Classic bands of the last ten years or so......

facepollution

Looking to stir up a bit of debate, who do you think in the last ten years or so has really stood out, and who will stand the test of time? Is it just their music that stands out, or the way they have marketed themselves etc?

Spending as much time as I do on music forums and websites, there seem to be two main camps on the debate of modern music. Those who think the quality dropped off a cliff in the early 2000's and those who think you just have to look harder for it. Just to clairfy, I'm specifically talking about new 'mainstream' music, not older bands who continue to make music now, nor obscure singer songwriter kind of stuff.

goldrush

If by "last ten years or so" I can stretch it to 2000 then the first 2 that spring to mind for me would be Ryan Adams and Jack White. Ryan's output, and the quality of it, has been phenomenal since he went solo. Jack pretty much speaks for himself - the music, the different side projects, and the really cool stuff that Third Man Records does... I think both of these guys' work will stand the test of time.

Personally, I'd also include Joseph Arthur and The Black Keys. I know that Joseph's first record was released in 1997 but, like Ryan, his work since 2000 has been fantastic and he just keeps getting better.

eeriepadave

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Arctic Monkeys
The Black Keys
The Strokes
The Decemberists
The National
Arcade Fire

PJFAN13

Jack White
Mumford & Sons
The Black Keys
Alabama Shakes
Rival Sons

Unique, consistently amazing live, have a lot of copy cats and hopefully will be around for a long time.

mfc2006

Elliott Smith

Thirty Bills Unpaid

Muse

facepollution

Some interesting choices so far. Not that I'm knocking any of the bands listed, but I'm just wondering if anyone has any opinions as to why some of them have not crossed over to big-scale mainstream success? Is it because the mainstream audience are less accepting, or that perhaps their music is a little more niche?

Ledbetterman10

jamburger

Silversun Pickups

brianlux

I can't think of any new band from the last ten years that will hold up as true classic bands.
Minor Classics? Maybe a few.
I truly wish I could say I don't believe what I just wrote.

Of The Aggie

If you have to look harder for good music then that would seem to prove the theory that the quality has dropped off a lot since 2000, which I do believe. I can't think of any band I would consider a classic of the last 13 years.

Tim Simmons

Coldplay
Arcade Fire
LCD Soundsystem
Kanye West
Beyonce
Jack White
Animal Collective
Sigur Ros

This is a combination of some huge stadium level acts that blew up past 2000 or at least some critically acclaimed bands that made an unbelievable catalog.

While not post 2000 bands, I'd stick Wilco and the Flaming Lips in there because their popularity exploded after some acclaimed albums that came after 2000, essentially making them really well known and very popular.

lukin2006

None ... bands today are a fucking joke ...so many bands 3 -4 -5 years between albums ... seriously thats all you got.

Tim Simmons

I think there are a few factors at play as to why there is a divide between the plenty of good artists/bands post 2000 and the no good bands past 2000. Most of it stems from the changes in the music industry but mainly from the internet. In the 50s through 70s, radio was the main influence in peoples tastes, in the 80s and 90s it was MTV and some radio. After Napster both those mediums became irrelevant, especially with iPods and YouTube dominating peoples attention. Couple that with increase in popularity in other entertainment mediums (Video games, DVDs, Satellite and Cable TV), the way we are exposed to music has limited and forces us to seek it out. Now the internet is fantastic for finding new tunes and artists, but everyone is on a level playing field to so need to work hard to find something you enjoy.

I can see some people not wanting to be bothered and become content with just enjoying what they have and waiting for reissues of their favorite stuff. Others are willing to always seek out new stuff. I think its close minded to say there is nothing good out there right now. Clearly there is. There are huge acts that people rush out to see and there are plenty of buzz bands that pop up all the time that make new music or explore old sounds in innovative ways. Just because its not in your wheelhouse doesn't mean there isn't a viable scene going on right now.

I'm probably on the medium side of the age spectrum here (35), but I find as much great new music now as I did when I became exposed to tunes in the late 80s/early 90s. Personally, I never wanted to become the guy who says "Music was better when.." And god help me if I ever rank a reissue in my favorite albums of the year.

musicismylife78

these posts always make me laugh. I assume most of us on the board came of age during the grunge heyday. And that shows because Other Music is pretty laughable in terms of discussing quality music being made. Grunge changed my life, but honestly, theres so much great music being made in 2013, currently too.
I spent over a decade waiting for the next grunge band, the next "grunge" revolution. What I failed to understand until later was that the new scene and revolution was already happening.

