. They now sound like their lame imitators.

[invisible airwave]

Do you think any of these bands be talked about or listened to in fifty or more years?

Yes, certain bands mentioned so far could. Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, are Mastodon are giants today and (some) were giants 20 years ago. When Pearl Jam or Foo release an album, they still top the charts and sell out arenas well beyond their relevance.

Nirvana will be talked about like the Doors continue to be. They were a phenomenon.

 

Which is even more fitting since Lizard King and Cobain are in the 27 club.

[The Analog Cub]

When poppy shit like Coldplay, One Republic, Maroon 5, Imagine Dragons et al is considered to represent "rock" in the mainstream, you know the shit just hit the fan. Not that MTV has any credibility anyways but Lorde winning "rock" video?

 

Adam Levine, Ryan Tedder et al are this generation's Pat Boone and it makes me sick.

 

Imagine Dragons is close, and I find them pretty listenable. Kinda like The Killers early stuff in a way.

 

Used to love the Killers but Day and Age was hit or miss and Battle Born was awful. They now sound like their lame imitators.

 

Yeah, I only like the first two albums. Then they turned poppy and I lost interest.

[Segue Myles]

The Killers Battle Born is one of my favourite albums! I prefer it to everything else they have done.

[H. P. L.]

Then the 90's rolled around and grunge killed any sort of musicianship the 70's and 80's had to offer.

 

Grunge was a return to the musicianship of the 70's, albeit with a much heavier sound. Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Temple of the Dog...

 

... and Goose nails it!!! :goodone:

[H. P. L.]

There's no short answer IMHO.

On one side, the great bands were born in a culture that no longer exists. Firstly, I'm thinking about post-war Britain, which spawned the bands we all know that would change the face of music. Daltrey has been the most outspoken about being born in poverty and ruins, Townshend also touched the subject. I think that was a big part of the fuel that backed people like Lennon, Macca, Richards, Davies and so on.

But still.

But still, public-school-me in the middle eighties, sick to death of Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran, found The Beatles, The Doors, Zep and many more, and found them completely removed from their time-frame. So, like they say, art is eternal or something like that.

Maybe it has to be about how a band touches a primal, eternal shard of popular culture. I can imagine people in the 2100s digging The Doors or Kiss, because, for totally different reasons, they are imbued with archetypes. I surely hope that bands like Soundgarden will be remembered. I don't know if Muse or Killers will be.

[Steevo]

There is a lot of fantastic music out there, You just gotta know where to look for it. Music Of The Spheres is a great place to find some of it.

 

[Fridge]

I can't BELIEVE that no one has mentioned Kings X, who's output neatly straddles the time period discussed.

IMO the most underrated band in history, and according to some, the originators of Grunge.

 

Also, what about The Wildhearts? They've been cranking out melodic power/metal pop of the highest quality for over twenty years now.

[Rod in Toronto]

The other side of this is that there´s so much music easily available these days that we don´t pay as much attention to it as wed did in the past when we had to buy an album to properly know a band. Also, there are some great albums out there with half an hour worth of music: Van Halen II, Hemispheres etc., all had just over 30 minutes. As the CD came up, record companies pushed the artists to fill as much as possible the 74 minutes of the CDs, so material which would usually be thrown away was actually included in the albums. Think about Vapor Trails or Test for Echo with 4 or 5 tracks less...wouldn´t they be better?

[x1yyz]

The other side of this is that there´s so much music easily available these days that we don´t pay as much attention to it as wed did in the past when we had to buy an album to properly know a band.

 

This is a huge topic of discussion in itself!

[The Analog Grownup]

It depends on the genre. If you listen to mainstream music and pop then of course it sucks. And it has sucked since the 70s I believe. Take rock and metal for instance. There is still people out there making music from the heart. :)

[Narps]

The other side of this is that there´s so much music easily available these days that we don´t pay as much attention to it as wed did in the past when we had to buy an album to properly know a band. Also, there are some great albums out there with half an hour worth of music: Van Halen II, Hemispheres etc., all had just over 30 minutes. As the CD came up, record companies pushed the artists to fill as much as possible the 74 minutes of the CDs, so material which would usually be thrown away was actually included in the albums. Think about Vapor Trails or Test for Echo with 4 or 5 tracks less...wouldn´t they be better?

Yes. As would Counterparts, S & A, CA etc. 40 minutes is typically enough unless you are putting out something incredibly special. Its not unlike a 2 and a half to three hour movie. It better be damn good start to finish.....