Old or new music?

[honk friend 1,972]

To preface, I mostly listen to rock, metal, and rap music.

New music by far, it's not even close. There are a couple of reasons why.

First is variety, power metal and industrial metal are both very important genres to me and they've been around for a while, but industrial metal didn't get BIG until the early to mid '90s and power metal saw perhaps its biggest spike in popularity over the last decade. There's more great bands and more new and interesting genres now than there were decades ago.

Second reason is cultural impact. I've always been an edgy bitch and the music I like has never been afraid to push cultural boundaries. That's still an ongoing theme. I'm on board with whatever gets Karens clutching their pearls.

[AppleButt 8,669]

If we are talking about mainstream music then I prefer the older music. 
 

But if we are just talking about music in general then I like new music.   If we got rid of any new music in this regard then that’d eliminate almost all the music I like.  

[Splashee 28,537]

At one point in my life, I thought the world had just accepted rap as the only 'new' music. And no one wanted to listen to the old music anymore. The world was just rap. It was horrible!

[honk friend 1,972]

Hot take: I feel like new music is unfairly generalized as vapid and horrible when that's arguably more true of the pop shit that came out in the '80s

[Dreambiscuit 8,024]

I don’t restrict myself to any one generation of music because that would suggest good music is subject to time and place rather than overall quality. Good music is timeless and can exist in any era. I love music from all generations, though I tend more toward older music. But my playlists are loaded with some pretty eclectic stuff from every imaginable corner of the industry and range from the beginning of recorded sound to the present day.   

[Splashee 28,537]

And then, when there was no music left, they came out with this, I don't even know what it is about. It doesn't feel like old, or new:

Spoiler

 

 

 

[Early Sunsets 2,106]

My music tastes are stuck in the late 2000's / early 2010's, for the most part. The only bands / artists who have more than just a handful of songs I like are My Chemical Romance, Pierce the Veil, Sabaton, and Princewhateverer.

[Prospekt 10,984]

Most of my favorite songs/albums are from before 2010. Lots of 90s rock, as well as some older stuff from as far back as the 50s. Heck, I'm listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan as I type this. I'm 22 and not a lot of people my age really get it when I say I couldn't care less about 2010s pop and hip hop, but oh well. I like what I like.

[Envy 5,999]

On 10/20/2020 at 9:31 PM, Annie said:

Hot take: I feel like new music is unfairly generalized as vapid and horrible when that's arguably more true of the pop shit that came out in the '80s

As someone who is not a fan of the vast majority of 80s pop (and rock...and pretty much everything from that decade lol), I don't know. I would have agreed, but then there was one shift I worked where they played all modern pop and... Wow. I wanted to run away screaming! No resemblance of any actual voices, just autotone. No non-electronic instruments. All kinds of weird, obnoxious sounds that just don't sound good no matter which way I slice it.

I don't like a lot of 80s pop, but... I'd still take it over this stuff. Begrudgingly so, as I really don't want either, but... yikes, that new pop. It's just too far gone.

And of course I don't speak of all pop music being produced today. I have pop music from recent years that I listen to... but it's almost always by artists that are looking back to the 1960s/70s.

[honk friend 1,972]

5 hours ago, Envy said:

As someone who is not a fan of the vast majority of 80s pop (and rock...and pretty much everything from that decade lol), I don't know. I would have agreed, but then there was one shift I worked where they played all modern pop and... Wow. I wanted to run away screaming! No resemblance of any actual voices, just autotone. No non-electronic instruments. All kinds of weird, obnoxious sounds that just don't sound good no matter which way I slice it.

It's not fair to criticize new music for using synths since they've been commonplace in music production for literal decades. The vast majority of the time you hear synth drum beats or synth basslines you can't tell them apart from the real thing, and they're extremely common, especially so if you're listening to rap, pop, or RnB. If you're not a fan of synths in general, well, you're welcome to have that opinion, but it's probably not very consistent unless you have a very specific taste.

As for autotune, well, if you have time for a 30 minute video I'd recommend watching this.

 

6 hours ago, Envy said:

I don't like a lot of 80s pop, but... I'd still take it over this stuff. Begrudgingly so, as I really don't want either, but... yikes, that new pop. It's just too far gone.

And of course I don't speak of all pop music being produced today. I have pop music from recent years that I listen to... but it's almost always by artists that are looking back to the 1960s/70s.

I guess I'd have to ask for examples because I'm not entirely sure what's meant by "pop music from recent years" that's "by artists that are looking back to the '60s and '70s".

 

[Envy 5,999]

4 hours ago, Annie said:

It's not fair to criticize new music for using synths since they've been commonplace in music production for literal decades. The vast majority of the time you hear synth drum beats or synth basslines you can't tell them apart from the real thing, and they're extremely common, especially so if you're listening to rap, pop, or RnB. If you're not a fan of synths in general, well, you're welcome to have that opinion, but it's probably not very consistent unless you have a very specific taste.