Far from moaning about the lack of quality bands, Id say we have the complete opposite. When our parents were growing up, how limited were their options for finding good bands? Yes, they had amazing bands in the 60's and 70's, but your access to bands was limited. If a band wasnt on the radio, you didnt know or hear about them. With the internet we can find out about any band in the world currently recording, so even that black metal band in Estonia we have access to. If anything we have access to WAY MORE BANDS than we could possibly have time to listen to.

This is the golden age of music. You just have to look. Its all around. Pitchfork. Stereogum. Brooklyn Vegan. Gorilla vs Bear.

You arent going to find it in the pages of RS or Spin or on tv. You wont turn on the radio and find it.

Classic albums have been made in the last 10 years. Tons and tons of them. Its just if you are only listening to alt rock radio or reading Spin, you most likely won't know about it.

I think the indie scene from 2003-2013 has been unrivaled. Its the music scene thats taken over the world. And I find myself completely overwhelmed with the amount of music we get each year.

lukin2006

musicismylife78 wrote:

these posts always make me laugh. I assume most of us on the board came of age during the grunge heyday. And that shows because Other Music is pretty laughable in terms of discussing quality music being made. Grunge changed my life, but honestly, theres so much great music being made in 2013, currently too.
I spent over a decade waiting for the next grunge band, the next "grunge" revolution. What I failed to understand until later was that the new scene and revolution was already happening.

Far from moaning about the lack of quality bands, Id say we have the complete opposite. When our parents were growing up, how limited were their options for finding good bands? Yes, they had amazing bands in the 60's and 70's, but your access to bands was limited. If a band wasnt on the radio, you didnt know or hear about them. With the internet we can find out about any band in the world currently recording, so even that black metal band in Estonia we have access to. If anything we have access to WAY MORE BANDS than we could possibly have time to listen to.

This is the golden age of music. You just have to look. Its all around. Pitchfork. Stereogum. Brooklyn Vegan. Gorilla vs Bear.

You arent going to find it in the pages of RS or Spin or on tv. You wont turn on the radio and find it.

Classic albums have been made in the last 10 years. Tons and tons of them. Its just if you are only listening to alt rock radio or reading Spin, you most likely won't know about it.

I think the indie scene from 2003-2013 has been unrivaled. Its the music scene thats taken over the world. And I find myself completely overwhelmed with the amount of music we get each year.

Quantity doesn't equal quality.

musicismylife78

lukin2006 wrote:

musicismylife78 wrote:

these posts always make me laugh. I assume most of us on the board came of age during the grunge heyday. And that shows because Other Music is pretty laughable in terms of discussing quality music being made. Grunge changed my life, but honestly, theres so much great music being made in 2013, currently too.
I spent over a decade waiting for the next grunge band, the next "grunge" revolution. What I failed to understand until later was that the new scene and revolution was already happening.

Far from moaning about the lack of quality bands, Id say we have the complete opposite. When our parents were growing up, how limited were their options for finding good bands? Yes, they had amazing bands in the 60's and 70's, but your access to bands was limited. If a band wasnt on the radio, you didnt know or hear about them. With the internet we can find out about any band in the world currently recording, so even that black metal band in Estonia we have access to. If anything we have access to WAY MORE BANDS than we could possibly have time to listen to.

This is the golden age of music. You just have to look. Its all around. Pitchfork. Stereogum. Brooklyn Vegan. Gorilla vs Bear.

You arent going to find it in the pages of RS or Spin or on tv. You wont turn on the radio and find it.

Classic albums have been made in the last 10 years. Tons and tons of them. Its just if you are only listening to alt rock radio or reading Spin, you most likely won't know about it.

I think the indie scene from 2003-2013 has been unrivaled. Its the music scene thats taken over the world. And I find myself completely overwhelmed with the amount of music we get each year.

Quantity doesn't equal quality.

But it also doesnt mean theres a dearth of good material out there. Having a ton of stuff to sort through isnt an excuse for not finding amazing bands that are making music right now.

