Music's Been Going Downhill Since...

[Lumenskir]

Every so often I meet/read about someone who has completely given up on music quality of the present and future rising to, let alone above, the musical quality of some point in the past. Sometimes it's not a time frame but an event, or even the neglect/addition of producing practices.

Does anybody feel the same way?

Also, just because I feel the need to cut off an unnecessary post,
Music's been going downhill since we stopped [hilariously old reference to the very beginnings of music, like "banging rocks together" or "humming"]

[Mike McC]

I think part of it is the 'Good Ol' Days'/nostalgia factor. Of course the music we grew up with is going to sound better to a lot of us. For others, however, listening to some of that old junk is actually kinda embarassing... "I used to like this?"

Another part is the stagnation of the record industry. Really, they have become very busness and corporate. They don't really care about finding unique talent or fresh sounds, they want to emulate, copy, and capitalize on sounds that were popular in the past. It's an industry that's on the verge of collapse, too, as more and more are paying attention to independent labels and self-releases, which is easier than ever thanks to the internet and iTunes. And instead of adapting, they stubbornly try to force the old model on us all, and we aren't really interested anymore.

A bit of a tangent, but really, I see over the next few years, maybe as much as a decade, a shift away from the album format, and back to something more along the lines of the golden age of the 45. Music releases will be more along the lines of singles or EPs, with some artists releasing LPs for concept albums or rock operas. With the advent of purchasing digital music, it just makes more sense that way.

Really, I think that there will be a rise in music appreciation and quality once the fading Top 40 Pop crumbles, or at least changes away from industry decided tracks. I mean, really, how the hell did J Lo's single "Get Right", the one with the goddamned annoying looping horn bit, make it so high on the charts if the industry WASN'T forcing it on us?

[Smarty McBarrelpants]

See I personally have the view that overall musical quality is about the same always but if I listen to music from the past the passage of time has removed most of the chaff leaving me with the good stuff.
That and music today objectively sucks. It's scientific fact.

[Mike McC]

Ah, yes, I forgot about the filter of time. Of course only a fraction, mostly good stuff (with some standout horrible examples), would be remembered and archived outside of obscurity.

[Zakreon]

Some artists have been really losing quality lately, but then Serj Tankian came along after splitting from my favorite band SOAD and totally blew my mind. I fail to see degrading music with Serj around.

[shiney]

Everything Fencer said. Making music, an expression of creativity and individualism, into something for profit has led to the decline in the quality of the most prevalent bands. This is why independent labels and artists are better, because they aren't corporate.

[Bells]

It's not really the quality that si going down, is that "mass production" came to music, and things that sell have the front seat.

But not everything that is assured to sell will be good...

[shiney]

The overall quality is now and will continue to go down actually because it is less an expression and more a dollar bill, and the target audience is the 13-18 year old audience who don't really quite understand the subtleties of the industry. The ones who are like "that band is a total sellout" don't realize that their favorite bands probably are too. And the sellout bands are pretty much all formulaic. Intro, verse 1, (50% chance of chorus), verse 2, chorus, verse 3, bridge, chorus, chorus, outro.

I dunno. So long as that junk continues to sell in great numbers to idiots with money, the overall quality will remain low. Great mixers can't take the place of great musicians really...

This is all opinion but I would like to think that some of it is based in fact.

[Mondt]

And the sellout bands are pretty much all formulaic. Intro, verse 1, (50% chance of chorus), verse 2, chorus, verse 3, bridge, chorus, chorus, outro.This is one reason I love progressive music. I like it when a band manages to break from the norm but still sound uniform in their songs. I mean, like, some bands take it pretty far... Between The Buried and Me's new album is basically one huge progressive song because it is comprised of 10 progressive songs that transition basically without notice.

I also like it when the bridge isn't just "OMGYELLLLLL" or "superquiettimenowguys".

[Fifthfiend]

And the sellout bands are pretty much all formulaic. Intro, verse 1, (50% chance of chorus), verse 2, chorus, verse 3, bridge, chorus, chorus, outro.

Depressingly like every band I listen to is exactly like this. Even the non-sellout ones! I mean International Noise Conspiracy does this in every song, and they're communists!

[Smarty McBarrelpants]

Depressingly like every band I listen to is exactly like this. Even the non-sellout ones! I mean International Noise Conspiracy does this in every song, and they're communists!

Yeah but even the communists are selling out these days. I'm looking at you China.

[Rant_S_S]

The overall quality is now and will continue to go down actually because it is less an expression and more a dollar bill, and the target audience is the 13-18 year old audience who don't really quite understand the subtleties of the industry. The ones who are like "that band is a total sellout" don't realize that their favorite bands probably are too. And the sellout bands are pretty much all formulaic. Intro, verse 1, (50% chance of chorus), verse 2, chorus, verse 3, bridge, chorus, chorus, outro.

I dunno. So long as that junk continues to sell in great numbers to idiots with money, the overall quality will remain low. Great mixers can't take the place of great musicians really...

This is all opinion but I would like to think that some of it is based in fact.

From what I can tell, it's actually becoming LESS about the money because of piracy and the breaking down of the old record company business model.

[Mike McC]

It's not really the quality that si going down, is that "mass production" came to music, and things that sell have the front seat.

But not everything that is assured to sell will be good...Allow me to illustrate the concept. Imagine your absolute favorite food. You probably don't have it that often, right? Like, once every couple weeks, once a month, if that? That's the way it is for most people, anyway.

Now, imagine if you get it once a week! That's pretty sweet! An awesome meal, once a week? Sign me up!

Now, imagine it's given to you a once a day. Uh, yeah. Isn't this a bit much? I mean, I like it and all, but I would like a little variety.

Now, imagine it's given to you for every fucking meal. How the fuck did I ever like this shit? Dear god, I'm so fucking tired of it, get it the fuck away from me, you fucking cunt ass bastard whores!

Over saturation and over exposure to the same thing over and over again really affects the quality of things. If you have the same thing over and over and over and over and over again, you lose the ability to appreciate it like you would if you had less exposure.

Hey, I bet in your music collection, you have songs that you could listen to on loop for hours on end. and I bet a few months ago you had different songs you listened to on loop for hours on end. You still like them, but you scaled back on them before you totally burn out on them. The Record Industry is making it so you can't scale that back by bringing out the same old stuff over and over, with a slightly different name.From what I can tell, it's actually becoming LESS about the money because of piracy and the breaking down of the old record company business model.Oh, the Recording Industry is still all about the Benjamins. Very much so. Extremely so. They send lawyers out the yin-yang at any problem they see as a threat to thier money.

The record industry isn't dieing from piracy. Oh hell no. In fact, in the days of Napster, thier profits were up because people could actually listen to stuff before they buy! Oh no, the industry is collapsing from stagnation and a refusal to change.

[Lumenskir]

Because I'm not sure if this deserves its own thread, and because I think it probably fits here, and thirdly because I thought it was sort of thought provoking, the Winners' History of Rock 'n' Roll (http://www.avclub.com/content/node/59052).