4 ms·

I think the "music is boring" sentiment could be about the lack of shared experiences due to hyper-fragmentation. It's easy to access all genres of music from o

I think the "music is boring" sentiment could be about the lack of shared experiences due to hyper-fragmentation. It's easy to access all genres of music from one app at flat monthly rate. The mainstream, then, is the lowest common denominator much more so than before. Specifically it doesn't need to embrace any rising genres. And there are no longer pronounced subcultures either, if there's no friction e.g. queueing up in front of the record store - that facilitate socializing with like-tasted fans.

ghaff 4y ago
I think you'll also find a sentiment going back decades that "today's music sucks" or "today's popular music sucks." That said, there's certainly a lot of fragmentation even if there's still a big pop culture head too. In TV certainly an HBO or Netflix hit has nothing like the reach of a network hit a couple decades ago. And, of course, watching is less synchronous too.
- wombatpm 4y ago
  But I believe we are still in universal agreement that Dusco sucks. Always has, always will
  - nunez 4y ago
    then you must hate edm bc that is technically like disco v4
  - ghaff 4y ago
    Disco is certainly the genre from what would normally be my peak music taste acquisition time--college and the period thereafter--that I could never stand and which none of my peers were into either.
    - shrimp_emoji 4y ago
      D: Wtf this stuff is great https://youtu.be/LUGga_VPeTo https://youtu.be/LUGga_VPeTo
      - kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
        This is survivorship bias. There was a lot of mediocre dreck shoveled out in the late 70's that is largely unlistenable. Everything was rerecorded in disco style even if it wasn't a good idea.
    - mosiuerbarso 4y ago
      Hey disco is coming back. If these trends continue... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6LOWKVq5sQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6LOWKVq5sQ
  - coldpie 4y ago
    Aww. Disco spawned house music[1] and, from there, all of house's subgenres and massive influence on popular music. Listening to old 80s house is full of samples of disco beats and string grooves. You can still hear it in popular records; disco influence is all over Daft Punk's discography[2]. I think it deserves some credit and fond appreciation :) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_music https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_music [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daft_Punk#Musical_style https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daft_Punk#Musical_style
marssaxman 4y ago
I think the end of musical subcultures may be significant. It used to feel like there were many isolated musical bubbles, separated by geography or language or social class or simply aesthetic choice, and each one would develop its own unique musical idiom. Every now and then some cultural explorer would bring one of these idioms back to the mass market, introducing a new flavor into the pop music melting pot, and a surge of innovation would occur. Of course the flow of attention back into the previously-isolated musical subculture tended to be destructive, as far as its inhabitants were concerned; the musicians who rode the wave out to mainstream popularity were often scorned and labeled sell-outs, for making private profit at the expense of the community which had supported them. When there is no more isolation, all music shared everywhere over the internet all the time, how can a unique new cultural strain develop? When any new ideas one musician comes up with just get dropped into the global soup, instead of taking time to ferment in a smaller, more focused environment, how can any distinct new genre emerge? It seems like we are seeing a different model of musical creativity, which is likely to be broader and smoother; more gradual global drift and fewer irruptions.
- est31 4y ago
  > When there is no more isolation, all music shared everywhere over the internet all the time, how can a unique new cultural strain develop? When any new ideas one musician comes up with just get dropped into the global soup, instead of taking time to ferment in a smaller, more focused environment, how can any distinct new genre emerge? The bar of checking out a new genre has gotten lower than ever, yes. But I don't agree that it's one big global soup now. Recommendation systems of Soundcloud/Spotify/Youtube often give you stuff from the same genre/niche of music when you listen to a given niche, and conversely they don't recommend you stuff from unrelated niches. So small niches might not be discovered by average listeners unless they are going viral. Furthermore, the gatekeepers of the mainstream are still in full power. Things like radio stations, shopping mall music, etc. all are still controlled by a small elite. Even social media platforms often perform curation of things featured on their front or even trending pages. So there's still often a "this isn't going to work with average listeners" kind of decision going on, done by a human.
- tomc1985 4y ago
seydor 4y ago
I think it's demographics. The 2 latest generations are such a minority and so dominated by older generations that they can't find each other, and their voices can't be heard or amplified
tacon 4y ago
>And there are no longer pronounced subcultures either This article is an elaboration on an earlier post by the author about there being no countercultures in today's world: "14 Warning Signs That You Are Living in a Society Without a Counterculture" https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/14-warning-signs-that-you-are-living https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/14-warning-signs-that-you-ar...

