It's not that we're old; today's music really does suck.

But that's not the way it works these days.
Bands aren't really even given much focus at all anymore, outside of like, boybands, when it comes to popular music

It's no longer the 70s or the 80s or even the 90s.

Things have changed.

 

Dive into the underground, friends. Get comfortable. There's some really interesting artists moving the artform forward and they need our participation and support.

 

Do you have a computer and internet access?

I thought so.

The internet is festooned with great new music

Seek and ye shall find (unless you are hopelessly lazy).

 

It’s been said in this thread- good music doesn’t mean it’s popular music. Popular people are sold for the attraction they offer. Physically, aurally, and in the image they offer on the socials. You wanna tell me the boys in van halen were more attractive than the poster boys of today? It’s different now, unfortunately. I’m 25 and know where to find good music. I just share with my friends hoping for a bit of a revival.

 

You said something Golden ... "revival". That's what we need, a revival of good Pop music. Just remember, when something awful is artificially propped up by mass marketing, something good is being artificially buried by that same action.

 

yeah thats why most popular music sucks.

 

I guess the complaint is that truly good music is everwhere, but is not represented in top radio station play.

I think that is definitely true for country music. Some good tunes creep through, like Kacey Musgraves, but that's the exception to the rule.

But I think a lot of music featured on alternative radio and college radio is actually quite good. Sir Sly, Muse, Imagine Dragons, Foster the People-- lots
of really good music being made here that is also fortunate enough to get big radio play and make real money.

I think it is also mostly true for urban, soul, and rock format radio stations. Most of it is not as good as what you can find with a little Internet sleuthing.
But some good stuff does slip through. If nothing else, some amazing voices. Beyonce, Ariana Grande, and some other female vocalists have amazing
pipes even if much of the music is a bit repetitive. The mega hit "Havana" by Camina Cabello is pretty good for a pop song, IMO.

Brandi Carlile is freaking awesome, has paid her dues, and I was thrilled to learn she got Grammys and wowed them with a great performance.

 

As a performer, I have never considered Bob Dylan relevant. If you mean as a writer, Bob is relevant in spades...

 

Relevant to what? I don't understand that statement.

 

In the 70s, it would have been nearly impossible for a kid to try to find concerts clips of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Yardbirds or any other band. Today's kids can hop on You Tube and pull up great stuff from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, etc. My 18 year old loves the Beatles and Asia.
My 21 year old loves the Jam and the KinKs.

It is a whole different world from when most of us were getting into the music of our time. What the article really tells us is that the younger generation is taking full advantage of their access to the old stuff. Good for them!

 

I’m older than you, and I don’t “only” listen to the old stuff. But....with today’s technology, I’m finding old songs that I have never heard before, so in essence, they are new to me. The music is right there at our fingertips! All you need is a genre, song name, or artist name, and BAM!, you’re adding it to a playlist.

I’m a nostalgic kind of guy, so I listen to a lot of older music, even from decades before I was born (1890s-1940s). At the other end of the spectrum, I cringe when I hear certain “Classic Rock” songs, because they have been beaten like so many dead horses:

“Hotel California”, “Cocaine”, “Stairway To Heaven”...ad infinitum, ad nauseum.
Oddly enough, at the time of their releases, these were great songs. They were simply over-played like so many others.

Today there is so much good music out there, but one must put a little effort into finding what appeals to one’s tastes. As stated earlier, they don’t put it in a nice pretty package and present it to you as they once did.

I’m probably more open-minded than most people my age, at least when it comes to music.

 

Well, the new Manager at WUTC has reformatted everything and moved most of the music to an HD format I cannot receive at The Cabin, and so, another one bites the dust. Just a few good stations and there's demand RIGHT NOW for whatever is the latest intrigue inside The DC Beltway but that will pass eventually and so listeners will crave music again - can any station ever revert back to what it was?

The Key to the whole British Invasion and associated North American performers was, so many kids and young adults were pretty limited in terms of the number of performers with National Recognition and Big Recording Contracts and aggressive promotion. Anyway, kids and young adults from Juneau to Ft. Lauderdale listened mostly to just a small number of artists with a limited number of recorded songs and so the children and young adults all knew the same songs and there was a Community that arose not because the songs were fantastic (tho many were) but because the songs were a Shared Legacy among these individuals.

