Modern music.

[Dad3353]

Why does music have to be 'modern' anyway..? Anything, from any era, that you've not heard before is 'new', no..? There are fine sculptures being produced all the time; those crafted in Ancient Rome are still fine, even if materials and techniques have evolved, and continue to evolve. There is music from all around the world, so delving into an Indian back-catalogue, or tuning in to music from Ghana (other countries/continents are available...) should give a lifetime's listening of stuff fresh to our ears. This week's churned-out pulp is no better nor worse than last week's/year's/decade's; crap has always been crap, throughout the centuries. There's Good Stuff from every century, though, just as worthy of being heard. Why this fixation on the date of production..? 

Edited January 26, 2023 by Dad3353

[Len_derby]

15 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

There's Good Stuff from every century, though, just as worthy of being heard. Why this fixation on the date of production..? 

The chance to see them perform live, perhaps, before they’re in an urn on someone’s mantelpiece?

[nilorius]

Modern music now is just a seller for big buying centers (a simple songs, covers made by one man) that sounds 12 hours a day in a place. It's money thing.

[NancyJohnson]

Modern music, huh?

 

For quite some time, I've listened to an American radio station during the day - W-EQX; they're based in Manchester, Vermont (listen live here: https://www.weqx.com/) - it's been a revelation.  I've just discovered so many stellar new bands through them.

 

Every new year, they have a top 100 countdown - here's the last three years.  Obviously there's going to be some clunkers, there's so much great stuff.  Momma.  Snail Mail.  The Beths.  Beadbadobee.  Sports Team.  Soccer Mommy.  Men I Trust.  Glass Animals.

 

Go listen!  

 

2022 here:

 

2021 here: 

2020 here:

 

[TheLowDown]

I think there's plenty of excellent modern music, such as in the modern jazz scene.

[40hz]

I'll keep mine short.

 

I'm 36 and I find modern chart music the absolute fecking pits. Identikit, simple, dance-hall, ragga type stuff, with a high pitched, autotuned vocal about being in a club. The sort of music you hear being played at full pelt on a mobile phone by the local scrotes.

 

That said, I don't think modern music, as a whole is worse. It's as good as it's probably ever been. The great stuff is still there if you scratch below the mainstream surface (my personal fave being Tom Misch).

 

However, I do agree that the general quality of what I'd call 'chart' music is at a nadir at the moment, and doesn't hold a candle to the chart music of the previous 4-5 decades.

[Dan Dare]

4 hours ago, ahpook said:

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

 

Exactly. We oldies aren't supposed to like it. Even if I do, I tend to keep quiet about it. Don't want to be seen as a groovy grandad trying to get dahn wiv der kidz.

[jimmyb625]

I don't know whether it's "modern" music in general, or just the stuff that makes it onto the playlists that people take a "dislike" to.

Around the North West, two acts that seem to be gaining some traction are "The Lathums" and "The Lottery Winners" all featuring real people, playing real instruments. I don't think either of them have made it onto the normal playlists, despite selling out decent sized venues and making it onto the festival scene.

[DTB]

2 hours ago, jimmyb625 said:

I don't know whether it's "modern" music in general, or just the stuff that makes it onto the playlists that people take a "dislike" to.

Around the North West, two acts that seem to be gaining some traction are "The Lathums" and "The Lottery Winners" all featuring real people, playing real instruments. I don't think either of them have made it onto the normal playlists, despite selling out decent sized venues and making it onto the festival scene.

Exactly my point. The “experts” that control the playlists for what they consider the stupid public or peasants to consume are not musicians and wouldn’t know good music from dross. 

[Bolo]

1 hour ago, DTB said:

Exactly my point. The “experts” that control the playlists for what they consider the stupid public or peasants to consume are not musicians and wouldn’t know good music from dross. 

Always have been. Nothing has changed in the whole advent of pop music. It's all constructed of the lowest common denominator.

Main stream is for people that don't like music.

