Are todays "musicians" just lazy or talentless

[Rider007]

I'm begrudgingly forced to listen to the office radio tuned in to Hits radio and I have come to notice of the constant repetitiveness of modern music lyrics. Now I admit I'm an oldie having grown up with the likes of Queen,Pink Floyd,AC/DC,U2,Kiss,Stones,Doors but the music all sounded unique and different. Today's crap all sounds the same, autotuned and shrill. But what gets me the most is the constant repetitive lyrics.Culprits seem to be at the moment Lewis Capaldi ,Hold me While you wait (My Love,My Love,My Love and repeat ) , anything by Sia , Sophie Ellis Bextor (Murder on the daaaance floor,Murder on the daaaance floor and repeat) .Becky Hill (Wish you well,Wish you well,wish you well ... repeat x 20 ).I guess I just old and not hip any more

[Fastchas]

I was in the Slug & Lettue in Harborne, B'ham last Saturday for a friends leaving do.
The music was awful. Seemed to be a lot of 'You're my we, yeah you like it' black rappers singing about their girlfriends. A lot of the younger people were 'dancing' but looked very awkward moving to the music.
It has to be the worst period for 'music' ever.

[HustleRussell]

Rider007 said:

todays "musicians"

Rider007 said:

Sophie Ellis Bextor (Murder on the daaaance floor,Murder on the daaaance floor and repeat)

2001

Take your rose tinted spectacles off granddad, every decade has produced good music, and for every piece of good music there is a sea of dross. This is a constant.

You are basing your perception of 'todays musicians' on a single radio station, possibly even a single radio show?

...and that's balanced?

[ElectricSoup]

Granted there must be some good and interesting new music out there (somewhere), but I think the point the OP is making is that in the 70s/80s/90, the charts and airwaves were full of the likes of the bands he lists, where as now it is all repetitive generic dross in the charts/radio playlists, and all in just one or maybe two styles - i.e. gangsta rap/grime stuff or plinky bubblegum guff pretending to be what we used to call singer/songwriter ballads.

The good stuff (wherever it is) just doesn't get aired any more.

Look at the line up for Reading Festival this weekend, and weep.

[Sporky]

I don't remember the 70s, but the radio in the 80s and 90s was chock-full of dross. I've no reason to believe the 70s were any different. All that's happening is people remembering the things they liked, and forgetting the near-infinite sea of rubbish, combined with the phenomenon that an awful lot of people "set" their tastes when they're around 18-30 and would rather hear that over and over than listen to something new.

That said, the music industry has changed; the online platforms like Spotify and so on actually make it easier to find huge swathes of music you like.

[Pothole]

Most pop chart stuff is manufactured by the same Scandinavian cartel, so it's bound to sound the same.

https://nypost.com/2015/10/04/your-favorite-song-o...

It's done to a formula because that's what sells. There are still great lyricists out there but they're few and far between. Some of the old greats are still kicking it, although the music's a bit lacking on this one:

I wake up in the morning, just glad my boots are on
Instead of empty in the whispering grasses
Down the Five at Forest Lawn
On the set, the makeup girl brings me two raw eggs and a shot of gin
Then I give it all up for that little blue pill
That promises to bring it all back to you again
Ride me down easy, ride me down easy, friend
Tonight the western stars are shining bright again
Here in the canyons above Sunset, the desert don't give up the fight
A coyote with someone's Chihuahua in its teeth skitters 'cross my veranda in the night
Some lost sheep from Oklahoma sips her Mojito down at the Whiskey Bar
Smiles and says she thinks she remembers me from that commercial with the credit card
Hell, these days there ain't no more, now there's just again
Tonight the western stars are shining bright again
Sundays I take my El Camino, throw my saddle in and go
East to the desert where the charros, they still ride and rope
Our American brothers cross the wire and bring the old ways with them
Tonight the western stars are shining bright again
Once I was shot by John Wayne, yeah, it was towards the end
That one scene's bought me a thousand drinks
Set me up and I'll tell it for you, friend
Here's to the cowboys, and the riders in the whirlwind
Tonight the western stars are shining bright again
And the western stars are shining bright again
Tonight the riders on Sunset are smothered in the Santa Ana winds
And the western stars are shining bright again
C'mon and ride me down easy, ride me down easy, friend
'Cause tonight the western stars are shining bright again
I woke up this morning just glad my boots were on...

