Music? Is this generation making shit music, or are people not looking hard enough? - General

[QUOTE=AK'z;34547718]my main interest in music is personality/culture. after that it's the feeling and expression, and THEN the sound/composition. Most people worry so much about the sound it turns the entire enjoyment of music into mathematics.[/QUOTE] I agree with this. Not just sound but technicality too. I have friends who listen nothing but tech-death and prog-death because of the guitarists' playing ability, and totally refuse to even consider anything else because "it takes no skill"

mastering and technical mixing is required in order to have a good song. it could be the greatest piece of creative genius the world has ever seen but it would sound pretty shit if it wasn't put together nicely; its like how if you were a jeweller you wouldnt slave for hours making something then not smooth the edges and polish it. it may have taken ages and be very skillfull in its basic form, but it still looks poor

[QUOTE=Bobie;34549909]mastering and technical mixing is required in order to have a good song.[/QUOTE] Not really... pretty much every single song that was produced before the late 90's has "shitty" production quality compared to today's standards. Go even further back in time and you get abysmal quality. We're talking 1-track mono dirty shit. But it can still be just as enjoyable you know? [url]www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A[/url]

[QUOTE=AK'z;34547718]my main interest in music is personality/culture. after that it's the feeling and expression, and THEN the sound/composition. Most people worry so much about the sound it turns the entire enjoyment of music into mathematics.[/QUOTE] I disagree. I care more about the sound of music than how the artist feels when he or she performs it and if he or she is a good person or not. If I want to listen to good music, I listen to good music. I don't turn on the radio and notice the artist is a douche or doesn't show expression and say "Oh, I can't listen to this!" even though that person makes excellent music. What you said about how "worrying about the sound so much is making music into mathematics" is completely false. If anything, people who need to take all these other factors into consideration (personality, feeling, etc.) are turning it into mathematics. [editline]5th February 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Rad McCool;34550168]Not really... pretty much every single song that was produced before the late 90's has "shitty" production quality compared to today's standards. Go even further back in time and you get abysmal quality. We're talking 1-track mono dirty shit. But it can still be just as enjoyable you know? [url]www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A[/url][/QUOTE] I agree. Some of the songs from the Fallout series have terrible quality but they are still great songs.

[QUOTE='[Green];34345412'][video=youtube;ROwH8ZEST1U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROwH8ZEST1U[/video][/QUOTE] reminds me of mr. scruff

[QUOTE=deaded38;34550226]What you said about how "worrying about the sound so much is making music into mathematics" is completely false.[/QUOTE] I don't listen to any music which time signature isn't a factor of 4!

[QUOTE=Rad McCool;34550168]Not really... pretty much every single song that was produced before the late 90's has "shitty" production quality compared to today's standards. Go even further back in time and you get abysmal quality. We're talking 1-track mono dirty shit. But it can still be just as enjoyable you know? [url]www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A[/url][/QUOTE] the mixdown in that is not terrible at all. the song is not overcompressed, the instruments are all in line with eachother and the panning does no effect the centrality of the song - there is a difference between having a cleaner newer sound and a sound that you just cannot hear. Before sounds were conveyed in a different manner, as they are now

Hahaha what dude. The quality is TOTAL CRAP. What panning? It's fucking MONO sound. How is that acceptable by ANY standards?! There's so much noise that it sounds like you're listening to the song through a cassette tape being played over a phone. Haha "not overcompressed" - no shit, this song was recorded like 50 years before the compressor was even invented. The threshold of the mic has been set so high, to filter out noise, that the dynamics of the singing and guitar playing is completely cut out. Complete crap quality + cool song = enjoyable anyway. Go figure.

[QUOTE=Rad McCool;34550418]Hahaha what dude. The quality is TOTAL CRAP. What panning? It's fucking MONO sound. How is that acceptable by ANY standards?! There's so much noise that it sounds like you're listening to the song through a cassette tape being played over a phone. Haha "not overcompressed" - no shit, this song was recorded like 50 years before the compressor was even invented. The threshold of the mic has been set so high, to filter out noise, that the dynamics of the singing and guitar playing is completely cut out. Complete crap quality + cool song = enjoyable anyway. Go figure.[/QUOTE] yes but my point was it was not necessary for the music. its not as if its going to be played out onto a large soundsystem or be used as the next theme song to a tv program - it fits the market it was designed for and passed its time 50 years. i beg of you to find a DJ that plays music that isnt in wav format or mastered specifically for vinyl

I value music based on the effect it has on the person and the message it contains, so yes, most popular modern music is crap to me. But there is still some great music out there if you look hard enough.

