Today's Music
Is it just me, or has most music since the 80s been much worse than it used to be? What ever happened to bands that played for the fans and the music, rather than money, fame, and groupies. All the good bands from then are getting old, and many of them are either too wasted or dead. Some bands that are around now, such as Green Day and the Foo Fighters, aren't that bad, but there are too few exceptions. I wasn't alive when bands like Pink Floyd were together. I would have paid a lot money to see them, but I may never have the chance to. And I also would have enjoyed seeing Jimi Hendrix, but he's been dead for over thirty years. I don't like metal anymore. I like Black Sabbath and Motley Crue and some of those older Metal bands, but not the newer ones. Metal has become too Satanistic. But I especially don't like rap. It isn't music. It's just a simple beat that no one is even really playing behind really bad rhyming about drugs, money, and women. Never again will I be a fan of new music, unless Jim Morrison finds a way to resurrect himself.
Jim Morrison was a hack.
I understand where you're coming from...but there is good music these days, you just have to seek it out.
Oh, also, you should listen to better rap.
I have to agree (well, not about the Jim Morrison is a hack bit - I think he's alright, if not the OMG GENIUS! others take him for). It's always easy to look at the past through rose-coloured glasses. The fact is, the crap from yesteryear was crap, and thus didn't last in public memory long enough to remember that it existed. We've had old music pre-filtered by time and distilled to the best of each era. Not to mention the fact that there were probably only a few artists from each individual era that were really great anyway. We just lump them all, from all eras, into "the good old days" heading, and forget that they're separated by generations. There is some great music happening now - as much as there ever was. We just have to sift through the crap ourselves without the benefit of hindsight to guide us. That can be tough, and it's often easier to just moan about the state of current music.
Oh, and yes. Most people could stand to listen to better rap - it's out there and it's some of the most exciting new stuff to be coming out of the music scene these days.
I find that too little 'new' music is new - it always seems to me nowadays to be so derivative. Jim Morrison wasn't exactly original either.
There is some good rap music out there, but rap isn't about the music or the art. It is about life and the rhythm and dancing and having a good time. Listen to the rhythm and don't take it too seriously as art but as beautiful black culture.
Ooh, them's fightin' woids! Honestly, I think that you just haven't heard the right rap. If the only rap you've heard is the stuff played on the radio (50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, etc.), then you're underinformed about rap. It absolutely is about the music and the art in some cases. You're right, in others it's about having a good time, but that's the stuff that gets played on the radio to appeal to the masses. Have a listen to someone like Edan , who is one of the most musically interesting artists I've heard in recent times. I have a degree in music, and as such can be quite picky about what I consider good, and Edan impressed me. He uses techniques I hadn't heard in mainstream music (a reverb machine which he used in a rhythmically and expressively interesting way). As well, in terms of sheer technical skill, he blows the hats off most pop or rock artists.
It would also be a mistake to underestimate the political importance of rap music. Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet was giving voice to a people about a social ill in a way that I suspect hasn't happened since the blues came onto the scene. (That's just off the top of my head, it's entirely likely there have been other movements just as important). The UK is producing underground hip hop that is more lively and important than a lot of the US stuff being produced these days. See Skinnyman if you want to hear the plaintive voice of the poverty-stricken youth in poor areas of London. And it's not like the faux-rebellion of rock music these days - Skinnyman actually is dirt-poor and scrapes together albums in between actually trying to make some money outside the music industry.
And one more example, if you want to hear something actually "new" in new music. Check out Buck 65 , a Canadian hip-hop artist who is juggling contrasting genres (hillbilly country, hard rock and hip-hop), with dazzling skill, and still managing to have it serve a larger purpose. His lyrics are innovative and interesting, and he appeals to not only the music major in me, but the literature major as well.
Wow! Where do you get to hear about such stuff? If only MTv didn't play the usual crap...
I've heard of most of these artists through my boyfriend, who keeps up to date by reading "Hip Hop Connection" magazine, and by listening to some of the British radio stations that feature well-informed DJ's playing gems they've discovered in their travels. Skinnyman was playing live in the radio station at one point (not like he's got a lot of other places to be, after all), and Buck 65 I saw live in Manchester. Basically, you just get talking to people who know more than you (so everyone, in my case), and start writing down names you find interesting, then make an effort to find the music and check it out. I keep a list in my wallet of everything I mean to check out (including musicians, films, beers, food, etc.)
So yeah. MTV is possibly the worst source for exposing yourself to different kinds of music. That's just the nature of the beast, that it has to appeal to the masses.
Are you just a rock fan? If no, I'd suggest you listen to trance, house, ambient and all that falls under the 'electronica' genre. It's pretty much of an underground genre. Darktremors lists are a great introduction to the genre. Mind you, some of the ones (like Spoon by Stella) really are crap. But most of 'em are pure gems.
I'd suggest you listen to-
1. Nothing but You - Paul Van Dyk (this one can be considered amongst the new stuff, since it was released in 2003)
2. Suburban Train - Tiesto
3. Summer Calling (Josh Gabriel Mix) - Andain
4. Offshore (Disco Citizens Edit)- Chicane (NOT the original. I have a sneaky feeling it won't be much appreciated despite it's beauty)
5. Cafe Del Mar '98 (Nalin and Kane Remix) - Energy 52
But coming to the point, I agree, even the trance scene is going dull (though neo-trance and microhouse, acc. to darktremor, are getting increasingly more airplay). As for rap, it's a pity that unheard gems like the ones pointed out by buddy aren't given their due. And as for metal/rock/grunge I've never been a big fan of the genres, so I am least qualified to comment on them. Anyhoo, I would really suggest you to check out trance. I am sure you won't be disappointed!