2 ms·

No, music is in a rut. I listen to plenty of new (or new to me) stuff via services like Pandora and Rhapsody. Most genres have gone completely stale. Hip hop is

No, music is in a rut. I listen to plenty of new (or new to me) stuff via services like Pandora and Rhapsody. Most genres have gone completely stale. Hip hop is pretty much retreading the exact same territory once again. Rock's become largely cliche, with most of the good material being put out by bands that have been popular since I was in middle school. It's just a down cycle. It happens. Recorded sales and concert attendance, as well as just turning on your radio, seem to indicate this. 2008's concert attendance was slightly down, and the top 10 acts were all ancient. In order Bon Jovi, Springsteen, Madonna, The Police, Celine Dion, Kenny Chesney, Neil Diamond, Spice Girls, Eagles, and Rascall Flats. With one exception they're either country (which has been in a rut for 30 years) or older than me. That's a genuine rut my friend. The wheels are spinning but nobody's going anywhere.

GavinB 18y ago
It might be more accurate to describe it as a rut for you. I don't mean that as an insult, it's okay if you just don't like what you hear. If you're looking for "the cool new things" that are happening, I definitely wouldn't look at the Top 10 in concert attendance. Given, we're not going to invent distorted electric guitar or precision audio editing again. But really, do we define great music as having a "sound" that's obviously jarring? Great music has been produced for centuries with the same old orchestral instruments--to the uninitiated, it all sounds pretty much the same.
- mattmaroon 18y ago
  Given record sales and concert attendance, it would be more accurate to say that music isn't in a rut for you.
  - GavinB 18y ago
    Since we're talking about a subjective judgment, sure. We're in the midst of a major revolution in music distribution. While revenues are down, people are listening to more music than ever before, and getting more choice in what they can listen to. Thanks to a new generation raised on guitar hero and rock band, I predict that things are going to get even crazier very soon. If you define a rut as "not undergoing mainstream stylistic revolution" then sure, we're in a rut.
kyro 18y ago
You really aren't listening to the right hip hop artists, then. There are a myriad of highly talented rappers who's songs are rooted in meaningful, thought provoking subjects. And the same goes for any genre. Musicians themselves are exploring various niches and the audiences that await them in every corner of the music world. And as a result, have a smaller fanbase. The reason why you still hear the same garbage on KROQ and why the top 10 acts are ancient is because those are the musicians that have been proven to appeal to the widest audience. And with the top 10 acts, I'm going to guess that a big part of their fanbase is composed of 30+ year old individuals who are going to stick around for a while with their static tastes in music. Basing the state of the music world on who the top 10 performing acts are is a bit foolish. There's a whole lot happening. My iTunes library is filled with music of recent artists who's music is of high quality. You can't just turn on the radio now to find good music, even via Pandora or Rhapsody. Don't fool yourself by thinking that Pandora is really giving you an in depth look to the various genres of music. It really isn't. You have to work a bit harder than that.
- mattmaroon 18y ago
  Wouldn't you say that the fact that you have to work harder, even with amazing sources like Rhapsody and Pandora (which have a cornucopia of indie music) to find good music means we're in a rut? In the '90s you could just put on the radio. I couldn't think of a better way to define one.
  - kyro 18y ago
    If anything, that's a reflection of the shift in popular musical taste. Kids these days are, in my opinion, much less mature than those that grew up a decade ago. And it's their taste that pretty much dictates what we hear on the radio. But as far as music production, I think we've definitely seen a boom in music exploration and creativity. Again, a lot of musicians are finding niche audiences -- audiences too small and insignificant to record labels who are looking for the next Fallout Boy. I'd agree with you in saying that the music business is in a rut, because its goal of marketing the next hit artist for huge returns leaves a lot of talent unnoticed. But is music, as far as its creativity, originality, progression, and meaning, in a rut? I really don't think so.
tricky 18y ago
That is so sad. Pandora? Rhapsody? Radio? Really? You won't find (much) art there or in any of the bands that are playing amphitheaters. Find the bands who are living out of their van. Find the frontman who is so mentally ill he can barely function. Find the group of kids from Cardif who can ROCK a glockenspiel. Find the girl from so cal who uses cassette tapes live to build ambient loops while singing about her dead baby.
- mattmaroon 18y ago
  Both Pandora and Rhapsody have tremendous variety and aren't limited to major label music at all. But still, just because there are a few schizophrenic glockenspielers out there doesn't mean the industry as a whole is doing well. As I pointed out originally, just like with the economy, the presence of some good stuff doesn't mean that the overall direction is a good one.
  - unalone 18y ago
    Both of those use algorithms to find similar music to what you like, no? I put up a list of bands from the past two years doing new things. I don't see how you can say a band like The Arcade Fire is retreading old ground: they're creating something genuinely new. There are plenty of refreshing bands doing new stuff. Fleet Foxes is named a lot to the point of monotony, but the publicity surrounding them doesn't change the fact that they are genuinely new and good.

