Quality of Music Today

i wasn't trashing on hip hop or anything. i like some stuff. i like lil wayne, but i think he's an idiot. there's a difference between liking something and understanding it. i don't care how much an in particular person might like hip hop...if they have half a brain they should be able to realize that it's retarded. back in the day, when biggie and tupac were around, rap used to have meaning. the lyrics had a cause and were really about something meaningful. over time that's changed. sit down one day and listen to a rap station for a few hours...tell me how many songs you hear that are about something meaningful.

all that hip-hop lyrics are based on today is either night clubs, drugs, sex, or violence.

every once in awhile you'll find some retard who wants to be a little extra creative and he'll write a song about doing drugs in a night club, then fucking some girl in a back room, and shooting some dude on the way out.

 

I don't like when people represent the whole by using the worst part. Some songs today have crappy lyrics, but that doesn't mean all songs today do.

That's like using "When I'm Sixty-Four" to represent the whole Beatles catalouge.

Or "Hotdog" to represent Led Zeppelin.

It just doesn't work that way. I agree with the person who said there is the same ratio of crappy vs. good music in today's world as in yesterday's world, the only difference being that in today's world the sampling size is MUCH larger.

 

i've only skimmed through this thread, but what i've gathered is this: modern music = mainstream music

and that just makes me sad

apparently nobody here knows how to search for good music

however, what is "good" to me is not good to others, but i feel like this attitude (as mentioned above) is very closeminded

play around at jamendo.com or pandora.com, you'll find good modern/contemporary music

and for the sake of ease (and though based on my personal preference) i'm going to throw out a few band names in case your interested

Air, Animal Collective, Black Mountain, Pink Mountaintops, Fruit Bats, Electric President/Radical Face, The Beta Band (albeit disbanded), Madvillain, Busdriver, Tunng, Panda Bear, Grizzly Bear, Cat Power, The Bumblebeez, The Avalanches, Blur, Atmosphere, Feist, Michael Franti, Lupe Fiasco, The Microphones

(basically, if you like any of the above after listening to their stuff, plug them into the search at pandora to find bands similar in style and sound)

open your minds by opening your ears

 

You got a point. But it's not all. I'll be teh first to admit that hip hop is past its glory days. But we still got guys like Nas. Remeber when it was just a fad ? Like that Reggaeton shit? It was good before Biggie and Pac. Don't forget about Public Enemy, De la soul , RAKIM , Big daddy kane , Outlawz , Big l , Canibus.etc...etc.

But let's not single out hip hop. Most of today's music of any genre is garbage. Recycled ignorance for the simple minded.

In the beginning and at its apex , hip hop was about vividly describing the graphic nature of inner city life , the projection of one's inner persona , and the introspection of young minority males. Then it got mainstream and kids started eating it up. Now it's more about the beat and how catchy you can be instead of lyrical substantiveness and rhythmic poetry. Unfortunately it's not about appreciating clever allusions and regional vernaclar anymore.

But it's the same with any genre. These 'dime a dozen' "emo" bands. The same repetative death metal satan shit. Fuckin Miley Cyrus and whoever else is the flavor of the week.

 

these are just temporarely famous "artists". pop music. Only the good 10% of it stays, to become oldies after. It's like a cycle.

 

It seems like many of you forget (or are too young, like myself) to realize that there have always been shitty bands. People look at the bands from the past who have done well, toured the world, made their money (or, survived for a decade or two at least) and compare them to what you hear on the pop radio stations, mtv, much music, or whatever and think "wow, music has gone down hill". Not true. Music is alive and well.

I wouldn't say that I'd take current radio hits over radio songs of decades past, but I certainly wouldn't put many of the oldies on such a plateau. To be a dooms-sayer on the music of today would be absurd, and clearly an act by someone ignorant to the big picture.

 

Exactly

 

you people appear not to realise what your a part of

 

metallideth is right.

 

00's Underground Hip Hop>Mainstream 90's Hip Hop.

 

I hate to admit it, but I love 80s music. I grew up with it.

 

local bands... music that hasn't been commercialised. it's pretty good stuff (maybe). i don't see anything wrong with jazz... although i don't really break it up into time periods. but, really... isn't it common knowledge that radio is crap. go to shows... see some real artists practising their craft. then go download the soundboard

 

You need to listen to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel.
That's the best somewhat-present day album I've ever heard. ('98)

 

Why do you act like it's taboo? The 80's has more good music than the 60 or 70's, maybe the 00's too.

 

80's is the decade with the worst quality of music I know. Of course there was lots of good music, but it spawned some horrible, horrible genres in my opinion!

 

I somewhat agree. But if you think about it, that's just a more explicit version of "Yummy Yummy Yummy I've got love in my tummy"... I still would rather listen to 90's music than most stuff from today. But Pearl Jam was more popular than Nirvana in the 90's.

the mainstream has never had and never will have any taste in music.

 

I listen to stuff from the '60s, pretty mainstream 60s and 70s stuff so imo people have had good taste in music.

 

I could not agree more. I mostly listen to older rock music, but I hate it when people just purely say "Rap/Hip hop suck" Everything has value, someone just has to do it well. Even some Pop music is intelligent and fun to listen to (Not today's, unfortunately) And plus, most people who say rap just plain sucks have bad taste in music themselves.

Yeah, because they were poor black kids who couldn't afford instruments. Don't look down on someone because they are poor. I had a black friend once who desperately wanted to play violin. Her school canceled the music programs and she couldn't afford one.

Asshole.

Agreed

Well, yeah. You'll always have at least some decent stuff in the mainstream. I'm talking about in general. Take the ITunes Top Ten Songs. Today fucking Katy Perry is number one. The other week it was Jeff Buckley.

 

I think music is nowadays is absolutely overrated and i think they emphasise too much on money grabbing shit bands with no lyrical talent, who most of the time dont even write their own songs.

I buy alot of music, but i rarely buy an album that is post 1970's.

Its a toss up between the 80's, 90's and 00's for the worst music created. Its steadily got worse in my opinion. Its gotten so bad that i have trouble telling the difference between bands or singers nowadays.

Rap music, ugh, just talking in the same monotone sound into a mic about how you gonna stab or shoot someone or fuck some bitch is not music.

I dont believe good music can be made without true passion. I cant think of more then 5 bands or artists nowadays that sing with that kind of passion that you just stop and admire, Especially compared to the absolute gems of old.

My favourite artist is Bob Marley or Joe Higgs. Listen to 'There is a reward for me' by Joe higgs on youtube, anybody who listens to that song and doesnt feel the raw emotion in the song is not a fan of music at all in my opinion.