Today we have an unlimited supply of music and if someway you could skim the best 5% off and make everyone listen to that, then people would have something they could not only enjoy, but they could go at random to a party and the girl they met there would know the same songs and THIS would be the real excitement or value of this music. I would say, from experience, the fastest way to end a date early was to start talking about first one band, then another and then a third that your date had never heard of. By comparison if you know the music that young lady is listening to and really like it, your chances of taking her home are extremely high. You're just not going to know her special songs these days because interest is so dispersed - way way too many choices or possible pathways.

Otherwise we're getting into the realm of "When a Tree Falls in a Forest, No-one There, does it Make a Sound?" If you record a song and only 430 people hear it and you perform it at an open mike and only 175 people hear it; if your timing is off, your song passes away just as the impact of the Fallen Tree passed away. IMO that's the real crux of where we are right now.

 

I will go along with the idea that great music is still being made today, but it is harder to find. Back in the day, rock music was central to popular culture. There were ROCK STARS, and everybody knew them. We all listened to the radio, which played all the best music. The first thing that happened was that radio started to really suck. Smaller playlists, featuring mostly the worst mass-market crap you could find. Then music videos died, which was also a (very flawed, but) reasonably universal way for people to access new music. After that, the internet and video games exploded, so that's what kids focused on mainly, instead of seeking out and buying records. There are consequently fewer venues that promote live music, so people have fewer chances to be exposed to it. Music downloads overtook CD sales, and in the process obliterated the primacy of the album, in favor of single songs. Streaming music services make lots of music available, but provide very little filter. So: fewer people talking about music, buying music, and hearing live music. This all makes it HARDER to find the good music, which is out there in abundance, struggling to get heard and find an audience. Just my personal take on it.....

 

That's a good nutshell overview, but I think you are missing something. I think the reason awful music is popular is because of faddish trends established online ... it becomes a reaction to perceived peer pressure to absorb and accept crappy music in order to be accepted and attractive.
This is a logical outcome of previous generations' attention to well known D.J.s and Pop music magazines. Technology just made the brainwashing easier and more effective.

 

I have Internet here in West Tennessee; do not have it anymore in New Orleans and never had it at my favorite place (The Cabin) up in the mountains of North Carolina.

What I am seeing is, people with access to the internet all the time simply get sidetracked doing other things with their connection and do not use it the way you want them to. And their friends already also do the Games and all this other stuff and there's often no critical mass in support of music. This is not really about laziness. Lack of imagination, maybe, but remember that people with a really powerful imagination will find something that pays far more and they'll use their connection for that purpose instead. And I think many "musically inclined" people avoid the Internet altogether so they can concentrate on their writing and practice.

And some people make an "Internet Trip" in the same way they make a "Grocery Run". You make a list of the things you want to research, you gain access to a computer someplace and you just do your "grocery list" of research and then you shut the thing off.

 

Yeah, that's probably true. Every era has it's crappy music. But my recollection of the 1970s was that "good" music and "popular" music were not totally exclusive. The most popular bands were usually pretty good.

 

Most? No

Some, yes.

There was an awful lot of rubbish played on UK radio in the 70s. I spent the decade listening to it.

Might have been different in the US.

 

That's true of the 20s, 30s 40s. Seems every decade, up to maybe the early 70s, Pop music had a lot of great content. But, then I look up the actual top 100 in any given year, and realize most of it is ugly. Not nearly as bad as current stuff, but pretty bad.

My picks:

