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When do we stop finding new music?

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Re: When do we stop finding new music?

#421

Post by hnbad »

goosejuice wrote: post #393
lapcat wrote: post #168

I find it interesting that GenZ and Millennials show a much smaller preference for their own decade's music. https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_pr... The 1980s are still doing quite well among all but the oldest generation. Is it possible that music may actually be getting worse? Corporatized, consolidated, computerized. Look at Hollywood now too: everything is a sequel, prequel, remake, reboot…

Music is absolutely not getting worse unless you're only considering top charting music which is such a small fraction of what's out there. Even then it's highly subjective and behind almost every one of those songs or albums is a handful of brilliant writers, producers and session musicians you probably never heard of. I'd say it's never been better. Music is more accessible which means more folks get exposed to it…

FWIW most of the top charting music of the 90s, 80s and so on were also "worse" and have mostly been forgotten. Few songs remain popular or regain popularity. A lot of chart hits are really just springboarding off "you had to be there" cultural moments or experiences or simply a general "vibe" that are fleeting and trivial enough not to stick around even in nostalgia.

As an extreme example, I'd argue the popularity of David Hasselhoff's I've been looking for freedom in Germany is almost entirely a result of "retconning" (if not fabricating) its supposed popularity at the time of its original release. It would have probably been forgotten entirely if it hadn't been rediscovered "ironically" in the context of ridiculous claims about its influence on the fall of the Berlin Wall. Heck, I remember owning a casette of the album as a kid only because "it's the guy from Knight Rider". For adult women his claim to fame was co-starring alongside Pamela Anderson in Baywatch as one of the few men regularly appearing bare-chested on daytime television - I'd say his musical talents played a very small role in his original popularity and it's telling nobody remembers any other songs than the one he performed on a TV show. He was never considered good, he was just a familiar face (and body) and made a catchy tune.

Re: When do we stop finding new music?

#422

Post by updatedprocess »

SllX wrote: post #360
pxc wrote: post #303

I expect it'll never happen to me. My dad was still actively seeking out new music when I was a kid, streaming college radio via the Internet before Pandora, Last.fm, or Spotify were things. He's in his 60s today and he still listens to new music (in a range of genres) all the time. If novelty in music is actually important to you, this won't happen to you.

I had the realization a few weeks ago that I no longer listen to very much from before 2016. I didn’t pay attention to how it happened, but less than 20% of what I have actively listened to in the past 3 years going by all these recap playlists is from before 2016 and I keep adding new music every year. Half of the music from before that cutoff point is basically music that was new to me in the last few years even th…

That's interesting. I'm of the opinion that music is getting worse as time progresses. I must be getting old

Re: When do we stop finding new music?

#423

Post by bryanrasmussen »

cesaref wrote: post #389

The useful metric with these sorts of things is to ask yourself, when was the last time you tried something that you didn't like? For expensive experiences, say, going to the theatre, it's hard to see shows you don't think you are going to like, as the price pressure makes you choose 'safe bets' as the cost/reward is somewhat weighted in one direction. For something like music, the above used to be the case, as typic…

>I imagine though that streaming may change this, since you can dive into just about anything.

my theory is maintaining a single complete playlist as the best way to not get stuck with only the safe and boring.

https://medium.com/luminasticity/the-complete-playlist-e8eb3...

Re: When do we stop finding new music?

#424

Post by wodenokoto »

cesaref wrote: post #389

The useful metric with these sorts of things is to ask yourself, when was the last time you tried something that you didn't like? For expensive experiences, say, going to the theatre, it's hard to see shows you don't think you are going to like, as the price pressure makes you choose 'safe bets' as the cost/reward is somewhat weighted in one direction. For something like music, the above used to be the case, as typic…

I think it is the reverse. 20-30 years ago, you'd listen to radio or MTV a lot more. They would introduce you to music outside "your tribe" of virtue of having to play a little bit of every genre that's popular.

Back then, I'd say investing in a album was always safe, not because you went to the record store and asked for a new rock album, because you had heard 1 or 2 singles (unwillingly) and read a review (willingly)

Now, you can just ask the algorithm to play "something I like".

Re: When do we stop finding new music?

