art

Remember the "old" days when music mattered and made a difference? Remember when songs were made with real musicians and talented instrument players?

Nowadays, it seems it's nearly all producers chopping old songs and putting them together in what appears to be a drug-induced stupor. And then you've got "shop-front" performers, usually female, who wear as little clothing as possible to sell themselves and to compensate for a lack of talent. Are you listening, Beyonce and Rihanna?

Mr. Cinema

Not sure why you criticized Beyonce. She has a great voice and is one of the few R&B singers who will likely have a long career. She's a mega pop-star.

Johnny Boy

I agree with all of that except the part about Beyonce. She seems flaky and I'm not a fan of her music, but I've heard her voice and that lady can sing. She has talent.

Mariah Carey (a much better singer than Beyonce) is the same way for me. I don't care for Mariah's music at all, but she can sing her ass off. Her voice is amazing.

But you're right about many of the other musicians and singers today.

david12

art, there are TONS of musicians that are creating music that 'matters.' From your post, it seems that you don't know this because you are too busy occupying yourself with the latest MTV flavor. God, I seriously find one or two new bands to listen to every few weeks that bring something interesting to the table. They aren't always groundbreaking, but they are being creative and trying to express themselves. Just imagine how difficult it would be to be in a band and create a new sound, knowing that you are going to be compared to everything else that has happened in music for the last 50 years. Yes, there is a barrage of total shit out there right now. Rappers doing the same tired image about the same tired cars and wheels. Genetically formed groups singing repetitive leftovers. And rock stars sounding exactly like bands 30 years ago...but worse. But there is other stuff, you just might have to look for it.

Seriously...I walked away from anything MTV about five years ago and would rather listen to silence over the radio. I have just kept my ears open to people talking about new bands. 90% of the time I don't get into them, but those few times a year when I really feel connected to something new is special for me.

I guess I just find myself on the opposite spectrum as you. I feel there are too many good bands that are bringing something to the table but I just don't have enough time to listen to them all. Makes me sad actually.

Johnny Boy

Of course there's always going to be good music out there somewhere, but I think the OP is talking mainstream. MTV and a lot of mainstream music used to actually be good.

lordwow

Wait... are we talking about Steely Dan?

mike1978

I too think you need to step away from MTV and Top 40 radio and take a listen to artists that exist just outside of the mainstream. I stopped listening to music on the radio about 13 years ago, but I've managed to purchase about 1000 quality albums since then.

mndtrp

Reference: DVDTalk Movie Forum
- Each new thread about how movies are worse than 20 years ago.


There are way more bands available to consumers today. When that happens, you get stuck with a lot of crappy bands. Quite often, those crappy bands are thrust to the forefront (MTV, radio) by teenagers who don't want their music to have a lot of thought put into it. They don't want complicated music. They want something that they can rock out to, shake their ass, whatever.

After a while of this, many teenagers will grow up and branch out into music that you would be happy with. It happens all the time. I know that my tastes have changed dramatically even in the last 8 years (I'm 26).

Stay away from easily marketable vendors, search out your music, and you will find the opposite of what you are complaining about.

Tscott

If you're not finding good music, it only means you're not looking for it. Instead you're waiting for the radio/tv/whatever to hand it to you.

There's tons of music out there. Good music too. Music for any and all tastes.

The problem: The radio and tv stick with what they know will be popular. They stick to the lowest common denominator.

The solution: The internet, research and word of mouth. Check out www.pandora.com or lastfm. Look at sites like Amazon under music you do like and see what else they recommend. Read pitchforkmedia, popmatters, the Onion AV Club reviews- take the final score given with a grain of salt, but follow up on albums that seem like they might interest you. Look into bands homepages, myspace pages, etc. Check out what your friends recommend (both real life and online). Find a music magazine that you feel you can trust and read. And so on and so forth...

Also, if you're looking for good music don't be afraid of something just because it's "old". There's a ton of great music, overlooked by many just waiting to be found. And don't be afraid to branch out beyond a chosen genre.

Rogue588

Pre-"Honey", you're right. After that album, her voice is terrible. Most of what she does now is whisper her songs. Or "speak-sing" them. (While the higher-octaves-she-used-to-reach-back-in-the-day-loop plays once in a while in the background...). And Beyonce isn't as hot as she (or PETA) thinks she is. For every Beyonce, I could give you 5 or 10 other female artists who could blow her away (both in talent and creativity).

But her ass sells. So she's more popular. I agree with everyone who's telling art to turn off MTV.

However, comparatively speaking (based on Art's examples), Beyonce IS better than Rhianna.

Rogue588

Oh, HELL YEAH. If it's GOOD R&B you're looking for, check out early Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, the Isley Brothers, Earth, Wind & Fire.

atlantamoi

Eh, another thread about today's woes. People have bitched about current music since we started crawling out of the water. I probably hate MTV more than just about anyone, but to suggest there is nothing worth listening to is utter nonsense.

The Bus

How can I make a "rolleyes" icon that's 10 ft. by 10 ft.?

NORML54601

There's not enough man on man action in today's straight music.

Eddie W

I find it interesting that people still cite MTV as a source of influence. How do teenybopper reality shows have anything to do with music?

milo bloom

A while back I happened across MTV during it's 15 minute music video block for that week, and I caught Beyonce's "Crazy in Love", I believe it was fairly new. I gave it a chance until they got to the point where Beyonce and the backup ho's just started shaking their asses. In rhythm admittedly, but it was just during a bridge of the song, and not a joking reference to any lyric or anything. There was no point to it, and the video was made worse when some guy with no talent that I could discern comes in and raps something unitelligible.

So, MTV still seems to have some music on, but anything that could have possibly been decent (her voice is okay), is lost under the glitter and bling.


Here's a suggestion to the OP, satellite radio. Within the first week I heard dozens of new bands that you never hear on terrestial radio. Well worth it, IMHO.

mndtrp

Because it gets the point across without having to list the other 10 music video channels.

Not to mention the fact that it's a huge source of influence, and they do still show videos. Occasionally.