ghaff 4y ago

I think you'll also find a sentiment going back decades that "today's music sucks" or "today's popular music sucks." That said, there's certainly a lot of fragmentation even if there's still a big pop culture head too. In TV certainly an HBO or Netflix hit has nothing like the reach of a network hit a couple decades ago. And, of course, watching is less synchronous too.

wombatpm 4y ago
But I believe we are still in universal agreement that Dusco sucks. Always has, always will
- nunez 4y ago
  then you must hate edm bc that is technically like disco v4
- ghaff 4y ago
  Disco is certainly the genre from what would normally be my peak music taste acquisition time--college and the period thereafter--that I could never stand and which none of my peers were into either.
  - shrimp_emoji 4y ago
    D: Wtf this stuff is great https://youtu.be/LUGga_VPeTo https://youtu.be/LUGga_VPeTo
    - kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
      This is survivorship bias. There was a lot of mediocre dreck shoveled out in the late 70's that is largely unlistenable. Everything was rerecorded in disco style even if it wasn't a good idea.
  - mosiuerbarso 4y ago
    Hey disco is coming back. If these trends continue... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6LOWKVq5sQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6LOWKVq5sQ
- coldpie 4y ago
  Aww. Disco spawned house music[1] and, from there, all of house's subgenres and massive influence on popular music. Listening to old 80s house is full of samples of disco beats and string grooves. You can still hear it in popular records; disco influence is all over Daft Punk's discography[2]. I think it deserves some credit and fond appreciation :) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_music https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_music [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daft_Punk#Musical_style https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daft_Punk#Musical_style

marssaxman 4y ago

I think the end of musical subcultures may be significant. It used to feel like there were many isolated musical bubbles, separated by geography or language or social class or simply aesthetic choice, and each one would develop its own unique musical idiom. Every now and then some cultural explorer would bring one of these idioms back to the mass market, introducing a new flavor into the pop music melting pot, and a surge of innovation would occur. Of course the flow of attention back into the previously-isolated musical subculture tended to be destructive, as far as its inhabitants were concerned; the musicians who rode the wave out to mainstream popularity were often scorned and labeled sell-outs, for making private profit at the expense of the community which had supported them. When there is no more isolation, all music shared everywhere over the internet all the time, how can a unique new cultural strain develop? When any new ideas one musician comes up with just get dropped into the global soup, instead of taking time to ferment in a smaller, more focused environment, how can any distinct new genre emerge? It seems like we are seeing a different model of musical creativity, which is likely to be broader and smoother; more gradual global drift and fewer irruptions.

est31 4y ago
> When there is no more isolation, all music shared everywhere over the internet all the time, how can a unique new cultural strain develop? When any new ideas one musician comes up with just get dropped into the global soup, instead of taking time to ferment in a smaller, more focused environment, how can any distinct new genre emerge? The bar of checking out a new genre has gotten lower than ever, yes. But I don't agree that it's one big global soup now. Recommendation systems of Soundcloud/Spotify/Youtube often give you stuff from the same genre/niche of music when you listen to a given niche, and conversely they don't recommend you stuff from unrelated niches. So small niches might not be discovered by average listeners unless they are going viral. Furthermore, the gatekeepers of the mainstream are still in full power. Things like radio stations, shopping mall music, etc. all are still controlled by a small elite. Even social media platforms often perform curation of things featured on their front or even trending pages. So there's still often a "this isn't going to work with average listeners" kind of decision going on, done by a human.
tomc1985 4y ago

seydor 4y ago

I think it's demographics. The 2 latest generations are such a minority and so dominated by older generations that they can't find each other, and their voices can't be heard or amplified

tacon 4y ago

>And there are no longer pronounced subcultures either This article is an elaboration on an earlier post by the author about there being no countercultures in today's world: "14 Warning Signs That You Are Living in a Society Without a Counterculture" https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/14-warning-signs-that-you-are-living https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/14-warning-signs-that-you-ar...