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Why People Shouldn't Be Pressured To Like "New" Music/Movies/Etc.


MortSahlFan

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On 7/18/2016 at 2:38 PM, Strider said:

4. MortSahlFan feels pressured to like new things. But there are just as many people on the internet whose tired schtick is "Everything was better in the old days. Kids today suck." I feel sorry for people who close themselves off to anything post-1975 or post-1980 or any arbitrary line.

:goodpost:

To that point, there are a lot of younger people online seeking approval from older folks, whose schtick is "I wish I grew up back then/I'm (insert age here) and I only listen to old music!/yada, yada". 

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I think this really fits the mood of this thread:

A couple of months ago, I came across this interesting interview with Alex Lifeson (circa 2007/2008, I think), and he was asked what he thought about the current state of music. He said (I'm paraphrasing a little here) that he was listening to a college radio station the other day and felt disappointed and underwhelmed with the kind of music that was on. He then, went on to say that everything (including music) is based on mediocrity, these days. 

 I thought to myself: 'Wow! That's a pretty absurd declaration to make. I unfortunately, felt the same way as you did at one time, Mr. Lifeson, but I soon discovered the critical fact that radio is not the way to go, if you really want to assess the current state of music. As far as I'm concerned, exposure to mainstream music only reinforces one's cynicism with regard to the so-called battered state of music, these days. You really need to move your backside and start looking elsewhere, if you are expecting good music to just fall into your lap, through the radio. Go on and get an account with sites like last.fm or even Itunes (for that matter!) that has that Customers Also Bought feature. Sites like these do the heavy lifting for you, by analyzing your music tastes and coming up with suitable recommendations. I discovered a cool new Swedish stoner rock band a few years ago, thanks to last.fm. Or maybe, subscribe to newsletters from websites like Classicrockmagazine.com. This site has editorial articles that contain reviews of new albums, contests to vote for some hand picked nominees in categories such as Best Newcomer (which in my opinion, is an avenue to discover more new bands), etc. I discovered a fab new band (a French-American-Swedish quartet) thanks to one of those newsletters and had the pleasure of sharing my discovery with other people. Or better yet, lurk on an online forum like this one and see what other people are listening to and talking about. You never know. You might actually learn a thing or two! Oh and just in case, you do not wish to expand your musical horizons any further than the 1980's or 1970's, well, no worries! Each to his own. But (at the risk of sounding utterly rude), at the same time, don't fuckin' crib or whine like a little brat about the current state of music, dear sir, for you have no right to make such assessments!!'. 

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15 hours ago, Kiwi_Zep_Fan87 said:

...radio is not the way to go, if you really want to assess the current state of music. As far as I'm concerned, exposure to mainstream music only reinforces one's cynicism with regard to the so-called battered state of music, these days. You really need to move your backside and start looking elsewhere, if you are expecting good music to just fall into your lap, through the radio. Go on and get an account with sites like last.fm or even Itunes (for that matter!) that has that Customers Also Bought feature. Sites like these do the heavy lifting for you, by analyzing your music tastes and coming up with suitable recommendations.

Practically came out of hiding to further this. In Santa Cruz, CA, there's a place called the Catalyst club. Looking at their schedule for the month, picking out bands that sound cool, and checking them out on Spotify has become a little weekend thing I do regularly. You'd be amazed with how many great, relatively unknown bands there are playing in clubs like these. The local bands I've been able to see there (FIDLAR, The Frights, SWMRS) all put on kick-ass shows, and are at least for now untouched by all the bullshit commercialism that goes on in radio. 

 

Essentially what I'm trying to say is that before passing off all music today as crap, do some digging and work for your music. For god's sake, rock is not dead and screw anyone who tries to preach that. Radio is dead. Rock is mainstream now, and all that anyone wants to put on the radio is the watered-down garbage that you hear people complain about. You're never gonna hear the next Zeppelin or Sabbath on the radio again, but you might find them playing in a little underground venue if you look hard enough. And to be honest, it's way more fun to have your own little band that only you and a small following know about.*

 

*We apparently have some sensitive users in this thread, so I'd like to apologize ahead of time if I ruffle anyone's feathers a bit too hard

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20 hours ago, sickagain98 said:

Practically came out of hiding to further this. In Santa Cruz, CA, there's a place called the Catalyst club. Looking at their schedule for the month, picking out bands that sound cool, and checking them out on Spotify has become a little weekend thing I do regularly. You'd be amazed with how many great, relatively unknown bands there are playing in clubs like these. The local bands I've been able to see there (FIDLAR, The Frights, SWMRS) all put on kick-ass shows, and are at least for now untouched by all the bullshit commercialism that goes on in radio. 