1960-

1 Percy Faith Theme From "A Summer Place"
2 Jim Reeves He'll Have To Go
3 Everly Brothers Cathy's Clown
4 Johnny Preston Running Bear
5 Mark Dinning Teen Angel
6 Brenda Lee I'm Sorry
7 Elvis Presley It's Now Or Never
8 Jimmy Jones Handy Man
9 Elvis Presley Stuck On You
10 Chubby Checker The Twist
11 Connie Francis Everybody's Somebody's Fool
12 Bobby Rydell Wild One
13 Brothers Four Greenfields
14 Jack Scott What In The World's Come Over You
15 Marty Robbins El Paso
16 Hollywood Argyles Alley Oop
17 Connie Francis My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own
18 Brenda Lee Sweet Nothin's
19 Brian Hyland Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini
20 Roy Orbison Only The Lonely
21 Dion and The Belmonts Where Or When
22 Connie Stevens Sixteen Reasons
23 Paul Anka Puppy Love
24 Frankie Avalon Why
25 Ventures Walk, Dont Run
26 Drifters Save The Last Dance For Me
27 Brook Benton and Dinah Washington Baby (You Got What It Takes)
28 Johnny Horton Sink The Bismark
29 Sam Cooke Chain Gang
30 Everly Brothers Let It Be Me
31 Jimmy Jones Good Timin'
32 Bobby Darin Beyond The Sea
33 Jimmy Clanton Go Jimmy Go
34 Jackie Wilson Night
35 Jack Scott Burning Bridges
36 Toni Fisher The Big Hurt
37 Duane Eddy Because They're Young
38 Conway Twitty Lonely Blue Boy
39 Steve Lawrence Pretty Blue Eyes
40 Freddie Cannon Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
41 Anita Bryant Paper Roses
42 Larry Verne Mr. Custer
43 Brenda Lee I Want To Be Wanted
44 Fendermen Mule Skinner Blues
45 Johnny Preston Cradle Of Love
46 Marv Johnson You've Got What It Takes
47 Hank Locklin Please Help Me, I'm Falling
48 Ron Holden Love You So
49 Hank Ballard and The Midnighters Finger Poppin' Time
50 Platters Harbor Lights
51 Billy Bland Let The Little Girl Dance
52 Jeanne Black He'll Have To Stay
53 Ferrante and Teicher Theme From The Apartment
54 Bobby Rydell Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)
55 Jimmy Charles A Million To One
56 Andy Williams The Village Of St. Bernadette
57 Browns The Old Lamplighter
58 Bill Black's Combo White Silver Sands
59 Bobby Vee Devil Or Angel
60 Four Preps Down By The Station
61 Little Dippers Forever
62 Safaris and The Phantom's Band Image Of A Girl
63 Brook Benton Kiddio
64 Donnie Brooks Mission Bell
65 Marv Johnson I Love The Way You Love
66 Paul Anka It's Time To Cry
67 Ray Peterson Tell Laura I Love Her
68 Connie Francis Mama
69 Steve Lawrence Footsteps
70 Everly Brothers So Sad
71 Brenda Lee That's All You Gotta Do
72 Fats Domino Walking To New Orleans
73 Connie Francis Among My Souvenirs
74 Bobby Rydell Swingin' School
75 Dinah Washington and Brook Benton A Rockin' Good Way
76 Neil Sedaka Stairway To Heaven
77 Paul Anka My Home Town
78 Ray Charles Georgia On My Mind
79 Skip and Flip Cherry Pie
80 Sam Cooke Wonderful World
81 Spencer Ross Tracy's Theme
82 Lloyd Price Lady Luck
83 Crests Step By Step
84 Paul Evans Happy-Go-Lucky Me
85 Ricky Nelson Young Emotions
86 Johnny Burnette Dreamin'
87 Johnny Tillotson Poetry In Motion
88 Annette O Dio Mio
89 Joe Jones You Talk Too Much
90 Johnny and The Hurricanes Beatnik Fly
91 Everly Brothers When Will I Be Loved
92 Bob Luman Let's Think About Livin'
93 Guy Mitchell Heartaches By The Number
94 Anita Bryant In My Little Corner Of The World
95 Jackie Wilson Doggin' Around
96 Bobby Rydell Little Bitty Girl
97 Barret Strong Money
98 Maurice Williams Stay
99 Charlie Rich Lonely Weekends
100 Larry Hall Sandy

 

This could be a fun game. Here is 1971. Not a bad year, especially if you like funk and R&B.