Bruce Springsteen - Western Stars

[Rider007]

Pothole said:

Most pop chart stuff is manufactured by the same Scandinavian cartel, so it's bound to sound the same.

https://nypost.com/2015/10/04/your-favorite-song-o...

It's done to a formula because that's what sells. There are still great lyricists out there but they're few and far between. Some of the old greats are still kicking it, although the music's a bit lacking on this one:

I wake up in the morning, just glad my boots are on
Instead of empty in the whispering grasses
Down the Five at Forest Lawn
On the set, the makeup girl brings me two raw eggs and a shot of gin
Then I give it all up for that little blue pill
That promises to bring it all back to you again
Ride me down easy, ride me down easy, friend
Tonight the western stars are shining bright again
Here in the canyons above Sunset, the desert don't give up the fight
A coyote with someone's Chihuahua in its teeth skitters 'cross my veranda in the night
Some lost sheep from Oklahoma sips her Mojito down at the Whiskey Bar
Smiles and says she thinks she remembers me from that commercial with the credit card
Hell, these days there ain't no more, now there's just again
Tonight the western stars are shining bright again
Sundays I take my El Camino, throw my saddle in and go
East to the desert where the charros, they still ride and rope
Our American brothers cross the wire and bring the old ways with them
Tonight the western stars are shining bright again
Once I was shot by John Wayne, yeah, it was towards the end
That one scene's bought me a thousand drinks
Set me up and I'll tell it for you, friend
Here's to the cowboys, and the riders in the whirlwind
Tonight the western stars are shining bright again
And the western stars are shining bright again
Tonight the riders on Sunset are smothered in the Santa Ana winds
And the western stars are shining bright again
C'mon and ride me down easy, ride me down easy, friend
'Cause tonight the western stars are shining bright again
I woke up this morning just glad my boots were on...

Bruce Springsteen - Western Stars

Interesting read , bloody swede's

[GnuBee]

There's lots of very good musicians, bands etc these days - the democratisation of the music making process has made that possible. The real issue is the signal to noise ratio is so poor. The "marketplace" is also way more pigeon holed than it used to be - the Charts you mention - which ones? The one targeted at 14 year old girls, the album chart, the grime chart, the Spotify top <x> the Amazon top <y>, the best Chinese gangster rap EDM death metal mashup one?

There's clever song writing, amazing virtuosity, inspiring improvisation and radical reinterpretation all over the place it just needs looking for.

[ElectricSoup]

I would like to challenge the defenders of the modern era to name some of these new bands and artists, which are of a comparable quality to the likes of those mentioned in the OP's OP.

I've been a-lookin', but I ain't been a findin'.

[Sporky]

ElectricSoup said:

I would like to challenge the defenders of the modern era to name some of these new bands and artists, which are of a comparable quality to the likes of those mentioned in the OP's OP.

This smells like a trap.

I don't much rate any of the acts listed, so it's unlikely anyone who likes them would consider what I like to be of comparable quality. None of the ones I'd list have been in the top 40, sold out stadiums, or so on.

[Pothole]

ElectricSoup said:

I would like to challenge the defenders of the modern era to name some of these new bands and artists, which are of a comparable quality to the likes of those mentioned in the OP's OP.

I've been a-lookin', but I ain't been a findin'.

Any local pub rock venue would turn up a few way "better" than KISS. Formulaic posture rock rubbish, their biggest hit was a pop song they all hate!

[HustleRussell]

ElectricSoup said:

I would like to challenge the defenders of the modern era to name some of these new bands and artists, which are of a comparable quality to the likes of those mentioned in the OP's OP.

I've been a-lookin', but I ain't been a findin'.

I happily exist in the modern era but I don't feel compelled to 'defend' it, rather sounds like you've made up your mind.

