6 ms·

How do you this isn't a "kids these days" situation?

Retric 5y ago
Among other trends radio stations stopped giving large numbers of DJ’s freedom to select individual songs and thus allow for organic growth in song popularity across regions. While susceptible to a payola it did introduce people to a lot of new music from relative unknowns.
- ipaddr 5y ago
  That happened late 70s and early 80s.
  - msrenee 5y ago
    Most radio has been pretty much the top 40 to my memory of the last couple decades. However, there used to be more independent radio stations which at least played the top 40 of a different style. And there were more shows even on those stations that broke out of the box. Now I swear the company that bought the companies that bought up all the stations has decided that that was way too much variation and put an end to it. I've got at least 4 country stations I can get on my radio that play the exact same songs as each other until whoever is in charge releases another set. I don't know if it's gotten worse in the last 5 years because I gave up listening to the radio. Now I've got a music app that mixes up the smaller, more specific genres I prefer. Basically the drop in the quality of radio caused me to go to streaming which has caused me to develop a taste for less common subtypes of music. If country radio had continued to play anything besides guys with fake southern accents singing about girls in cut-offs and trucks, I'd probably still be listening.
- Forgeties79 5y ago
  Honestly the reality is there are few to no DJ’s at radio stations anymore unless you’re listening to college-run stations. But outside of colleges? Hell half those stations are running pre-recorded “DJ’s,” ads, and playlists built from the billboard 100.
bsder 5y ago
Because even the biggest music stars right now are nothing compared to the reach of even the middling music stars from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. It's not even close no matter how you count it: touring numbers, sales numbers, broadcast numbers, etc. Think about the command that groups like Van Halen, Journey, Depeche Mode or Metallica had at their zenith. Nothing comes even remotely close today--and I'm not counting groups like the Beatles, Queen, or Led Zeppelin that are absolute legends. And it's not like these groups were a rare occurrence. Personally, I think it's just a matter of too much competing entertainment rather than the modern musicans sucking. Video games were compelling when you had to go to an arcade and pump quarters into them. Once they entered the home there was never any question that they were going to absolutely devour the spare time of teenagers who were always the primary driver of pop culture.
- oneoff786 5y ago
  I’m a fan of acts like Poppy, Joywave, Hop Along, Lost in Kiev, 100 gecs, and Sir Sly to name a random mix. They’re pretty successful. They’re not super stars and probably won’t be. But why would they? They’re doing their own thing and it’s not going to appeal to most people but it’s weird and it’s cool and good. I don’t see why you would label this a problem. There’s no such thing as too much competition for art
  - earthboundkid 5y ago
    I am a 40 year old man, so obviously, I am totally out of touch and lame, but I have not heard of any of those groups except Poppy, who I haven't listened to since ~2016. The algorithm on YouTube stopped recommending her and she completely disappeared from my life. However, I find it impossible to believe that my dad at age 40 would not have heard of Madonna, Salt 'N' Peppa, Ace of Base, Milli Vanilli , etc. Even my dad in his peak lame years would have been aware of the Milli Vanilli scandal as it was happening.
    - oneoff786 5y ago
      Oh, well check out poppy. She does metal and grunge now. And unlike her earlier stuff, is just unironically good. Still does weird videos every now and then. My point is more so that these artists are better without striving for mass appeal. It’s ok that they’re not mega stars. They’re doing just fine.
earthboundkid 5y ago
Because it isn't caused by the moral degeneracy of the youth but by media landscape changes driven by a combination of technological change (the Internet) and government policy choices (not breaking up the YouTube monopoly, not creating a compulsory streaming license).
- netr0ute 5y ago
  That sounds just like a "kids these days" problem, simply with a new implementation (Internet vs vinyl records).
  - earthboundkid 5y ago
    “Kids these days” is wrong because it falsely posits that different generations are more or less moral or lazy or discerning when in fact kids are always dumb and then get smarter as they mature, which leads to an illusion of degeneracy. Your position appears to be that change itself is impossible even at an economic, technological, or political level? I don’t understand what you’re arguing for. Obviously things do change and quite a lot too. It’s just that human nature does not change on the scale of generations.
    - netr0ute 5y ago
      It's a "kids these days" problem in that the same "XYZ thing in the past was better" trend has happened time and time again over history. Music production and distribution isn't even close to being as new as tech, so any changes there feel more unique even though it's already happened in the past times before.

