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Music today

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Poll Question: Do you think music today is better than when you grew up?
Poll Choice Votes Poll Statistics
7 [14.00%]
43 [86.00%]
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Grumpyprogfan View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Grumpyprogfan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Music today
    Posted: July 21 2019 at 17:36
I always hear... the music today is so bad. It was so much better when I was growing up.

I think music today is much better than when I grew up. More choices and more talent. What do you think?


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TCat View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TCat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2019 at 18:05
I think there is excellent music in both cases. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2019 at 18:08
It depends on the genre. Personally I think pop music is probably the worst it's ever been and most of it is just going around in circles(especially rap and hip hop). Alternative rock I'm not so sure about. I think it started to go downhill around 1998/99. I haven't really kept up with most forms of pop music so I'm not the best judge I suppose. Other than prog I don't really pay that close attention but there are some good bands currently out there(non prog). I would say most of the better ones are probably in the indie genre(not sure if alternative is still a thing like I mentioned). I really like a lot of 90's bands and in fact sort of took a break from prog for about five years or so during that decade and was really into bands like Live, Smashing Pumpkins, PJ and the rest of the whole grunge scene but then at some point things just sort of went south when bands like Creed came along. Then even worse(if anything) were bands like Nickleback and it didn't get any better. 

Anyway, not a big deal to me but shouldn't this be in the general music discussion forum?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Man With Hat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2019 at 19:48
Originally posted by TCat TCat wrote:

I think there is excellent music in both cases. 
 

this is correct. even if things don't resonate with me as much as the "classics" do, I can't pretend it's all sh*t. 
Dig me...But don't...Bury me
I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive
Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Dark Elf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2019 at 20:24
The preponderance of the past outweighs the scant selections of the present.
...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined
to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote siLLy puPPy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2019 at 20:57
I think music of the past collectively is better. The reasons are numerous such as there are so many other ways to express artistic creativity these days. The internet has created a wealth of visual arts unthinkable 40 years ago and the demise of the record labels which nurtured and directed bands talent is practically non-existent. I do however believe things go in cycles and there will inevitably be a renaissance of musical expression that captures everyone off guard. When? Who the bleep knows but hopefully in our life times :)  

That doesn't mean that there isn't some great music out there these days though. It just seems so scattered. There are no artists that everyone can relate to any longer. No generational bonds through music. On the other side of the coin, the internet has allowed us to explore the nooks and crannies of the past thus giving obscurities new life so in a sense the modern day artists are competing against all of music history and those are some serious odds against them.

https://rateyourmusic.com/~siLLy_puPPy
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Finnforest Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2019 at 21:03
There is great music every decade as far back as I've listened, roughly 1940. Today's great, yesterday was great. It's a smorgasbord, not a competition. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Blacksword Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2019 at 00:47
If we're talking prog (and I assume we are as the thread isn't in the General Music discussions forum) than, no. Prog was obviously better years ago.

As for mainstream music, there's always been a lot of crap out there and ones perspective on just how bad it is changes as you get older. I'm inclined to say that mainstream pop music was generally probably sightly better when I was a kid. I use the 'relative genius' principle. These days, someone who plays guitar, writes their own songs and sings them is looked upon as being extremely talented, even a genius in the case of performers like Ed Sheeran, but that kind of very basic level of musical talent was a prerequisite to having a music career at all, 40+ years ago.
Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Atavachron Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2019 at 01:11
I will say generally music today, pop and art, often seems more diverse and interesting than in the past.   But 'better', no I'm afraid not.   Just take a glance at this week's Top 40.   Ouch.   And it's not so much a matter of Pop music as it is style--  Jonas Bros., Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Katy Perry.   I like pop music and I like hiphop but this is the stuff you hear coming out of a fourteen year-old's Bluetooth.  

As for progressive music, rock seems a quaint antique, jazz a novelty, the relevant singer/songwriter seriously endangered, and we keep circling the wagons with our avant-garde and retro symph.


"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."   -- John F. Kennedy
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote handwrist Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2019 at 01:34
There have been studies done on complexity of rhythms, melodies, harmonies and words across the decades and popular music (not just pop music) has been on a downward spiral towards retardation. I was born in the late 80s, so I was always late to the party - the music that was popular in my youth was already formulaic to the max and so I found treasure on previous decades (1995 and below). The future described in Idiocracy is not that far away, and music is as affected as everything else. I find it harder and harder to tolerate the absolute garbage that is frequently played at commercial establishments (that weird and disgusting mix of pop, rap, hip hop and electronica). It's just tasteless consumer products, in a musical format.

There's clearly still good music being produced, but in general I think most releases lack the inspiration, the spirit, of earlier times. And certainly our culture seems incapable of producing another truly original genre or scene. Everything is rehash of a rehash. One of the reasons I like vaporwave is because, unlike those retro bands who emulate the sound of the 80s, vaporwave is straightforward and tells you upfront the music is repackaged and manipulated and is about making you nostalgic for an era long gone.