I do like old stuff too

[jimmytheone]

What’s needed is a filter. Something like 6music. Plays some new stuff from people you’ve never heard of, stuff you wouldn’t normally listen to but still has enough familiar stuff to tap or hum along to.
Or blast 90s dance music at the kids thanks to 6music All Day Rave today. Most amusing

[TheOversteerLever]

Rider007 said:

Interesting read , bloody swede's

There's a BBC Four documentary called 'Flat Pack Pop: Sweden's Music Miracle' that's well worth a watch. It might be on iPlayer.

I found it fascinating - I never knew so many pop songs were written by a small group of Swedes.

Edit: It's not on iPlayer anymore https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002k6k - can't see it on YouTube either.

[Pothole]

jimmytheone said:

What’s needed is a filter. Something like 6music. Plays some new stuff from people you’ve never heard of, stuff you wouldn’t normally listen to but still has enough familiar stuff to tap or hum along to.
Or blast 90s dance music at the kids thanks to 6music All Day Rave today. Most amusing

Also has that incredibly drippy female presenter whose voice makes me want to shake some vitality into her!!!

[jimmytheone]

Pothole said:

jimmytheone said:

What’s needed is a filter. Something like 6music. Plays some new stuff from people you’ve never heard of, stuff you wouldn’t normally listen to but still has enough familiar stuff to tap or hum along to.
Or blast 90s dance music at the kids thanks to 6music All Day Rave today. Most amusing

There are times I need to leave it! But as someone earlier pointed out there’s a wealth of more niche specific stuff / channels.
And CDs

Also has that incredibly drippy female presenter whose voice makes me want to shake some vitality into her!!!

[Rider007]

Pothole said:

Any local pub rock venue would turn up a few way "better" than KISS. Formulaic posture rock rubbish, their biggest hit was a pop song they all hate!

Maybe true, but go to one of their gig's and leave with your ears bleeding.

Forgot to mention in my OP , Michael Jackson, Fleetwood Mac, Police,Genesis,Pretenders, Prince, George Michael, UB40, Crowded House, Men at Work,INXS.What I'm saying is that they all have a uniqueness about them that modern stuff doesn't have. Today it's just computer generated repetitive tripe. Most "popular "singers these days don't write they're own songs anymore , therefore lazy, they just choose the most popular song writers and hire them to churn out the same ste that everyone else does.

[Sporky]

Rider007 said:

What I'm saying is that they all have a uniqueness about them that modern stuff doesn't have. Today it's just computer generated repetitive tripe.

There's certainly repetitive tripe out there, but there's a great deal of inventive new music too - it really does sound like you've just made up your mind, and from here on out it's confirmation bias all the way. Personally I'd go mad just listening to the same 30+ year-old stuff over and over and over. It'd be like watching nothing but repeats on telly. Del Boy falls through the bar, and Trigger pulls a face. Del Boy falls through the bar, and Trigger pulls a face. Del Boy falls through the bar, and Trigger pulls a face. Del Boy falls through the bar, and Trigger pulls a face. Del Boy falls through the bar, and Trigger pulls a face. Del Boy falls through the bar, and Trigger pulls a face. Del Boy falls through the bar, and Trigger pulls a face. Del Boy falls through the bar, and Trigger pulls a face.

As for not writing their own songs; that's hardly new. I'd counter that the idea that singers should write their own songs is a modern conceit. Being good at singing has nothing to do with being good at writing music or lyrics.

[Pothole]

Sporky said:

As for not writing their own songs; that's hardly new. I'd counter that the idea that singers should write their own songs is a modern conceit. Being good at singing has nothing to do with being good at writing music or lyrics.

Most of Elton's that Bernie didn't write are bloody awful, for instance...

[PSB1]

ElectricSoup said:

I would like to challenge the defenders of the modern era to name some of these new bands and artists, which are of a comparable quality to the likes of those mentioned in the OP's OP.

I've been a-lookin', but I ain't been a findin'.

It's subjective of course, but I'd name Ben Howard.