 

Essentially what I'm trying to say is that before passing off all music today as crap, do some digging and work for your music. For god's sake, rock is not dead and screw anyone who tries to preach that. Radio is dead. Rock is mainstream now, and all that anyone wants to put on the radio is the watered-down garbage that you hear people complain about. You're never gonna hear the next Zeppelin or Sabbath on the radio again, but you might find them playing in a little underground venue if you look hard enough. And to be honest, it's way more fun to have your own little band that only you and a small following know about.*

 

*We apparently have some sensitive users in this thread, so I'd like to apologize ahead of time if I ruffle anyone's feathers a bit too hard

Thanks, sickagain98 and Kiwi Zep Fan. That is the crux in a nutshell of what I keep telling people who tell me "rock is dead".

Rock isn't dead. It just isn't served to you on a silver platter as the old modes of delivery and distribution die and wither away.

When we were growing up in the first few decades after rock and roll exploded...say 1955 thru 1985...rock and roll was the new kid on the block and what the kids dug the most. Every city had at least several radio stations devoted to rock and roll. When FM radio exploded in the late-60s, that number jumped exponentially. Add in college and underground radio and there was a veritable smorgasbord of rock available 24/7 on the radio. There were magazines as well that catered to every taste. Concerts were cheap so you were much more willing to go check out a new band you had never heard of for $3.

As the 80s progressed into the 90s, hip hop and the dance/rave/dj scene made inroads to the pop culture and became the new darling of the kids. Grunge had its moment in the sun but sunk under the weight of its dour humourlessness and pessimmism...nobody wants to be that miserable ALL the time.

At the same time, corporate radio had put a stranglehold on radio playlists with their dopey focus groups and spreadsheets and bottom-line mentality. Mainstream Pop radio became a hodgepodge of boy bands, teen-confessional pop, slicked up pop-country, hip-hop, and only the blandest safest rock and roll (Train, Dave Matthews Band, Coldplay). FM classic rock radio played the same 5 songs from the pre-approved list of bands from 1964-1980. Good luck hearing Moby Grape, Electric Flag, Funkadelic, Mother's Finest, or Can on these stations. Meanwhile, rock practically disappeared from TV. MTV had killed off the Don Kirschner Rock Concert and The Midnight Special and by the end of the 90s MTV had itself ceased showing "music" as it realized cheap reality shows provided more profit.

Rock disappeared from the radio, the tv, the magazines (Creem and Trouser Press and Crawdaddy folded and Rolling Stone sucked the teen-pop cock). But it never disappeared from the garages and streets from which it sprang. It never disappeared from the clubs and concert scene. 

Real rock is still alive...it just went back underground. So you have to take more effort to find it. The internet did a lot of damage in some ways (Amazon killed mom & pop stores and many record retail outlets) but in some ways, with YouTube and bandcamp and other sites, it is easier than ever to check out a new band to see how they sound before deciding to buy their album or see them in concert.

Again, it just takes effort and time on the part of the listener...you have to dig a little more beneath what mainstream corporate America feeds you.

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On 8/1/2016 at 3:49 AM, sickagain98 said:

Essentially what I'm trying to say is that before passing off all music today as crap, do some digging and work for your music. For god's sake, rock is not dead and screw anyone who tries to preach that. Radio is dead. Rock is mainstream now, and all that anyone wants to put on the radio is the watered-down garbage that you hear people complain about. You're never gonna hear the next Zeppelin or Sabbath on the radio again, but you might find them playing in a little underground venue if you look hard enough. And to be honest, it's way more fun to have your own little band that only you and a small following know about.*

 

*We apparently have some sensitive users in this thread, so I'd like to apologize ahead of time if I ruffle anyone's feathers a bit too hard

Brilliantly put! I couldn't have said it better myself! :goodpost: 

It is really fun when you discover a great band, especially when a lot of people look at you pretty quizzically and tell you that they have never heard of that band! In a way, it does make you feel rather special and privileged,  if you know what I mean! :lol: 

Oh and forget about the ultra-sensitive people on this thread. This is a forum and you haven't crossed the line in any way with your points of view (which by the way, are perfectly legit, IMO), so there is no need to apologize, mate! :) 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey MortSahlFan, 

I kinda hear what you're saying. Here's what I do; make the best of both worlds!

Slap on some steely from 1975 and light a joint grown in 2015(16 if it's totally cured) and bam! Not often were we able to toke up on such righteous weed back in '75 chillin to Kay Lied while enjoying THC levels equal to modern day weed. See, you youngsters get things right. Then later, you can even VAPE your weed jamming on those Black Keys. Those fellas have heart. Sathington's list is rock and roll. Jimmy Page would even agree with some of those bands he listed.

And check this out, it will get even better! Probably in a year or three, your self-driving car will taxi you to these concerts so you can get baked in route to check out the auto-tuners performing on stage.

George Jetson would get a hard on and he's way into Tangerine Dream.
 

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