Modern music.

[DTB]

I should preface by saying I am a dinosaur at 53 yo, and a grumpy dinosaur at that. 
I love music, absolutely love it, couldn’t live without it. I always have music on, be it radio or facetube or God forbid even a CD, remember those?

 The more I listen to new stuff, the more I’m of the opinion that the main stream stuff is crap. 
For example a certain BBC Radio station is playing a new artist from Sweden and I said to my wife when it had finished can you sing the melody of that song and she just shook her head. She said it didn’t really have one it just washed over you and you listen without having to listen, like no effort or consciousness. 
I said can you sing the bass line and same response. 
I know the record companies tailor music to fit radio, with short intros and  exact timings but seems now the stuff they’re churning out fits the instagram zombies that want to listen without having to listen or get a melody stuck in their head. 
I don’t want to think I’m never gonna find a new band again that play proper music. 

[Mykesbass]

Don't quite know what your definition of modern music is, but current music there is some great stuff being made. First Aid Kit - Swedish harmony duo, touch of Country, but more leaning towards melodic pop. Michael Kiwanuka - old school Soul with some very modern twists, Ezra Collective - funky Jazz, Little Simz - Hip Hop meets old James Bond theme music, Christine & the Queen's - don't know how to categorise but melodic, electronic dance, pop etc.

 

I'm 59 and loving more new music in the last couple of years than I have for ages. Give BBC 6 Music a try.

[WinterMute]

I'm 58, most "modern music" of any era is crap, time dissolves the rubbish and leaves us with the good stuff.

 

The main problem today is the ease of music production, I say "problem" because it really isn't as the world needs more music, but anyone with a laptop can throw a tune together in any number of apps that sounds like anything else out there. More power to them, but as we all know, there's a deal more to great music than a few loops and a mixing algorithm.

 

Talent will out eventually, but the signal to noise ratio has been going the wrong way for a couple of decades now, and it takes time and effort to sift through the rubbish to find the great music that is still being made.

[Franticsmurf]

17 minutes ago, WinterMute said:

I'm 58, most "modern music" of any era is crap, time dissolves the rubbish and leaves us with the good stuff.

58 also, and I agree. The problem is we only really remember the good stuff, so the past seems to have been all great songs, just like every school summer holiday was sunny and warm. In my case (and many others I suspect) songs from my past are associated with memories, too, so that clouds my judgement.

 

I do agree with the OP that songs that are on rotation on the mainstream radio channels are lacking in individuality and I struggle to hear anything that would pass my own version of the old grey whistle test. But I acknowledge that it might be my bias, too. I do get annoyed when I'm told that songs must be good because they sell well. With downloading and streaming now the norm I would argue that there is little or no effort involved in purchasing them and that many songs are downloaded on a whim, to be discarded equally quickly. When I started buying music, I had to save up for a single and the purchase was anticipated and enjoyed. Albums took even longer to fund. I still have albums (now on CD) that I originally bought on vinyl when they first came out.   

 

 

[Len_derby]

Soon about to click over to 65 and I’m still finding new artists and music that excites me. I think the word finding is the key one. You have to seek it out. 

[neepheid]

I'm only 47, and I've checked out completely.  Stopped looking for new stuff, couldn't even begin to name you anything current.  I'm not saying it's all crap, I've just got lazy and unmotivated.

[DTB]

Just now, Len_derby said:

Soon about to click over to 65 and I’m still finding new artists and music that excites me. I think the word finding is the key one. You have to seek it out. 

Indeed. I used to be into fast downhill longboarding and the music that the skate crowd would use on their vids was always new and awesome. 
 

Where do u seek out the new stuff that excites you??

[fretmeister]

There is amazing music in every generation.

The issue is that now we have reached saturation and it's difficult to find it. Put some effort in and you'll find it. Probably won't be on any popular radio show, but now there's hundreds of internet radio stations as well as spotify and the like.

 

I grew up on a mainly metal and rock diet. Tastes change and I'm listening to old RnB but even things like youtube then recommend something newer and quite often I'll like it.

 

I discovered Vulfpeck and Cory Wong in a very round about way.

 

Saw Joe Dart on a magazine - I silently mocked him for the shades and leather jacket travolta thing. Then I heard him play, and he can really play. So I listened more and then when Cory Wong (who was only a touring member of Vulf at the time) did some solo albums, with Sonny T on bass I was interested. With the spinoffs from all that I've now got about another 8 albums I really like to listen to.

 

There will be loads of stuff to your taste out there. Just have to look a bit harder, but also make use of the algorithms on the streaming services to suggest stuff.

