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What do you think about mainstream music today?

What do you think about mainstream music today?

  • I dislike it

    Votes: 15 29.4%
  • I like it

    Votes: 4 7.8%
  • It's decent

    Votes: 7 13.7%
  • Don't call it music!

    Votes: 20 39.2%
  • I only listen to talk radio

    Votes: 5 9.8%

  • Total voters
    51
Music is completely subjective. It is all a matter of taste. One persons music is another's noise.

Todays music is no better or worse than anything else in the last 100 years depending on who you ask.
 
Music is completely subjective. It is all a matter of taste. One persons music is another's noise.

Todays music is no better or worse than anything else in the last 100 years depending on who you ask.

Justin Beiber transcends subjectivity.
 
Fairport Convention
Steeleye Span
Richard Thompson
Tim Hardin

I will admit to a fondness for Steeleye Span's version of John Barleycorn Must Die.
 
R.I P. Ronnie James Dio :rock :rock :rock :rock


Today a Rock legend died. At 7:45 am this morning Ronnie James Dio passed to the next world. He is one of the last of the great rock vocalist. He will always be. and we are the Last in Line.

We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line
See how we shine
We're the last in line



[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSjlEjpyA9g"]YouTube- Dio - Last in line[/nomedia]

We're a ship without a storm
The cold without the warm
Light inside the darkness that it needs, yeah

We're a laugh without a tear
The hope without the fear
We are coming - home

We're off to the witch
We may never never never come home
But the magic that we'll feel
Is worth a lifetime

We're all born upon the cross
The throw before the toss
You can release yourself
But the only way is down

We don't come alone
We are fire we are stone
We're the hand that writes
Then quickly moves away

Chorus:
We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line
We're the last in line

Two eyes from the east
It's the angel or the beast
And the answer lies between
The good and bad

We search for the truth
We could die upon the tooth
But the thrill of just the chase
Is worth the pain

We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line
We're the last in line

We're off to the witch
We may never never never come home
But the magic that we'll feel
Is worth a lifetime

We're all born upon the cross
The throw before the toss
You can release yourself
But the only way you go is down

We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line
We're the last in line
 
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I will admit to a fondness for Steeleye Span's version of John Barleycorn Must Die.

My favorites

Fighting for Strangers-Maddy's refrain is hauntingly beautiful

Weaver and the Factory Maid-amazing vocal performance by Maddy

Tam Lin-toss up between this and Sandy Denny's version but the first part of SS's is one of the greatest folk works ever.

and Black Jack Davey

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e196Jsd-oQ&feature=related"]YouTube- Tam Lin - Steeleye Span[/nomedia]


[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do7epBepl8U"]YouTube- Steeleye Span The weaver and the factory maid[/nomedia]


[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZzmPbzwZ1o&feature=related"]YouTube- Black Jack Davy / Steeleye Span[/nomedia]



I cannot think of a lady with a better voice than MP though Annie Haslam and the late great Sandy Denny come close
 
What do you think about the state of mainstream music today?

In my opinion, I think most of the stuff on the radio charts sound "flat" and dull.

1) Hip-hop. I think real hip-hop died in the 90s. Back then the genre was mostly about stuff you could relate to like growing up in a bad part of the city, being pissed at the government, getting away from trouble, or something with meaning. The beats where mixed creatively and they were smooth. Most of it was inspirational. Remember how good hip hop was when 2pac was alive? ...Now all I hear are songs about how much money you have in your pocket with auto-tune vocals. If 2pac and Biggie were still alive, Lil Wayne would be working at burger king right now.

2) R&B. The artist today have rhythm I guess, but where is the blues? The R&B I hear on the radio sounds like teen pop... I'd say this genre died in the late 70s or early 80s.

3) Rock. I think rock music died in the mid 90s. Most rock artists today don't seem to have influence from legends like Pink Floyd, the Beatles, ect. Rock has been tuned down and stripped from it's roots in my opinion to get on the pop stations. We are getting an "emo" image in the rock scene. There are still a few bands that have some rhythm like Disturbed and Slipknot but of course the mainstream only plays their slow PG songs and they are played on the radio rarely.

As for MTV, I don't think it's even fair to call it "Music TV" anymore. They play a music videos sometimes yes.. but for the most part it's full of 'reality' shows.

OK so I don't only listen to talk radio, but I don't tune into the music stations.

I like what I like and I like drums. Kodo, for example. Buddha Bar 3 is another. I don't hear much of that in "main stream" music...at least not a drum rhythm which is free of singing, screaming or electric guitar.

My musical preference is the balance to my humor. Unlike my dry sense of humor, my music needs to be free of sex or anti-social/religious language.

Songs which follow the traditional style of instrument intro, pre-chorus, chorus, and coda are a turn-off. This is especially true if the coda is particularly long and only contains one line repeated over and over.

If the music MUST have lyrics, (which I'd rather it didn't) creative use of a bridge is appreciated.

Techno is another turn-on. I loves me sum techno.
 
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Techno should die in an alley covered in piss after being stabbed to death in the eye.

But only after watching Rubber Johnny.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9TbdheS3Sg"]YouTube- Rubber Johnny (Original, Short Version)[/nomedia]
 
Music is completely subjective. It is all a matter of taste. One persons music is another's noise.

Todays music is no better or worse than anything else in the last 100 years depending on who you ask.

Well, I guess you're right. But I consider myself very diverse in what I'll listen to. Modern indie, classic indie, rock, grunge, django, instrumentalists, classical, swing jazz (30's & 40's), experimental, gypsy jazz, 80's hip hop, R&B, blues, acoustic blues, japanese rock, middle eastern pop, belly dance music...

