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Spud
...and perhaps partly because older people maybe love music more than many younger folks . In our day music, records , gigs etc were for many of us the centre of our lives.(...) Music just isn't as big a part of cultural life as it once was . [sadly]

Good point! It seems to me that "new" music is not supported by the generation for which it made the way "old" music was - and is - supported by the generation for which it was made. It also appears that sometimes even young people like the "old" music better than the "new" music. I know a couple of folks less than half my age who are totally excited about the Beatles or Syd-Barrett-period Pink Floyd etc., music made long before they were born, and when asking them why this is so they say because the songs are better, or that the present stuff all just sounds the same.

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His Majesty
Old people continually promoting old music is also killing the chance for new music to be heard and develop in the way old music did.

I think it's opposite : young musicians shoot themselves in the foot by constantly making references to songs or styles of bygone eras.
In Europe the "new" trend is quoting the cold wave from the 80's.

Btw what's Greta Van Fleet up to these days? Still stuck in 1969? ><

I occasionally like to listen to new music, just out of a curiosity to see what the kids are up to these days, and once in awhile I'll hear something I really like. But when did it become the norm for these youngsters to almost universally adopt a whispery, child-like, mewley-mouthed style of singing? Is it supposed to convey a level of deep sensitivity that previous generations were incapable of expressing? It just sounds to me like they've all got a mouthful of marbles.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2022-01-27 13:25 by tatters.

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GasLightStreet
A friend recently got Greta van Fleet's whatever... she asked me what I thought of them.

I was kind: they're a fantastic yet weak Led Zeppelin wannabe, mainly because of the singer. The band is awesome, otherwise. But if you like them, great. That's all that matters. I don't care for them.

She laughed. She understood.

They have potential, and have a few great songs, surrounded by some not-so-great. I wonder if the writing could improve and whether that would help the overall situation.

On the songs I like, the singer is pretty good so I'm not sure I agree it's all on the singer.

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dcba
I think it's opposite : young musicians shoot themselves in the foot by constantly making references to songs or styles of bygone eras.
><

The Stones and Beatles did exactly the same thing. A difference there though, is they promoted music in many cases that wasn't popular or easily available, ie the blues.

So there was less comparing the Stones version of Little Red Rooster to Howlin' Wolf because most people hadn't even heard of Howlin' Wolf.

Imagine an upstart band covering and releasing "Start Me Up" in 1984, and the reception that would have received.

So you still have the slavish aping of musical heroes as young bands develop their own sound. But as was already commented on, I think the work ethic and productivity of these new bands (and maybe the opportunity just isn't there to play two shows a night for 200 nights per year), is part of the reason you don't get the intense development of these new artists?

Anyway, there is good music being produced, but it's awash in a much larger supermarket of music with so much to choose from, it's difficult for new bands without a name to become identifiable.

Because i tend to listen to my spotify mixes now instead of radio, the only "new" songs that show up based on my listening is old 50's songs i wasn't familiar with before.

Boston had a great radio station WFNX that was great for playing cool new stuff. I should start playing the radio in the house again. I getting bored with my selections.

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Spud

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His Majesty
Old people continually promoting old music is also killing the chance for new music to be heard and develop in the way old music did.

Probably true ...and perhaps partly because older people maybe love music more than many younger folks . In our day music, records , gigs etc were for many of us the centre of our lives.

Music is still a big love and interest for may young folks...but often after social media, gaming and other related interests.

Music just isn't as big a part of cultural life as it once was . [sadly]

I think you nailed it

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tatters
I occasionally like to listen to new music, just out of a curiosity to see what the kids are up to these days, and once in awhile I'll hear something I really like. But when did it become the norm for these youngsters to almost universally adopt a whispery, child-like, mewley-mouthed style of singing? Is it supposed to convey a level of deep sensitivity that previous generations were incapable of expressing? It just sounds to me like they've all got a mouthful of marbles.

Yeah, I don't get it all either, like those singers who barely croak out a sound like only a minimal effort will do. But then again we aren't supposed to like the music our kids listen to.

Music is dying as a medium for a few reasons.

The last reason I thought it would die is because people didn’t want to see live bands anymore. The current generation have the ability to release their music to billions of people, but they don’t seem to want to get together and have the experience of seeing an artist live.

It used to be you went to certain pubs or clubs because you knew they’d have a band on, sometimes they were great, sometimes not. But music was a social thing and what people did at the weekends. Go see some bands on a Friday and Saturday night. Maybe play in some and watch the others.

That whole social scene part of music has found a home on the web, and its gaming and social media that fill the void.