[BassTractor]

59 minutes ago, Bolo said:

Always have been. Nothing has changed in the whole advent of pop music. It's all constructed of the lowest common denominator.

Main stream is for people that don't like music.

 

Essentially this, with caveats and notable exceptions.

[Mykesbass]

11 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

 

Exactly. We oldies aren't supposed to like it. Even if I do, I tend to keep quiet about it. Don't want to be seen as a groovy grandad trying to get dahn wiv der kidz.

There's one band very big at the moment that this really applies to -Wet Leg. Couple of young women, their lyrical content is so inappropriate for us old farts and yet they are a fantastic act.

[NancyJohnson]

Just scanning through posts here, I'm in my 50s, probably easier to say I have more affinity with guitar based music than stuff like (for instance) 80s synthpop and rap/hip-hop.

 

Given the playlists I posted above, it's quite reassuring to see a lot of youngish guitar bands writing reasonably well crafted 3-4 minute songs.  I've always had a love of female-fronted bands, so bands like The Beth's and Momma really tick all the boxes for me.  I think we all know what we like to listen to and reckon (as musicians and not as people being force fed a diet of oldies and formulaic product) that we can all see what's better than the rest within our listening genres.  

Edited January 27, 2023 by NancyJohnson

[DTB]

7 hours ago, BassTractor said:

 

Essentially this, with caveats and notable exceptions.

I don’t think it’s “always”, maybe it is idk, it all became worse when a couple of business men bought a failing radio station in USA and realised they could make more money selling advertising time between songs than their regular business (can’t remember what that was, hotels or lawyers or something) so then they bought up a load or radio stations across USA, and employed a load of “experts” to choose the music that kept people listening until the next set of ads and all of a sudden the experts are dictating the formula of music to keep people listening and it isn’t what we would call good music I’m fairly safe to say. Then they had music companies making music to their specific requirements etc etc. 

Edited January 27, 2023 by DTB

[Muzz]

I saw a stat the other day that made me gawp; there are 100,000 songs uploaded to the streaming services (Spotify, Amazon Music, etc, etc) every DAY. Now, they won't all be new, and even if 99.9% aren't to personal taste, that still leaves a whoooole lot of new music (that's a hundred songs every day) which may well be...the issue is finding them - I use the Radio suggestions on the service from a track I like, and wander from there; it's a rabbit hole of clicking Next, but it's always worth a listen, and can be very rewarding...I also go and see bands playing small gigs, and I've found some great new artists this way...

 

I don't listen to mainstream music radio much these days...

[DTB]

Yes, small gigs. I will make more of an effort to get to some this year if I can. 

[DTB]

15 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

Modern music, huh?

 

For quite some time, I've listened to an American radio station during the day - W-EQX; they're based in Manchester, Vermont (listen live here: https://www.weqx.com/) - it's been a revelation.  I've just discovered so many stellar new bands through them.

 

Every new year, they have a top 100 countdown - here's the last three years.  Obviously there's going to be some clunkers, there's so much great stuff.  Momma.  Snail Mail.  The Beths.  Beadbadobee.  Sports Team.  Soccer Mommy.  Men I Trust.  Glass Animals.

 

Go listen!  

 

2022 here:

 

2021 here: 

2020 here:

 

Listening to raised by wolves. Hope they all as good. 🙏

[madshadows]

In my view some modern is rubbish but some is fantastic, Miley Cyrus has just released a terrific song called "Flowers" which has gone to #1 in the UK and the USA, it's a brilliant pop song IMHO, one of my favourite artists Ian Hunter, who's in his eighties, has just released a song called "Bed Of Roses" featuring Ringo Starr and Mike Campbell which is also just as good but it's classic rock and not what you would call modern music, in the end for me it comes down to how good the song is and these are both excellent and weirdly both have horticulture themed titles LOL   

 

John 😎

[cetera]

IMHO, the essential ingredient missing from much of mainstream modern pop music is 'Songs'. Instead, much of it is overly compressed and over sung (or autotuned) and generally soulless. I've always been a huge 'Rock' fan but even I'm struggling these days to find a rock band I can get really 'excited' about. But then that hasn't happened since probably 1991.

