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The Day The Music Died Or Why New Music Sucks!
#332183 12/22/10 08:40 AM
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Hello and happy Festivus fellow Axiomites!

It's been a while since I've been posting here. I've been very busy with audio work and various other nefarious activities.

But I have been checking in to read all of your posts and to keep track of all you crazy peeps!

And while I'm still working on my (yet another) review of the wonderful M22s, I thought I would share with you some of my recent ramblings concerning the current sorry state of popular music.

I'm leaving out jazz, classical and world music since most of those fans support those rich and wonderful genres passion and dedication.

And I'm leaving out country too since I only ever listen to old country music anyway. smile

I really feel like this last decade has been horrible for the arts. And even though I'm doing well and getting plenty of work (mostly television and radio commercials), I worry about the future of music and audio.

So, sit back, pour a cup of eggnog (or some other fun beverage wink ), light a fire and put on that comfy coat made with the fur taken from the soft underbelly of a cunning and elusive badger... (hello Alan!!! grin ), and let me attempt to try to give my opinion (and fuzzy insights) on the rise and fall of rock and pop music...

I really think the moment the "music died" (popular/rock based music) was the day that Kurt (or whoever killed him!) blew his brains out.

Now allow me a moment (hopefully not being too long winded and redundant) to give you an abbreviated, yet somewhat concise opinion of how we got to where we are now...

If you look at rock and roll as a genre, I think it's safe to say that 1955 was year zero.

There was Elvis (the big bang) who took hillbilly and black r&b/blues and sex appeal and changed the world. It was great and it was popular.

Then the Beatles did a few things that some people kinda liked and KA-BOOM! an evolutionary shift of such seismic proportions in popular (remember that word as it is crucial to this whole discussion) music splintered into a million different vibrant, psychedelic and wonderful directions. So many bands and artists were inspired and an industry (music bizness) that up until that time had treated popular/rock music as a fad (only to be exploited for teenage $ and quickly discarded) woke up to the fact that:

A: This sh#t is blowing up on a world wide basis and influencing all the other arts!

B: It looks like it just might be around longer than an early 60's "dance craze"!

C: Serious people (critics, writers, social observers etc.) were treating this popular music as a legitimate art form!

So then music became big business... but the business side (while always a necessary evil for funding/distributing this terrible "noise" to the kids) was always a step behind what was happening (hey HEY hey) NOW. And it was kinda hard for record companies to prefabricate music for this culture of DFHs (dirty fu#king hippies) who were young and growing (wild in the streets).

Sure, there was disposable crap (our current morass) that was cheesy and cynically devised to "move units". The Archies (not even a real band!), The Monkees (almost a real band!), The Osmonds (ironically, the Jonas brothers of their time with Donny O. being the "Bieber" of his time) and other bubblegum stuff. Catchy and fun, but ultimately not cool. And the kids? Well most of them wanted to be cool! This was their culture. They were cynical of anyone over 30 and demanded unique and diverse sounds to boogie and get high to. grin

But oddly, all this cool recorded music wasn't just in the underground, buried away on late night FM stations. It was in the charts! Top 40! Mainstream! No sh#t!

The Doors, Marvin Gaye, Janis, Hendrix, Dylan and on and on. Great songs with depth and meaning (not always, but that was cool too because the music had passion) that sold and was popular. How in the hell did this happen?

But, (and this is where things start moving really fast) all kinds of music that was popular: soul, funk, psychedelic, progressive, glam-rock, hard rock... music that actually sold and was played on the radio and made big $ (a nice bonus!) was devoured and consumed in vast quantities and ushered in the era of ROCK STARDOM.

These were the Dionysian gods of their time. Rich rock stars roaming the earth like a band of aristocratic gypsies. Led Zep, The Stones, Queen, Deep Purple, Alice Cooper Band, Cheap Trick etc. Bands who rocked your ass, moved millions of "units" and flew around in their very own airliners (small private Lear jets were reserved for the coked-up managers/agents and entourage) playing world tours in huge stadiums to hundreds of thousands of screaming, rabid fans. Good times indeed...

But now, the art/commerce of big time ROCK/POP had become bloated, decadent and preposterous; out of the reach of the average rockin' teenage combo rehearsing in their garage with dreams of having their moment...

Then something interesting happened. The American fringe of the rock and roll scene (Iggy And The Stooges, Velvet Underground, New York Dolls, Ramones etc.), bands that were not even remotely mainstream (or played on the radio or got the BIG RECORD DEALS) were welcomed by British youth. Then in an ironic reversal of the British invasion (that earlier event that took the American art form of Rock and/or Roll and re-packaged it in a more modern, desirable and fashionable version that the USA just ate up), those wacky Brits gave us two very important bands: The Damned (first official "Punk" single released) and more importantly (in an historical context) The Sex Pistols.

