The Sorry State of Music in America

[monolith94]

Pepé deluxe!!!

[MrFun]

This might shock you, but you can be an intelligent person AND still enjoy non-classical types of music and NOT enjoy classical music.

[Kepler]

Today's crap is tomorrow's classic pop. Key-ryste, people get dewy-eyed about the MC5's "Kick out the Jams," now.

Children's music is always about pissing off their parents. I.e., rebellion. I.e., corporate-marketing of nice, safe, anti-establishment mewlings. That was true of rock and roll in the 50's, folk and hard rock in the 60's, glitter and punk in the 70's, new wave and post-punk in the 80's, grunge and rap in the 90's, gangsta and that X Games soundtrack ****e that's big now, and so on forever.

If you are over 25 and have a job and you *like* a current group, then either they're out of it and on a steel wheelchair tour or they just aint doin' their job right.

[Ned]

What I would really like is access to any classical, opera or pop work online that I could download or just play when I want to. No more libraries.

Does anything like that exist?

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Juggernaut
You forgot Puff Daddy and Eminem.

I'm not as big a fan of them. I really like PDiddy's It's All About the Benjamins, but I couldn't name you another tune . . . okay, his love song to J-Lo that came out recently is good. I like Eminem's new tune, but cuz it's funny. They are good entertainers, but I'm not sure I'd put them in the same catagory as the Atlanta crew.

[Drake Tungsten]

I thought this was going to be a thread about the sorry state of American rock music. Too bad it isn't, because American rock is in the crapper right now. It's pretty bad when the Hives rock harder than any band in America right now. They're Swedes for god's sake! The god damn Finns will be rocking my socks off pretty soon and I'll have to shoot myself...

This might shock you, but you can be an intelligent person AND still enjoy non-classical types of music and NOT enjoy classical music.

That's total crap and you know it. If you don't like Beethoven, then you're an idiot. Capice?

[Carver]

Che, Fun, et al.. yeah there's some damn good R&B/pop/rock music out there. Believe me, I can go to a club or fly down the highway at 90 mph (make that kph ) and listen to it. But when there are people that only know songs mentioned by Casey Casum (sp?) , or numbers from BET Un-Cut, those people are missing out.

[ThePantaloonDog]

Trance and techno is what I meant by electronic stuff. I'm not really that knowledgable about this type so I really don't know what its called. It just always seems that a lot of it comes from Europe.

Examples of Euro-pop are Kylie Minogue (Yea I know she's Australian but she's supposedly very popular in Europe.) and Eiffel 65 or whatever they call themselves.

I guess it is true that most things that do come from Europe are from the top 40 which is unfortunate since I'm sure it is as devoid of talent as the America top 40 is.

Since Puff Daddy changed his name to P. Diddy he seems have to have lost a step. I couldn't stand his last CD. Eminem is a good entertainer espcielly seeing how far he'll push people but his music is only catchy at best.

I've always liked Timbaland and Missy Elliot they were always a good change of pace from the BlingBling rappers.

At the Drive In is also a good band, sort of like Rage Agaisnt the Machine but not with the goofy "Look we're Communists. We're rebeling agaisnt society. Look! Look!" schtick.

[Al B. Sure!]

**** Timbaland and his fake computer-sounding production... what happened to the old style Funk/Jazz from the rap cds of 93-97? Only Havoc of Mobb Deep (and a few popular but 'non-mainstream' people like the Roots) continues to produce that real instrumental style of rap beats.

And Che...

Missy Elliot, Bubba Sparxxx (what the hell?!), etc. are not nearly on the level of a Beethoven... They come out with nothing but ****ty party lyrics... Where's the poetry or social consciousness of "Get Ya Freak On" or "Lovely". **** Missy Elliot!

2pac, Nas, AZ, Scarface, Cormega, Bizzy Bone, Killah Priest, KRS One... these are the true artists who have a message to speak


thanks

[Adalbertus]

That's total crap and you know it. If you don't like Beethoven, then you're an idiot. Capice?

Beethoven is a crap. In his 9 symphonies he as written 1/2 excellent movement. This is by far not enough for his fame. Bach is it.

[monolith94]

Symphony 9 and 6 are my favorites.
I also like showtunes indie techno trance classical blues hip-hop post punk progressive prog rock some metal a bit of gangsta rap buddy holly alternative folk rock&roll new wave no wave post wave rave wave rave-crave stave off my rave and a bit of the lost wave then there's flapper girls and their flapper guys jazz jingles brit-pop mod-pop alt-pop indie pop emo marxist mania stuff and then there's also the balladeers madonna is a category her own novelty songs are in as is bombay beat world beat electronic drama-techno world-electro and bayou music renaissance music midi files harmonica solos saxahone duets and…


miscelleneaous.

because the TRUTH is that good music can come from anyone of these sources and bad music can as well. And it's YOUR tastes that decide if something is good or not, not wether they strum faster or are less controlled by producers or any crap it's just what you LIKE and nothing else.

And always remember if you think that you're all independent and cool and you follow the charts like a fiend waiting for the next bomb shell record that will change the face of your niche *cough*snap*cough* REMEMBER that you're just like the other guy listening to Brittney… only you're just a bit weirder.

[monolith94]

Whoops I forgot Glam Rock. And psychedelia. Oooh oooh I really like polka too. And children's music. Baby beluga in the deep blue…
Good stuff
And lou reed too

[Lars-E]

I drove across America twice and there was only good old American crap on the radio. Top hits? No way! European top hits would be best because sometimes the American top hits are infested with some American apple pie oddity.

[Buck Birdseed]

I so don't accept that argument, Kepler- The fact that young people today with scant knowledge musical history will listen to Kick Out The Jams not giving a damn whose generation it was from should be proof enough that young people will accept rebellion against any establishment. And anyway, Pop Music's main rebellion has always been being so simple and seemingly stupid that the more intellectually focused/less daring (cross out as applicable) grown-ups get their tits in a twist just denouncing it as pointless and vacuous. It doesn't matter whether it's Phil Spector or Timbaland producing... Possibly the old 'uns (with a few exceptions, of course) are nostalgic about their own pop but don't want to accept that today works of equal genius are being made. But I do believe young people, at least past a certain age of, say, fifteen or so, are quite willing to accept and take in every historical strand of pop as long as it's just as fun as the stuff made today...

I'm actually surprised at the high quality of some of the pure chart stuff recently. I mean, though Bling Bling, "Hot in Here" is damn avantgardistic musically, with chords and beats you'd never have expect in a popular song just ten, fifteen years ago. Astounding artful progress has been made in recent Urban music and Dancehall (and Soca, to some extent) that I just never thought was possible any more.

[ThePantaloonDog]

I drove across America twice and there was only good old American crap on the radio. Top hits? No way! European top hits would be best because sometimes the American top hits are infested with some American apple pie oddity.

WHen you drive across America you really have to listen to talk radio. Nothing kills time better than listening to some of the weirdos that come on. I've found that Arkansas has the best wackos.