A real chestnut for mine .
I`m in my mid-thirties and i remember my folks when i was a teenager growing up would take the pi`ss out of what i was listening to "Thats not real music" it`s just noise ( I`m sure a lot of you would have heard that line ).
I now have teenage daughters and i have got to admit that i have given that line to them and sometimes i think "am i right or am i just sounding like my parents"
I still get to about a dozen gigs a year on average and buy CD`s on a regular basis so i do think that there is a lot of good music being made in this day and age but.... there is, IMHO , a lot of absolute garbage that is made purely as fodder , made as a product to sell . Made with a view to appeal to a certain demographic , made with the express purpose to move units .........Not being made because it is the creative art that is eminating out of an individual , the yearnings and thoughts flowing out of a gifted artist .
Music being created by marketing guru`s who study what`s "hot" and whats not and know where to take it . Music that appeals to the highest common denominator and then sold with a fervor that makes big Kev look like a church mouse .
The shining example is Nelly`s " but it`s all in my head , i think about it over and over again ......."
One sentence and piece of music that lasts in total for about 7-8 seconds and all they do is keep looping it about 30 times and there is your song. Seriously , if that stacks up with the classics of yore i will give it away . Bands that were around a decade ago ( still are today ) like Tool , NIN , Radiohead take months , even years to produce 9-10 songs that they consider worthy enough to put on an album and then you have stuff that could be put together in a day out selling everything .
I think older music is a lot more genuine , music made for a reason other than financial gain , music made because it is a part of the artist, part of thier soul . There is still music being made today that is good .... you just have to look a lot harder to find it . The bulk of the population will generally buy and listen to what is shoved down thier throats on commercial radio and television .... you have to have a genuine passion and interest in music to find the good gear , which i think is a genuine indictment on the people that run industry .
I don`t think that it is a coinsidence that there is a growing trend of bands ditching thier labels and doing things independantly . I urge all music lovers to support these bands . It is becoming to hard for them . Music labels telling them " we want you to sound like this " ???? .
This modern "soul" that is just the same lines and rehashed and moulded . 50 cent and all his clones . Artist featuring the artist .. marketing and it`s height of disgistingness .
In summing , i lean towards older music , made for truer reasons , crafted , plied , then played live , talented musicians , passion ,
Not saying it aint there today , it is just a hell of a lot more diluted and harder to find