I think most people, and I was one of them, get stuck in a particular sound and genre, love it, then wait around for new bands to sound like that stuff we originally loved. But thats not a particularly good way to find amazing music.

Are there a ton of bands who make grunge type music, or fit into the alt rock radio formula making masterpiece level work right now? Probably not. But I can name 15 bands making Italo-disco, hip hop, synthpop, post rock, straight up pop, indie folk, who are making albums we all will be talking about in 15 years.

The Adele 21 album is one of them. If you are listening to only a certain style of music, you could dismiss it, or not even listen. But its a classic and will be thought of as such. It already is. Probably the defining pop album of the entire 2000's so far. And probably the only artist to actually sell physical cd units anymore.

Any classic music, classic to us now, completely sounded different than what everyone knew at the time. Elvis, Dylan playing electric, The Beatles, Nirvana, Arcade Fire. They are unique.

musicismylife78

And I think thats partly why the reunions of grunge bands right now dont particular interest me. Having never seen Soundgarden or AIC live, i'd certainly love to see them, but I dont think people are claiming they, especially AIC are making compelling music, or as compelling as the early 90's albums.

In a year with new albums released in the last 8 weeks by The National, Daft Punk, Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, Kanye, Sigur Ros, and Justin Timberlake releasing not one but two this year, Id say we have some extremely compelling music being made right now. A band called Disclosure released an electronic album that's being called the dance album of the year.

Its a matter of deciding you are open to listening to music you may not like. Its the same with movies. I go see EVERYTHING. I listen to everything, and try out music I may not have heard or liked prior. Usually favorite art comes from outside that circle too. Usually its a live performance of a band you had never heard of prior, you happen to see, and it changes your life.

The next Nevermind or Ten or Dirt aint gonna sound like that. Just as Nevermind and Dirt sounded nothing like the music prior to that. Its gonna be a synth pop album, or a dubstep album, or a hip hop album. Or a folk album.

lukin2006

Just amazes me that 30-40 years later and most best of list are continually to be heavily filled by artist of the 60's and 70's ... Especially the top 10 ... Coincidence probably not. How come 40 year later Hendrix is still considered the best guitarist? The Beatles the best band, Bonham and Moon best drummers etc. etc.. Watch the Colbert report with McCartney and he offers a few hints at maybe why the Beatles were so good.

Either way I know what my ears like and it's not most shit being passed off as music...

musicismylife78

lukin2006 wrote:

Just amazes me that 30-40 years later and most best of list are continually to be heavily filled by artist of the 60's and 70's ... Especially the top 10 ... Coincidence probably not. How come 40 year later Hendrix is still considered the best guitarist? The Beatles the best band, Bonham and Moon best drummers etc. etc.. Watch the Colbert report with McCartney and he offers a few hints at maybe why the Beatles were so good.

Either way I know what my ears like and it's not most shit being passed off as music...

Well because those bands and artists are the best of all time. Anyone who thinks any guitarist is better than Hendrix is out of there minds. And who is a more acclaimed and greater songwriter than Sir Paul? Most of those top 10 lists are written by boomers. Most 20 year olds dont own magazines or media outlets. And boomers love to show off and boast. Read a list of best living songwriters. Any list worth its weight in salt will list alot of younger songwriters too.

Whats funny is there were people like you in the 60's too. Parents, someone like a Don Draper type, who listened to Bob Dylan and heard the beautiful lyrics and music and said "thats awful, he can't sing". There were people who heard the Beatles and said "whats amazing about that?". You seem to miss the point that most people in the 60's werent sitting around thinking "this will be classic music in 40 years. Look at the crowd during Hendrix's Woodstock set. The highpoint of hippie culture and maybe Jimi's defining gig, and a few hundred people are there. Everyone was asleep or had left.

Are there guitarists who are better than Hendrix or Page, and drummers better than Bonham and songwriters better than Dylan out right now? Hard to say. But there certainly are insanely talented guitarists-frusciante and Omar Rodriguez Lopez comes to mind. And amazing drummers Sam Fogerino and Bryan Devendorf come to mind. And amazing lyricists like Conor Oberst, Damien Rice, Sam Beam come to mind.

