Great Article on the State of Music

SG John said:
It's all on the radio/media programming directors' shoulders. They could easily draw from many independent labels, and promote so much new music. Yet, they don't. They look at advertising dollars, and who they can sell advertising to, and what they need for a soundtrack to sell said advertising. They are not going to sell millions of dollars of advertising when their playlist includes Roadsaw, Murcielago, Nebula, Sasquatch, Necromancers, Orange Goblin, and many other new fantastic rock bands. They are going to stick with the worst schmaltz available, such as Steve Miller, Bruce Springsteen, and non Peter Green Fleetwood Mac, and the fvcking Eagles. I'm glad that I live in an area with dozens of college radio stations, and can hear the real latest and greatest. It's one of the reasons I would never move from the Boston area. I've listened to radio around the rest of the country while traveling for work. I'm happy that I live here. I an SOOOOOOOO FVCKING HAPPY to be able to turn on the radio, and know I am not going to hear the Eagles, or any other top 10 AOR dreck.
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Could not have said this better myself. I've maintained for years now that some of the greatest music ever is being made right now, but you won't ever hear it on the radio, and you will have to search it out on streaming platforms.

I saw this same article that Sp8ctre posted myself yesterday, and incidentally just had a long music conversation with a friend Friday night over dinner. He's a little older than me, mid 60s, and maintains that all music being made now is crap compared to the music of his youth. I obviously maintain something quite different. His point seems to be that if he hasn't heard it then it can't be good, so there is something to be said for way we are consuming it and the fact that it seems quite impossible for great new bands to get any airtime on the radio.

And...

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gball said:
Could not have said this better myself. I've maintained for years now that some of the greatest music ever is being made right now, but you won't ever hear it on the radio, and you will have to search it out on streaming platforms.

I saw this same article that Sp8ctre posted myself yesterday, and incidentally just had a long music conversation with a friend Friday night over dinner. He's a little older than me, mid 60s, and maintains that all music being made now is crap compared to the music of his youth. I obviously maintain something quite different. His point seems to be that if he hasn't heard it then it can't be good, so there is something to be said for way we are consuming it and the fact that it seems quite impossible for great new bands to get any airtime on the radio.

And...

R.b8b8f98a1829191abd85a80774796f6c
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Lots of really good music being made. It is just very hard to find it.

The Eagles rock!
 
LiveeviL2000 said:
I am wondering if the way we purchase music has anything to do with this.

Follow me on this.

Growing up I would go to my favorite record store and they had a rack with all the new release albums. If you wanted older albums you need to go to the back and look through the wooden bins for what you wanted. If it was really old, you needed to shop around for it.

Today, you can just go to your favorite download or streaming app and get anything you want and unless you are up to date on the music scene, you'll never know what new albums came out.

Heck, if it wasn't for that "New Release" rack, I would never have heard of some of the bands I grew to like until they were old news.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think this might in some part contribute to this.
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Half of the albums that I bought as a kid, were from the clearance bin in the big department stores. As a kid you couldn't afford the new stuff.
Made some great unknown discoveries and ended up with some real dogs. It was a crap shoot, but it was cheap. Usually a buck an album or less.
When I scored a winner, I recorded it to an 8 track on the stereo so I could play it in the car. Remember 8 tracks? The nasty bastards that would switch right in the middle of a song.

I wish I had an avenue for "new good music" but it sure isn't FM or Sirius.
 
Hackmaster said:
Half of the albums that I bought as a kid, were from the clearance bin in the big department stores. As a kid you couldn't afford the new stuff.
Made some great unknown discoveries and ended up with some real dogs. It was a crap shoot, but it was cheap. Usually a buck an album or less.
When I scored a winner, I recorded it to an 8 track on the stereo so I could play it in the car. Remember 8 tracks? The nasty bastards that would switch right in the middle of a song.

I wish I had an avenue for "new good music" but it sure isn't FM or Sirius.
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I do remember 8track players. Still have one sitting in the basement.
As a kid I worked a paper route and part time weekends at a fish market, all just so I could get my hands on what I wanted.
I remember going into Downtown NYC and buying imports of Iron Maiden on picture 45s, the record was actually shaped like the art.
I still have milk creates filled with those 33s and 45s.
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SIx String Chef said:
Indeed! Wav, is there any emoticon you have on-hand to show a sarcasm reaction?? :LOL:
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Quite! I was definitely being sarcastic.

However, I’ve never really taken the music industry that seriously.