[QUOTE=deaded38;34550226]I disagree. I care more about the sound of music than how the artist feels when he or she performs it and if he or she is a good person or not. If I want to listen to good music, I listen to good music. I don't turn on the radio and notice the artist is a douche or doesn't show expression and say "Oh, I can't listen to this!" even though that person makes excellent music. What you said about how "worrying about the sound so much is making music into mathematics" is completely false. If anything, people who need to take all these other factors into consideration (personality, feeling, etc.) are turning it into math.[/QUOTE] It was an opinion, mate. It's not wrong of you to disagree, I know where you're coming from. I just see people dabbling far too into technicality as a critical standpoint, it's better to have a balance. For example, people moan and groan about some styles of music being too repetitive. That's all good and fair to say, but maybe commenting on how the music builds would be interesting to hear too? Think about atmosphere, imagery, what you can get out of it. Otherwise whatever you choose to hear wouldn't make you happier and you'd give up trying new things altogether. [editline]5th February 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Rad McCool;34550418] It's fucking MONO sound.[/QUOTE] Mono can be great and probably better than the alternative stereo versions of some music. Check: The Beach Boys & Bob Dylan

[QUOTE=Rad McCool;34550418]Hahaha what dude. The quality is TOTAL CRAP. What panning? It's fucking MONO sound. How is that acceptable by ANY standards?! There's so much noise that it sounds like you're listening to the song through a cassette tape being played over a phone. Haha "not overcompressed" - no shit, this song was recorded like 50 years before the compressor was even invented. The threshold of the mic has been set so high, to filter out noise, that the dynamics of the singing and guitar playing is completely cut out. Complete crap quality + cool song = enjoyable anyway. Go figure.[/QUOTE] You want to hear real shit quality? [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtT3AIX3_js[/media] Early 90's black metal is notorious for this kind of sound quality. But it's one of those situations where if it's the type of music you appreciate that doesn't take away from it like you were talking about.

Yeah BM is a genre where poor quality is actually preferable :)

[QUOTE=Rad McCool;34566583]Yeah BM is a genre where poor quality is actually preferable :)[/QUOTE] true, most of the time they purposefully use under par equipment for the sake of creating an atmosphere.

not looking hard enough. The fact that this thread even exists attests to that. Y'all listening to grumpy baby-boomers too much.

Every generation has music that was godawful but extremely popular at the time. This is nothing new.

[QUOTE=Antdawg;34108455]"Bad music" is subject to opinion, and as long as we hold independent thought, there will always be a portion of individuals who will not like certain music of their generation. You may think "music is dead nowadays oh my god the future looks horrible etc etc!", but you should consider what many oldies would think about rock and roll when it was introduced. Hint: They thought just like what you do now about current music. But guess what? It doesn't matter! Music is not going to die, it's just your brain holding conservative views about what music you like. There's no problem with that. Musicians nowadays are no worse than musicians 50 years ago, it's just that you were raised listening to different music than what people listened to 50 years ago. Your opinion is irrelevant. Why can't you just listen to the music you like and [i]not[/i] go bashing other people for what they like? What gives you the right to say that the music they like is shit?[/QUOTE] I know you posted this a while ago, this is amazingly worded. You hit the nail right on the head. I wish other people understood this.

yes this generation has hit the fan with abhorrent styles of music (i.e. stupid hoe - nicky minaj) all of which have become completely mainstream I only listen to orchestral/electronic/rock music at this point anyway. I wish more people would have some sense and get past the hype of stupid autotuned pop music. I know many who listen to crap music on purpose whilst in school because everyone at their school is infatuated with it and don't want to stick out -- pretty low My girlfriend genuinely enjoys listening to all of that mainstream bullshit, our apartment is basically separated -- one side blasting random Korean artists/Katy Perry/nicky minaj/etc. and the other is trying to drown out that bullshit with Mombasa from inception and shit and we both hate the other's music

I honestly think modern autotune-pop crap is horrible and takes almost no skill to make. I like to search for good underground artists that meet my musical needs. I know people who only listen to that T-pain and lil wayne shit because the rest of the world does, and not because they genuinely like that music. Also @ the above blackmetal posts, yes, the low quality does help add to the atmosphere of black metal music. I prefer low quality equipment use in black metal.