#425

Post by pawelk »

lapcat wrote: post #168

I find it interesting that GenZ and Millennials show a much smaller preference for their own decade's music. https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_pr... The 1980s are still doing quite well among all but the oldest generation. Is it possible that music may actually be getting worse? Corporatized, consolidated, computerized. Look at Hollywood now too: everything is a sequel, prequel, remake, reboot…

I think it's the opposite of corporatization and consolidation. Computerization? Yes, of course, but it gave everyone the possibility to make music at a very affordable cost. A $100 MIDI controller comes with a license for a full blown music production software and literally anyone can record, mix, master and release an album. I know several people who are not professional musicians, not even formally trained - just happen to like making sounds - who have their albums on Spotify and/or Soundcloud.

Re: When do we stop finding new music?

#426

Post by kennyadam »

monksy wrote: post #76
kennyadam wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am 100% onboard with the phone bans. There's nothing worse than hundreds of phone screens glowing in your face while you're trying to enjoy a live act. I can't imagine how weird it must feel for the performer(s) too. To go from people looking at you, making eye contact, engaging with the performance, to suddenly seeing a sea of phones pointed at you, with everyone watching you indirectly via their phone screen.

There are far better ways to address people holding up their phones to record than to outright ban them from everyone. There are strong reasons (Bataclan) to need and have those there. What's with the sympathy for the performer? It's hard for them to even see the audience. Most of the light is focused on them and the audience is in the dark.

What's the better way? I'm not saying phones need to be physically removed from people, just kept in pockets/bags/whatever.

As for my comment about the performer, I'm just picturing it from their perspective and to me it would feel odd to go from looking at people to looking at phones. I'm sure there are lots of people who film with their phone lights on, so that's got to be noticeable through the stage lights.

Re: When do we stop finding new music?

#427

Post by kennyadam »

conradfr wrote: post #95
kennyadam wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am 100% onboard with the phone bans. There's nothing worse than hundreds of phone screens glowing in your face while you're trying to enjoy a live act. I can't imagine how weird it must feel for the performer(s) too. To go from people looking at you, making eye contact, engaging with the performance, to suddenly seeing a sea of phones pointed at you, with everyone watching you indirectly via their phone screen.

Also, why can't phones have a "concert mode" where you can film with the screen off?

It's surprisingly difficult to keep something in frame without a viewfinder. Especially if you're standing at a concert and holding your phone up.

Re: When do we stop finding new music?

#428

Post by anthk »

atoav wrote: post #383
lapcat wrote: post #168

I find it interesting that GenZ and Millennials show a much smaller preference for their own decade's music. https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_pr... The 1980s are still doing quite well among all but the oldest generation. Is it possible that music may actually be getting worse? Corporatized, consolidated, computerized. Look at Hollywood now too: everything is a sequel, prequel, remake, reboot…

I am not sure about the whole thing. When I was a teenager (so roughly the decade from 2000 to 2009) I hated my guts of any contemporary music, most of what I liked was from the 90s, 80s, 70s, 60s etc. Nowadays I have quite some things in my record collection from my teenage decade, some of which I discovered only a few years ago, some of which I knew and liked back then, but it wasn't popular music back then. I alwa…

In my case, I'm from 1987 and pop music from the early 90's was as bad as the one from 2000's, because I remember it well from my parents (and, well, by age 9-10 I was more than aware of the Spice Girls, as every girl in my Elementary school was into dances).

Later, in 2000's, with P2P and streaming radios, I was astounded by some music genres. And, a bit further, with Jamendo and Magnatune, I found incredible gems not found anywhere.

Re: When do we stop finding new music?

#429

Post by anthk »

amanaplanacanal wrote: post #106

I must be some sort of freak. I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s listening to classic rock, and a lot of it I can’t even stand any more due to the incredibly small playlists that most classic rock stations use. In my 20’s I started listening to a lot of classical and then jazz. In the 90’s a lot of grunge which’s I still love. After that was trance in the 2000’s, then ambient, techno and IDM after that. I still listen to…

On rock, try this:

http://s2.stationplaylist.com:9460/guerrilla

On Jazz, Archive.org has full legal backups of Revolution Void, some gem I discovered wiatth the K.Mandla/Inconsolation blog (now defunct).

Re: When do we stop finding new music?

#430

Post by erikbye »

lapcat wrote: post #168

I find it interesting that GenZ and Millennials show a much smaller preference for their own decade's music. https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_pr... The 1980s are still doing quite well among all but the oldest generation. Is it possible that music may actually be getting worse? Corporatized, consolidated, computerized. Look at Hollywood now too: everything is a sequel, prequel, remake, reboot…

Nirvana and early Linkin Park seem to be much more popular among GenZ and Millenials than their own music, and lasting, not just trending or being a fad.
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