I’m in my 50’s and it is expected for me to say, “Music was better way back in –insert year here–“, but I’m not going to do that. I will say that I can’t stand current pop music, but that isn’t a new thing, I’ve felt this way for over 25 years. I have a theory why that is and I’m going to delve into that in another post. Today let’s just stick with this topic.
I’ve done a piece on my YouTube channel about why I hate current pop music so I don’t need to get back into that. I’m not saying I hate it all, but as a general rule, yes, I hate it. Same with country music since the early 90s. I can’t listen to it, I feel like I’m getting dumber and dumber by the minute when I listen to it. But, once again, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t some country music that I do like.
So for most younger people, this would make them say that it’s because of my age and I really don’t think so. I could’ve been born a decade later and I’d still feel this way. I would say it has to do with my musical background that makes me feel this way. I can’t stand songs that sound the same and that is what I find in music today. There isn’t any innovation, everyone is trying to sound like someone else instead of finding their own voice. I’ve been yelling this from the rooftops for years, hardly anyone has heard me because my following has been so small. Now that the more well known people are yelling it, it’s getting heard, somewhat.
Songwriting is dead, it’s all about the beats.
Now this isn’t 100% true, I’d put it more at about 90% true. When I listen to modern music today, it is a catch phrase that gets repeated with some other stuff which a cool, generally scooped from somewhere else, beat. No storyline, no poetic lines. That’s why these songs aren’t remembered a year after release. Why do they do it? It’s quick and easy to produce and release. You can argue with me on this, but I will point out that the most used drum beat is the drum solo for “The Funky Drummer” – James Brown. It just keeps getting re-used and re-used. Not saying it’s not a nice drum beat, but we need new ideas.
So who do you like?
My music catalogue varies between 1930’s to about 1999 music. That is the bulk of what I listen to. For new music, it is mainly independent artists that release stuff on sites like Band Camp where they aren’t bound to the rules that were set by the major labels. That’s where music with heart and emotion live now a days. I am fond of the likes of Chris Stapleton or Lizzo. Anything thing “Bro Country” can be thrown in the trash, I’ve actually gone through the entire Luke Bryant catalogue on YouTube Music and disliked every song so they never appear in any of my suggested lists again.
My final thought on this
My final thought is, if you find yourself hating modern music, take a listen to some bands on band camp, it may surprise you!