So, is music getting better?

[HEyHEY]

Stuff like the Arcade Fire, the Shins, Beta band.

I know a couple of those have been around for a long time.... but still. When I think about 3 years ago compared to now. Pop still blows but the rest is getting better.

Still though, that won't bring "pure" back

[iconoclastic cat]

1. Oh, hell yes, esp. Arcade Fire!

Man, I found out that they played a Thurday night show at a dive here in Chicago about two months ago where about a dozen people showed up. I was so pissed that I missed it.

But I did get my ass kicked by Interpol last night at the Aragon!

[mark414]

2. i'm hopeful

i think if you look back to 5 years ago, many of the bands that are getting even a small amount of press probably wouldn't have gotten any (the bands you mentioned above, white stripes, modest mouse, etc.). although i am enough of a music snob to be happy for bands i like to make money, but be pissed that they're not my little secret anymore. i have a feeling that the arcade fire is going to blow up if they release a second album by the end of this year, given the short attention span of most people. either way i suppose it doesn't really matter as i don't listen to the radio or watch mtv or anything...i usually rely on internet, word-of-mouth, and strong record labels to find my new stuff...

btw...did you know that the beta band broke up?

[HEyHEY]

3. Really...why?

Just got sick of each other?

[mark414]

4. something like "they hadn't achieved the success they desired"

i'm not sure exactly...let me try to find a link...

ahh found it:

http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/04-08/03.shtml

[HEyHEY]

6. Well, that sucks

[HEyHEY]

9. Just a victim of a public with no musical taste I guess

I wonder which members will spring up again.

[jpgray]

5. I find a lot of the new wavemakers to be somewhat disappointing

I went to a show of Mouse on Mars and I think Ratatat, and wasn't too thrilled. A good number of the songs sounded like what Brian Eno was doing in the flippin' seventies. Stuff like Wolf Eyes is pretty interesting to me, though.

[mark414]

8. when i first heard ratatat

i was really into it and couldn't get enough of em.

then after about 2 weeks the novelty wore off.

oh well

[RandomKoolzip]

7. Guided by Voices, Dismemberment Plan broke up last year...

and just about every new band I hear sounds sterile. There's a few good new bands who aren't merely aping styles, like Mando Diao and Karate. Ben Folds' work continues to improve. Modest Mouse's most commercial work is also their best.

In the underground, Animal Collective have given me a musical boner.

Sometimes the best music pops up in the weirdest contexts; for instance, Slipknot have a great new song out (!), and anyone expecting greatness from them would have been called insane a year ago.

The Shins are great, but I think the Arcade Fire is way overrated. And Franz Ferdinand? Ninja, please. We're dealing with a lot of press-whores hyping bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (SPIN is the worst offender here) who elevate style over substance, attitude over musicianship, etc. And the coverage these average-or-lesser bands get overshadows the up-and-coming contenders who probably deserve more coverage.

Plus, this is all rock. In the world of pop, no one cares, and the music is getting exponentially worse by the day. Mainstream hiphop has never (NEVER) been worse.

[mvd]

10. Pop is better and rock is better

Pop - gone from mostly boy bands, Celine Dion, and Britney Spears to more pop/rock.

Rock - not as many Creeds or rap/rock groups around.

That's my opinion.

[alwynsw]

11. Real. Define real.

Haven't you folks ever heard of Ella, Richey, Joe Henderson? Now that's classical music (he said as his deceased profs, which most are dead by now, spin in their graves). But then, it's hard to beat Bil Monroe's old stuff. Or Gatemouth. Or Miles. Or Diz.

Awright already! So my taste is eclectic.

Show me another Bartok or Hovhanness and I'll say it's getting better. There! Are you happy now, whatever plane of existence you're in Dr. Patrick?

[Ron Green]

13. You are CORRECT, Sir....

Popular music is crap. Perhaps some good music was accidentally popular once upon a time, but I believe this was DESPITE its merit, not because of it.

[HEyHEY]

14. I never used the word "real"

Define yourself!

[alwynsw]

25. Me?

I'm the jeans creaming gun fetishist with eclectic music tastes.

edited to add: You may not have said it, but the little voices told me what you were thinking.

[Susang]

16. Cranky much?

Whatever in HeyHey's OP deserved that angry response? :shrug:

[alwynsw]

26. Not angry.

Just a little backhanded picking at a cyber pal's musical taste.

edited to add: I only get pissy in the gungeon or in gungeonesque threads.

[Boswells_Johnson]

18. That's interesting. So are you implying that current music is so bad

that the people who enjoy it have no idea of what "good" is?

(Sounds like you enjoy the Anthology, too!)

[alwynsw]

28. Let's say I like a bit more than is offered in most current stuff.

Current as in top 40 or so-called adult stations. Rock has sucked in general for quite a while, IMO.

Bear in mind, I'm only picking on our Canadian friend.

[HEyHEY]

19. Is just that what you listed is THAT good or is it

That most of society, listened, loved, appreciated and moved on and you're still stuck trying to figure it out?

[alwynsw]

29. Naw. Too much is all about the hook.

BUt then, who could trust the musical taste of someone who would post a pic of a polar bear daisy chain. :evilgrin:

[asthmaticeog]

20. Dr. Patrick?

I thought HEyHEY's name was Sylvia. :shrug:

[Susang]

21. It is

*Doctor* Sylvia Patrick Hey Hey. ;-)

[HEyHEY]

23. Dammit I didn't spend all those years at massage school to be called mrs

[alwynsw]

31. O.K., honey. Ms.

Is that better? While you're here, I've got a crick in my neck.

[alwynsw]

33. I think you're right, but

when we catch him in the gungeon, we usually call him bitch.

[HEyHEY]

34. I got shot in the ass last time I was there

They said it was an "Accident"

[alwynsw]

36. I'm still working on that safety.

How ya healing? I would ask if ya still got the sore ass, but that's a natural condition.

[HEyHEY]

37. It only hurts when I ..uh...never mind

[Allenberg]

12. Big thumbs up to the Beta Band

:toast:

[Wat_Tyler]

15. Sadly, they split up last year.

[Susang]

17. I love your dancing milk carton!

That's one of my favorite music videos. Though I'm always sad at the end. :cry:

[CanuckAmok]

22. No, you're going deaf.

Weird, huh? I bet you were expecting blindness.

[HEyHEY]

24. I wanna see those animals fight to the death!

[MrSlayer]

27. No, not at all.

It's been getting progressively worse since 1990.

[trof]

30. NO!

[RetroLounge]

32. Nope. I don't like that surfin' shit

TURN IT OFF, I don't like that surfin' shit. Rock and roll's been going downhill ever since Buddy Holly died.
--John Milner (American Graffiti)



RL

[Tektonik]

35. This flashback to hip 80's bands is getting tiresome

Just listening to The Bravery makes me yearn for rap/rock to make a comeback.

[ScreamingMeemie]

38. I believe it stays the same...and that people's tastes change.

And I like some forms of pop. Everything has its purpose.