1 Three Dog Night Joy To The World
2 Rod Stewart Maggie May / (Find A) Reason To Believe
3 Carole King It’s Too Late / I Feel The Earth Move
4 Osmonds One Bad Apple
5 Bee Gees How Can You Mend A Broken Heart
6 Raiders Indian Reservation
7 Donny Osmond Go Away Little Girl
8 John Denver Take Me Home, Country Roads
9 Temptations Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)
10 Dawn Knock Three Times
11 Janis Joplin Me And Bobby McGee
12 Al Green Tired Of Being Alone
13 Honey Cone Want Ads
14 Undisputed Truth Smiling Faces Sometimes
15 Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose Treat Her Like A Lady
16 James Taylor You’ve Got A Friend
17 Jean Knight Mr. Big Stuff
18 Rolling Stones Brown Sugar
19 Lee Michaels Do You Know What I Mean
20 Joan Baez The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
21 Marvin Gaye What’s Going On
22 Paul and Linda McCartney Uncle Albert-Admiral Halsey
23 Bill Withers Ain’t No Sunshine
24 Five Man Electrical Band Signs
25 Tom Jones She’s A Lady
26 Murray Head and The Trinidad Singers Superstar
27 Free Movement I Found Someone Of My Own
28 Jerry Reed Amos Moses
29 Grass Roots Temptation Eyes
30 Carpenters Superstar
31 George Harrison My Sweet Lord / Isn’t It A Pity
32 Donny Osmond Sweet And Innocent
33 Ocean Put Your Hand In The Hand
34 Daddy Dewdrop Chick-a-boom
35 Carpenters For All We Know
36 Sammi Smith Help Me Make It Through The Night
37 Carpenters Rainy Days And Mondays
38 Gordon Lightfoot If You Could Read My Mind
39 Cher Gypsy, Tramps And Thieves
40 Jackson 5 Never Can Say Goodbye
41 Lynn Anderson Rose Garden
42 Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds Don’t Pull Your Love
43 Ringo Starr It Don’t Come Easy
44 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Mr. Bojangles
45 Fuzz I Love You Foe All Seasons
46 Dramatics Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get
47 Carly Simon That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be
48 Stevie Wonder If You Really Love Me
49 Aretha Franklin Spanish Harlem
50 Helen Reddy I Don’t Know How To Love Him
51 Osmonds Yo-yo
52 Aretha Franklin Bridge Over Troubled Water
53 Partridge Family Doesn’t Somebody Want To Be Wanted
54 Tommy James Draggin’ The Line
55 Ike and Tina Turner Proud Mary
56 Chicago Beginnings / Color My World
57 Bells Stay Awhile
58 Stampeders Sweet City Woman
59 Lobo Me And You And A Dog Named Boo
60 Paul McCartney Another Day / Oh Woman, Oh Why
61 Bread If
62 Marvin Gaye Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
63 Brewer and Shipley One Toke Over The Line
64 8th Day She’s Not Just Another Woman
65 Freda Payne Bring The Boys Home
66 Rare Earth I Just Want To Celebrate
67 Delaney and Bonnie and Friends Never Ending Song Of Love
68 Freddy Hart Easy Loving
69 Three Dog Night Liar
70 Honey Cone Stick-up
71 Mac and Katie Kissoon Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep
72 Andy Williams Love Story (Where Do I Begin)
73 Cat Stevens Wild World
74 Jerry Reed When You’re Hot, You’re Hot
75 Beginning Of The End Funky Nassau
76 Olivia Newton-John If Not For You
77 King Floyd Groove Me
78 Bobby Goldsboro Watching Scotty Grow
79 Matthews’ Southern Comfort Woodstock
80 Judy Collins Amazing Grace
81 Dave Edmunds I Hear You Knocking
82 Bee Gees Lonely Days
83 Fortunes Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again
84 Who Won’t Get Fooled Again
85 Denise Lasalle Trapped By A Thing Called Love
86 Jackson 5 Mama’s Pearl
87 Buoys Timothy
88 Partridge Family I Woke Up In Love This Morning
89 Isaac Hayes Theme From “Shaft”
90 Gladys Knight and The Pips If I Were Your Woman
91 Neil Diamond I Am..I Said
92 Paul Stookey Wedding Song (There Is Love)
93 Wilson Pickett Don’t Knock My Love, Pt. 1
94 Doors Love Her Madly
95 Richie Havens Here Comes The Sun
96 Wadsworth Mansion Sweet Mary
97 Brenda and The Tabulations Right On The Tip Of My Tongue
98 Fifth Dimension One Less Bell To Answer
99 Doors Riders On The Storm
100 Perry Como It’s Impossible

 

Keep in mind there's just so much more opportunity today to get access to music. I remember Christmas 1968 being given a white, JC Penney AM radio and thinking it was gold. I'd listen to my favorite radio stations - WQAM and WFUN - every night and fall asleep with the radio on. Today's kids have access to a thousand times more music in the Androids or I-phones sitting in the palm of their hands, and they can access it at any time - like when they're in class or in the bathroom.

It really is a different world for those who love music.