I mean, there are definitely artists and bands that I like and enjoy listening to, but my life certainly doesn’t revolve around them.
 
eSGEe said:
also if you get stoned and put the cd on .....and set your kenwood tower stereo speakers just right on either side of the bed (pointed at your head) and angled just right and you lay in the middle of the bed......................................you see GOD!
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I had the same sort of experience once back in the day. :cool:

...okay, maybe not just once.
 
gball said:
Could not have said this better myself. I've maintained for years now that some of the greatest music ever is being made right now, but you won't ever hear it on the radio, and you will have to search it out on streaming platforms.

I saw this same article that Sp8ctre posted myself yesterday, and incidentally just had a long music conversation with a friend Friday night over dinner. He's a little older than me, mid 60s, and maintains that all music being made now is crap compared to the music of his youth. I obviously maintain something quite different. His point seems to be that if he hasn't heard it then it can't be good, so there is something to be said for way we are consuming it and the fact that it seems quite impossible for great new bands to get any airtime on the radio.

And...

R.b8b8f98a1829191abd85a80774796f6c
Click to expand...

"He's a little older than me, mid 60s, and maintains that all music being made now is crap compared to the music of his youth" (y)

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STU said:
1.Evolution of instrumentation (advancement of instruments, recording devices, recording environment)
2.Evolution of experimentation (parallel to culture, geo political environment, advancement in technology etc)

3.Analog vs Digital (never ending debate)

4.Politics of production, distribution and the manipulation of culture from oppressive regimes and get rich quick schemes.

These all play a factor in our access to music, our influence in music, our collective conscience and personal opinions.

If we are debating what "is" music or what "is good music" this parallels any artist/ creative industry and is always dependent on the eye of the beholder.

The state of music now in my opinion depends on if your focusing on radio air play vs underground / live music.

I think it's safe to say that now a days most music is digitized computer generated garbage mass produced, force fed for profit.

Unless instrumentation is changed what we have now is a rendition of whats already been done. one can go back to my first sentence and loop from there.

If I am wrong then show me where the next "big act" is that is sweeping the world off it's feet? that isn't a rendition or new spin off the old?
Sorry to say but we are at that phase in evolution and unless the 1st sentence is evolves which where we are at now is computerized instrumentation (transhuman music)

Thats not so say music is dead, don't kill the messenger.
For confirmation of what I am saying, look back to history before the stringed instrument and electricity. then post string instruments and electrified string instruments..

Here's an olive branch to the boomers.
They lived in a time where lines 1,2,3,4 were simultaneously evolving on a global level.

RESULT: arguably the best music ever created and as timeless as classical music.

I'm out before the hornets come swarming. lol
peace yall
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Interesting thoughts.

Personally, I don’t ascribe to the idea of music “progressing” if, by ”progress“ we mean getting better. If “progress” is taken only to mean “change” then I’m fine with the term.
 
Hackmaster said:
Half of the albums that I bought as a kid, were from the clearance bin in the big department stores. As a kid you couldn't afford the new stuff.
Made some great unknown discoveries and ended up with some real dogs. It was a crap shoot, but it was cheap. Usually a buck an album or less.
When I scored a winner, I recorded it to an 8 track on the stereo so I could play it in the car. Remember 8 tracks? The nasty bastards that would switch right in the middle of a song.

I wish I had an avenue for "new good music" but it sure isn't FM or Sirius.
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There are many really good college radio stations around the country. Most D.I.Y bands and labels from small to large send them material all the time, and their DJs listen to it all to see what fits into their particular shows.

I'll give you a bunch to look at, but you'll have to look through their programming schedules to see what you may like as far a genres are concerned. Guaranteed, if the station is at an engineering school it will probably be a good station. Most archive their shows, so you can stream them for two weeks.

WMBR 88.1 FM at MIT

WZBC 90.3 FM Boston College Radio

WWPI | wwpi

WHUS Radio

WFUV | Music discovery starts here.

WUML Radio

WMSE - 91.7FM Milwaukee

KPIG.COM - Freedom, California

KZSC Santa Cruz - From The Trees To The Seas, 88.1 FM

Home – WUMB Radio



You now have a list of ten really good radio stations that play music from around the world at any given time. I can easily come up with more, but I should really let you go down that rabbit hole on your own. Lots of great music out there, now go find some.
 
SG John said:
There are many really good college radio stations around the country. Most D.I.Y bands and labels from small to large send them material all the time, and their DJs listen to it all to see what fits into their particular shows.

I'll give you a bunch to look at, but you'll have to look through their programming schedules to see what you may like as far a genres are concerned. Guaranteed, if the station is at an engineering school it will probably be a good station. Most archive their shows, so you can stream them for two weeks.

WMBR 88.1 FM at MIT

WZBC 90.3 FM Boston College Radio

WWPI | wwpi

WHUS Radio

WFUV | Music discovery starts here.