The kids don’t know what they’re missing.

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Paddy
Music is dying as a medium for a few reasons.

The last reason I thought it would die is because people didn’t want to see live bands anymore. The current generation have the ability to release their music to billions of people, but they don’t seem to want to get together and have the experience of seeing an artist live.

It used to be you went to certain pubs or clubs because you knew they’d have a band on, sometimes they were great, sometimes not. But music was a social thing and what people did at the weekends. Go see some bands on a Friday and Saturday night. Maybe play in some and watch the others.

That whole social scene part of music has found a home on the web, and its gaming and social media that fill the void.

The kids don’t know what they’re missing.

New Orleans, for decades, has had exactly what you're describing: the weekended thing to do (but also week nites). Of course, it's bigger than that. Generally food comes first, then music. But the music get togethers, regardless of where and who, for the most part, involved college kids to 70 something year old burn outs/drunks/good old old timers enjoying live tunes and, somewhere in the midst of it, various social aspects.

Can't get that through a game and apps. But then... they're not interested in hanging out at clubs (and like music as a background with games and apps). Maybe one day they will be interested (insert the word "mature"?) to go out to pubs/clubs/dives: music oriented venues.

There will always be a band somewhere. Maybe not in some podunk silly Midwestern town in Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, etc but in cities like New Orleans, St Louis, Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Asheville, what many see as vibrant towns etc it will probably always exist.

I have often thought how very very lucky I am to have been born when I was because when I was in my teens, there was a musical renaissance going on. On the radio every day I got to hear the Stones, the Beatles, The Who, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Byrds, CS&N, CSN&Y, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Doors, Aretha Franklin, the Supremes, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Bob Dylan, the Faces, Steppenwolf, the Mamas & Papas, the Jefferson Airplane, the Allman Brothers, Elton John, David Bowie, CCR, and the list goes on and on and on. This is just off the top of my head; I’m sure I’ve overlooked many more. It was an incredible time. And you heard it all on the radio. And you bought the records. Music was an integral part of daily life. It isn’t anymore.

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kovach

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tatters
I occasionally like to listen to new music, just out of a curiosity to see what the kids are up to these days, and once in awhile I'll hear something I really like. But when did it become the norm for these youngsters to almost universally adopt a whispery, child-like, mewley-mouthed style of singing? Is it supposed to convey a level of deep sensitivity that previous generations were incapable of expressing? It just sounds to me like they've all got a mouthful of marbles.

Yeah, I don't get it all either, like those singers who barely croak out a sound like only a minimal effort will do. But then again we aren't supposed to like the music our kids listen to.

Here's a couple of examples of the kind of singing I'm talking about.

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022-01-28 13:30 by tatters.

<So there was less comparing the Stones version of Little Red Rooster to Howlin' Wolf because most people hadn't even heard of Howlin' Wolf>

True, but it also sounded different. The Stones never managed/wanted (take your pick) to sound quite like their heroes.

I don't know how deliberate it was, but the Stones developed a signature sound very early on.

Music, it's a matter of taste. That's my deep philosophical take on the subject.

[www.youtube.com]

Great guitar solo btw.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022-01-28 14:53 by TheflyingDutchman.

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tatters
Here's a couple of examples of the kind of singing I'm talking about.

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

Yeah, I don't care for those either - primarily because they sound so WIMPY! Like nursery rhymes or something you'd hear on Sesame Street. Sanitized corporate BS.

Then on the other end of the spectrum there's rap, so often featuring exaggerated machismo and braggadocio and violent/misogynistic lyrics, masking insecurity and feelings of powerlessness.

With this current musical diet, no wonder so many kids are feeling depressed these days!

Drew

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TheflyingDutchman
Music, it's a matter of taste. That's my deep philosophical take on the subject.

Yeah, taste. but that`s not a waterproof test. Alice Cooper might sound great, but is utterly distasteful.

I heard a great new song on the radio yesterday called "Light Switch" by Charlie Puth. I feel like in the last couple of years there's been some interesting and creative dance music coming out that has a 70's/80's influence. It's not just the typical auto tune garbage. I dig it. This song fits the style I'm describing.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2022-01-28 18:20 by ryanpow.

I hope new music stops being made such as bro country and pop music. It's so phoney and sickening to see these model types singing music with no soul or with no discernible talent, picked up and publicized by businessmen who also have no soul.

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sanQ
I hope new music stops being made such as bro country and pop music. It's so phoney and sickening to see these model types singing music with no soul or with no discernible talent, picked up and publicized by businessmen who also have no soul.

