Topic: The Music Thread

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@Kidfried @nessisonett Hey my friends, I’m sorry if I came off as disrespectful and I meant no offense to the talented and hard working artisans and musicians of today. I think I struck a nerve there and it’s not my intent to pass judgment.

I was flabbergasted as to where the discussion became one which gave the impression that there was no good music to be found nowadays, so I had to go back and re-read so I could try and correct any miscommunication I may had done. As the discussion crystallized, it became clearer to my mind that my initial [admittedly harsh] observations were really mostly speaking to popular music. In other words the music that one doesn’t have to go out of his/her way to find. So the comparison was: pop music now vs pop music in past decades. Furthermore, I am very much isolated to my experience here in the U.S. I can’t speak to Europe, Asia, Africa, or elsewhere. I forget sometimes this is an international community. When I stated my aforementioned contemplations, I’m looking at Billboard top 100 lists, not the hidden jewels at the live performance coffee houses around town.

I will definitely reiterate my qualifying statement that these have been my purely subjective experiences and opinions alone, and they are admittedly ignorant. I am not a musician and I am ...’lazy’ I guess is the right word, as it relates to musical discovery (but again pop music shouldn’t need to be sought out and discovered... it’s by definition ’popular’). However, even in my casual perusal of music, I have made efforts to stretch myself to different unique experiences; for example I’ve tried to follow up on recommendations I see in this thread as well as those I receive from my in-person friends. (I literally spent a hour following YouTube links listening to concert piano music 2 days ago at the strong recommendation of a friend). I’ve spent a little time browsing the indies scene and on apps like SoundCloud. I’ve had text exchanges with friends back and forth where we send some of our favorite songs back and forth trying to expose each other to some great tunes we think the other might have never heard but would like. Unfortunately at the end of the day I don’t find a whole lot that blows me over on a regular basis through these methods, although there are some beauties out there. But as I see the response to my pontificating ramblings above, I should have never tried to speak as if this was representative of society at large. It is my experience alone and I take full responsibility for the close-mindedness represented in the opinion.

I will say that the assertion that I might be too unambitious enough to actually find the fantastic treasure trove of transcendent music being made today makes my point exactly. The fact it has to be searched for means it is unlikely to yield as much direct influence for generations to come. I’m not saying this is just or right, just that it gives off a sense that the music today isn’t as memorable as in years past. Again — this is not a criticism of the music itself nor its adoring fans. It just begs the question — why don’t we all know about this music? Why is the current Billboard top 100 filled with forgettable (....trying to not use an offensive word here...) rabble?

One of my character flaws is to be hopelessly lost in analytic thought and observational contemplation, especially as it relates to societal trends I see and so sometimes when I describe the world through my own eyes it probably comes across as judgmental (especially when I use such inflammatory words such as “sucks” and “garbage”) and I apologize for that. By no means do I claim to have any true knowledge about such things, especially music. I just like to do thought experiments and come to interesting conclusions. I’m indeed sorry that my initial post came across as otherwise. But I think if you’ll read back through my first post you’ll find that I wasn’t criticizing music such as that found in the recesses of the internet made by those who have toiled to come up with innovative and inspirational styles; rather my issue lies with the heavily accessible and popular music of today — that which is promoted, commercialized, and monetized. My adoration for older music got me thinking “What will our grandchildren say about the music of 2020?” ....and that’s where this whole discussion in my mind started. (And I’d actually love to hear your opinions on that. Not what should they think about today’s music, rather what will they say and feel about our music? Think about it. They will only know about what leaves a lasting legacy, whether that’s right or wrong, that’s reality)

I still contest that the most popular song from say, Weatherday, will not be in the hearts and ears of our grandchildren in 50 years. Maybe I’ll be wrong about that. However that is by no means an indictment of the music, nor of the artists, nor of society and the fans who like them now, nor of the society or music fans who are ignorant of Weatherday in the future. I’m not placing a value judgement on any of it and I don’t mean to say it’s not worthwhile music. I mean that it will unfortunately get lost in the sea of other music within the next several years (if not months). Nevertheless, I wouldn’t be surprised if it may serve as influential DNA to inspire some popular music in 2060.

And to clarify - I sure hope I didn’t come across as elitist, disparaging the fact that anyone with a computer can generate music and that it should be reserved for only those who can afford a grand piano or a cello along with expensive music lessons. That is absolutely not my opinion in the slightest. It is a great victory of our time to have access to music creation. Absolutely agree. Not sure why I didn’t make that clearer from the start.

Sorry for the long post but it bothered me that I upset you so. Cultural differences and personal tastes aside, I respect my Push Square brothers and sisters and don’t want to offend.

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@Kidfried Thank you so much for your reply. And hey, it’s all good. We all have our passions and bristle a bit if anyone become flippant toward that which we hold dear. And to be clear, I’m not looking down on modern music in a condemnatory way, I simply just haven’t found much I liked. I took a while to respond to your post because I wanted to give some of the artists you mentioned a good listen so I could perhaps be the least hypocritical as possible. I would consider myself more open-minded than average.