But, there was a villain lurking... gaining strength and becoming very popular at the same time. This musical "movement" was a precursor to our horrible current situation. DISCO.

And guess what? DISCO SUCKED! It was contrived, repetitious "dance music" made for white people without any natural rhythm to do cocaine and have unprotected sex to (see Frank Zappa's 'Dancin' Fool' for further details). It was not funky (we had Parliament/Funkadelic for that!) in the least. Vanilla and bland, it was made using tape loops with anonymous studio hacks "performing" it. Not all of it was too horrible (and looking back now, it all seems kinda charming and cool in an ironic kinda way, but I digress...).

So now you had three disparate camps. All hating each other. Mainstream rock, punk rock and disco.

In the foul year of our lord 1979 (which I think was one of the most interesting times in popular musical culture and probably when all of the last truly original innovations in popular rock music occurred), things were weird indeed!

Let me see if I can coherently explain this:

A. Disco sucked (a given). It was losing steam and popularity. And while elements of it were co-opted into mainstream pop, it was now considered a fad. Disco Duck anyone?

B. Punk did start making head-way into the mainstream. Post-punk (now re-branded as New Wave by the "suits") became more popular and certain bands were able to actually sell and get on the radio. The Cars, Blondie, Talking Heads, Devo, The Clash, The Knack etc. It was a strange time for radio. Between the tired and unfashionable corporate rock of REO Speedwagon and Journey you had freaky punks (I was a teenager and this was my time!) sneaking in their short, weird New Wave songs. And guess what? They were popular! But not with everybody...

C. Metal (formerly hard rock) heads hated us punks. (Don't worry, we'll all make up later!) Depending how hip you were (and I was one hip cat!), you either dressed like a Status Quo fan from the early 70's with long hair and a jean jacket with Iron Maiden/Judas Priest/AC/DC/Van Halen (you pick) patches with optional studded leather/spiked accessories; or if you were an avant-garde rocker and wanted to have sex with girls that looked like Lene Lovich and Siouxsie Sioux like I did, you dressed like a cross between Ziggy Stardust and Johnny Thunders. Now we were ready for the new decade, the 80's. What would it bring? Surely music, fashion and art were going to keep evolving and changing. Breaking rules and pissing on the past in a mad, vibrant rush to find the newest ROCK AND ROLL THRILL.

Welcome to the 1980's music lovers and producers!

Although now a new, even more insidious enemy is lurking... What makes this enemy even more dangerous and destructive to the art of pop and rock (and all music in general) is that it has good intentions! And we all know where that road leads (and it's not backstage at a Mötley Crüe concert!)...

This brand new entertainment is called MTV. And guess what? They play music videos! Now hicks in the fly-over states can learn how to dress like Duran Duran! It's music with visuals! Wow!

I thought it was the coolest sh#t ever. Now all my uncool friends that listen to the crap on mainstream radio could see all these new, innovative bands I had been telling them about. I had been trying to turn them on to all the cool new music I was discovering, but I would invariably show up at a party and bring my records (like everyone did back before the iPod isolation generation) only to be told to "Take that punk sh#t off, Terry!"

And what was that awful "punk sh#t" I was playing them? The debut album by a band called The Police.

Two years later these same clueless jocks and preps were running around singing "Roxanne". Ugh. I generally would hate a band after they got popular with the "straights". It happened after Queen became huge with 'News Of The World' and Pink Floyd with 'The Wall'.

Anyway, MTV was new, hip and 24 hours of music videos. They had late night shows like 120 Minutes that featured bands that I even personally knew (Athens ya'll!), they also showed concerts and had rock related news. Most of the VJs were planks, but I still loved it because it was all music all the time.

But once again, it became co-opted (and even faster than the preceding decade) by the "industry" and now only bands that had cool haircuts and were pretty were getting played. If you were fat and ugly, even if you were more talented than The Beatles, you were screwed. No air play for you!

But after being accused of being a little too white, MTV opened up their playlist to include crossover "black" artists like Prince, Lionel Richie etc. MTV helped to break Michael Jackson (already a huge and talented veteran star) to a new, younger audience with his expensive and innovative (at the time) videos. They were also helpful in exposing underground black music. A newer form (to those not in the know) of urban music. Rap.

Now, during most of the 80's, all the music that I dug (now called "alternative") didn't get any airplay on the radio. So while driving around looking for trouble, I would mainly listen to black radio stations. The 80's were a boom time for black music. Especially R&B. The production was great and I was getting more and more into electronic music and dance type stuff (the irony of hating disco was not lost on me btw! heh ) I had been into rap since the late 70's as drums were one of my main instruments and I loved funky breaks and beats. Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC, Slick Rick, Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions etc. This sh#t was fresh and new and, again, a rebellion against the establishment. That's punk!

