Why do people complain about "how bad music is today"?

[Le Kvlt Dawn 2,364]

Jimmy Carter foresaw that you would use this counterargument. That is why he included it in his post. Jimmy Carter did so to demonstrate the futility of such argument. He then included the proper procedure for dealing with such situations. Jimmy Carter does not enjoy having to explain his actions to others.

Well then, looks like you're wrong about "musicians nowadays being talentless". Unless you want to throw a counter argument. Go for it, try to prove me wrong. I DARE you.

[DusK 1,264]

The differences that people are complaining about have more to do with mainstream music than anything, and how different the mainstream music scene was decades ago compared to what it is now. And for the most part, they're right in that statement given they keep it in that context.

For example:
 

I've seen people say "Back then artist wrote their own music". What the fuck? They still do, and they always will. It's always been that way and always will.

Mainsteam music between the 90s and now saw a surge of pop artists that were completely unable to write their own songs or music. Most pop artists these days are still unable to do so, at least by themselves, with an added caveat that what's written for them or with them often isn't very good as well. "Baby" by Justin Bieber, for example, was written by six people, Bieber included. And it's comprised solely of lyrics that any fifth-grader in a creative writing class could come up with. "Stupid Hoe" by Nicki Minaj wasn't even written by herself, but instead by her, Tina Dunham, and Safaree Samuels. And it sucks; its lyrical content is largely uninspired, childish, and completely devoid of any actual artistry. Stuff like that happens all the time in mainstream music today, something that couldn't be said for mainstream music 30 years ago.
 

Then, there's the "Music was so much better back then". Look, there's always been both good and bad music, there will always be both good and bad music, and it will always be like that, forever.

Once again, if we're narrowing our scope to mainstream music, the density of music that can be considered objectively good was much thicker in the 80s than it is now.

As for your "there's music out there that's better than what's on the radio, it's easy to find" statement, I gotta disagree. Try to think back to when you were introduced to the kinds of metal you listen to now. How did you learn about it? It certainly wasn't through any popular medium, such as the radio. The biggest issue with looking for "better music" is that, if one were to go about that themselves, they're not sure exactly what they're looking for. That can be a problem. For example, I really liked both metal and punk in my youth, around 2003 or so, and always wanted to hear some form of music that would combine the two. I had no idea where to look though, and wasn't introduced to metalcore until years later in early 2006.

Brony music is a fantastic parallel to this dilemma. Take a look at that "top five favorite brony artists" thread. Look at what everyone's posting; their lists are packed almost entirely with musicians that are popular, despite the existence of brony musicians that are objectively better than the people they're posting. These people may be interested in hearing this better brony music, sure. But unfortunately, nobody's serving it up on the popular delivery mediums such as EqD and EFR. So because there's no way to actively seek this better music out, it's arguable that said better music is by no means "easy to find".

Non-niche, original music works the same way; finding those better yet unadvertised artists is by no means "easy". If it were, I would have found bands like BTBAM, The Human Abstract, Protest The Hero, and We Butter The Bread With Butter back in 2007, when I was actively looking for good metal bands to listen to, instead of 2011 when I joined a band where bandmates introduced me to those bands.

Edited April 23, 2013 by DusK

[PittyPaws 118]

 

 

I don't find it bad it is that, I like brony music more than music on the radio. I am pretty much addicted to brony music, but that is just me. Besides most music now a day is a really crappy love song because our generation puts out a shit ton of love songs. And I am tired of love songs. In my defense I don't really argue about how horrible music today is. I just go with flow.

 

Love songs have been around for ages, They were around way back durring our grandparents' time when the radio was the only thing that people really had access to for entertainment. There were even radio shows because most people didn't have televisions at the time.  The fact is that today's radio stations only play a select amount of music and they play it over and over again repeatedly.

[Yamato 1,347]

Well then, looks like you're wrong about "musicians nowadays being talentless". Unless you want to throw a counter argument. Go for it, try to prove me wrong. I DARE you.