GavinB 18y ago

It might be more accurate to describe it as a rut for you. I don't mean that as an insult, it's okay if you just don't like what you hear. If you're looking for "the cool new things" that are happening, I definitely wouldn't look at the Top 10 in concert attendance. Given, we're not going to invent distorted electric guitar or precision audio editing again. But really, do we define great music as having a "sound" that's obviously jarring? Great music has been produced for centuries with the same old orchestral instruments--to the uninitiated, it all sounds pretty much the same.

mattmaroon 18y ago
Given record sales and concert attendance, it would be more accurate to say that music isn't in a rut for you.
- GavinB 18y ago
  Since we're talking about a subjective judgment, sure. We're in the midst of a major revolution in music distribution. While revenues are down, people are listening to more music than ever before, and getting more choice in what they can listen to. Thanks to a new generation raised on guitar hero and rock band, I predict that things are going to get even crazier very soon. If you define a rut as "not undergoing mainstream stylistic revolution" then sure, we're in a rut.

kyro 18y ago

You really aren't listening to the right hip hop artists, then. There are a myriad of highly talented rappers who's songs are rooted in meaningful, thought provoking subjects. And the same goes for any genre. Musicians themselves are exploring various niches and the audiences that await them in every corner of the music world. And as a result, have a smaller fanbase. The reason why you still hear the same garbage on KROQ and why the top 10 acts are ancient is because those are the musicians that have been proven to appeal to the widest audience. And with the top 10 acts, I'm going to guess that a big part of their fanbase is composed of 30+ year old individuals who are going to stick around for a while with their static tastes in music. Basing the state of the music world on who the top 10 performing acts are is a bit foolish. There's a whole lot happening. My iTunes library is filled with music of recent artists who's music is of high quality. You can't just turn on the radio now to find good music, even via Pandora or Rhapsody. Don't fool yourself by thinking that Pandora is really giving you an in depth look to the various genres of music. It really isn't. You have to work a bit harder than that.

mattmaroon 18y ago
Wouldn't you say that the fact that you have to work harder, even with amazing sources like Rhapsody and Pandora (which have a cornucopia of indie music) to find good music means we're in a rut? In the '90s you could just put on the radio. I couldn't think of a better way to define one.
- kyro 18y ago
  If anything, that's a reflection of the shift in popular musical taste. Kids these days are, in my opinion, much less mature than those that grew up a decade ago. And it's their taste that pretty much dictates what we hear on the radio. But as far as music production, I think we've definitely seen a boom in music exploration and creativity. Again, a lot of musicians are finding niche audiences -- audiences too small and insignificant to record labels who are looking for the next Fallout Boy. I'd agree with you in saying that the music business is in a rut, because its goal of marketing the next hit artist for huge returns leaves a lot of talent unnoticed. But is music, as far as its creativity, originality, progression, and meaning, in a rut? I really don't think so.

tricky 18y ago

That is so sad. Pandora? Rhapsody? Radio? Really? You won't find (much) art there or in any of the bands that are playing amphitheaters. Find the bands who are living out of their van. Find the frontman who is so mentally ill he can barely function. Find the group of kids from Cardif who can ROCK a glockenspiel. Find the girl from so cal who uses cassette tapes live to build ambient loops while singing about her dead baby.

mattmaroon 18y ago
Both Pandora and Rhapsody have tremendous variety and aren't limited to major label music at all. But still, just because there are a few schizophrenic glockenspielers out there doesn't mean the industry as a whole is doing well. As I pointed out originally, just like with the economy, the presence of some good stuff doesn't mean that the overall direction is a good one.
- unalone 18y ago
  Both of those use algorithms to find similar music to what you like, no? I put up a list of bands from the past two years doing new things. I don't see how you can say a band like The Arcade Fire is retreading old ground: they're creating something genuinely new. There are plenty of refreshing bands doing new stuff. Fleet Foxes is named a lot to the point of monotony, but the publicity surrounding them doesn't change the fact that they are genuinely new and good.