Has Music Already Peaked?

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Where have all the rock bands that made songs with meaning and soul gone? Will there be another band as original and with gut wrenching songs like Pink Floyd or will there be another Jimi Hendrix playing the star spangled banner?

Even rap music. 2pac was the pinnacle of rap music. I haven't even heard any rapper that comes close. 2pac touched everyones lives.


Am I wrong? Might be old man talk, but I'm 28!!!

 

[edro]

It peaked with Led Zeppelin and will never return.

 

[shocksyde]

Where have all the rock bands that made songs with meaning and soul gone? Will there be another band as original and with gut wrenching songs like Pink Floyd or will there be another Jimi Hendrix playing the star spangled banner?

Even rap music. 2pac was the pinnacle of rap music. I haven't even heard any rapper that comes close. 2pac touched everyones lives.


Am I wrong? Might be old man talk, but I'm 28!!!

It's complete personal opinion. If you think rock has peaked, then it has.

 

[ViviTheMage]

That is funny, because I do not like to listen to Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendirx, or 2pac. They are probably great in their genre, but I don't really like to listen to them.

I am not saying they aren't good guitarists/singers/writers, they just aren't my kind of music.

I don't think music has peaked...maybe certain genres have.

 

[Ksyder]

Yes, it's true that the music world has got to be fucked these days. Many people don't want to pay for music, so I'm sure the record companies have some problems.

On the flip side though, now its easier than ever for a 10 year old to go on you tube and learn how to play guitar for free. As well, Guitar Center's and Sam Ash of the world have flooded the world with mass produced and inexpensive, but good quality instruments. There are probably more talented musicians in the world then at anytime in history.

Also, the impact of technology in our lives means that one person can easily make a record without a "band" Either you could easily multi-track all of the instrument parts, or you could use reason, cubase, or any other music software and hardware to record.

The bottom line IMO is that there are probably so many great musicians out there but they will never be heard because they are competing with other forms of entertainment such as sports, video games, tv and movies, and other types of music, as well.

 

[bignateyk]

Music peaked in the 70's. It was on a gradual decline into the 90's, and it started to plummet in the 2000's.

I don't think I have a single song on my iphone from after 1999. Almost all my music is from the 70's, with a decent amount from the late 60's, and 90's.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

IMO, it peaked before I was born. The death of arena rock signaled the collapse on itself. That doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of gems to be found though:

Offspring: Gone Away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=numCZoBFcv4
Offspring: Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHw3MscfflY

Pennywise: Bro Hymm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXoxpiegMPM

Millencolin: Bullion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzMdNuFIx00

The Seatbelts: Gotta knock a little harder
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdE1JCEKtg4

Weezer: Heartsongs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58cRl7Kiwds


I think the key is to look outside the top 40 and look at bands that create music to be enjoyed and not for the dollar signs. A lot of the time you can browse a band's album and just find a song that makes you say "wow, that was good!"

 

[darkxshade]

Music peaks at different points for different generations of people. The current generation seem to enjoy the crap they call music and I'm sure a few decades down the road, they too will listen to music they deem as crap compared to the music of today.

 

[vi edit]

Most people tend to cling onto whatever they grew up with and hold onto that thinking that anything else is crap.

 

[Platypus]

Don't confuse what plays on the radio today for the state of music. If anything, there is WAY more music today than ever and there are tons of original bands making amazing stuff. You just have to look past the clearchannel/MTV money making machine to find it.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I doubt it. I don't think much current music is good either. I also think that whoever you are, you get attached to the stuff you grew up hearing. The first band that gave you that funny feeling in your stomach that good music can sometimes bring is suddenly the best band ever. Even though there are a thousand different groups that might have done the same thing, many of them new groups just arriving on the scene right now, they all must be judged against the band that was lucky enough to catch you at the right time. I think often we mistake the powerful effect that first exposure has on us with incomparable talent on the part of the artist. We also mistake the powerful effect music continues to have on us after that, until we become somewhat jaded to it's tricks, for an entire era of incomparably good music.