There's Nothing worse than that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022-01-28 19:04 by ryanpow.

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sanQ
I hope new music stops being made such as bro country and pop music. It's so phoney and sickening to see these model types singing music with no soul or with no discernible talent, picked up and publicized by businessmen who also have no soul.

Yeah, here`s an example. It sounds a bit like German Sandra in the 80s, but with an added contemporary stop/start twist. A matter of taste, really. Not my cup of tea these days:

[www.youtube.com]

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JadedFaded
I have often thought how very very lucky I am to have been born when I was because when I was in my teens, there was a musical renaissance going on. On the radio every day I got to hear the Stones, the Beatles, The Who, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Byrds, CS&N, CSN&Y, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Doors, Aretha Franklin, the Supremes, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Bob Dylan, the Faces, Steppenwolf, the Mamas & Papas, the Jefferson Airplane, the Allman Brothers, Elton John, David Bowie, CCR, and the list goes on and on and on. This is just off the top of my head; I’m sure I’ve overlooked many more. It was an incredible time. And you heard it all on the radio. And you bought the records. Music was an integral part of daily life. It isn’t anymore.

that's a very good perspective. Now it's about burning time on social media and gaming.

Looking back, it was a magical time.

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treaclefingers

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JadedFaded
I have often thought how very very lucky I am to have been born when I was because when I was in my teens, there was a musical renaissance going on. On the radio every day I got to hear the Stones, the Beatles, The Who, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Byrds, CS&N, CSN&Y, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Doors, Aretha Franklin, the Supremes, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Bob Dylan, the Faces, Steppenwolf, the Mamas & Papas, the Jefferson Airplane, the Allman Brothers, Elton John, David Bowie, CCR, and the list goes on and on and on. This is just off the top of my head; I’m sure I’ve overlooked many more. It was an incredible time. And you heard it all on the radio. And you bought the records. Music was an integral part of daily life. It isn’t anymore.

that's a very good perspective. Now it's about burning time on social media and gaming.

Looking back, it was a magical time.

It was indeed.

Drew

Most new music is DOA, so I'm not sure the old music is guilty of murder. If it is, I'm fine with that verdict.

Here's a relatively new song that I like a lot. It's a rap, but it's so infused with an upbeat positivity, that I find it utterly irresistible. I think this guy is Canadian, from Halifax, Nova Scotia of all places, which I think explains why there's absolutely nothing "gangsta" about it. It's also not entirely a rap. It's got some nice R&B vocals as well.

[www.youtube.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022-01-29 13:45 by tatters.

Sometimes 'old' and 'new' music/ instruments can create a nice inspirational cross over.

The Dutch female band 'Reincarnatus' is a good example:

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

The same thing happens with "classical" music (in fact, music written on paper). The so-called classical music of the 18th/19th century (from the baroque to the late romantic period) is so good and great that it is still played and studied. But keeping it constantly present in repertoires and recordings prevents new music from developing its path. There was a break in the 20th century, which is the possibility of recording instead of writing music, which generates new industries, tastes and consumers.
Maybe the same thing happens with rock-pop. The Beatles are so great and wonderful, the Stones of 1972 played so amazingly, The Who was unbeatable in 1970 and all of that is recorded, and it's easier for the industry to keep recycling the good stuff, because it's still profitable. Bob Dylan in 1963 went against the system, in 2021 he sold for hundreds of millions his catalog: it is already part of the system, and the dominant part, the one that makes decisions. The greats of the 60s emerged from an industry that allowed them to experiment, along with an unusual technological development (amplifiers, forms of recording and broadcasting). In my opinion, the industry is ahead of the artists, in a conservative attitude, which is curious since Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger are the industry, in a sense.
I don't think the new music is "worse" than the old, just that all the elements (listener, creator, industry) are further apart. Also, 21st century it is no longer 98% men's music created for a male audience as well, women have gained more space in the industry, so a change in meaning and aesthetics is also expected. The important thing is to be open to the new. If a 50-year-old person had listened to the first Stones album in 1964, he would surely have found it horrifying in contrast to the music of Glenn Miller, Carlos Gardel or Rachmaninov, to name a few.

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"I'm gonna walk... before they make me run"

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One thing to note is that the streaming has changed the relative worth of past music. Back in physical era when one had his copy that was it, but nowadays each listening counts. So old catalogue keeps on 'selling' steadily. So no wonder that 70% of streams derive from music older than 18 months. Pretty hard to think that had been the case in terms of sold copies when people still were buying physical copies (although they might been listening the old copies as much).

- Doxa