My overgeneralization may seem drastic, but take one look at the Billboard Hot 100 list and tell me what type of music and artists dominate the scene. I know these musicians are still talented but for what reasons are they famous? Being able to sing is one thing, but how many of these musicians are writing their own songs or playing their own instruments? How many of them are famous for other reasons beyond their stage persona or their looks? Not as many as there should be that’s for sure.
These modern musicians have their hit (or multiple equally horrible hits), and then they disappear. How long are these guys going to last on the charts? Can we honestly say we can imagine or hope to see One Direction or Justin Bieber making music in 10 years?
Those musicians who do have the talent and the passion can make music that spans generations, and who we won’t be sick of in a few months. They can make music that we hope to be listening to in 10 years.
Slash (former guitarist of Guns N’ Roses) for example is releasing his second solo album Apocalyptic Love May 22, 2012. Some might view Slash as a washed up musician still surviving off of his fame from his hay day in classic rock band GN’R, but Slash is doing something that seems rare in the music industry today: I call it passion. The man can seriously PLAY his guitar and his band writes their OWN music. The music is driven by his passion and this is really the missing element in most music today.
The Foo Fighters are another example that display passion in music. The band has been around for over 15 years and their most recent album Wasting Light (released April 2011) was recorded in a garage. No fancy computers or producers, just raw talent. Why is there a shortage of music like this these days? (Check out this video of Dave Grohl talking about playing music because he loves it)
I’m glad musicians like Slash and the Foo’s are still making music and doing what they love. I just wish there were more real musicians on the scene these days, not just fame hungry fads and stage shows.
I think another potential reason for the decreased excitement about the release of a new album from an artist is the availability of music due to the internet. Now it is easy to find new songs for listening or downloading before the albums have even been produced. Everything is so available on the internet that often times it is possible for listeners to be sick of the debut single before the CD even hits shelves. Do you think this accessibility has had any influence on the decreased excitement of album releases?
ReplyDeletegreat insight:) made me think of this video of Tim Armstrong talking about what being punk is.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBjQPjivRiQ
its funny though..everyone's opinion of music is so different...its one thing the world will never agree on. and thank God for that.
Yes I definitely agree with you Lindsay regarding music accessibility, I guess it's just a reality that we have to deal with thanks to the internet.
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you can explore new artists through the internet, and download music instantaneously, but at the same time I personally feel that this is the reason why artists don't put as much love and passion into making an album. The focus instead has been on making one killer hit (that will be on the charts for a few weeks), rather than a classic album (that will be remembered for generations).
I agree with you too Pete, our tastes will forever be drastically different, and that's why I personally hope bands like the Foo Fighters continue making music (because I cannot stand the majority of music on the radio today)
Thanks for the feedback guys! :)
When looking at pop culture and the music scene I feel that there are two differnt categories of people that listen to music.
ReplyDeletefirstly there are people who are big into music for music sakes. They enjoy listening to the sounds, go out of there way to understand what is truely being said, and really enjoy music. These people are more about what it is, rather then who it is, which is important for music in my opinion.
Alternativly there are people who are music fans based on pop culture sake. Which unfortunatly for the rest of the fans have more say in what music is in pop culture then the ones who do not care about pop culture. This is probably due to how money is invested in a artist and the role that the person behind the music plays.
currently music is a advertisement that is produced to make money no matter how you look at it, someone along the chain will, and is making money. Now this is a important part of what pop culture is because as much as people dont like admiting it, companies probably control more about pop culture then you would like to think. Lets take the example of a certain star who hit another certain star some time ago, because i hate that guy and i can rant forever about it.
Stage 1: companies find attractive young artist they can use to advertise whatever they want to make money.
Stage 2: he becomes insanely popular based on songs they supply him with and contract dealings with other pop culture stars to increase populairty.
Stage 3; profit, well normally although a certaqin some one did something silly and everyone hated him instantly.
Stage 4: save the falling star, the label knows that they cant put any song with just said person in it because no one would buy it or care because of curent events. So instead they make him co-op with every major name to increase populatiry again and help save his image.
Stage 5: make him sing at every event that is about to come up, once again to keep him in the lime light and protect the investment.
Stage 6; profit again...
Unfortunatly for us, this has caused the pop culture side of music to discuss him all the time, which even if it was bad news has kept his name in the discussion which increases his populatiry and keeps his songs on the radio... This in turn means his songs have very little thought into him because they dont need to they only nede to be there to provide an image.
I could be totaly off basis here, but what do you guys think. im sure you can guess said person, but if not then meh it doesent matter that much.