WUML Radio

WMSE - 91.7FM Milwaukee

KPIG.COM - Freedom, California

KZSC Santa Cruz - From The Trees To The Seas, 88.1 FM

Home – WUMB Radio



You now have a list of ten really good radio stations that play music from around the world at any given time. I can easily come up with more, but I should really let you go down that rabbit hole on your own. Lots of great music out there, now go find some.
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Outstanding! Thank you, John. Forgot about the college stations.
When Pops lived in the western suburbs of Chicago, he loved 90.9 FM, WDCB from the College of Du Page. Good jazz all night long.
 
SG John said:
Some of the greatest songs of all time were recorded with one mic in the middle of the room. Anything recorded by Elvis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, or Carl Perkins at Sun Studios was recorded that way. Same goes for Chess Records, and Motown, and so much other stuff until four track recording came along in the mid sixties. Are You Experienced was recorded on a four track machine, as were many other great records. Multi-tracking has done nothing but create laziness, sterile recordings, and lackluster performances. It's taken away the "edge" that live recordings had.
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I should clarify something on my earlier post. It's not necessarily multi tracking that is bad. It's Pro-Tools and all the other DIY software that has taken music down to a DUH level. Without multi tracking certain embellishments could never be made. On the other hand, why I think it has created a lot of hacks, is people will be lazy and just want to copy and paste the good parts of their performance, instead of just being well rehearsed and nailing a performance first time around. I'm not the greatest, but when I go to a studio I practice for weeks. When I go to the studio, I don't want to hear from a band mate that they haven't touched their instrument in two weeks, and they can just punch over any fvckups, or fix it in the mix later. That's why I usually subject band mates to recording to 16 track tape first, then exporting to Pro-Tools later. There are sonic differences, and they are more pleasant to my ears. I'm paying for it, so I should be happy in the long run. I still think a really good live performance with everyone on the same page is better than layering tracks any day.
 
SG John said:
It's all on the radio/media programming directors' shoulders. They could easily draw from many independent labels, and promote so much new music. Yet, they don't. They look at advertising dollars, and who they can sell advertising to, and what they need for a soundtrack to sell said advertising. They are not going to sell millions of dollars of advertising when their playlist includes Roadsaw, Murcielago, Nebula, Sasquatch, Necromancers, Orange Goblin, and many other new fantastic rock bands. They are going to stick with the worst schmaltz available, such as Steve Miller, Bruce Springsteen, and non Peter Green Fleetwood Mac, and the fvcking Eagles. I'm glad that I live in an area with dozens of college radio stations, and can hear the real latest and greatest. It's one of the reasons I would never move from the Boston area. I've listened to radio around the rest of the country while traveling for work. I'm happy that I live here. I an SOOOOOOOO FVCKING HAPPY to be able to turn on the radio, and know I am not going to hear the Eagles, or any other top 10 AOR dreck.
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Hmmm...

Let's just say that I'm not gonna bite the hand that feeds me....
 
Kerry Brown said:
There are few places where you get exposed to new music. When you had to go to a store to purchase music they usually had new albums playing. Now most people’s exposure to music is controlled by algorithms. There is very little randomness. I used to find a lot of excellent music on YouTube by randomly clicking on suggestions from YouTube. Even that has gone downhill with very little variety. It wants to give me what I’ve already listened to.
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I've heard a few cool, "newer" things...Volbeat, 5FDP, BLS, Rival Son's, Texas Hippie Coalition, Stone Senate, Airbourne, Axel Rudi Pell, but there's a lot of new music that I just can't get into.
 
SG John said:
I should clarify something on my earlier post. It's not necessarily multi tracking that is bad. It's Pro-Tools and all the other DIY software that has taken music down to a DUH level. Without multi tracking certain embellishments could never be made. On the other hand, why I think it has created a lot of hacks, is people will be lazy and just want to copy and paste the good parts of their performance, instead of just being well rehearsed and nailing a performance first time around. I'm not the greatest, but when I go to a studio I practice for weeks. When I go to the studio, I don't want to hear from a band mate that they haven't touched their instrument in two weeks, and they can just punch over any fvckups, or fix it in the mix later. That's why I usually subject band mates to recording to 16 track tape first, then exporting to Pro-Tools later. There are sonic differences, and they are more pleasant to my ears. I'm paying for it, so I should be happy in the long run. I still think a really good live performance with everyone on the same page is better than layering tracks any day.
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When I’m writing or creating an arrangement for a song. I cut and paste like a madman. Once I have it how I like it I re-record each track in a single take. I keep redoing it until I get a good take in one go. I will cheat with double tracking the same take. It sounds more organic in one take.
 
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