I mean, yeah, you don't know my tastes. I am largely a listener of Early Music and Classical. And trust me, once classical started getting electronic, I tuned out (although, in classical music, electronics are associated with some pretty strange 20th century avant-garde stuff, much different from pop music). Rap is nearly nonexistent in my library, as is any modern pop or R&B save for those few that are inspired by the 60s/70s.

Although there are exceptions where I'll listen to electronic pop from the 80s or beyond with synths, it's pretty rare. It does happen... But if you're looking for someone with a very specific taste, you're looking at her. Instrumentation is crucial to my enjoyment of music, and I'm very, very, very picky with it. I generally don't like anything electronic beyond the guitar and hammond organ.

As for autotune. Sorry, I'm not going to watch a 30 minute video. Remember, I'm talking about modern electronic pop, the stuff I heard on the radio at work. It isn't just even subtly using autotune to keep someone's voice in tune, it's... using it to make all kinds of strange noises and effects that are very unappealing to me.

4 hours ago, Annie said:

I guess I'd have to ask for examples because I'm not entirely sure what's meant by "pop music from recent years" that's "by artists that are looking back to the '60s and '70s".

Really? You've never heard of retro music? Well, I suppose your tastes are a lot of rap and metal, as you said, so you're not going to have much interest in artists that look back to earlier styles.

Here are some examples.

This one looks back to early 70s soft rock, particularly Bread:

This one's Funk inspired (Funk inspired retro music is actually a relatively large movement. This band is really unique and rises above the rest IMO, as in they bring in more influences, such as the early 70s genre of Brass Rock, and even metal.)

Classic hard rock (another fair sized movement, I mean there are Led Zeppelin sounding bands out there a-plenty lol)

While I could keep on going on, I'll end with neo-Symphonic Prog. Like some of the other retro genres above, there is a substantial movement of neo progressive rock, especially symphonic in the style of 70s Yes, Genesis, etc. (Yes, this genre has synths. It's one of those rare exceptions I mentioned above. But as you can see, synths are not the focus of this music at all, a marked difference from 80s pop or today's pop)

 

[honk friend 1,972]

42 minutes ago, Envy said:

I mean, yeah, you don't know my tastes. I am largely a listener of Early Music and Classical. And trust me, once classical started getting electronic, I tuned out (although, in classical music, electronics are associated with some pretty strange 20th century avant-garde stuff, much different from pop music). Rap is nearly nonexistent in my library, as is any modern pop or R&B save for those few that are inspired by the 60s/70s. 

Although there are exceptions where I'll listen to electronic pop from the 80s or beyond with synths, it's pretty rare. It does happen... But if you're looking for someone with a very specific taste, you're looking at her. Instrumentation is crucial to my enjoyment of music, and I'm very, very, very picky with it. I generally don't like anything electronic beyond the guitar and hammond organ.

As for autotune. Sorry, I'm not going to watch a 30 minute video. Remember, I'm talking about modern electronic pop, the stuff I heard on the radio at work. It isn't just even subtly using autotune to keep someone's voice in tune, it's... using it to make all kinds of strange noises and effects that are very unappealing to me.

Sure. That's pretty much what I was expecting, but usually I'm pretty suspicious of people who deride newer music for using synths or autotune. It's one of those things you see newer music get grilled for super often but a lot of the people who make that complaint will also listen to '70s and '80s music as if synths and effects pedals weren't super common back then as well.

1 hour ago, Envy said:

Really? You've never heard of retro music? Well, I suppose your tastes are a lot of rap and metal, as you said, so you're not going to have much interest in artists that look back to earlier styles.

Here are some examples.

This one looks back to early 70s soft rock, particularly Bread:

This one's Funk inspired (Funk inspired retro music is actually a relatively large movement. This band is really unique and rises above the rest IMO, as in they bring in more influences, such as the early 70s genre of Brass Rock, and even metal.)

Classic hard rock (another fair sized movement, I mean there are Led Zeppelin sounding bands out there a-plenty lol)

While I could keep on going on, I'll end with neo-Symphonic Prog. Like some of the other retro genres above, there is a substantial movement of neo progressive rock, especially symphonic in the style of 70s Yes, Genesis, etc. (Yes, this genre has synths. It's one of those rare exceptions I mentioned above. But as you can see, synths are not the focus of this music at all, a marked difference from 80s pop or today's pop)

Well sure I love retro-inspired music, but here's the thing, that's kind of a broad descriptor. You can't really expect me to be familiar with the kind of music you posted because, well, it isn't what I'd consider to be pop, it's not what I normally listen to, and judging by the viewcounts these artists aren't exactly well known by anyone.

[Envy 5,999]

31 minutes ago, Annie said:

Sure. That's pretty much what I was expecting, but usually I'm pretty suspicious of people who deride newer music for using synths or autotune. It's one of those things you see newer music get grilled for super often but a lot of the people who make that complaint will also listen to '70s and '80s music as if synths and effects pedals weren't super common back then as well.