*sighs*

Before you continue down this path, you may want to look back at the words I used in previous posts. I said "I COULD extend my criticism...". Does that mean I am? Not necessarily. Most of my observations on "today's music" are being made on artists that are popular on the radio. Now, you may know of some bands that I've never even heard of (and vice-versa). Is it really fair to judge an entire era (or eras) without knowing them in their entirety. This is exactly like someone passing judgement on a movie or TV show of which they have only watched very little or none at all. Sound familiar?

 

 

Jimmy Carter:

Peanut farmer, president, social commentator, satire extraordinaire.

[Le Kvlt Dawn 2,364]

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for your "there's music out there that's better than what's on the radio, it's easy to find" statement, I gotta disagree. Try to think back to when you were introduced to the kinds of metal you listen to now. How did you learn about it? It certainly wasn't through any popular medium, such as the radio. The biggest issue with looking for "better music" is that, if one were to go about that themselves, they're not sure exactly what they're looking for. That can be a problem. For example, I really liked both metal and punk in my youth, around 2003 or so, and always wanted to hear some form of music that would combine the two. I had no idea where to look though, and wasn't introduced to metalcore until years later in early 2006.

If I remember correctly, a friend of mine gave me a Gorgoroth album on my flash drive. Then I started finding more and more stuff that I liked. Not just songs, but full albums. Then I discovered Children of Bodom and my life changed forever.

[DusK 1,264]

If I remember correctly, a friend of mine gave me a Gorgoroth album on my flash drive. Then I started finding more and more stuff that I liked. Not just songs, but full albums. Then I discovered Children of Bodom and my life changed forever.

 

Be more specific. What was your medium of exploration? How did you go about looking for new music?

 

It may seem like a trifle now, or "easy", but hindsight's 20/20.

[Le Kvlt Dawn 2,364]

*sighs*

Before you continue down this path, you may want to look back at the words I used in previous posts. I said "I COULD extend my criticism...". Does that mean I am? Not necessarily. Most of my observations on "today's music" are being made on artists that are popular on the radio. Now, you may know of some bands that I've never even heard of (and vice-versa). Is it really fair to judge an entire era (or eras) without knowing them in their entirety. This is exactly like someone passing judgement on a movie or TV show of which they have only watched very little or none at all. Sound familiar?

 

 

Jimmy Carter:

Peanut farmer, president, social commentator, satire extraordinaire.

You said talent in GENERAL was on a decline. You didn't specificly say "mainstream pop artists". And those bands I mentioned are fairly well know among a certain group of people.

 

 

Be more specific. What was your medium of exploration? How did you go about looking for new music?

 

It may seem like a trifle now, or "easy", but hindsight's 20/20.

Either I would find a band I liked on YouTube or I would just ask my friend for recommendations and he would give me music all the time.

[DusK 1,264]

Either I would find a band I liked on YouTube or I would just ask my friend for recommendations and he would give me music all the time.

 

And here we have the kicker; the two mediums you suggested involve a video site, used very uncommonly by people for music discovery by itself, and a friend with specific musical tastes and prior knowledge of specific music, a resource that isn't available to a wide enough spectrum of people to be considered a reliable medium of music discovery overall.

 

As such, discovery of better music still remains no trivial task. Given your answers, this is especially true for the casual listener with no friends of similar musical tastes, as many listeners are.

Edited April 23, 2013 by DusK

[Yamato 1,347]

You said talent in GENERAL was on a decline. You didn't specificly say "mainstream pop artists". And those bands I mentioned are fairly well know among a certain group of people.

This is where the "Jimmy Carter: social commentator, satire extraordinaire" part comes in. All of my posts up until now have sarcastically combined to create one social comment, that there is no point in arguing over which musical era is best. Each side has there own argument, and each argument can be ignored by the other side. THERE IS NO CORRECT CHOICE. It is not our place to judge, only to enjoy. One can like Roy Orbison AND Nirvana, Jim Croce AND Daft Punk, Jimi Hendrix AND Mozart.

 

Furthermore, saying a band is "fairly well known among a certain group of people" means nothing. I could say "rape is acceptable among a certain group of people", but how small would that group be?

