General decline of standards

[peteb]

I was talking to an old friend in a pub the other night who works ‘in the industry’, pretty much as a freelance A&R type (for both indie and major labels) and in artiste management. He was drinking with a guy who manages lots of nu metal type bands (some that you may have heard of) and who has had some degree of success.

Anyway, my mate said that I would be shocked at the level of playing of the bands that he deals with (we’re talking about mainly rock and metal here) and that standards have dropped dramatically from when I was around 20 years ago!

So, is he right? Is it true that the 20 somethings can’t play as well as their counterparts from 10 or 20 years ago?

Edited March 28, 2009 by peteb

[thisnameistaken]

If this means less metal guitar solos are in our future then I fully support the laziness of today's kids.

[neilb]

I don't think the 20 somethings of today can do [i]ANYTHING[/i] as well as their counterparts 20 yrs ago, whether it be socially, academically or whatever.

If I could have a quid for everytime I hear a spotty oik say the word "like" in one sentence, I could avoid the recession altogether.

eg. "Well, I was like walking down the road and this like, bloke came up to me and said like "Have you got the time please?" I thought , like, what? Like, Im the sort to wear a watch!"

[Oscar South]

Its all to do with the abundance of learning matierial and 'easy options' you can take these days.

There are a LOT more bad musicians, but on the other hand the people who are serious about what they do and know how to utilise the expanded pool of talent and resources properly are at a higher level than musicians have ever been. The other thing is in a large pool of players with an ever expanding legion of 'virtuoso' players individuals stand out a lot less than they once did.

There may be a lower 'average' talent across the generation, but don't be fooled by the lazy majority bringing us down, there are players these days who are (or will be) literally the best there ever was.

Edited March 29, 2009 by Oscar South

[john_the_bass]

Either that or a massive drop in standards by record companies who are prepared to sign these bands because they think there is a market for them to shift units of this sort of rubbish. I think there are equally as many very talented bands (regardless of age) and plenty of bands from 20 years ago that I thought were rubbish then and are still rubbish now.

OT: If we're talking about youth attitudes, there are some elderly folk out there that would want to rethink their attitudes and behaviour too.

Edited March 28, 2009 by john_the_bass

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

[quote name='neilb' post='448016' date='Mar 28 2009, 12:31 PM']I don't think the 20 somethings of today can do [i]ANYTHING[/i] as well as their counterparts 20 yrs ago, whether it be socially, academically or whatever.

If I could have a quid for everytime I hear a spotty oik say the word "like" in one sentence, I could avoid the recession altogether.

eg. "Well, I was like walking down the road and this like, bloke came up to me and said like "Have you got the time please?" I thought , like, what? Like, Im the sort to wear a watch!"[/quote]
Why do they like do that?

And then there are those that put a rising inflection at the end of every phrase? So everything they say turns into into a question? It probably used to be just the losers that watched Aussie soaps? But it seems to have spread?

Then there are the chavs that don't consider a sentence complete unless it contains a f**k, f**ker or f**king in between every other pair of words.

[slaphappygarry]

Sweeping generalization from a pleb in a pub....

Wonderful.

G

[Oscar South]

What this thread reveals to me, is that a lot of people learn most of what they consider 'fact' about todays youth, from television.

[Delberthot]

i remember when this used to be all fields

[escholl]

nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

[mrdirtyrob]

[quote name='neilb' post='448016' date='Mar 28 2009, 12:31 PM']I don't think the 20 somethings of today can do [i]ANYTHING[/i] as well as their counterparts 20 yrs ago, whether it be socially, academically or whatever.[/quote]
Yeah, well we certainly aren't as good at complaining, making sweeping generalisations or ridiculously rose-tinted nostalgia as you guys are....... like.

[chris_b]

I'm all for "kids" not being able to play if it means that "old git's" like me get more gigs!

[aj5string]

[quote name='slaphappygarry' post='448044' date='Mar 28 2009, 01:01 PM']Sweeping generalization from a pleb in a pub....

Wonderful.

G[/quote]

Thats what i though - nothing like rose tinted glasses eh?!

(and I'm 24...)

[mrdirtyrob]

Anyone else note the spelling mistake in the title of this thread.... just putting it out there.....

Edit- it's changed now in case anyone thinks I'm an idiot.

Edited March 28, 2009 by mrdirtyrob

[slaphappygarry]

Ha!

[MB1]

[quote name='neilb' post='448016' date='Mar 28 2009, 12:31 PM']I don't think the 20 somethings of today can do [i]ANYTHING[/i] as well as their counterparts 20 yrs ago, whether it be socially, academically or whatever.

If I could have a quid for everytime I hear a spotty oik say the word "like" in one sentence, I could avoid the recession altogether.

eg. "Well, I was like walking down the road and this like, bloke came up to me and said like "Have you got the time please?" I thought , like, what? Like, Im the sort to wear a watch!"[/quote]

MB1.
No i dont like that either!...Doh!

Edited March 28, 2009 by MB1

[Buzz]

There's no decline.

There's simply more people who arn't as good, bringing the average down. The people who have talent and the determination to learn and play well will be there playing well.

The record companies don't help with the wham, bang, thank you ma'am approach to getting one or two albums done.

[Protium]

[quote name='neilb' post='448016' date='Mar 28 2009, 12:31 PM']I don't think the 20 somethings of today can do [i]ANYTHING[/i] as well as their counterparts 20 yrs ago, whether it be socially, academically or whatever.[/quote]
Then you are wrong, and an idiot.

[quote name='mrdirtyrob' post='448120' date='Mar 28 2009, 02:55 PM']Anyone else note the spelling mistake in the title of this thread.... just putting it out there..... [/quote]
Haha.

Edited March 28, 2009 by Protium

[Eight]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='448043' date='Mar 28 2009, 12:59 PM'][/quote]
Please don't use the ALA as your guide (on anything).

They're the linguistic equivalent of the Nazi party and have forgotten two basic principals of language and language use:

1. Form and function change. Deal with it.

2. The purpose of language is communication, not an elitist assessment of a person's intelligence.

Back to the OP - we might we worse off than we were twenty years ago, but we're better off than we were ten years ago.

Edited March 28, 2009 by Eight

[Currrls]

for all you who say the youth of today are lazy read this quote:

"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they allow disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children now are tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers. "





well that was written by socrates approx 2,000 years ago. times just change, kids dont really get 'worse'

[alexclaber]

[quote name='Currrls' post='448138' date='Mar 28 2009, 03:18 PM']well that was written by socrates approx 2,000 years ago. times just change, kids dont really get 'worse'[/quote]

Spot on.

I would say that whilst modern times are easier in the sense you're less likely to die, they're harder in the sense that they are shifting further and further from the environments we evolved in.

Alex

[peteb]

[quote name='mrdirtyrob' post='448120' date='Mar 28 2009, 02:55 PM']Anyone else note the spelling mistake in the title of this thread.... just putting it out there..... [/quote]
Sorry about that - corrected!

[peteb]

[quote name='slaphappygarry' post='448044' date='Mar 28 2009, 01:01 PM']Sweeping generalization from a pleb in a pub....

Wonderful.

G[/quote]
But a pleb who does this for a living and is in a position to judge!

But is he right?

[The Funk]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='448052' date='Mar 28 2009, 01:11 PM']i remember when this used to be all fields[/quote]

Ole Man Peabody had this crazy idea of breeding pine trees...

[lonestar]

[quote name='escholl' post='448055' date='Mar 28 2009, 01:14 PM']nostalgia isn't what it used to be.[/quote]

Damn you beat me to it!