today's music pales in comparison...

musicismylife78 · August 2011

dcfaithful wrote:

pjl44 wrote:

Also, there's plenty of outstanding current bands. Given the landscape of the music industry, it may require more work, but if you care enough to complain then you'd probably be psyched to find someone you really dig.

I'm going to have to get behind this. It takes effort to find it amongst everything that is out there, but there is really some great music out today. Stuff that has a lot more character and depth than people want to give it credit for. I will not argue that it takes more effort to find this stuff, but it's also in consideration of the age of media we are in. As someone pointed out, I think the day of "big rock n' roll" bands like that are just in the past.

I actually disagree. To find good underground hip hop or good non commercial rock in 1980, or 1995 may have been tough. I think nowadays its fairly easy. Visit some good blogs, Pitchfork, stereogum, brooklyn vegan, check out some festivals, Lolla, South By, Sasquatch. Listen to some quality streaming radio from KCRW or KEXP, or just tune in to some tv show and listen for the band thats soundtracking the scenes.

As I said, i think nowadays theirs MORE bands to sift through. In the old days i'd be lucky to listen to more than 10 complete albums a year. I'd mostly just listen to the radio. Hear single songs. Nowadays, i easily listen to and obtain 80 plus albums a year. Rolling Stone, Spin, Pitchfork, Paste etc... all have best of albums of the year lists and i usually check out most if not all of the albums on that list(s)

mookeywrench · August 2011

maybe so...but of the 20 which were great, what is there out there today that can compare with the creativity of, say, Yes or Floyd? :?

Floyd - Flaming Lips: Embraces weird music and off the cuff recording that can still be pulled off in a large arena.

Yes - White Denim: great musicianship, with an easily noticable jazz influence. Ability to embrace prog while keeping their songs concise.

SatansFuton · August 2011

mookeywrench wrote:

maybe so...but of the 20 which were great, what is there out there today that can compare with the creativity of, say, Yes or Floyd? :?

Floyd - Flaming Lips: Embraces weird music and off the cuff recording that can still be pulled off in a large arena.

Yes - White Denim: great musicianship, with an easily noticable jazz influence. Ability to embrace prog while keeping their songs concise.

I don't consider Flaming Lips to be "today's music", they've been around since the 80's. I thought we meant new acts and not acts that were still creating new music. Because then we could call The Rolling Stones "today's music".

mookeywrench · August 2011

SatansFuton wrote:

mookeywrench wrote:

maybe so...but of the 20 which were great, what is there out there today that can compare with the creativity of, say, Yes or Floyd? :?

Floyd - Flaming Lips: Embraces weird music and off the cuff recording that can still be pulled off in a large arena.

Yes - White Denim: great musicianship, with an easily noticable jazz influence. Ability to embrace prog while keeping their songs concise.

I don't consider Flaming Lips to be "today's music", they've been around since the 80's. I thought we meant new acts and not acts that were still creating new music. Because then we could call The Rolling Stones "today's music".

I'd call it a case by case basis. Flaming lips have been more relevant in music these past 9 years compared to the 19 years before.

SatansFuton · August 2011

mookeywrench wrote:

I'd call it a case by case basis. Flaming lips have been more relevant in music these past 9 years compared to the 19 years before.

I guess it's different around here, they were at their most commercially popular here when they released "Transmissions from the Satellite Heart" in '93, and while "The Soft Bulletin" in '99 didn't get as much radio play, most people tend to say it was their best. I'm sure they have lots of fans around here who love all their stuff, but they've never been as generally popular here as they were from '93-'99.

mookeywrench · August 2011

SatansFuton wrote:

mookeywrench wrote:

I'd call it a case by case basis. Flaming lips have been more relevant in music these past 9 years compared to the 19 years before.

I guess it's different around here, they were at their most commercially popular here when they released "Transmissions from the Satellite Heart" in '93, and while "The Soft Bulletin" in '99 didn't get as much radio play, most people tend to say it was their best. I'm sure they have lots of fans around here who love all their stuff, but they've never been as generally popular here as they were from '93-'99.

Here they were cast as a one hit wonder from '93 until they blew up with Yoshimi in 02. But bottomline is that music made today is equally creative as music from prior generations.

DewieCox · August 2011

I think popular music overall is in pretty good shape right now, but not sure anything can compare to late 60s and early 70s. There was just this explosion of all these subgenres that basically every band since has sprouted from by some path or another. Originality alot of the time today lies in being able to combine all your influences in an honest cohesive way. Like with PJ, to kinda think about their music you might not think they have an original sound, but who else really sounds like them? Or conversely a band like Radiohead that is always hailed as being this revolutionary band and not to say they aren't, but I don't feel like they ever shy away from showing their influences.

