BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
Last week, I opened up to the world and admitted something I think we were all afraid to admit. The current state of music is horrible. There is so much wrong, so much lacking, and so much to forget about that it’s overwhelming. It’s like being stuck on a really fast merry-go-round with monotone pop stars, hipsters with banjos, and rappers with fragrances are all trying to get you to download their latest digital single.
This is the second installment of a two-parter. Two parters are important. I come from the television viewing era where two-parters meant that the Tanner family was hanging out at Disney, that Will and Carlton were in over their heads, or Jebus-forbid Dudley was getting molested by that bike shop guy.
Last week, I went off on a tangent and shared:
Top 20 Things Wrong With Music Today (20-11)
Read it, comment, and discuss. You don’t necessarily have to read it now. You can read this part of the list and then go to that one. It’s all interchangeable. Music sucks and these are the reasons why I, one dude with ears and a passion for good music, think so.
10. Retro’d Out
I’m part of the problem here with this one. I grew up being in awe of the whole Woodstock thing and then in the early 90’s I was a little too young to honestly be part of the grunge scene, but I always felt like my odd generation of being the last of the analog/in the middle of grunge and hipster movements/transitional era.
Personal tirade aside, we ALL dig old school stuff. The question is if we’re trying to get an “old school sound” all the time then how will anything NEW ever come? I am a HUGE fan of Jack White, but a good portion of his music would fit right in with music from thirty years ago. It’s cool and enjoyable, but when do we stop trying to be “vintage” and start trying to be innovative?
9. Reality Shows
No shit, right? Reality shows continue to churn out product after product. I say “product” because to associate it with the art of music would be an insult. Being a huge fan of someone on a reality show is basically giving in to the participation of a karaoke popularity contest.
I know there are some great talents to come out of these shows, but not as many as we pretend. There might be like ten A-listers who came from a modern reality show. The rest are flavors of the month who hit high on the charts once or twice and then fade into county fair obscurity.
It’s our fault. If we didn’t get together and decide this is not only an acceptable format of entertainment and entry into the music industry, and not just that… but a successful form of entertainment and entry into the industry then it would have faded away. Like a wise man once said, “Stupid people do stupid things.”
I’m not saying to end this, but let’s limit this shit. Why does every network need two or three talent shows? This is a waste of energy, time, production, sponsorship, brainwaves, promotion, money, celebrity, and existence.
8. Country Is Twang-Pop
shows are ruining music. It’s true though! Pop music has been turned into a factory of colorful bullshit being carted out and reserved to people over and over again. The line of quality and just stupid has blurred to the point of parody.
Pop music now a parody of pop music. It’s all a reference to old pop music and it’s all a comparison to old stuff. Nothing is groundbreaking. The stuff that’s making stupid people act all shocked and appauled is the same shit that happened years ago, yet even taimer and more refined to give the parent groups something to keep busy freaking out over. There is no substance. No genuine substance at least. Everything a buzz topic, a buzz word, or a generic flavor of the month theme.
This is because no one REALLY cares. If they did, we’d not be putting reality show stars and sitcom soundtrack singers on top of the charts. I’m not even the biggest of Beatle fans, but it makes my stomach turn to know that the cast of Glee has more number one “hits”. We have no one to blame, but ourselves… and maybe Simon Cowell.
7. Not One Major Influence
This isn’t a bad thing, but it has to be looked at. Each generation had a big defining superstar that REALLY defines the era. We can go with Elvis, the Beatles, and Michael Jackson off the top. These are the main givens, but it’s not just the obvious ones. The Woodstock era had TONS of huge notable stars as did the grunge era and the gangsta rap eras. Despite there being tons of awesome artists to hit the scene none of them have gotten to the level of the Elvis, Beatles, MJ “holy trinity”.
People are jaded and can’t let anything get as popular as it could be. The haters drag their feet on things and pull everyone down with it. Lady Gaga is HUGE, but not quiiiiite there. Same with Eminem, Jay Z, Jack White, Dave Grohl, etc. etc. Tons of figure heads, but not one icon.
I’m starting to think the well has been tapped in this department.
6. Too Much Artist Access
This one is a double-sided sword. On one hand you’re giving the fans what they want. Fans want access to their favorite stars. We want to know the details about them, we want to know their thoughts on things, we want to be able to relate to them on as many levels as possible. This is how any fanboy of anything is. If you LOVE metal, you’re going to know a lot about metal and be interested in the topic. If you’re really into something like snow globes then you’re going to want as much access to snow globe info as possible.
We want it, but this is one of those “we get what we THINK we want, but not what we need.”