[QUOTE=dogfood123;34587370]I honestly think modern autotune-pop crap is horrible and takes almost no skill to make. I like to search for good underground artists that meet my musical needs. I know people who only listen to that T-pain and lil wayne shit because the rest of the world does, and not because they genuinely like that music.[/QUOTE] And we're right back to square one!

Two main problems: 1. People don't want to accept other people's personalities 2. They don't want to reveal their own because they're embaressed.

Well what some call "shitty music" for others could be an amazing song. Its all about personal preference, but thats another topic. I'd say people are not looking hard enough, if you look beyond the raidio you could find some good music. I used Pandora i found alot of goods bands i liked from it, it could be just me because my musical tastes go pretty far. [editline]8th February 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=dogfood123;34587370]I honestly think modern autotune-pop crap is horrible and takes almost no skill to make. I like to search for good underground artists that meet my musical needs. I know people who only listen to that T-pain and lil wayne shit because the rest of the world does, and not because they genuinely like that music. Also @ the above blackmetal posts, yes, the low quality does help add to the atmosphere of black metal music. I prefer low quality equipment use in black metal.[/QUOTE] well thats the great thing about music isnt it, anyone can make it. Its just like punk, bands like The sex pistols, they sound horrible in my opinion. Very simple music with a bad singer, but it promoted the idea that anyone can create music because its all about imagination and creativity. And what you and I might not seem as creative either, it actually is. Again its all personal prefrence, its what makes us all individuals.

In my opinion, i think music defines some characteristics of a person, if not all. We all say that people are diferent from eachother, which means that a person may like a music that another may not like. For instance, i dont really like dubstep but alot of people do. In short, music is very subjective to people´s opinions.

Listening to pop is like eating fast food. Sometimes it's absolutely amazing. Other times it tastes god awful. Complaining about it is your fault for not going the extra mile for something better.

[QUOTE=wauterboi;34607214]Listening to pop is like eating fast food. Sometimes it's absolutely amazing. Other times it tastes god awful. Complaining about it is your fault for not going the extra mile for something better.[/QUOTE] this is a really good analogy of mainstream music. mind if i use it myself

Sure thing.

[QUOTE=wauterboi;34607214]Listening to pop is like eating fast food. Sometimes it's absolutely amazing. Other times it tastes god awful. Complaining about it is your fault for not going the extra mile for something better.[/QUOTE] makes sense. guilty pleasures, is bad for you in large quantities, not a whole lot of effort went into making it, but it is easy to digest. :v:

Define music first, then judge it. A lot of people don't consider synthesized vocals to be music, but a lot of people do. It's a bit of a grey area, and it all comes down to personal taste and opinions. For example, a lot of people consider metal that contains "stupid screaming" white noise and "not music". I don't like the genre, personally, but I know that people listen to it and get some sort of inspiration of it. It's unfair to say it isn't music just because you don't like it. Same with pop. I can't fathom how someone can sit down and listen to someone like Taylor Swift, who as far as I know sings about love [i]exclusively[/i], and not get bored of it. I understand that people like to relate to a song they hear, and that generally helps someone enjoy it more, but for me it's just overdone and boring. However, I understand that people enjoy the music and extract [i]something[/i] from the song, and I support that. I just can't stand when someone calls a song 'shitty' just because they don't like it. Do I think that musical quality has degraded? No, I don't. However, I do think music, particularly mainstream stuff, lacks effort. It seems a lot of artists write "relationship songs" because they know the general public will eat it up. It's not devoid of effort, it's just severely lacking it.

[QUOTE=blerb;34616775]I can't fathom how someone can sit down and listen to someone like Taylor Swift, who as far as I know sings about love [i]exclusively[/i], and not get bored of it.[/QUOTE] Some don't get bored so easily. Think about it.

[QUOTE=blerb;34616775]Same with pop. I can't fathom how someone can sit down and listen to someone like Taylor Swift, who as far as I know sings about love [i]exclusively[/i], and not get bored of it. I understand that people like to relate to a song they hear, and that generally helps someone enjoy it more, but for me it's just overdone and boring. [/QUOTE] I can, and she doesn't sing about love exclusively although she sings about it 90% of the time. She has some really good songs, and is by far my favourite country singer. inb4 optimistics