I was just listening to The Doors 1971 album, LA Woman.
1971. 47 years old.
Can you imagine enjoying the music of today 47 years from now? Especially Rap?
So the answer for me is yes.
Think any modern artist will have the longevity of Frank Sinatra? I cant think of any!

I think that the best of modern musicians are as good as anyone ever was.

And remember that all we have from the "old days" are the artists who were the best. The dreck has fallen by the wayside and is forgotten.

We are still hearing the dreck of what is being produced now, but are comparing it to what is still played from previous times, which is the good stuff. We aren't comparing apples to oranges.

Katy Perry may well be forgotten in 20 years, and we'll be able to stop comparing her to someone who is actually good.

The first video's analogy to fast food is what was in my mind when I first read the title question.

The symptom that stands to me is how long songs lasted on the top charts then compared to now. We've gone from the local diner pushing out burgers to formulaic franchised fast food. There's no room for creativity, just variations on the same formula that has proven to sell.

I also like Zappa's idea of the old cigar chomping guys making the decisions of which songs get produced versus hip executives.

And wasn't there a video about how all hit songs used the same 4 notes? How many permutations of those 4 notes can you have?

there are tons, thousands, of incredible musicians out there making music today. If all you do is listen to terrestrial radio then you probably won't find them. But there are plenty of them out there. Probably more than ever before because of the ability to create in your basement on a laptop and ability to enter into the marketplace independently.

There's tons of garbage out there, as well. Also more than ever before.

We don't still listen to all the garbage that was created in the 50's 60's and 70's. We have distilled it down to the hits. We have already done that to the 80's and 90's, as well.

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
there are tons, thousands, of incredible musicians out there making music today. If all you do is listen to terrestrial radio then you probably won't find them. But there are plenty of them out there. Probably more than ever before because of the ability to create in your basement on a laptop and ability to enter into the marketplace independently.

There's tons of garbage out there, as well. Also more than ever before.

yep,

smaller venues, local bars, etc have some great local, regional or even national acts that likely never get any airplay on 'the normal' radio stations,

some may get played on Sat radio,, maybe,

many are just not what fits whatever the IN music is at this moment, or don't fit in a neat and clean little box to be marketed,

Short answer is yes

Things went rapidly downhill when 'music' invented rap (only one letter away from being crap) and hip-hop.

and now that music can be distributed digitally, there is little to no quality control - anyone can be a rock star - and that includes people with zero talent

I know I was reading a story about a month ago, where the author talked about how more music sounds the same, because it essentially is. More popular music is written by the same handful of music writers than ever before. So the entire top 40 will mostly have the songwriter credits of maybe 6 to 8 people total.

Depends upon the music.

I've a friend whose a music conductor. Yes, international, has an agent and all that folderal...

He's quite the maestro and very young.

The folks he conducts are at top of their game and much older if that makes any difference...

Hip hop, etc. of course he's familiar with as he lives in this century, and isn't a snob about it.

Just finds it jejune...

A huge resounding no, in my opinion. Several have said it before me but the difference lies in what us “popular” now. A lot, probably most, is trash and lacks the raw skill and talent found in older classic artists like you all have mentioned.

But that in no way means it isn’t out there, you just gotta find it. The other day I was sitting my office with hours of paperwork staring at me. I hopped onto YouTube and keyed in a song by Sean Watkins and then let the Autoplay feature take me down a rabbit hole that was absolutely full of great modern music by current artists that I’ve never heard of and that you won’t find on radio stations.

There is a huge sea of talent out there with more access and capability to create than ever before. As consumers, we have more access and capability to consume as well. A natiralnby product of that, though, is more chaff to sort through as well.

There is a divide between the Apollonian and Dionysian in all forms of expression (art). Apollonian is the beautiful, the practiced, the classical, the purposefully designed. The Dionysian is the gauche, the rule-breaking, the unwashed, the purposefully dissonant.

I've come to be able to appreciate both but with the advent of the punk and grunge movements in popular music there are so many talentless hacks on the Dionysian side that the good ones get ignored.

Strange to say, but I believe that a lot of today's pop music is Apollonian, it's a strict formula (I, IV, V, vi) and it's just so overdone that it's talent-free but it's what sells.

Let's also remember that much of the good old stuff was written and performed by the Wrecking Crew.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark123, June 04, 2018 06:58 PM

Does Modern Music Exhibit Less Talent Than From Earlier Times?

Yes, as far as the commercial stuff you hear. But there are lots of talented musicians and good modern music out there.

Same as modern movies and actors/actresses - they mostly suck but there are some good ones out there.

In my opinion, the Golden Age of almost everything has already passed, except for things driven by technology.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
I was just listening to The Doors 1971 album, LA Woman.
1971. 47 years old.
Can you imagine enjoying the music of today 47 years from now? Especially Rap?

While cruising in your restored 2003 Civic.

Or a Corvair.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
There is a divide between the Apollonian and Dionysian in all forms of expression (art). Apollonian is the beautiful, the practiced, the classical, the purposefully designed. The Dionysian is the gauche, the rule-breaking, the unwashed, the purposefully dissonant.

I've come to be able to appreciate both but with the advent of the punk and grunge movements in popular music there are so many talentless hacks on the Dionysian side that the good ones get ignored.

Strange to say, but I believe that a lot of today's pop music is Apollonian, it's a strict formula (I, IV, V, vi) and it's just so overdone that it's talent-free but it's what sells.

Let's also remember that much of the good old stuff was written and performed by the Wrecking Crew.

Whoa man, am I talking to Euripides, Sophocles or Nietzsche?

I think most of the older bands were pretty good live, even when improvising. Exhibit Skynyrd:

(Billy Powell comes in around 2:36)

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:
Benny Goodman
Gene Krupa
Marty Robbins
Buddy Rich
Lionel Hampton
Johny Cash
John Denver

^^^^^^^
That is a talented group you listed. I think you would challenged to find a Top 40 group today with their musicality.

quote:

Originally posted by K0ZZZ:
I know I was reading a story about a month ago, where the author talked about how more music sounds the same, because it essentially is. More popular music is written by the same handful of music writers than ever before. So the entire top 40 will mostly have the songwriter credits of maybe 6 to 8 people total.

link?? if possible,

did a quick search trying to find out who wrote the top 40 or top 10 songs from last year,

no luck, my google fu was not good

quote:

Originally posted by BB61:

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:
Benny Goodman
Gene Krupa
Marty Robbins
Buddy Rich
Lionel Hampton
Johny Cash
John Denver

^^^^^^^
That is a talented group you listed. I think you would challenged to find a Top 40 group today with their musicality.

wonder what the top 40 list looked like when the above had a hit,,,

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:
........
Benny Goodman
Gene Krupa
Marty Robbins
Buddy Rich
Lionel Hampton
Johny Cash
John Denver

wonder what the top 40 list looked like when the above had a hit,,,

I'd think billboard/charts could probably answer that question for you.

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:

Things went rapidly downhill when 'music' invented rap (only one letter away from being crap) and hip-hop.

I guess they should have called it "reat" music, the it would only be one letter away from great.