The mystique is gone. The mystery about the people we appreciated was part of the allure. It made the moments they shared access that much more important. It made those sit down interviews with Kurt Loder THAT much more important. There is no personal details kept away from the press and there is rarely every a big interview reveal. People are shown for the assholes they are, which is always fun but the problem is that it’s unfairly exposing people too. Bono is a pretentious charity rocker. So was John Lennon, but people tend to forget all the insanely pretentious ideals he had. Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison on twitter would have likely to have caused a lot of “trippy posters” to not get made and sold at head shops. The exposure vs. the mystique is a fine line to figure out, but it should be looked at. Its TMZ press hounds and social media outpours. I know I enjoy getting dirt, but I genuinely feel music would be better off if artists would start letting the art speak for itself more than ever these days.
5. Hip Hop Lost Its Edge
Hip hop music is weak. There is nothing strong, impressionable, or memorable about it anymore. The mainstream is so far from the original tone and vibe of the genre that it’s pretty much hip-pop. Just because someone is throwing out key slang phrases and trying to sound like a bad ass doesn’t mean there is any legitimacy to it.
I’m not saying I want gangsta rap to come back. I just want to hear something that matters. The only substance coming out of rap these days is when an artist gets all weird and experimental. I have no problem with trying new things, but too little do too little. There is nothing that pushes the envelope. Hip hop doesn’t scare parents anymore, it just annoys them. That’s the kind of rebellion I want! The nagging kind! Hip hop stars are becoming breakfast cereal icons made to get young people to buy brain rotting products. Rappers have fragrances, clothing lines, and all of this crazy awesome business endeavors. I’m all for that, but you really have to REALLY listen and understand what this focus-shift in hip hop is costing us.
4. Did the Niche Market Murder the Mystery?
With the internet rising and taking precedence in the industry, there has been a big overtaking of the niche market. People aren’t flocking to the same big bands. They’re spreading out the love and people are all getting into their little subgenre groups. The main genres have subgenres and now those subgenres have their own subgenres. It’s hard to even decipher where things come from anymore, what’s a loop and what’s real, what’s new and what’s old, and what’s worth listening to. It’s perfectly understandable to want to stay in a personalized bubble of genre recommendations and like-minded people.
The problem with this is the lack of exploration. I truly feel that music is one of those arts where if you hear a certain song at a certain time, it can change your life. Music not only assists in making memories, but it within itself can be the memory. We all have those moments where a song hits right when you, one person in the world, REALLY needed to hear it.
This is going away. When we’re given the leisure of picking and choosing we’re losing out on the exploration of what’s out there. Shit’s always going to suck, but why not know why is sucks. Some of the stuff you thought would suck will always end up good. It’s just how it works.
We’re backing ourselves into a closed-minded corner and no one seems the wiser.
3. Holding Up a Phone
When a slow jam came on or there was some big magical moment at a concert everyone would pull out a lighter and hold it up. It would be one big unifying moment surrounded by an arena of small little contained fires. It was like a ritual of the purest kind. Now people have replaced this with an artificial replacement of a phone. Even this bothers me. But it’s not just the replacement of the crowd full of lighters, is it? Of course not.
For entire shows, people have their phones up. Who needs to see shitty shaky, bad sounding cell camera footage of a random concert? Sure it’s a cool personal memory, but why not do what people used to do… take a few pictures on their phone of the stage before the show starts, get a few shots of the key players, and forget about it. This has to be an energy killer for the performer. I can’t imagine growing up wanting to be a Rockstar only to look out at the crowd to see a whole bunch of people singing a long while staring at you through the lens of a hand held device. I can guarantee you that disconnection DOES effect the output of the performer.
Basically, if you’re going to pay $80 to see Slayer, Ke$ha, or Radiohead why not watch it through your fucking eyes?
2. Blaming the Labels
This one gets me music snob secret society membership revoked, but so be it. You know what’s become re-fucking-dundant? Bitching about record labels. Artists have bitched about record labels since day one and it’s a common theme going forward. The problem is that’s it’s not JUST the label being greedy when it comes to the music industry. It’s the ticket outlets, the online market place, the album prices, the merch prices, etc. etc. etc. Pointing at the labels and blaming them for every little thing wrong in music is just stupid.
Yes, record labels screw people over and are greedy. They often promote and get behind the wrong shit. BUT let’s take a look in the mirror folks. The cream ALWAYS rises to the top. If music is good enough people find it and it blows up organically. If you’re “undeniable” you’re going to hit. The record labels COULD make it easier, but good art is good art and, like I said, the cream rises to the top. I really believe the main problem right now is lack of cream.
1. No Rebellion
Did ringtones killed the legitimacy of music? Once you hear “Bohemian Rhapsody” coming from the flip phone of a stranger in line for a corn dog is there anything left? I think the finaldrippings of artform is rapidly being rung out from the rag that is modern music. There is PLENTY to get riled up about. The world is not perfect. Where is the rebellion?
There is no call to action. There is nothing to rally over. It’s all isolated hugs and kisses. The world is using baby gloves, popping meds, and going too far out of their ways not to hurt people’s feelings. There is a passive approach to everything.
Is there anyone from the rising generations to actually stand up and start something real?
What do YOU think is wrong with the current state of music?
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