So, the late 80's... Music is crossing over and sampling (literally) all of these different genres. A very cool and interesting time.

The Beastie Boys were a bridge. They helped bring black and white youth together more so than any time since the late 60's/early 70's. It was a very hopeful and positive development. I was psyched. Hardcore punk, hair metal, real metal, underground weirdness, acid house, dub and electronic; even retro stuff that echoed the past but also brought a new twist to the rock and roll game. Diversity! Yes there was still cheesy pop (as always) but many choices and options were there. Music was very popular and important to young and old alike.

Which brings us to the 90's. I remember where I was when I first heard Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. I was driving around (once again looking for trouble) when I turned on the "classic" rock station. What wafted out was rough and demo sounding to me. In fact, I thought "Damn, they must be playing some local music!" I actually thought they were playing one of my friend's sh#tty punk bands, lol! But it was Nirvana's brand new "single".

At this point I was in a mid level band signed with an indie label. I was also working on a solo album by myself, talking with A&R people and other assorted industry weasels. I had gotten lucky enough to find an entertainment attorney and I was getting ready to move to Atlanta ready for fame and fortune.

Then Nirvana blew up HUGE! Effectively throwing the industry on it's ear. Hair metal was out (thank Christ!) and this underground noise that I was involved in was suddenly "marketable". Great timing!

Now, I personally didn't think that Nirvana was that great of a band (I preferred the Melvins heh) but they did connect with a lot of people in a real and organic, non-hyped way. You cannot deny their impact. And because of them, bands that had previously been relegated to the independent labels (bands that I loved and knew), were now being signed faster than you could say "Smashing Pumpkins"!

Of course the music industry (always ready to exploit and harness youth culture) called this new movement Grunge. A stupid and meaningless label that mainly applied to bands from Seattle. But it was a hopeful time for us punk rockers. Now, after all those years of trying to change the mainstream, we had our foot in the door. It was our time.

1991... the year that punk broke.

Unfortunately, it was really going to be the decade that music became broken.

Okay, if any of you Axiomites are still reading this War And Peace length epic post, hang on, cause I'm wrapping this sh#t up!

Kurt blows his brains out. Mass mourning ensues. All the bands that were signed to the majors (with a few notable exceptions) were dropped or left to flounder in contracts that binded them. Record companies decided that difficult artists were a pain in the ass. Media corporations were consolidated and boy bands were foisted upon a newer, younger (and much more gullible) audience.

Rap was thriving, as was a lot of pop. But something had died. Teen spirit perhaps?

Gangsta rap, while some of it was great (NWA, Dre, Tupac, Biggie), became the dominate flavor. Then the violence that had only been implied in the lyrics became all too real. People died. It also ushered in a very monochromatic and conservative sound into the hip hop culture that is still prevalent today.

The only innovative music that was happening (in my world at that time) was electronic music and all the sub genres that were a part of it. This was the last progressive "movement" in modern music. But this kind of music was too strange and abstract for mass consumption. It served well for soundtracks and car commercials but did not catch on with the general public. But the "rave culture" from which this new "electronica" came was invaded by posers and, like rap, became the boring, conservative 4/4 monotony that is, ironically, the sound of pop today.

Add lip-syncing underage trollops, the Disney-fication of pop, illegal downloads, mp3s, stubborn record companies, auto-tune, easy loop making music software, American Idol, etc. and you find yourself...

Here.

In the 21st century.

So what now? I don't know. But this is the conundrum in which us music and audio lovers, the ones that actually care about quality, find ourselves in.

Now this concludes the grand Festivus tradition of the "Airing of the Grievances", now let's bring out the aluminium pole since my girlfriend has already pinned me earlier, during the "Feats of Strength"... grin

(I would like to thank Alan Lofft, Gail Worley and the late, great Hunter S. Thompson for inspiring me to write all these "words") smile

Terry Douglas
December 22, 2010







Rock/Power Pop/Psychedelic

Modern Composition

Cult Of Divine Chaos

Kill Toy


"Art is making something out of nothing and selling it."
---Frank Zappa

Re: The Day The Music Died Or Why New Music Sucks!
audiosavant #332187 12/22/10 11:24 AM
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Awesome, Terry!

I'm going to bookmark this and re-read it again later, when I've had more coffee/nog/beer!

I'm guessing you and I are about the same age.....


::::::: No disrespect to Axiom, but my favorite woofer is my yellow lab :::::::
Re: The Day The Music Died Or Why New Music Sucks!
MarkSJohnson #332189 12/22/10 12:43 PM
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I enjoyed reading that as well. Thanks!

