Clearly, that’s a subjective question. Music taste is based on memories, opinions, personalities, and culture. We as consumers are being cheated in the 21st century. So, how can we make music great again?
Let’s be honest here people, we’re being screwed with the radio and media-driven choices today. The music industry isn’t doing us any favors. I’m 28 and I grew up on a slew of amazing, history binding, rock music. Acts such as Queen, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Foreigner shaped my life as far as expectations in music go. That music is what we classify as Classic Rock now, but where did the core aspects of that music go?
The State of the Music Industry
Don’t get me wrong. There are still great artists out there. And the sad part is they go unnoticed by mainstream media. It’s like they’re intimidated by talent and feel like the easy targets won’t understand them and would rather take the easy way out. The great composer Gordon Goodwin puts it in ways far more professional than I can;
“the industry has adapted a musical language that is striking in it’s banality.”
There are so many bands out there to listen to. But now, as consumers, we have to find them because they aren’t played on the radio. The Dear Hunter is a prime example of this. The music they release has an incredible amount of influence that stretches from genre to genre and blurs the lines altogether. Their sound is truly original, and I guarantee 8/10 people have never heard of them.
Today’s music is comprised of formulas and overproduction. I almost feel as if the most famous of famous producers have some kind of algorithm. Find the beats, over-process them, and shuffle an artist…and presto! Where’s the story? Where’s the composition; the actual band-written music and lyrics? I guarantee you won’t ever find someone saying Ke$ha changed their life or LMFAO. And even bands like Twenty One Pilots, while they have good lyrics, their music tremendously lacks depth.
Make Music Great Again
So what does make music great? To you, I don’t fucking know but to me, music means a whole lot. Music has changed my life, gotten me through depression, helped me get through a bad day, and it made a great day even better. Most of all it is my natural way of controlling my ADHD and anxiety. My memories, flooded with music, play in the background of my head. They provide stimulation and bring forth more meaning than events that don’t have music. The music industry needs to eliminate the middle man and get rid of the frozen food section that is music today.
When discussing the problem of American pop music the base issue is not the performers. Many of them are talented and…
Posted by Gordon Goodwin on Monday, February 13, 2017
