Why does music suck now?

[Japher]

and should of gone into porn

[Last Conformist]

Originally posted by Asher
Kelly Clarkson came from American Idol.

IOW, an American Darin.

[Provost Harrison]

That top 100 is truly awful...

[Arrian]

There are two possibilities:

1) Music really sucks today. It sure seems that way.

2) I'm getting old.

-Arrian

[Provost Harrison]

Well I don't think Jaguar is that old. But you really need to escape the singles charts nowadays to find good music...there really is a lot of crap. The thing that bugs me is the predominance of all this rap rubbish nowadays. And yes, I am sounding just like my dad!

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Arrian
There are two possibilities:

1) Music really sucks today. It sure seems that way.

2) I'm getting old.

-Arrian

"Way back when
In Sixty-seven
I was the dandy
Of Gamma Chi
Sweet things from Boston
So young and willing
Moved down to Scarsdale
Where the hell am I
Hey Nineteen
No we can't dance together
No we can't talk at all
Please take me along
When you slide on down

Hey Nineteen
That's 'Retha Franklin
She don't remember
The Queen of Soul


It's hard times befallen
The sole survivors
She thinks I'm crazy
But I'm just growing old"

[JohnT]

Originally posted by alva
There is a difference though, in that the biggest music buyers are girls between 11 and 15...
Need I explain more?

Which was the reason people explained the popularity of the Beatles. And Elvis. And pretty much any rock 'n roller up until, oh, 1968 or so.

[lord of the mark]

Even the bad top songs of 1965 were good.


Roustabout Elvis Presley Jan '65
Beatles '65 Beatles Jan '65
Downtown Petula Clark Jan '65
You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling Righteous Brothers Feb '65
This Diamond Ring Gary Lewis & the Playboys Feb '65
My Girl Temptations Mar '65
Eight Days A Week Beatles Mar '65
Mary Poppins Soundtrack Mar '65
Goldfinger Soundtrack Mar '65
Stop in the Name of Love Supremes Mar '65
I'm Telling You Now Freddie & the Dreamers Apr '65
Game of Love Fontana, Wayne & the Mindbenders Apr '65
Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely
Daughter Hermans Hermits May '65
Ticket to Ride Beatles May '65
Help Me, Rhonda Beach Boys May '65
Back in My Arms Again Supremes Jun '65
I Can't Help Myself Four Tops Jul '65
Mr. Tambourine Man Byrds Jul '65
Beatles VI Beatles Jul '65
Satisfaction (I can't get no) Rolling Stones Jul '65
I'm Henry VIII, I Am Hermans Hermits Aug '65
I Got You Babe Sonny & Cher Aug '65
Out of Our Heads Rolling Stones Aug '65
Help! Beatles Sept '65
Eve of Destruction Barry McGuire Sept '65
Hang On Sloopy McCoys Oct '65
Yesterday Beatles Oct '65
Get Off My Cloud Rolling Stones Nov '65
The Sound of Music Soundtrack Nov '65
I Hear A Symphony Supremes Nov '65
Whipped Cream & Other Delights Herb Alpert - Tijuana Brass Nov '65
Turn! Turn! Turn! Byrds Dec '65
Over and Over Dave Clark Five Dec '65

Im Henry the Eight I Am. Downtown. All those soundtracks (and no im not sure how the site I consulted counts "hits") Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. You dont even need the rock greats to see how good it was.

[Dis]

popular music was bad in the late 80's as well. All that Debbie Gibson, whitney houston crap.

There's a reason why I started listening to heavy metal (and it's not Asher's reason ). I had to release the anger I felt when listening to popular music.

[C0ckney]

Why does music suck now?

short answer: it doesn't

there's a lot of good music being made today, but a top 100 pop songs list probably isn't the best place to find it.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Here's the Billboard top 20 for 1965:

# 1 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
# 2 Yesterday - The Beatles
# 3 Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A season) - The Byrds
# 4 Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter - Herman's Hermits
# 5 I Got You Babe - Sonny & Cher
# 6 Help! - The Beatles
# 7 I Can't Help Myself - Four Tops
# 8 You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' - The Righteous Brothers
# 9 Downtown - Petula Clark
# 10 This Diamond Ring - Gary Lewis and The Playboys
# 11 Stop! In The Name Of Love - The Supremes
# 12 Help Me, Rhonda - The Beach Boys
# 13 Get Off Of My Cloud - The Rolling Stones
# 14 I Hear a Symphony - The Supremes
# 15 I'm Telling You Now - Freddie & The Dreamers
# 16 Eight Days A Week - The Beatles
# 17 My Girl - The Temptations
# 18 Hang On Sloopy - The McCoys
# 19 Mr. Tamborine Man - The Byrds
# 20 Eve Of Destruction - Barry McGuire

My antipathy for "I Got You Babe" notwithstanding, it's a formidable list...

