How cool or uncool are the 90s?

[C0ckney]

alt rock

[Cort Haus]

i always get somewhat annoyed when people talk about the music of a particular decade being 'good' or 'bad' or some such simplistic view. there's been so much amazing music made in every decade, it's ridiculous.

Exactly. I tend to stay away from musical discussion because it frequently, if not invariably, degenerates into the worst kind of ignorant and bigoted pissing-contest imaginable.

For a start, people often mistake the small subset of available music that they actually encounter with all the stuff that's actually out there but they'll never hear, usually because it's not in the mainstream.

Also, there are so many variables that go into the function that determines what music people say they like that any kind of objectivity is usually unattainable and the discussion is usually rendered utterly, utterly pointless.

[Cort Haus]

alt rock

I got abused on here once for even using the term - probably by someone whose closest personal encounter with music was playing a 'guitar hero' video game.

[Nikolai]

I recommend Neal Morse. He debuted as a solo artist in '99, but was part of the band Spock's Beard from the early 90s on. Great music. As I understand it, the genre he plays is normally seen as prog rock, but I have heard different takes on this, seems people associate different things with the genre. I for one don't care much for genres as such, I like most music genres to a lesser og larger extent.

I found a CD compilation I gave to my brother a year ago btw, it's called "100 hits of the 2000s" or somesuch. I forced myself to listen to 4 of the CDs. I hadn't heard of 80% of the artists/bands on the CDs, so I suspect the compilation is not that representative. It lacks a lot of the hits I remember at least. But the thing that hit me, was that most of the songs on those CDs that I actually liked to a degree(and those were long and far between), was boy band songs. I mean, then something is not good with either the decade or the compilation.

[OzzyKP]

If so, it's because the kids of the 90s are growing up. For a few years now, my generation of the 80s has become adults and started to influence stuff by getting a) money and b) jobs in the entertainment industry. Just look at all the remakes of old 80s classics. Now it's the 90s' turn...

Exactly. We run on a 20-year retro cycle.

Back in the 70's you had Happy Days, Crocodile Rock, Grease, American Graffiti and such looking back to and remembering fondly the 50's.

In the 80's I remember the Wonder Years, a Beach Boys resurgence, Field of Dreams and other things looking back fondly on the 60's. I remember also a lot of talk about how the 70's absolutely sucked, the fashion, the music, everything was just the dregs of culture.

Then, the 90's came around, and suddenly the 70's were cool again. It was the 80's now that sucked.

The last decade, of course, the 80's have had a bit of a retro renaissance.

People grow up in a particular decade and call it their own, and dislike the one immediately preceding it, and the one following it. So everything we liked about the 90's as we were growing up was trying to distance itself from the 80's as much as possible and proclaim itself new and different, yet at the same time rediscovering that which the last decade discarded and derided. Then the next decade rolls around and they do the same. So 90's people constantly complain about music and culture of the 00's. Just like 80's folks no doubt did about the 90's.

All this has happened before, and all this will happen again.

[C0ckney]

I got abused on here once for even using the term - probably by someone whose closest personal encounter with music was playing a 'guitar hero' video game.

i remember that thread, i think it was KH in fact who abused you. i would've helped out, but i was too busy laughing at him for saying that you can talk about the greatest ever live performances or some such nonsense.

it's certainly frustrating at times to talk about music here, but i suppose it's the same for people who are really into any subject to have to deal with the opinions of those who know very little.

[Tupac Shakur]

it's certainly frustrating at times to talk about music here, but i suppose it's the same for people who are really into any subject to have to deal with the opinions of those who know very little.

Now you know how I feel all the time.

[OzzyKP]

It'll be ok Pac, hold ya head up.

[Tupac Shakur]

Thanks, man. As far as potential statutory rapists go, you're not bad.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

i always get somewhat annoyed when people talk about the music of a particular decade being 'good' or 'bad' or some such simplistic view. there's been so much amazing music made in every decade, it's ridiculous.

while that is techically true... it is harder and harder to find in the mainstream... that is the basic effect

in the 50's music became free
in 60's it exploded
in 70's it was on the peak, and in those three decades charts/whatever were a lot more populated with non-manufactured stuff, even though it was there, but not yet overwhelming nor totally sophisticated
in 80's the corporate takeover started, and domination by boy bands, girl bands, all other bs,
in 90's the corporate takeover complete, with a few outburst of creativity making it on to the charts/mainstream (exception given to "black" music which actually started to progress more idependantly, but I am not generally into it)...
in 00's the unholy aliance between TV viewers/mass and corporate money making machine ruled, and still does...

as it is music business may be going through some long overdue upheval, pinned to the "pirates" but the illness is a lot deeper than that, and has been for a long time.

so sure there is great music, but you have to dig for it underground for the most part right now... and anyhow your tips in music treads are probably the best

[C0ckney]

thanks

i think a lot of the perception you talk about is because it is very easy to remember the bad music from last year or even 5 or 10 years ago. people often forget that there was a lot of bad music made in the 50s, 60s, 70s etc. it's just that because so much time has passed, they only remember (some of) the good stuff. there is always good music out there, and it takes some effort to find, but that's always been the case.

[MikeH]

Don't forget alternative rock! For most of the decade you could turn on the radio and listen to Smashing Pumpkins (or five hundred other bands just like them) groaning into the microphone while lackluster guitar riffs played in the background.

Siamese Dream is one of the top 5 albums of all time. (IMO)

And they aren't the best example for bad guitar riffs! They were technically excellent as a band. Especially Jimmy Chamberlain.

[OzzyKP]

thanks

i think a lot of the perception you talk about is because it is very easy to remember the bad music from last year or even 5 or 10 years ago. people often forget that there was a lot of bad music made in the 50s, 60s, 70s etc. it's just that because so much time has passed, they only remember (some of) the good stuff. there is always good music out there, and it takes some effort to find, but that's always been the case.

Agreed. There was plenty of manufactured teen pop stuff from the 60's as well.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Exactly. I tend to stay away from musical discussion because it frequently, if not invariably, degenerates into the worst kind of ignorant and bigoted pissing-contest imaginable.

For a start, people often mistake the small subset of available music that they actually encounter with all the stuff that's actually out there but they'll never hear, usually because it's not in the mainstream.

Also, there are so many variables that go into the function that determines what music people say they like that any kind of objectivity is usually unattainable and the discussion is usually rendered utterly, utterly pointless.

Bingo!

And people like to pick mainstream pop music of the 90s and define the decade that way rather than realizing the diversity of music in the indie scene.

[The Mad Monk]

the rest of the world, like japan you mean?

I see you chose someplace other than the UK for your comeback.