And so my opinion isn't that music itself has peaked, but that you (and I) have.

 

[bignateyk]

Most people tend to cling onto whatever they grew up with and hold onto that thinking that anything else is crap.

All the good music from the 70's was almost 20 years before I was born. I grew up with alternative rock, which isn't terrible, but all the good rock was from the 70's. The shit they've got today just plain sucks though.

I hate 80's music, but I can at least appreciate something about it. It's just not my taste.

Mainstream music today doesn't have anything good about it, even if it isn't my style.

 

[Rubycon]

It peaks every time that 0dB light flashes...

 

[dwell]

It peaked with Led Zeppelin and will never return.

++

 

[bignateyk]

It peaks every time that 0dB light flashes...

That's what she said?

 

[lxskllr]

Don't confuse what plays on the radio today for the state of music. If anything, there is WAY more music today than ever and there are tons of original bands making amazing stuff. You just have to look past the clearchannel/MTV money making machine to find it.

^^^ This

I'll say the 60s were better for mixing it up. You had jazz guys, playing with rock guys, playing with folk guys, but music today is pretty good. It just takes a bit of effort to find it.

 

[dud]

All responses to your question are going to be subject, especially since we are all of different ages. For myself, R/R peaked in the 60's and 70s with a gradual decline in the 80s.

I have to wonder if those that (today) go gaga over the likes of Lady Gaga have ever bothered to listen to classic R/R. Not that Lady Gaga is a R/R "artist" (more Pop).

 

[nageov3t]

top 10 songs the year that Stairway to Heaven was released:

[FONT=&quot]Joy To The World - Three Dog Night[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Maggie May - Rod Stewart[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]It's Too Late - Carole King[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]One Bad Apple - The Osmonds[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]How Can You Mend A Broken heart - The Bee Gees[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Knock Three Times - Dawn[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Brand New Key - Melanie[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Go Away Little Girl - Donny Osmond[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Family Affair - Sly and The Family Stone[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves - Cher[/FONT]

there has always, always, always been a disconnect between good music and what gets played on Top 40 radio stations. you're looking at the best of the past and comparing it against the sludge of the present.

great music is out there, but for the most part, you've got to go out and find it. this isn't a new thing.

 

[Lonyo]

top 10 songs the year that Stairway to Heaven was released:

there has always, always, always been a disconnect between good music and what gets played on Top 40 radio stations. you're looking at the best of the past and comparing it against the sludge of the present.

great music is out there, but for the most part, you've got to go out and find it. this isn't a new thing.

+1 for that. Not sure anything more needs to be said.

 

[alfa147x]

It peaks every time that 0dB light flashes...

Hahahaha, awesomeness!

 

[Hey Zeus]

Music peaked in the 70's, took a nosedive in the 80's, peaked again in the 90's and took an absolute shit in the 00's. HOPEFULLY the 10's will be good

 

[Demon-Xanth]

It peaks every time that 0dB light flashes...

"There's a saying, Milo. If it's too loud, you're too old."

 

[Kirby]

Don't confuse what plays on the radio today for the state of music. If anything, there is WAY more music today than ever and there are tons of original bands making amazing stuff. You just have to look past the clearchannel/MTV money making machine to find it.

this. thesixtyone.com has been a godsend to me.

 

[ktehmok]

Music peaks personally for everyone around the time they first start getting laid. For pretty much everyone, it is a significant change in lifestyle that is usually for the better. The music that we are listening to during that time obviously has a bigger impact on us.

Music itself doesn't peak. It is just that the kind we like the most, will not stay popular forever.

 

[Titan]

The late great Frank Zappa has probably a million things to say on this. Sadly, he died before the internet. Would have loved his commentary today.

Here's the first couple quotes I found with a quick google.

"The whole music business in the United States is based on numbers, based on unit sales and not on quality. It's not based on beauty, it's based on hype and it's based on cocaine. It's based on giving presents of large packages of dollars to play records on the air." Frank Zappa

"Modern music is people who can't think signing artists who can't write songs to make records for people who can't hear." Frank Zappa