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> Today, music seems like something you just put on for background music. It's rather sad how little cultural value music gets these days while a handful of bi

> Today, music seems like something you just put on for background music. It's rather sad how little cultural value music gets these days while a handful of billionaires churn out #1 pop hits every other week. ~50 years ago, musicians sparked the hippie movement which was largely a protest against the Vietnam war. This would soon transform into the angry 80s where the advent of electrical music created more industrious, louder, and often-angrier music. Then came the apathetic 90s where bands like Nirvana dominated with their "don't care" attitude. Today, we have nothing. The last great band was Radiohead and yes I listen to a TON of music and love many bands, but I'm sorry Pink Floyd, Beatles, Dylan, etc.. were not just a backdrop to a party or exercise. They actually had something to say besides bitches, money, and sex.

codyb 11y ago
I think this downplays the movement which spawned hiphop and rap. It comes from the ghettos of America alongside graffiti, drugs, materialism, the drug war, gangs, single parents, delapidated housing. A lot of rap is spoken history, people speaking how they feel, what they see, what their life is like. Rap conveys the desires of the American urban youth, a desire for power, to escape, to join the degenerate holders of power and wealth in their chase for ever more money, cars, houses, and women. And all through history people have been espousing about "bitches, money, and sex", just because it's in ebonics doesn't make it any less valuable as a means of expression or artistically. It's easy to dismiss what comes from the ghetto, and yet often they are rapping about their very existences. And we all need to come to grips with being a part of a society which has fostered such lives and attitudes. Of course there are club bangers too, and not every song is ever going to be full of meaning and depth, but I think discrediting an entire movement of music for the nostalgia of the hippies prior is a bit disingenuous.
- walshemj 11y ago
  You could say that Rap Started out as a modern take on Folk Ballards
- joslin01 11y ago
  > I think discrediting an entire movement of music for the nostalgia of the hippies prior is a bit disingenuous. Which I'm not doing though your straw-man argument was nice to read. In fact, I've often spoken the very same things you are. This is 2015 though and I'm afraid to tell you that most rap is not what you're talking about. The last great album that does exactly that is Illmatic in my opinion though you hear Kendrick's latest stuff and that's on-point too. You don't get a moral blank check for growing up the ghetto. It's fine to rap about what you know, but it gets to the point of absurdity for most rappers who only know how to talk about bitchs. Am I supposed to stand aside and rally behind the virtues of big butts shaking on the TV 24/7 -- because it's from the ghetto and I just don't understand? You're not seeing the full picture and though I enjoyed your tangent, I do not enjoy being written off as a nostalgic hippie. The hippies I'm apparently nostalgizing about were singing about ending the war -- what popular songs do that? What popular songs stop and make you think the way "Time" did by Pink Floyd? No, the time when rappers actually rapped were more back in the day. I'll close out with one of my favorite verses by Big Boi that is basically what you're trying to say: But they be making it seem That my music and crime are a team But I'm speaking the truth not dreams So what in the fuck they mean My lyrics ain't clean
rconti 11y ago
|The last great band was Radiohead Citation needed.
- joslin01 11y ago
  Because that's possible. Or how about you try to find me a band in the last 20 years that released three indisputable classics: - Kid A - OK Computer - Hail to the Thief
  - afishisafish 11y ago
    The White Stripes Anyway, listening habbits differ from 20 years ago. I agree people don't appreciate and relisten to a complete album as a whole like they used to, but there's so much quality and innovating music going on.
    - joslin01 11y ago
      I agree though your White Stripes is very debatable; you can compare scores of albums on this website from real people: http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/radiohead http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/radiohead VS http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/the_white_stripes http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/the_white_stripes Listening habits and distribution have changed dramatically. The time where one band would rule the world and put a ton of effort into saying something because it was going to be a huge album release is over; now-a-days an artist you like a lot will release something and you're just like "oh ya? that's cool I'll check it out later" Looking at the top hits, I still say it's sad though. The Biebers and Gagas rule this generation despite there being a plethora of good (maybe even great) bands that go unnoticed because it doesn't have the sugary pop hook that everyone needs for their low attention span. I don't get the time to update it like I used to, but you can check out my personal RYM here: http://rateyourmusic.com/~joslin01 http://rateyourmusic.com/~joslin01 I love music man, but I definitely got a little bit of a gripe with the culture today.
  - breakthings42 11y ago
    "three indisputable classics"? More like three of the most overrated albums of all time.