 

If one does not understand what Willis is saying, then one best remove thine self from Willis' presence.

[Le Kvlt Dawn 2,364]

 

And here we have the kicker; the two mediums you suggested involve a video site, used very uncommonly by people for music discovery by itself, and a friend with specific musical tastes and prior knowledge of specific music, a resource that isn't available to a wide enough spectrum of people to be considered a reliable medium of music discovery overall.

 

As such, discovery of better music still remains no trivial task. Given your answers, this is especially true for the casual listener with no friends of similar musical tastes, as many listeners are.

Now I solely rely on the internet for music discovery. That friend I have is gone now, and my new friend has a strong dislike for my taste in music.

 

Furthermore, saying a band is "fairly well known among a certain group of people" means,nothing. I could say "rape is acceptable among a certain group of people", but how small would that group be?

 

If one does not understand what Willis is saying, then one best remove thine self from Willis' presence.

How exactly does "a few hundred thousand to a million people" liking a band mean nothing? How exactly does that work? That doesn't make sense.

[DusK 1,264]

Now I solely rely on the internet for music discovery. That friend I have is gone now, and my new friend has a strong dislike for my taste in music.

 

"The Internet" is rather vague. Once again, you need to be more specific. Which sites and services are you using? Are these sites popular or are they relatively unknown? Do these sites and services require you to identify music you already like in order for it to suggest music?

[Le Kvlt Dawn 2,364]

"The Internet" is rather vague. Once again, you need to be more specific. Which sites and services are you using? Are these sites popular or are they relatively unknown? Do these sites and services require you to identify music you already like in order for it to suggest music?

Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, Blospots, ThePirateBay, 4Shared. I've also used radio services like Pandora and Spotify for further discovery .

[AndrewsarchusJones 13]

Dude, the radio has always like that. It's for sheep.

Oh, guess I'm a sheep. I thought this was a place I could be without shame... *hangs head*

 

And here we have the kicker; the two mediums you suggested involve a video site, used very uncommonly by people for music discovery by itself, and a friend with specific musical tastes and prior knowledge of specific music, a resource that isn't available to a wide enough spectrum of people to be considered a reliable medium of music discovery overall.

 

As such, discovery of better music still remains no trivial task. Given your answers, this is especially true for the casual listener with no friends of similar musical tastes, as many listeners are.

Personally it's always been easy for me. And I'm not talking from 'hindsight' or about modern mainstream stuff. But I'm sure my experience isn't everyone's.

 

But how do you know Youtube is not commonly used to find music? Seems to be an awful lot of comments about finding music on there.

[Crazy Misty 653]

There is good music today, it's just the mainstream music that sucks, mainly because most people use auto-tune which sounds like complete shit in my opinion but whatever.

[Le Kvlt Dawn 2,364]

That's it, I'm done for today. I'm really sleepy right now, I've taken one HELL of a beating and I don't want to.debate anymore. Go ahead, label this the worst era in music, call the bands of today talentless, limit yourself on what you might like.

Edited April 23, 2013 by AtDawnTheySquee

[Gears of Halo Duty V 394]

Asking why people are criticizing today's music (who all have valid and invalid reasons) isn't going to get you far, because it's full of countless answers. Most mainstream music today probably holds a negative connotation with most people. And why not? Truly, it sucks.

 

You may have a number of good bands at your disposal with songs that are unrivaled, but the effects of this era have all but dampened my spirits. Something feels off, and it's a bit difficult for me to explain. So is all music today bad? No, that would be a foolish thing to say.

 

So instead of asking why people are quick to criticize today's music, what you should be asking is "What music is worth listening to?"

Edited April 23, 2013 by Gears of Halo Duty V

[Hawk Moth 390]

Because music today really is, for the most part, truly godawful. I didn't start actually liking music until I was 17 because the music I grew up with was so terrible, and when I did start listening to music it was Classical, Classic Rock, and Jazz. The 90's were perhaps the worst decade for music ever.