[Dan Dare]

"Modern music" is not some discrete entity. It is, as music and art has always been, enormous and diverse. You aren't going to find interesting or original music or art on any mainstream media, which chases ratings/viewing figures and therefore adjusts its output to appeal to mass taste and opinion. Don't go looking for gold in a tin mine.

[theplumber]

8 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

"Modern music" is not some discrete entity. It is, as music and art has always been, enormous and diverse. You aren't going to find interesting or original music or art on any mainstream media, which chases ratings/viewing figures and therefore adjusts its output to appeal to mass taste and opinion. Don't go looking for gold in a tin mine.

Don't listen to Radio 2 during the day......You won't find anything decent at all!

[gjones]

10 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

"Modern music" is not some discrete entity. It is, as music and art has always been, enormous and diverse. You aren't going to find interesting or original music or art on any mainstream media, which chases ratings/viewing figures and therefore adjusts its output to appeal to mass taste and opinion. Don't go looking for gold in a tin mine.

Yes, pop music (whether in 2023 or 1953) is the equivalent of fast food. You have to make an effort to find something more nourishing. 

[Lozz196]

I find the irony of the modern music of my teens is that I hated it then but love it now. So working on that theory in 40 years time I’ll love the music of 2023.

[DTB]

36 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

"Modern music" is not some discrete entity. It is, as music and art has always been, enormous and diverse. You aren't going to find interesting or original music or art on any mainstream media, which chases ratings/viewing figures and therefore adjusts its output to appeal to mass taste and opinion. Don't go looking for gold in a tin mine.

I wouldn’t expect to find new stuff on R2, except maybe Jo Whiley, I merely used that as an example of what is being offered. Day time is crap, I’m glad I don’t buy a tv licence. 
So apart from 6Music no one has actually stumped up with any places to start looking or listening, oh excuse me they have, the algorithm on facetube which has brought up a few gems lately. 
The only new stuff I have bought in a while is Andy Timmons, Greta Van Fleet and Hundred Seventy Split. Plus the odd blues stuff. 
 

[Len_derby]

33 minutes ago, DTB said:

Indeed. I used to be into fast downhill longboarding and the music that the skate crowd would use on their vids was always new and awesome. 
 

Where do u seek out the new stuff that excites you??

Good question. Maybe I should have said. Thinking about it……
Radio 6music can be good, but it varies depending on the show and presenter IMO.

I go to gigs in local music venues. Mainly to support them as places that put on music. I go and see bands I’ve never heard of. Can be great, can be awful.

I still buy Mojo and Uncut magazines. If there’s an artist featured I like the look of I’ll pursue their music.

I talk to band mates and other musos at open mics etc. Most of them are younger than me. I’ll ask them what they’re listening to. Knowing I’m interested they’ll recommend stuff without me having to ask. 
My adult children recommend stuff, or I hear it when I visit them.

The worm-hole of YouTube can lead to interesting places.

 

As a disclaimer, I’m more-or-less retired so I have the time to do it!

 

[bartelby]

I don't understand it when people say things like "modern music is rubbish". 
There so much amazing new music out there it's impossible to keep up with it all.

Of course very little, if any at all, of what I think is amazing makes it to the charts.

But I stopped paying attention to those 36 years ago.

[DTB]

46 minutes ago, neepheid said:

I'm only 47, and I've checked out completely.  Stopped looking for new stuff, couldn't even begin to name you anything current.  I'm not saying it's all crap, I've just got lazy and unmotivated.

Exactly what I’m trying to avoid. 
I see the excitement in the eyes of my 2 yo son when he picks a cd to listen to and hears for example Pink Floyd We don’t need no education for the first time and is transfixed. I still feel like this about music. 

[BassTractor]

The OP is right, and I have the scientific evidence  -  through testing that you can repeat and/or peer review:

Buy a Galton board and use it 1024 times. You won't even need to write down the results, as you'll easily see that, these days, the distribution of the beads is strongly skewed to the left side of the board.
When I grew up, the beads still were "normally" distributed, as in: approximating the Gaussian distribution.
No longer so ...
 

 

Similarly, in the old days, average music was just average and I hated it.
These days, however, average music is crap and I hate it.
😉

... and no, it's not about me having become a grumpy old git. It's the Galton board, I tells ya!

😁

Edited January 27, 2023 by BassTractor

[DTB]

2 minutes ago, Len_derby said:

Good question. Maybe I should have said. Thinking about it……
Radio 6music can be good, but it varies depending on the show and presenter IMO.

I go to gigs in local music venues. Mainly to support them as places that put on music. I go and see bands I’ve never heard of. Can be great, can be awful.

I still buy Mojo and Uncut magazines. If there’s an artist featured I like the look of I’ll pursue their music.