And yeah, there's always been shit bands, but has popular rock radio ever been so stale? I don't expect to hear MMJ or Wilco all the time. I seem to remember even the kinda cheesy but well put together tunes from the different eras seem better than the stuff that I hear most of the time when I make the mistake of listening to the radio.

pjl44 · August 2011

imalive wrote:

are there any new bands you see as embarking on 20-30 year lifespans of quality music?

It's impossible to say who will hold up because time is the true test. It's easy to name bands like Zeppelin, The Who, Beatles, etc. because the returns are already in and they came first. Who's on the right track? My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire, Black Keys, Jack White, Ben Harper, Mumford and Sons, Fleet Foxes to name a few off the top of my head. But that's a discussion best had 10-20 years from now. They're each at various stages of their careers and, if you just want to be a cynic, you can poke holes in any of their bodies of work.

pjl44 · August 2011

imalive wrote:

maybe so...but of the 20 which were great, what is there out there today that can compare with the creativity of, say, Yes or Floyd? :?

Radiohead

And I LOOOOOOOOVE Floyd.

pjl44 · August 2011

The other problem here is that, if you want to seriously have this discussion, you have to completely take taste out of the equation. What makes music from the 60s and 70s "better?" There's only a larger collective consciousness of it because every single person from then forward will have grown up on it to some degree. Those bands are as much a part of my teenage years as Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Smashing Pumpkins were.

The next generation will have Zeppelin, The Who, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Arcade Fire and White Stripes.

Then Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, White Stripes, and Mumford and Sons.

And so on and so on.

SatansFuton · August 2011

pjl44 wrote:

The other problem here is that, if you want to seriously have this discussion, you have to completely take taste out of the equation. What makes music from the 60s and 70s "better?"

If you take taste out (and the nostalgia you were talking about) and just look at it from a standpoint of musicianship, the 60's and 70's do stand out. And it's a hard thing to really gauge, for instance I don't know where I would put McCready in the ranks, but putting Pearl Jam aside and just looking at the musicians out there today, there aren't people with the technical skill of Clapton, Hendrix, Page, etc. And I know it's not all about just the technical skill of a player, because they can be talented and play music nobody likes. And on the reverse there is some great music that was made by people who weren't as talented as those I mentioned. But even music from the 90's, which I love by the way, pales in comparison to the skill those people had back then. Sure there are a few REALLY talented people from that era, and now, but it was still a far cry from the older days.

Wobbie · August 2011

pjl44 wrote:

Who's on the right track? My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire, Black Keys, Jack White, Ben Harper, Mumford and Sons, Fleet Foxes to name a few off the top of my head. But that's a discussion best had 10-20 years from now. They're each at various stages of their careers and, if you just want to be a cynic, you can poke holes in any of their bodies of work.

I'll be the cynic. none of those bands will stick and/or be considered seminal. Yeah, Ben's been around for awhile but he has, deservedly, a niche following. and too many of the others are really the same band.

don't kill me....it's just my opinion :?

pjl44 · August 2011

imalive wrote:

pjl44 wrote:

Who's on the right track? My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire, Black Keys, Jack White, Ben Harper, Mumford and Sons, Fleet Foxes to name a few off the top of my head. But that's a discussion best had 10-20 years from now. They're each at various stages of their careers and, if you just want to be a cynic, you can poke holes in any of their bodies of work.

I'll be the cynic. none of those bands will stick and/or be considered seminal. Yeah, Ben's been around for awhile but he has, deservedly, a niche following. and too many of the others are really the same band.

don't kill me....it's just my opinion :?

Well I say they'll all be selling out amphitheaters in 10 years. So there.

Seriously, though, if you don't want to listen to anything recorded after 1980 that's totally your call. I just don't understand why it's such a common impulse to then take it to the point of shitting on entire generations of music. Is it insecurity that comes with getting older? Thousands of bands release an album every year and you can't find a handful you connect with? It's not some collective lack of talent, it's you.

SatansFuton · August 2011

pjl44 wrote:

imalive wrote:

pjl44 wrote:

Who's on the right track? My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire, Black Keys, Jack White, Ben Harper, Mumford and Sons, Fleet Foxes to name a few off the top of my head. But that's a discussion best had 10-20 years from now. They're each at various stages of their careers and, if you just want to be a cynic, you can poke holes in any of their bodies of work.

I'll be the cynic. none of those bands will stick and/or be considered seminal. Yeah, Ben's been around for awhile but he has, deservedly, a niche following. and too many of the others are really the same band.

don't kill me....it's just my opinion :?

Well I say they'll all be selling out amphitheaters in 10 years. So there.

Seriously, though, if you don't want to listen to anything recorded after 1980 that's totally your call. I just don't understand why it's such a common impulse to then take it to the point of shitting on entire generations of music. Is it insecurity that comes with getting older? Thousands of bands release an album every year and you can't find a handful you connect with? It's not some collective lack of talent, it's you.