Among other trends radio stations stopped giving large numbers of DJ’s freedom to select individual songs and thus allow for organic growth in song popularity across regions. While susceptible to a payola it did introduce people to a lot of new music from relative unknowns.

ipaddr 5y ago
That happened late 70s and early 80s.
- msrenee 5y ago
  Most radio has been pretty much the top 40 to my memory of the last couple decades. However, there used to be more independent radio stations which at least played the top 40 of a different style. And there were more shows even on those stations that broke out of the box. Now I swear the company that bought the companies that bought up all the stations has decided that that was way too much variation and put an end to it. I've got at least 4 country stations I can get on my radio that play the exact same songs as each other until whoever is in charge releases another set. I don't know if it's gotten worse in the last 5 years because I gave up listening to the radio. Now I've got a music app that mixes up the smaller, more specific genres I prefer. Basically the drop in the quality of radio caused me to go to streaming which has caused me to develop a taste for less common subtypes of music. If country radio had continued to play anything besides guys with fake southern accents singing about girls in cut-offs and trucks, I'd probably still be listening.
Forgeties79 5y ago
Honestly the reality is there are few to no DJ’s at radio stations anymore unless you’re listening to college-run stations. But outside of colleges? Hell half those stations are running pre-recorded “DJ’s,” ads, and playlists built from the billboard 100.

bsder 5y ago

Because even the biggest music stars right now are nothing compared to the reach of even the middling music stars from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. It's not even close no matter how you count it: touring numbers, sales numbers, broadcast numbers, etc. Think about the command that groups like Van Halen, Journey, Depeche Mode or Metallica had at their zenith. Nothing comes even remotely close today--and I'm not counting groups like the Beatles, Queen, or Led Zeppelin that are absolute legends. And it's not like these groups were a rare occurrence. Personally, I think it's just a matter of too much competing entertainment rather than the modern musicans sucking. Video games were compelling when you had to go to an arcade and pump quarters into them. Once they entered the home there was never any question that they were going to absolutely devour the spare time of teenagers who were always the primary driver of pop culture.

oneoff786 5y ago
I’m a fan of acts like Poppy, Joywave, Hop Along, Lost in Kiev, 100 gecs, and Sir Sly to name a random mix. They’re pretty successful. They’re not super stars and probably won’t be. But why would they? They’re doing their own thing and it’s not going to appeal to most people but it’s weird and it’s cool and good. I don’t see why you would label this a problem. There’s no such thing as too much competition for art
- earthboundkid 5y ago
  I am a 40 year old man, so obviously, I am totally out of touch and lame, but I have not heard of any of those groups except Poppy, who I haven't listened to since ~2016. The algorithm on YouTube stopped recommending her and she completely disappeared from my life. However, I find it impossible to believe that my dad at age 40 would not have heard of Madonna, Salt 'N' Peppa, Ace of Base, Milli Vanilli , etc. Even my dad in his peak lame years would have been aware of the Milli Vanilli scandal as it was happening.
  - oneoff786 5y ago
    Oh, well check out poppy. She does metal and grunge now. And unlike her earlier stuff, is just unironically good. Still does weird videos every now and then. My point is more so that these artists are better without striving for mass appeal. It’s ok that they’re not mega stars. They’re doing just fine.

earthboundkid 5y ago

Because it isn't caused by the moral degeneracy of the youth but by media landscape changes driven by a combination of technological change (the Internet) and government policy choices (not breaking up the YouTube monopoly, not creating a compulsory streaming license).

netr0ute 5y ago
That sounds just like a "kids these days" problem, simply with a new implementation (Internet vs vinyl records).
- earthboundkid 5y ago
  “Kids these days” is wrong because it falsely posits that different generations are more or less moral or lazy or discerning when in fact kids are always dumb and then get smarter as they mature, which leads to an illusion of degeneracy. Your position appears to be that change itself is impossible even at an economic, technological, or political level? I don’t understand what you’re arguing for. Obviously things do change and quite a lot too. It’s just that human nature does not change on the scale of generations.
  - netr0ute 5y ago
    It's a "kids these days" problem in that the same "XYZ thing in the past was better" trend has happened time and time again over history. Music production and distribution isn't even close to being as new as tech, so any changes there feel more unique even though it's already happened in the past times before.