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Japher
That's because those songs aren't selected by popular opinion.

We only get songs that some radio exec, who is probably 90 years old, thinks will most likely sell more air time. Popular opinion is sheit. Really it is just a selection of the least crapy songs being played on the radio.

Kind of like the winnners on America's Funniest Home Video

It's all about Independent radio stations.

Especially if they play underground or Indie bands.

Down with corporate radio and their crap music designed not to offend anyone nor be interesting to anyone.

[Zkribbler]

IMHO:

Roustabout Elvis Presley Jan '65 (never heard of it.)
Beatles '65 Beatles Jan '65
Downtown Petula Clark Jan '65
You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling Righteous Brothers Feb '65
This Diamond Ring Gary Lewis & the Playboys Feb '65
My Girl Temptations Mar '65
Eight Days A Week Beatles Mar '65
Mary Poppins Soundtrack Mar '65
Goldfinger Soundtrack Mar '65 title song & James Bond Theme otherwise ;q:
Stop in the Name of Love Supremes Mar '65
I'm Telling You Now Freddie & the Dreamers Apr '65
Game of Love Fontana, Wayne & the Mindbenders Apr '65
Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely
Daughter Hermans Hermits May '65
Ticket to Ride Beatles May '65
Help Me, Rhonda Beach Boys May '65
Back in My Arms Again Supremes Jun '65
I Can't Help Myself Four Tops Jul '65
Mr. Tambourine Man Byrds Jul '65
Beatles VI Beatles Jul '65
Satisfaction (I can't get no) Rolling Stones Jul '65
I'm Henry VIII, I Am Hermans Hermits Aug '65
I Got You Babe Sonny & Cher Aug '65
Out of Our Heads Rolling Stones Aug '65
Help! Beatles Sept '65
Eve of Destruction Barry McGuire Sept '65
Hang On Sloopy McCoys Oct '65 ~~
Yesterday Beatles Oct '65 ~
Get Off My Cloud Rolling Stones Nov '65
The Sound of Music Soundtrack Nov '65
I Hear A Symphony Supremes Nov '65 ~ [but courageous to do a rock song to a Bach tune]
Whipped Cream & Other Delights Herb Alpert - Tijuana Brass Nov '65
Turn! Turn! Turn! Byrds Dec '65 ~
Over and Over Dave Clark Five Dec '65

[asleepathewheel]

Re: Why does music suck now?

Originally posted by Jaguar
Frankly I am embarassed that my parents grew up listening to cooler music than I did, but it's true.

You have no one to blame but yourself for that one. With the Internet, you have no excuse for listening to crappy music.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

The OP point is less obvious, though, if we look at a year like 1977. 1977 is one of the truly great years for music. Look at the albums: it's the year Elvis Costello released "My Aim Is True" and Talking Heads released "Talking Heads '77," the year David Bowie released both "Low" and "Heroes," the year the Sex Pistols released "Never Mind the Bollocks," the year Iggy Pop released "Lust for Life," the year the Ramones released "Rocket to Russia" (the greatest of all Ramones albums, featuring Sheena is a Punk Rocker, Teenage Lobotomy, Do You Wanna Dance? and Surfin Bird). It was the year Stevie Wonder released "Songs in the Key of Life" and Bob Marley released "Exodus." It also was a titanic year for AOR ("Hotel California," "Rumours," Boston's debut album), which was not my thing but surely has its fans.

And yet, here's the Billboard Top 20 for 1977; note especially the disco theme to Star Wars at #9:

# 1 You Light Up My Life - Debby Boone
# 2 Best Of My Love - Emotions
# 3 I Just Want To Be Your Everything - Barry white
# 4 How Deep Is Your Love - Bee Gees
# 5 Theme From "A Star Is Born" (Evergreen) - Barbra Streisand
# 6 Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
# 7 Torn Between Two Lovers - Mary MacGregor
# 8 Rich Girl - Daryl Hall & John Oates
# 9 Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band - Meco
# 10 Got To Give It Up (Part 1) - Marvin Gaye
# 11 Car Wash - Rose Royce
# 12 You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show) - Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr.
# 13 Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
# 14 You Make Me Feel Like Dancing - Leo Sayer
# 15 Dancing Queen - Abba
# 16 Southern Nights - Glen Campbell
# 17 Blinded By The Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band
# 18 Hotel California - Eagles
# 19 I Wish - Stevie Wonder
# 20 Gonna Fly Now - Bill Conti

Clearly, you can't judge a year by its charts.