 

Instead, I've verged towards the great songwriting, harmonies, musicianship and feel good music that is termed as 'modern yacht' (kinda Steely Dan meets Michael McDonald meets Hall & Oates meets Toto etc). Soul, groove, big choruses, jazzy guitar solos & fantastic vocals abound in new exponents such as Young Gun Silver Fox, State Cows, Ole Borud, Miles and Dawn Patrol... and they can ALL play their material live to a high level.

Edited January 27, 2023 by cetera

[DTB]

27 minutes ago, madshadows said:

In my view some modern is rubbish but some is fantastic, Miley Cyrus has just released a terrific song called "Flowers" which has gone to #1 in the UK and the USA, it's a brilliant pop song IMHO, one of my favourite artists Ian Hunter, who's in his eighties, has just released a song called "Bed Of Roses" featuring Ringo Starr and Mike Campbell which is also just as good but it's classic rock and not what you would call modern music, in the end for me it comes down to how good the song is and these are both excellent and weirdly both have horticulture themed titles LOL   

 

John 😎

Revamped bruno mars if i was your man or so I’m told. Still nice song though. 

[mario_buoninfante]

EDIT: deleting as I posted it on the wrong thread

Edited January 27, 2023 by mario_buoninfante

[Minininjarob]

I watched a YouTube video recently and the guy presenting said that older people don’t understand that “pop” music isn’t meant for them. They aren’t supposed to like it, it’s capturing the feeling and experience of the youth - maybe 15-25yo. It isn’t about technical prowess and they couldn’t give a rats donkey about the music their parents listen to. It’s about their experiences and feeling, not 30+ people. 
I thought recently - my parents hated Nirvana when they became popular in the 1990s. And people my age tend not to like current music and think the kids should listen to “our” music as it’s better. But do the math - when I was 19 in 1995 the music from 1965 was 30 years old. And I thought it was, with very few exceptions, rubbish. It sounded old fashioned, basic, cheesy etc. So the kids nowadays might be thinking the same about music from 1993 right now - and the 1965 music is SIXTY years old!!! 

You have to remember that we only tend to remember the best older music, but at all music eras there was a lot of dross, you only have to watch an old TOTP episode and see the chart rundown and 90% you either won’t remember or think it was awful. 
 

What I have done is made a conscious effort to get into some modern music. I don’t think “it hasn’t got a guitar bass and drums” in it I just think - “is it making me feel something?” - and try not to prejudge. I’ve not found loads of stuff yet but properly addicted to some newer artists now. And it’s been refreshing to do it, it’s great to listen to new music and it’s never been easier to find it! 
 

 

[diskwave]

Lets say it like it is. My bench mark for grt pop is the Bros Gibb, ABBA, Philly Soul and The Beatles....the common thread ? it all sounds kinda happy, uplifting to coin a cliche...ie bloody well written pop music. In my local Co-op the other day I nearly ran out the door screaming...there was this monotonous...slightly hip hop drone...it was truly horrifying, and Adele, that Ed Bloke, Modern music? No thanks.

[mrtcat]

As has always been the case, there is lots of new music and some is incredible, some is terrible and there's a whole spectrum of quality in between. The individual listening gets to decide where on that spectrum they personally want to put each piece of music. To expect it all to please everyone is ridiculous. It's has always been the same and will continue like that until the end of time.

My grandparents almost certainly felt exactly the way the op does when I was a teenager. I wouldn't expect mainstream chart to try and cater to my tastes as I get older. 

[StickyDBRmf]

OK I'll be 65 in a few days. Do you chaps have I guess you would call it, "University Radio Stations"? We call it "college radio". Small radio stations dj'd by students. That's where I hear stuff that's...refreshing. I only listen in the car. Otherwise I can't sit still.