So in short, yeah, music (as pretty much everything else) is worse today and will be worse tomorrow.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Frenetic Zetetic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2019 at 01:59
Originally posted by Man With Hat Man With Hat wrote:

Originally posted by TCat TCat wrote:

I think there is excellent music in both cases. 
 

this is correct. even if things don't resonate with me as much as the "classics" do, I can't pretend it's all sh*t. 

x 3.

Good music is also timeless anyway.

"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote patrickq Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2019 at 02:56
Originally posted by Finnforest Finnforest wrote:

There is great music every decade as far back as I've listened, roughly 1940. Today's great, yesterday was great. It's a smorgasbord, not a competition.
Well put. I’d vote for the “equally good” option. Now if we’re talking favorite vs. better, I’d go with the past,
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote essexboyinwales Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2019 at 04:20
For me, what's in the charts is almost universally awful, but in terms of music I buy and listen to, be it prog, metal, prog metal, etc., there is some absolutely wonderful stuff coming through year after year.  Most of my favourite albums have come from this century I would say....



...and part of that is due to the fact that I didn't get into alot of the older stuff until later in my life, and I think an awful lot of people who still think that the best music (prog) comes from the early days, were there when it happened....
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lewian Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2019 at 04:34
I see the temptation in voting for the past, not that much temptation to vote for the present. But then voting for the past would be unfair to all those who put out great stuff these days, and they do exist!

Also, not only music changes, also quality criteria change. Hard to compare really. Let's not forget most people are initiatied to music between the age of 10 and 20, together with first love and all that, and most will carry around a preference for the stuff they got into at that time for the rest of their live. "The past" vote in this poll will be strongly biased by this, although kudos to the 10-20 years old of today who get into Pink Floyd, King Crimson and all the rest!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chopper Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2019 at 05:04
How long ago is "the past"?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Meltdowner Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2019 at 05:11
Answering the poll question and since I was born in the mid-90's, I think music is better now. I mean, I find more music I like better from today than from the previous two decades. Maybe for the fact that underground artists can distribute their music more easily but also because of the resurgence of vinyl, many try to make concise records instead of filling up CD's.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Finnforest Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2019 at 07:25
Originally posted by patrickq patrickq wrote:

Originally posted by Finnforest Finnforest wrote:

There is great music every decade as far back as I've listened, roughly 1940. Today's great, yesterday was great. It's a smorgasbord, not a competition.
Well put. I’d vote for the “equally good” option. Now if we’re talking favorite vs. better, I’d go with the past,


Yeah, the favorite/better wording is a good point too. If it was favorite, I'd have to admit there is some truth to the embedded nature of songs from our youth being extra special. But it doesn't have to lock one there in stasis. I purposefully try to listen to things before my youth as well as today, and these songs can be great too. Right now, I'm on an old jazz kick which is so much fun.

I realize now this was a prog poll as someone pointed out. I was answering as if it were a general poll, so my response is off base anyway now.  LOL

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Manuel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2019 at 07:47
The music industry in not what it was when I was growing up. The days or the rich rock star, started by Elvis, is now gone, and the artists of today simply do it for the love of music, so it's very hard to compare. Before, they could make a living off it, so they would put all their time and energy into it. Now, most artists, specially music which doesn't fit the popular trend, have to have a 9 to 5 job and write and perform their music on their spare time. With sites like Spotify, where you can just pay a small yearly fee and listen to everything you want, hardly anybody buys music anymore, and the artist gets paid next to nothing for their music. Of course there's still some people who buy the music, but is a very small percentage of those who listen to it, making music sales very insignificant to what they used to be. That doesn't mean the artists of today are not as talented as the ones of previous decades, but the circumstances are so different, that indeed affect the quality and nature of their music.   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Grumpyprogfan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2019 at 07:50
Thanks for all the great comments. I’m 59 and grew up during the age of new wave, disco, and punk. Prog was losing steam and radio, as it always is, sucked. Radio may have been better in a larger town, but in my area the only good show was the weekly broadcast of The King Biscuit Flower Hour. Beyond that you could only hear the top 40 drivel (disco was the worst) or the constant rotation of Zeppelin, Stones, The Who, etc. I guess I’m in the minority so far about this topic, but I feel the talent and choices available to me now are better than when I was growing up. Some of my favorite new prog acts, which I love as much, or more than, the old prog bands, include… Bubblemath, Frost*, Haken, Tauk, Riverside, The Aristocrats, Thank you Scientist, Freak Kitchen, IZZ, Echolyn, Nova Collective, Big Big Train, Lonely Robot, Sanguine Hum, and Thieves’ Kitchen. And I am always searching and finding new groups of all genres that amaze me now more than ever. This site is one such place to find new discoveries. So, thanks again for all the awesome comments and I’m glad to be here.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Slartibartfast Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2019 at 08:02
50-50 for me but I voted now since it had the least votes. LOL
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

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