Most interesting of all are the next generation. Ive personally seen some insanely talented young guitarists and musicians. Some of my all time favorite live experiences were seeing teenage bands play.
Personally, I find great music to be made every year. Theres some classic albums already out this year. Some were released last year too. Whether those albums and artists come to mean as much to us as Sir Paul and Dylan, thats to be seen.
As far as the whole Hendrix left, I think he was one of a kind. Anyone waiting for someone to be better than him will be waiting a long time.

Its on the listener though. You can't sit around and moan about the crap music of today, but not make an effort to expose yourself to new music or music that scares you. You dont have to do that, but its limiting.

Its as I said, if I only go to see movies in the American horror genre made in 2000's, and refuse to expose myself to foreign horror flicks, or romance films or war films, or drama films, then im severely limiting my potential to see a life changing film. If I only go see films that resemble Blair Witch because I liked that so much, and then complain that no films today are as good or as classic as Blair Witch, then im sort of not really doing all I can to find that next amazing film.

The next Blair witch wont look or sound like Blair Witch.

Plus, every single living person you mentioned doesnt sound like they did. They have changed their sound endless times. They;ve explored new genres.

lukin2006

musicismylife78 wrote:

lukin2006 wrote:

Just amazes me that 30-40 years later and most best of list are continually to be heavily filled by artist of the 60's and 70's ... Especially the top 10 ... Coincidence probably not. How come 40 year later Hendrix is still considered the best guitarist? The Beatles the best band, Bonham and Moon best drummers etc. etc.. Watch the Colbert report with McCartney and he offers a few hints at maybe why the Beatles were so good.

Either way I know what my ears like and it's not most shit being passed off as music...

Well because those bands and artists are the best of all time. Anyone who thinks any guitarist is better than Hendrix is out of there minds. And who is a more acclaimed and greater songwriter than Sir Paul? Most of those top 10 lists are written by boomers. Most 20 year olds dont own magazines or media outlets. And boomers love to show off and boast. Read a list of best living songwriters. Any list worth its weight in salt will list alot of younger songwriters too.

Whats funny is there were people like you in the 60's too. Parents, someone like a Don Draper type, who listened to Bob Dylan and heard the beautiful lyrics and music and said "thats awful, he can't sing". There were people who heard the Beatles and said "whats amazing about that?". You seem to miss the point that most people in the 60's werent sitting around thinking "this will be classic music in 40 years. Look at the crowd during Hendrix's Woodstock set. The highpoint of hippie culture and maybe Jimi's defining gig, and a few hundred people are there. Everyone was asleep or had left.

Are there guitarists who are better than Hendrix or Page, and drummers better than Bonham and songwriters better than Dylan out right now? Hard to say. But there certainly are insanely talented guitarists-frusciante and Omar Rodriguez Lopez comes to mind. And amazing drummers Sam Fogerino and Bryan Devendorf come to mind. And amazing lyricists like Conor Oberst, Damien Rice, Sam Beam come to mind.

Most interesting of all are the next generation. Ive personally seen some insanely talented young guitarists and musicians. Some of my all time favorite live experiences were seeing teenage bands play.
Personally, I find great music to be made every year. Theres some classic albums already out this year. Some were released last year too. Whether those albums and artists come to mean as much to us as Sir Paul and Dylan, thats to be seen.
As far as the whole Hendrix left, I think he was one of a kind. Anyone waiting for someone to be better than him will be waiting a long time.

Its on the listener though. You can't sit around and moan about the crap music of today, but not make an effort to expose yourself to new music or music that scares you. You dont have to do that, but its limiting.

Its as I said, if I only go to see movies in the American horror genre made in 2000's, and refuse to expose myself to foreign horror flicks, or romance films or war films, or drama films, then im severely limiting my potential to see a life changing film. If I only go see films that resemble Blair Witch because I liked that so much, and then complain that no films today are as good or as classic as Blair Witch, then im sort of not really doing all I can to find that next amazing film.

The next Blair witch wont look or sound like Blair Witch.

Plus, every single living person you mentioned doesnt sound like they did. They have changed their sound endless times. They;ve explored new genres.

Oh well! It's all subjective for the most part. But to think Kanye or Timberlake can / will ever stack up against yesterdays musicians .