Re: The Day The Music Died Or Why New Music Sucks!
audiosavant #332190 12/22/10 12:47 PM
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I am proud to say that I read the entire post.....I had a thread several months back about music in the 90's when I was rasing my kids. I knew something had happened and this lays it out - AND, I am a Hunter / Uncle Duke fan.


"A fanatic is someone who can't change his mind and won't change the subject" Churchill
Re: The Day The Music Died Or Why New Music Sucks!
MarkSJohnson #332192 12/22/10 12:57 PM
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hello, I enjoyed your post. Maybe I'll re-visit it later.

Sometimes I feel like the music died too. But then I figured out: it actually just went more underground. One has to dig around a bit more than in the 60's and 70's. Back then mainstream radio "fed" us great stuff. Now mainstream radio isn't even programmed by human DJ's.

So it's back to "alternative" and having to root around for good stuff like a pig sniffs out truffles from the ground.

but I don't feel too bad about it. When the early era rock and roll guys were in their childhoods, some of these guys would have to try really hard to find far away blues stations in the middle of the night to listen to (that played the sort of music that fascinated them). I don't think it's always been a given that great music will come out of the radio.

We're post-modern now, so music is re-doing itself over and over. The incredible innovation that occurred out of the USA in the last century - I can't see that ever happening again, to be honest. Not just for purely musical reasons, but just all the social and technological forces coming together in a sort of "perfect storm" that gave us jazz, blues and country music. Those 3 mated, swirled and gave us all the varieties of rock and soul.

I can't see that ever happening again - at least not in my lifetime. No way.
The elements that were thrown together in the USA that gave birth to that music - that'll never happen again - but the wave isn't completely dead - we still get to ride it - it's just way different now.


Aunty Em
Tampa, FL
Re: The Day The Music Died Or Why New Music Sucks!
audiosavant #332195 12/22/10 01:34 PM
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A great topic and as an old "ex" musician myself many of the thoughts here are ones that I have subscribed to for years. One of the biggest changes that has occurred in the music business in the last thirty years is this ludicrous idea of "pigeon holing" music so if it doesn't fit a certain defined category then the industry is not interested. I am sure there are many great bands and entertainers that many of us have heard over the years that just didn't hit the so-called "mainstream" because they didn't "fit the mold". On top of that the business itself has consolidated making it that much harder for these groups to make a breakthrough because the industry wants to play it safe.

I can recall back in the sixties and seventies when many types of music were played regularly on the radio. Not today. When was the last time you heard an instrumental? Too bad. Despite all the controversy about downloading, in many respects the computer has been the saviour of many since it allows those entertainers to gain an audience without them having a big money contract with the majors.

Re: The Day The Music Died Or Why New Music Sucks!
Emzdogz #332196 12/22/10 01:49 PM
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Mark, if I recall your age correctly, I think you and Terry are within a year or two of each other in age.

I, too, can't believe I ate read the whole thing (where's the Pepto Bismol/Alka Seltzer?!). It rings true to me. You've put to words what I've wondered aloud. I essentially stopped listening to new music in the late 1990s, and I've wondered if I've missed much as I settle in to the familiar acts of my youth.

I also agree with Aunty Em that there are pockets of good new music (Thanks, pmbuko for turning me on to Rilo Kiley), but nowhere near the "scenes" that we had in the heyday.


Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica.
Re: The Day The Music Died Or Why New Music Sucks!
medic8r #332203 12/22/10 03:05 PM
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I've always wondered if I stopped listening to music on the radio because it got bad or I just got old.

Or, to beat JP to the punch, both.

I really DO think that popular music has turned sucky (industry term) with the compression, auto-tuning and flash over substance. But then I remember, hasn't EVERY generation insisted that music has gone downhill since their generation?

So who am I to say that I'm not just old?

Naaaah.

The music DOES suck! smile


::::::: No disrespect to Axiom, but my favorite woofer is my yellow lab :::::::
Re: The Day The Music Died Or Why New Music Sucks!
MarkSJohnson #332204 12/22/10 03:06 PM
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(And JP, I'm 47)


::::::: No disrespect to Axiom, but my favorite woofer is my yellow lab :::::::
Re: The Day The Music Died Or Why New Music Sucks!
MarkSJohnson #332209 12/22/10 03:19 PM
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A couple of turning points in the industry for me would have been the way certain bands(to me) sold out...."Some Girls"? are you serious Mick? "Another One Bites the Dust"? how about just calling it "Another One Bites"?

I've more less resolved myself to the fact that celebrity has become more important than art in this industry.

Oh!...and Rap Sucks. laugh


Half of communication is listening. You can't listen with your mouth.
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