Although I’m not personally partial to any of the music I sampled over several hours today, I now see more completely the position you’re coming from. And I think we’re more or less on common ground in the analysis of modern music but we’re sort of talking about two different things. One being popularity and universal appeal, and the another being artistic merit and influence. I’m not especially qualified to talk about the latter, and I merely am an observer of the former.

I actually thought a lot about the applicable comparison to gaming also, but you said it even better than I could. It really is a difference between the perspective of enthusiasts vs. that of casual consumers. Like Sammy has always said, we here at Push Square exist in a bubble. We often question why FIFA and COD outsell the excellent smaller titles by a hundred fold. The world at large doesn’t see things the way we, the enthusiasts do. So as far as music, I’m probably what you’d call a ‘filthy casual’ who is so dense that he enjoys the same stupid Call of Duty type rehashes over and over.

And as it relates to this comparison and also that idea of taste — I came to the realization that part of consuming art based media goes so much deeper than the surface level of the experience. As human beings experiencing a work of art there exists an enormous psychological factor that is very difficult to quantify. I thought actually about our recent discussion of the “best” (already a poor word choice there) PS4 1st party games and you effectively broke down your feelings about MediEvil and Infamous SS. I believe you even admitted that MediEvil had technical shortcomings and a dated presentation that didn’t impact your overall enjoyment because of a difficult-to-define factor for which the old mascot games resonate with you. Infamous looked nice graphically and ran smooth, but lacked the ‘je ne sais quoi” and it felt rote, empty, and repetitive to you. (Sounds eerily similar to some of my descriptions of modern pop music which I’ve been know to criticize by saying “this all sounds the same” and “it just doesn’t excite me”) Newer and more innovative production may not necessarily mean ‘better’ when factoring in the personal experience factor. Sometimes our feelings toward something is tainted by some personal circumstance in which we first experienced it. This is no truer in any field of art than it is in music. Many things sound good to us because they conjure up memories and feelings.

As an example — I was listening to some Frank Sinatra the other day (not something I do very often but I was in a mood). Not sure if he’s as well known abroad, but in the U.S. he is basically like a musical god of jazzy pop/lounge music in the 1940’s and 50’s. Despite having ‘only’ 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify (which is incidentally roughly the same as Tyler the Creator) he’s one of the best selling artists of all time and considered widely as one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th Century. Interestingly he never learned to read music, apparently. Anyway, back to my story — I was enjoying a song of his that I heard played on the Umbrella Academy soundtrack and was sure that I heard him sing off-key during a section in the middle. I’m not a musician but he definitely hit a couple sour notes and sounded flat to even my untrained ears. But yet, I thoroughly enjoyed the song and have listened to it several times since. It has a wonderful nostalgic quality and makes me think of my grandparents and great-grandparents and the song has a deep personal message to me. Is Ed Sheeran a better vocalist? Probably. Is his music pushing the genre forward more in the modern age? Of course. Do I personally enjoy Sheeran more than Sinatra? I don’t think so. Just like you enjoy MediEvil better than Infamous.

It’s funny as I’m an enormous hypocrite because here I am trying to defend the musical oldies, yet I always wonder what in the world all of you people see in these old retro sprite-based and platforming Nintendo and Sega video games. I just don’t seem to understand the allure and feel it a waste of time revisiting most of those retro games. I don’t have a nostalgic hook and I just would rather experience the latest groundbreaking and forward-pushing experiences and I feel the talent and capabilities of modern gaming studios and their armies of artists and programmers are able to produce such better content, generally speaking. But I know that is an unpopular opinion in a lot of circles. [...bolts the doors and boards up the windows as I see the pitchforks cresting the horizon...]

So I fully admit to an intangible and sometimes indefensible adoration of Elton John over Shawn Mendes, Journey over Maroon 5, Stevie Nicks over Lady Gaga, Madonna over Billie Eilish, Michael Jackson over Drake... I’m sure on a granular level the modern artists have really improved on techniques and sounds from their progenitors, but to me their music lacks the personality and panache of the pioneers in their respective spheres. A lot of it sounds gimmicky (I’m mostly referring to the Billboard hits) But again, mine is a subjective assessment. Most people would probably agree with you and find listening to old Eagles and Fleetwood Mac to be boring and uninspiring, but I love it! (And apparently 40 million listeners on Spotify agree with me)

As far as how to define “pop” or “popular” music, I think it is hard to define, as you stated, given the world order now. And what would constitute “legendary” as far as musical influence. I was asking the thought-question of what music would influence culture and permeate society the most, and I think you were speaking to which music would influence the future of music and inspire new musical direction. That’s the only explanation I can come up with in my head where there is any comparison of “To Pimp a Butterfly” with “Thriller” because otherwise, the two are just not even in the same stratosphere as far as effect on all facets of culture and widespread popularity (and certainly commercial success).

But we can agree to disagree on that. It doesn’t really matter. Even if Vampire Weekend gets lost in the forgotten recesses of music during this era, it makes them no less talented and you and their followers can enjoy them no less fervently now. And likewise, no matter how cringe-inducing Queen is, I will still enjoy their songs, and they’ll keep surfacing in movies, TV shows, and pop culture. It’s okay to disagree on those opinions. That’s what makes the world go ‘round!