I don't think the guys shit on an entire generation of music, he just gave his opinion. Kind of seems like you shit on him for having an opinion different than yours.

CAVSTARR313 · August 2011

I think this is way more apparent in Hip-Hop/Rap music.. The mainstream shit out now, its just garbage.. Chuck D, where are you???

keeponrockin · August 2011

SatansFuton wrote:

pjl44 wrote:

The other problem here is that, if you want to seriously have this discussion, you have to completely take taste out of the equation. What makes music from the 60s and 70s "better?"

If you take taste out (and the nostalgia you were talking about) and just look at it from a standpoint of musicianship, the 60's and 70's do stand out. And it's a hard thing to really gauge, for instance I don't know where I would put McCready in the ranks, but putting Pearl Jam aside and just looking at the musicians out there today, there aren't people with the technical skill of Clapton, Hendrix, Page, etc. And I know it's not all about just the technical skill of a player, because they can be talented and play music nobody likes. And on the reverse there is some great music that was made by people who weren't as talented as those I mentioned. But even music from the 90's, which I love by the way, pales in comparison to the skill those people had back then. Sure there are a few REALLY talented people from that era, and now, but it was still a far cry from the older days.

Have you heard Derek Trucks play guitar? I think a lot of the super technical stuff reached it's peak in the 70s because the technical music still had soul, afterwards, it got bloated and therefore fell out of the mainstream. The music never stopped getting more intricate, but this made it unsuitable for radio, thus the best of the best, while heard more often in the 70s, are not anymore.

Wobbie · August 2011

SatansFuton wrote:

looking at the musicians out there today, there aren't people with the technical skill of Clapton, Hendrix, Page, etc. And I know it's not all about just the technical skill of a player,because they can be talented and play music nobody likes.

like satriani?

I'm not even sure I agree about today's technical skill....jonny lang, kenny wayne shepherd, derek trucks are all great players. thing is, they're not really doing anything revolutionary. they're just good and I do enjoy them.

SatansFuton wrote:

I don't think the guys shit on an entire generation of music, he just gave his opinion. Kind of seems like you shit on him for having an opinion different than yours.

no worries. I knew I'd get some folks fired up

Cavstarr313 wrote:

I think this is way more apparent in Hip-Hop/Rap music.. The mainstream shit out now, its just garbage.. Chuck D, where are you???

I won't lie and tell you I even bother to listen to today's hip-hop or rap. the old stuff was without a doubt better. period.

keeponrockin wrote:

Have you heard Derek Trucks play guitar? I think a lot of the super technical stuff reached it's peak in the 70s because the technical music still had soul, afterwards, it got bloated and therefore fell out of the mainstream. The music never stopped getting more intricate, but this made it unsuitable for radio, thus the best of the best, while heard more often in the 70s, are not anymore.

funny story about Derek and it illustrates my feeling about today's music....I saw the tedeschi/trucks band a few months ago and liked them a lot. but you know what? the next day I downloaded some allmans, ronnie laws and sly because the TT Band reminded me of those bands....but the originals were better.

pjl44 · August 2011

SatansFuton wrote:

I don't think the guys shit on an entire generation of music, he just gave his opinion. Kind of seems like you shit on him for having an opinion different than yours.

This isn't shitting on an entire generation of music?

these bands, and so many others, put out consistently great music and they did it for a long period of time. most of today's bands put out an album or two or three and fade into oblivion. is anyone going to be listening to death cab for cutie 30 years from now? somehow, I doubt it.

keeponrockin · August 2011

pjl44 wrote:

SatansFuton wrote:

I don't think the guys shit on an entire generation of music, he just gave his opinion. Kind of seems like you shit on him for having an opinion different than yours.

This isn't shitting on an entire generation of music?

these bands, and so many others, put out consistently great music and they did it for a long period of time. most of today's bands put out an album or two or three and fade into oblivion. is anyone going to be listening to death cab for cutie 30 years from now? somehow, I doubt it.

Death Cab? Maybe not, but Ryan Adams, The White Stripes, Arcade Fire?

Absolutely.

SatansFuton · August 2011

pjl44 wrote:

SatansFuton wrote:

I don't think the guys shit on an entire generation of music, he just gave his opinion. Kind of seems like you shit on him for having an opinion different than yours.

This isn't shitting on an entire generation of music?

these bands, and so many others, put out consistently great music and they did it for a long period of time. most of today's bands put out an album or two or three and fade into oblivion. is anyone going to be listening to death cab for cutie 30 years from now? somehow, I doubt it.

So why is it OK to say that Death Cab For Cutie has no staying power, but saying the same thing about the bands you like is "shitting on an entire generation of music"? Remember, you said that personal taste needs to be taken out of the equation, and also that only time will tell.

today's music pales in comparison...

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