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Good post. I think people like to look at the period from say--1955 through the early 1980s--and look at how all these popular music styles became codified during that period--rock 'n roll, doo-wop, R&B, soul music, surf music, rockabilly, folk rock, psychedelic rock, heavy metal, ska, reggae, funk, disco, punk rock, new wave, and hip-hop--that basically set the template for what's around today. Even much of the electronic and pop music of today has its roots in the house/techno of the late 80s which was just a mutation of Detroit techno which itself had it's roots in electro funk and Kraftwerk in the 1970s. And people look at that extremely fruitful period of American music and wonder why we don't have that level of musical change and innovation today. And the truth is that by the mid-90s, some of these genres had already been through one or two rounds of retro revivalism(or even more if you're talking about ripping off the blues)--others like heavy metal or punk had been taken to such extremes that to go any louder and heavier would just be silly. As much as rock music changed in the 1990s--a lot of it was just combining styles a little differently--taking the energy and simplicity and darkness of punk rock and using some of the styles of heavy 1960s and 1970s rock.
Music of the last twenty-five years has changed, but it's often forced to look back to look forward again. Look at how the funk breakbeats of the 1970s that changed hiphop music in the late 80s became standard as backing for mainstream pop in the 1990s. Or how the sort of 80s revival that started out with people aping the New Wave/Post-punk styles of the late 70s/early 80s switched into popularization of the same synth pop stuff that became so prevalent in the mid to late 80s. Now days, you have kids listening to pop music aping stuff from acid house/dance music in the early 90s and they don't even realize it...
A lot of the changes are just in how technology influences both the creation and listening of music. The internet/Ipod/Iphone has made it so it's easier for people to listen to anything they want, whenever they want without having to copy a friends tape/cd or go to a record store. We've got more music than ever before at out fingertips. Consequently even the mass-marketed pop music that gets noticed is even for a more specific segment of the market. I can't imagine a big album like Thriller or Born in the USA being a big hit with a cultural impact and recognition across the entire US. Someone could create the Sgt. Pepper of today and it might get called the record of the year by every magazine and only sell about 400,000 copies--and that'd be considered a success these days. Music keeps slowly changing, but the cultural impact has changed as well.
Adele's 21 sold 5.2million copies in 2011 and apparently 3.7 million this year.
That's just cause there's damn little good metal. Metal wasn't exactly ever pop music, but it was a lot more pop than it is today. Also, Adele.... I can't think of anything pop from the '80s that sounds like that. Given, I was in diapers so maybe I'm just not aware of it. If you look at billboards, some certainly sound similar to '80s bands. Maroon 5 or Train, for example. Then again... they are '80s bands. I don't see much '80s in Ellie Goulding, fun., Neon Trees, or Lumineers. I can't really speak to rap or country as I don't listen to it. I mean, Lumineers especially is pretty traditional folk rock, but folk rock was NOT pop music in the '80s. And it sounds pretty different from Arlo Guthrie.
That's just cause there's damn little good metal. Metal wasn't exactly ever pop music, but it was a lot more pop than it is today. Also, Adele.... I can't think of anything pop from the '80s that sounds like that. Given, I was in diapers so maybe I'm just not aware of it. If you look at billboards, some certainly sound similar to '80s bands. Maroon 5 or Train, for example. Then again... they are '80s bands. I don't see much '80s in Ellie Goulding, fun., Neon Trees, or Lumineers. I can't really speak to rap or country as I don't listen to it. I mean, Lumineers especially is pretty traditional folk rock, but folk rock was NOT pop music in the '80s. And it sounds pretty different from Arlo Guthrie.
Ellie Goulding is incredibly 80's. I love her, but she's totally out of the Kate Bush/Cyndi Lauper form.
Ellie Goulding is incredibly 80's. I love her, but she's totally out of the Kate Bush/Cyndi Lauper form.
Adele doesn't sound 80s, she sounds 60s lol.
This is part of the problem, the pop rock genre has been around so long that they can just keep recycling sounds and most people don't know how similar most of the music of today sounds like something from the past.
One thing that nobody has mentioned in this thread yet is the rise of home recording. Thanks to the decreasing costs of recording equipment and software, it's easier now than ever for anyone to make a recording. Back in the day, only bands with record contracts had access to the best recording studios, so the number of people who could get their music recorded was far lower than now.
All this means that there are so many more recording artists today than ever before, which makes it harder to any one person to be noticed.
Look at that - a copy right infringement...I did not know they still had them. Live performance is everything. My son who can melt an audience with his writing and live performance - got side tracked lately - He started playing bass with a metal band- bordering on death metal. They have been rehearsing for well over a year and have recorded but no live performance yet...The music is good...Good metal is like fine jazz played super loud with a attitude. BUT - the "singer" who is actually a real singer and an accomplished REAL musician ....Insists on duplicating that stupid roaring demonic scream that sounds just like a 100 other thrash singers....it stinks...You can not understand the lyrics - The vocal actually destroys the music....I don't get it....What's wrong with putting an original and audible vocal on top of this energy?
I stopped playing a few years ago...but I did attend for about four years this jam across the street...some great players and some posers....I would ask them one question "can you create and generate beauty?" Having mentioned that - few are confident enough to go full tilt with reckless abandon and put on a SHOW...As an old guy _ I could still kick ass...cos' I earned my stripes...and I was a perfectionist as far as song writing..... My son would play with me on occasion back then...I would quietly laugh when he would say "Dad - I thought you were going to have a heart attack when you were doing that solo....the only time I felt healthy and alive was when I was giving it my all.
Here is a lesson to you younger players...music will keep you strong and young....I noticed since I stopped playing - I started to rot-and it was not the age....once you start you should never stop till you are dead....Those who quit to please a wife and to sell shoes were never the real deal to begin with - Music is the ultimate commitment- whether you find fame and glory or not- it's the doing that counts.
Getting back to the kids metal band....They are great - but once they do the live performance thing...they had better listen to this old man and give people a SONG....People love the energy and musicianship - but they need to hear a story....I should have a chat with the singer and advise him on HOW to have an original sound...that sound will come from the vocalist...but not if he is going to copy those who came before.
I don't miss not being in the game...but what I do miss is being the old peacock....musicians have the privilege of strutting their stuff and having he woman..........That is what this old guy misses....I am a nobody without music and woman look for a somebody. Yes getting the girls was a great by product of the business.
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