codyb 11y ago

I think this downplays the movement which spawned hiphop and rap. It comes from the ghettos of America alongside graffiti, drugs, materialism, the drug war, gangs, single parents, delapidated housing. A lot of rap is spoken history, people speaking how they feel, what they see, what their life is like. Rap conveys the desires of the American urban youth, a desire for power, to escape, to join the degenerate holders of power and wealth in their chase for ever more money, cars, houses, and women. And all through history people have been espousing about "bitches, money, and sex", just because it's in ebonics doesn't make it any less valuable as a means of expression or artistically. It's easy to dismiss what comes from the ghetto, and yet often they are rapping about their very existences. And we all need to come to grips with being a part of a society which has fostered such lives and attitudes. Of course there are club bangers too, and not every song is ever going to be full of meaning and depth, but I think discrediting an entire movement of music for the nostalgia of the hippies prior is a bit disingenuous.

walshemj 11y ago
You could say that Rap Started out as a modern take on Folk Ballards
joslin01 11y ago
> I think discrediting an entire movement of music for the nostalgia of the hippies prior is a bit disingenuous. Which I'm not doing though your straw-man argument was nice to read. In fact, I've often spoken the very same things you are. This is 2015 though and I'm afraid to tell you that most rap is not what you're talking about. The last great album that does exactly that is Illmatic in my opinion though you hear Kendrick's latest stuff and that's on-point too. You don't get a moral blank check for growing up the ghetto. It's fine to rap about what you know, but it gets to the point of absurdity for most rappers who only know how to talk about bitchs. Am I supposed to stand aside and rally behind the virtues of big butts shaking on the TV 24/7 -- because it's from the ghetto and I just don't understand? You're not seeing the full picture and though I enjoyed your tangent, I do not enjoy being written off as a nostalgic hippie. The hippies I'm apparently nostalgizing about were singing about ending the war -- what popular songs do that? What popular songs stop and make you think the way "Time" did by Pink Floyd? No, the time when rappers actually rapped were more back in the day. I'll close out with one of my favorite verses by Big Boi that is basically what you're trying to say: But they be making it seem That my music and crime are a team But I'm speaking the truth not dreams So what in the fuck they mean My lyrics ain't clean

rconti 11y ago

|The last great band was Radiohead Citation needed.

joslin01 11y ago
Because that's possible. Or how about you try to find me a band in the last 20 years that released three indisputable classics: - Kid A - OK Computer - Hail to the Thief
- afishisafish 11y ago
  The White Stripes Anyway, listening habbits differ from 20 years ago. I agree people don't appreciate and relisten to a complete album as a whole like they used to, but there's so much quality and innovating music going on.
  - joslin01 11y ago
    I agree though your White Stripes is very debatable; you can compare scores of albums on this website from real people: http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/radiohead http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/radiohead VS http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/the_white_stripes http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/the_white_stripes Listening habits and distribution have changed dramatically. The time where one band would rule the world and put a ton of effort into saying something because it was going to be a huge album release is over; now-a-days an artist you like a lot will release something and you're just like "oh ya? that's cool I'll check it out later" Looking at the top hits, I still say it's sad though. The Biebers and Gagas rule this generation despite there being a plethora of good (maybe even great) bands that go unnoticed because it doesn't have the sugary pop hook that everyone needs for their low attention span. I don't get the time to update it like I used to, but you can check out my personal RYM here: http://rateyourmusic.com/~joslin01 http://rateyourmusic.com/~joslin01 I love music man, but I definitely got a little bit of a gripe with the culture today.
- breakthings42 11y ago
  "three indisputable classics"? More like three of the most overrated albums of all time.