I talk to band mates and other musos at open mics etc. Most of them are younger than me. I’ll ask them what they’re listening to. Knowing I’m interested they’ll recommend stuff without me having to ask. 
My adult children recommend stuff, or I hear it when I visit them.

The worm-hole of YouTube can lead to interesting places.

 

As a disclaimer, I’m more-or-less retired so I have the time to do it!

 

Getting out and about is somewhat of a difficulty for me these days. Thanks to the curse of spinal degeneration due to arthritis travelling by vehicle is extremely painful and I wheel around my local town, which no longer has any major live music venues, in my wheelchair. So I rely on the www to provide my solace. 

[AinsleyWalker]

2 hours ago, DTB said:

I know the record companies tailor music to fit radio, with short intros and  exact timings but seems now the stuff they’re churning out fits the instagram zombies that want to listen without having to listen or get a melody stuck in their head. 
I don’t want to think I’m never gonna find a new band again that play proper music. 

 

More TikTok, than Instagram. A lot of songs get huge viral exposure these days through TikTok videos, and so if a song has a short, containable hook then the rest of the song often doesn't matter in pop now. The bridge/middle 8 is pretty much dead! A lot of music is definitely tailored for this kind of format and it's a shame.

But what's your definition of 'a band that plays proper music', out of interest?

Let's be frank, a lot of the time when people say 'proper music', what they really want to say is: "3-5 men playing guitars, making generic power chord rock music with self indulgent solos" lol. 
Most of the newer groups I think are genuinely interesting lean more towards jazz, funk, experimental genres etc. rather than any 'rock' / 'metal' subgenre. 

 

The other reality is, radio is mostly crap, and so is the music press. It mostly all either caters to children, or older people who only want to yearn for yesteryear. (Mojo, Q for example do this mostly).
Anything cutting edge or genuinely interesting is probably not going to be in print. I can't think of a single artist I love these days I've found through print. I have a degree in Music Journalism and it's a shame that the industry is pretty much dead. 

Edited January 26, 2023 by AinsleyWalker

[DTB]

Well that’s a difficult question but I would say including but not limited to;

real instruments eg drums keys guitars, being played by real people with a degree of expertise, playing original compositions and singing, music that has melody, rhythm and structure, with a memorable melody that sticks in your brain, my preference would be rock, blues, funk, mild jazzy fusion

Martin Miller session band playing Layla is a good example. Although not original before anyone points that obvious error on my part. 

Edited January 26, 2023 by DTB

[chris_b]

There is some great music being made these days, Marcus Miller, Keb Mo, Cory Wong, Vulfpeck, Vintage Trouble, Scary Pockets, Gary Clarke Jr, Jon Cleary. . . . . etc etc

[MacDaddy]

In terms of 'popular' music, there is no modern music, and hasn't been since the 1990's.

In the 1950's there was modern music that would have been out of place in the 1940's. In the 1960's there was modern music that would have been out of place in the 1950's, and so on until the 2000's where for some reason popular music reached its current state of stagnation.

I'm open to suggestion for any music from the last 20 years that sounds like it couldn't have been released before the 2000's. 

 

 

 

[Barking Spiders]

Much modern  / current mainstream stuff is dire mainly because most of it's made to a formula using certain well worn chord progressions,very limited dynamics, computerised instrumentation, excessive use of Autotune. etc etc. That said even in our formative years most contemporary stuff we'd have heard on the radio was disposable toot while a lot of non-mainstream /underground stuff was dire...or so you came to realise as fully matured adults. I'm now 52 so the 80s was my era. I still enjoy listening to a fair bit of post-punk and synth/electronica bands while the stuff I couldn't stand back then I still can't and some bands whose music I thought was great then I now avoid like a dose of botulism e.g. The Smiths, Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, The Wedding Present, The Cure..... Some modern stuff is OK which I often find through Rick Beato's YT channel when he goes through what's in the Spotify/iTunes top 10 etc. It mostly seems to be music rooted in country and not Cardi B 🤬I do own both Sigrid albums, which are terrific slices of electro pop. Also have Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa which is also great and the Weeknd's last two albums.

[SubsonicSimpleton]

Mainstream commercial modern music is getting more formulaic as a result of the music industry being more risk averse in the face of the way technology has changed their revenue streams, but the same technology is also allowing independant artists to be adventurous and able to distribute their work without having to make creative concessions, so depends what you listen to really.

[ahpook]

Modern pop(ular) music isn't aimed at middle-aged bass players, just as the popular music of my youth wasn't aimed at my grandad.

 

To be honest, if I turned on, say BBC Radio One, and found the music fascinatingly diverse and stumulating, I'd assume something had gone wrong with the radio, my brain, or modern culture