Are todays "musicians" just lazy or talentless
Discussion
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 
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'shttps://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
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 s
te that everyone else does.cherryowen said:
There are still many talented songwriters out there, but I suspect the OP is alluding to stuff that top the charts these days.
In that respect, Musical polymath, Rick Beato sums it up
What we have is songwriters (as previously mentioned, primarily Scandinavian) using a four chord progression that is easy to play and easy on the ear. Say you're going to write a tune in the key of C. Without going into music theory, the four chords that sound good in C are : C (the I chord), F (the "four" chord), G (the "five" chord), and A minor (the "six" chord).
You can see in Rick's video that you can mix up the above chords any way one chooses, and it'll still sound "agreeable" which is why such a chord progression gets a lot of exposure.
That's not to say there aren't some current artists out there that still have creativity when it comes to writing a great tune. Bruno Mars', "When I Was Your Man" is not - stylistically - my type of tune. However, it is really well crafted. It's in the key of C major, but he rarely plays the C major chord in the tune which is clever in a way, because when he does play that C major it's almost like breathing a sigh of relief (i.e. your brain is always waiting for that chord).
Kasey Musgrave is another modern artist that is a conundrum for me. A Country & Western artist (and very easy on the eye........) who has a knack of coming up with chord progressions that just "work". Check out Slow Burn live.
Thanks for that link cherryowen,sums it up well.Combine those repeated four chords with repeated same lyrics 25x through a song and I'd welcome a bullet. Modern music is doomed because the "yoof" know nothing else.In that respect, Musical polymath, Rick Beato sums it up
What we have is songwriters (as previously mentioned, primarily Scandinavian) using a four chord progression that is easy to play and easy on the ear. Say you're going to write a tune in the key of C. Without going into music theory, the four chords that sound good in C are : C (the I chord), F (the "four" chord), G (the "five" chord), and A minor (the "six" chord).
You can see in Rick's video that you can mix up the above chords any way one chooses, and it'll still sound "agreeable" which is why such a chord progression gets a lot of exposure.
That's not to say there aren't some current artists out there that still have creativity when it comes to writing a great tune. Bruno Mars', "When I Was Your Man" is not - stylistically - my type of tune. However, it is really well crafted. It's in the key of C major, but he rarely plays the C major chord in the tune which is clever in a way, because when he does play that C major it's almost like breathing a sigh of relief (i.e. your brain is always waiting for that chord).
Kasey Musgrave is another modern artist that is a conundrum for me. A Country & Western artist (and very easy on the eye........) who has a knack of coming up with chord progressions that just "work". Check out Slow Burn live.
Didn't think I would be stirring up such a witches cauldron 
,obviously there was a lot of cheesy crap produced in the 60's ,70's ,80's ,but what I'm trying to get across is that most bands seemed to have a unique "signature" to them ,without constant repetition of the same lyrics and chords of today, take this great cover of Chicago "25 or 6 to 4" , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_torOTK5qc&li... ,do you think most modern song writers could have the imagination to go beyond the 4 chord rule book ?. I think just let the guitar do the talking , original https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uAUoz7jimg&li... or Prince https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efhlDbZ4SmY
,obviously there was a lot of cheesy crap produced in the 60's ,70's ,80's ,but what I'm trying to get across is that most bands seemed to have a unique "signature" to them ,without constant repetition of the same lyrics and chords of today, take this great cover of Chicago "25 or 6 to 4" , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_torOTK5qc&li... ,do you think most modern song writers could have the imagination to go beyond the 4 chord rule book ?. I think just let the guitar do the talking , original https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uAUoz7jimg&li... or Prince https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efhlDbZ4SmYEdited by Rider007 on Saturday 24th August 00:28
Edited by Rider007 on Saturday 24th August 00:38
Munter said:
I suspect this is relevant to the OPs point. Analysis of music in the charts and use of repetition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tjFwcmHy5M
Thank you.Sums my point up brilliantly, albeit by a very freaky looking bloke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tjFwcmHy5M
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