I don't like rap or variants because I just can't relate so it's not something I listen to - but I have to say most of what's called "top 40" being played on generic radio stations today is just ah... not good music. It's formula produced, engineered and processed garbage. I haven't listened to an actual on-air radio station in years and tend to seek out bands and songs that my ear likes.
 
I have never been much into mainstream music. I prefer music that is more out there, angrier, edgier. That music more speaks to my soul.

That ^ made me think of Brad Delp. The Boston vocalist who killed himself a few years ago. His notes said, "I am a lonely soul."

:(


Boston is will always be one of my favorites.
 
i have never seen it described better than hunter s thompson's maxim:
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs every day.

And there's also a bad side."
 
Well, I guess you're right. But I consider myself very diverse in what I'll listen to. Modern indie, classic indie, rock, grunge, django, instrumentalists, classical, swing jazz (30's & 40's), experimental, gypsy jazz, 80's hip hop, R&B, blues, acoustic blues, japanese rock, middle eastern pop, belly dance music...

I wish I had tastes more like yours. I seem to be comfortable with a very narrow style of music no matter how much I try to make myself get into other things.
 
I wish I had tastes more like yours. I seem to be comfortable with a very narrow style of music no matter how much I try to make myself get into other things.

so you like both kinds of music, huh .... country and western
 
I wish I had tastes more like yours. I seem to be comfortable with a very narrow style of music no matter how much I try to make myself get into other things.

It's all about what you were exposed to in early years of growing up. I played music all my life so I got to appreciate all types for different reasons. First record I ever heard was a Homer and Jethro record my parents bought in the 1950's and the song was "Pfft you was gone". Of course, I was at the time enamored by someone actually doing the "Pfft!".
 
It's all about what you were exposed to in early years of growing up. I played music all my life so I got to appreciate all types for different reasons. First record I ever heard was a Homer and Jethro record my parents bought in the 1950's and the song was "Pfft you was gone". Of course, I was at the time enamored by someone actually doing the "Pfft!".

I don't think that explanation works for me though. My parents pretty much listened to the typical set of 50s to 70s rock when I was growing up.

For me though, there is just something about repetitious music with slight changes over the course of a few minutes that is extremely soothing, beautiful, and awe inspiring. It speaks to my soul where nothing else does. I just wish other music did as well so that I could have a wider variety of artists to load on my ipod. Listening to the same 30 artists gets boring after a while, but its hard to find a good band.
 
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I don't think that explanation works for me though. My parents pretty much listened to the typical set of 50s to 70s rock when I was growing up.

For me though, there is just something about repetitious music with slight changes over the course of a few minutes that is extremely soothing, beautiful, and awe inspiring.

personally, i couldn't imagine anything worse:mrgreen:

but hey, each to their own i guess
 
but hey, each to their own i guess

Yeah, with art, thats the way it seems to work. I just love it because I can emotionally feel the different relationships between the notes.

Whats frightening though is that my wife tells me that many of the autistic kids she used to work with would react to music in a similar manner, in the sense that they would seem to feel the music with their entire body and with their raw emotional state. I guess it would explain my high amount of introversion and complete indifference to most people if there were underlying similarities.
 
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Yeah, with art, thats the way it seems to work. I just love it because I can emotionally feel the different relationships between the notes.

funny though, thats why i like blues, whilst open to almost infinite variation, it remains within certain parameters of rhythm and such, and on some songs, i can (more or less) guess the next note even if hearing it for the first time.
 
funny though, thats why i like blues, whilst open to almost infinite variation, it remains within certain parameters of rhythm and such, and on some songs, i can (more or less) guess the next note even if hearing it for the first time.

Good. Hopefully I am more normal than I often suspect. Or maybe you aren't :shock:
 
I don't think that explanation works for me though. My parents pretty much listened to the typical set of 50s to 70s rock when I was growing up.

I think he has a point though. The music you hear early will have an impact, either drawing you to it, or driving you away. My parents listened to muzac, and I reacted by going as far away from it as possible. The more production value a record has, the less I probably like it.
 
Well growing up, my brothers mostly listened to the hip-hop station. And that's what I was mostly only exposed to. Today, I listen to rock from the 60's and 70's mostly, and now I'm delving into Latin Jazz and some new wave. Go figure.

That said, about today's music, I remember a quote I heard the other day I think by one of the Bee Gees. They were talking about the state of disco music back in their days, and they said that it had just turned into a beat, that it wasn't really music anymore. I think that's what has happened to mainstream music today. It's just a beat.
 
I think he has a point though. The music you hear early will have an impact, either drawing you to it, or driving you away. My parents listened to muzac, and I reacted by going as far away from it as possible. The more production value a record has, the less I probably like it.

Perhaps. But I wonder if you were already somewhat inclined to prefer something different and what you disliked about what you heard growing up were the most glaring differences.

I am asking the chicken and egg question. Which came first?

My experience growing up was that my parents music was OK as background noise, but not great or really worth paying attention in my opinion. I started listening to early RAP and that was better, than I discovered KMFDM in early highschool and that, for me, was what I had been looking for. Than eventually I discovered skinny puppy and that to me was (and still is with each new album) sheer musical genius.

Looking back, I can see that some of the musical aspects that I did like about early rap were more prevalent in industrial/ebm/synthpop/etc and were expressed in a way that I had been looking for at an earlier age.
 
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