Sure, not everyone's opinions are consistent. However, to be fair, with 70s music (which I have listened to quite extensively, although I will say significantly less after 1975), there is exponentially less of this than any era since.

I will use a popular band of the 70s and 80s who covered one of their early 70s songs in the 80s to demonstrate:

70s version. Very raw.

The 80s version. YUCK! I mean they still have the trumpet, trombone saxophone section, which is really bucking the (bad, very bad) trends of the 80s, but otherwise this is over-the-top electronic nonsense and pales in comparison to the 70s version by a wide margin, and it makes me cringe so hard.

Of course, I'm not saying that example applies to all music from both decades, not even in mainstream. There are certainly songs from the 70s that are fairly electronic, but I think, for the most part, the 80s are where this trend really took off and went overboard. IIRC, synths became more widespread in the 80s and that's what we have to think for this bad trend.

But even if you listen to 70s music with electronic instruments beyond the standard (guitar, bass, hammond organ), you'll notice that they aren't as flashy or showy and are just a part of a much larger ensemble.

Symphonic Prog is a great example of this. Much like Wobbler above, the 70s classics did similar. In Genesis's Firth of Fifth, you'll hear a synthesizer solo in the section of solos, but it's not by any means flashy, ever-present, and over-bearing like you'll find in later music.

I won't defend the 80s much, but I do think there is even a marked difference between the music of the 80s and the modern pop I was talking about. I wish I could provide examples and comparisons, but TBH, I'm speaking of a general number of songs that I heard over the radio at work. I don't know who made them or what their names are. Nor did I care to find out, because it was straight-up unlistenable.

I'm sure there's a spectrum in even modern mainstream pop, but nothing I heard during that shift showed any kind of spectrum. It was all the same, and it made even the cheesiest most overproduced 80s music feel somewhat genuine in comparison. Perhaps it was all just one particular genre. I don't know who picked the music for that day, but they need to be fired. Lol.

53 minutes ago, Annie said:

Well sure I love retro-inspired music, but here's the thing, that's kind of a broad descriptor. You can't really expect me to be familiar with the kind of music you posted because, well, it isn't what I'd consider to be pop, it's not what I normally listen to, and judging by the viewcounts these artists aren't exactly well known by anyone.

As a classical student, I end up defining everything that isn't classical or early music as "popular music". So I refer to a lot of these genres as under the 'pop' umbrella, because that's how it is understood from a wider perspective. The word "pop" as a specific genre is too ill-defined for me.

Yup, retro music is oftentimes underground and not well-known. The mainstream "retro" music I've heard is a far cry from sounding anything like genuine old music.

[SomeponySparkle 245]

I like plenty of newly released stuff. But also, I am always looking for new-to-me music. Right now, I am listening on Spotify to some 90's rock from The Auteurs and Black Box Recorder. It's 20+ years old, yes.

But I have never heard it before. So maybe that makes it "new".  

[Trixie Heartstrings 433]

On 12/20/2015 at 4:55 PM, Trixie Heartstrings said:

I listen to a mix. I mostly like rock, metal, and rap music. Bands that I listen to include the Ramones, Metallica, Guns n' Roses, Nirvana, Green Day, Linkin Park, and more. Rappers that I listen to are N.W.A. (along with Ice Cube and Dr Dre's solo works), Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Wu Tang Clan, Jay-Z, and more. So there are older and newer artists that I like. Hell, even though I mostly listen to the genres previously mentioned, I'll listen to any genre, but there are some artists I really don't care for (Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber). As far as EDM goes, I'd rather listen to it in some place like a club.

Over 5 years, my general opinion hasn't really changed as much. I don't like the Ramones anymore, but that's about it. I haven't listened to any of those bands as much as I used to, since I'm way more partial to rap these days. I'd say 90s rap is my absolute favorite music, but I like others as well. I like Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, MF DOOM (RIP), Mobb Deep and Travis Scott. I can't believe I didn't mention Nas or Notorious BIG back then, Illmatic and Ready to Die are both amazing albums. My personal favorite albums at this point are Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and Operation: Doomsday. I also like Korn more than I used to, but just their albums up to Untouchables.

[Clawdeen 12,110]

I listen to a wide variety of music. New and older. 

I could go from Ariana Grande to Rush to Slayer to Daft Punk. The only thing I still don’t like to this day is rap and country music. 

[Ruchiyoto 49]

I prefer classic (old school) music over the latest released titles, while some might have potential but the old rock music I just can't get enough of, and never will stop loving it.

[Northern Star 1,023]

Mostly older, as in pre 2006, as there seemed to be a change from "country rock" to "rap with a guitar and southern accent with little effort" and then they killed the pedal steel.

Then again if you were to look at what I listen to and what I have, you would probably go "what?". From Lawrence Welk to ACDC to CW McCall to big bands.

[ZiggWheelsManning 7,367]

There's close to a century of recorded material, choose any old music set in stone as it is  

[Savygriffs 5,022]

I like 80's  and 90's music, but I also like a lot of newer songs as well. (Whether it be Pop, Rock, Indie, Punk or whatever lol)