[Aaramus 449]

I don't think it's a case of music being bad but rather that there are so many artists and songs being produced these days. There's a huge amount of music being produced and it should be all about what we like, rather than what we don't like.

 

Again this is all down to personal preference, but lets talk about the "mainstream" as an example for now. I am going to use the UK top 40 here.

 

In the top 10 there are only 3 songs that I genuinely like and they're actually all of different genres. The rest I don't particularly care about and the likelihood is that I won't bother to listen to them. In fact, there are only 6 songs in the Top 40 that I like, but I don't think the rest are bad, I just don't like them.

 

I do agree that a lot of it is overproduced for the masses these days for sales figures, but if you're that bothered about it are you even going to listen to that music anyway? I don't listen to radio stations that have that kind of music, I go to the ones which have the bands and songs I like.

[Potato Sprout 109]

I wouldn't say that the music is bad but I don't think it's good either. Everything is just opinion after all. I know some people that likes the "new" music and some that just dislike it. But I have a wide music taste, I can atleast find something in pretty much anything except Dubstep, Rap and Heavy metal or what it's called. But i prefer some gamey music myself, something from "Waterflame" or "Anamanaguchi" works well for me.

 

Now, back to what this thread is about. As i said, I can find something in most song, Now if it's just one single part in the song, most music have atleast one of those parts if you ask me.

 

[Hawk Moth 390]

I'll be more specific in that modern pop music is bad. There's no way I could ever grasp the full breadth of all the independent music - and by independent, I mean actually independent music and not pop music that masquerades as being independent. I'd have to devote my life to music research, but all I have to do to form a good opinion on pop music is listen to the radio. It's pure and utter shit.

[MorningFlash 214]

The main reason I dislike today's generation of pop music, is because it seems like the lyrics are too sexy. Take One Direction for an example, one of their most popular songs' chorus contains the lyrics 'Let's go crazy crazy crazy 'till we see the sun, I know we only met but let's pretend it's love, and never never never stop for anyone, tonight let's get some, and live while we're young.' And also, please bear in mind that they're idols to 10,11,12 year old girls. However, Ed Sheeran does sing about love, but he doesn't talk about it like "LET'S HAVE SEX AND GET DRUNK." or Taylor Swift for an example, she makes people think it's okay to make men look like the evil ones in a relationship, although sometimes woman are the ones who provoked that breakup. Don't even get me started on Nicki Minaj.

[Scootaloodle 1,621]

I think it can just be down to personal taste, I don't really care about the pop artists I'm not really interested in what Rhianna or Katy Perrys latest records are. But I complain about the House music and dance music on the radio, I love my House and Disco, but the stuff I hear on the radio I often take a strong dislike to as I think it lacks the soul of the older stuff, so that's why I complain. Which isn't often as the kind of thing that I like is easily avaliable off online music stores and on second hand records and I can play them when I want so it's better than radio

Edited April 23, 2013 by Asherdangerdash

[Pinkazoid 3,493]

I hate those sorts of people, the whole "hurr hurr, i was born in the wrong generation hurrrr" although i mostly listen to 80's Rock and such, and i do feel a bit out of place, i couldn't live without my daily dose of Electro Swing ; n ;

 

Today's music, i don't like it, most of it, but i wouldn't go as far as to say it's bad, since there's still a few songs i like.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

Much negativity, especially in the hip-hop/rap region. I can't even enjoy a nice rap or hi-hop song, without being overwhelmed with a bunch of swearing and sex talk. This is what I don't like about today's music, the themes are not varied like that of yesterday.

[MorningFlash 214]

I hate those sorts of people, the whole "hurr hurr, i was born in the wrong generation hurrrr" although i mostly listen to 80's Rock and such, and i do feel a bit out of place, i couldn't live without my daily dose of Electro Swing ; n ;

 

Today's music, i don't like it, most of it, but i wouldn't go as far as to say it's bad, since there's still a few songs i like.

I hate that too, I know some people like that who are a year or so older than me, y'know, the ones who think they're grunge because they know one nirvana song.