Friday OT #2 - Mount Trashmore
- Thread starter Angie
- Start date
I am definitely an old man yelling at the clouds about stuff like this.
There's one and only one Beatles song that uses those chords ("Oh Darling!" off Abbey Road) while approximately half -- and only exaggerating slightly here -- of TaySway songs do.
This article is ten years old, but I enjoy it because it confirms all my priors --
https://newatlas.com/pop-music-trends/23535/
Quantifying the timbre variety in pop music ("Timbre is what makes a particular musical sound different from another, even when they have the same pitch or loudness. It is essentially the difference between different instruments playing the same note at the same loudness. They found that, after peaking in the mid-1960s, timbral variety has continued to narrow.") shows exactly this dynamic at play.
That is...
The late 1960s and early 1970s were a golden age. It is almost always worth it to dig deeper into the catalog of a well-known act or to explore a new, obscure one from this era.
Downslide into the late 1970s and 1980s. Not that there isn't some great music there, but there just isn't the "deep vinyl" depth worth exploring like there would be with the median record of 1970.
Bit of a recovery into the 1990s -- grunge, Britpop, alternative rock, classic hip hop, etc.
Then things fell off a cliff. I doubt they've improved since 2012.
Blink 182, Ed Sheeran, Hootie & the Blowfish, and Beyoncé
I was going to say, don't we have that copyrighted?
In the Artificial Sweetener category:
The Carpenters. The Osmonds. Celine Dion when she sings in English.
In the Rock Band category:
Styx, Doobies with Michael McDonald, The Doors (no just no but I did visit Morrison's grave in Paris once, har)
In the Famous-But-Why category:
Weird Al (don't get me wrong, I love parodies, but Weird Al is a skeeze), Salt and Pepa, most of the ones that appear currently on SNL
In the Country Music category:
All of them
The Carpenters. The Osmonds. Celine Dion when she sings in English.
In the Rock Band category:
Styx, Doobies with Michael McDonald, The Doors (no just no but I did visit Morrison's grave in Paris once, har)
In the Famous-But-Why category:
Weird Al (don't get me wrong, I love parodies, but Weird Al is a skeeze), Salt and Pepa, most of the ones that appear currently on SNL
In the Country Music category:
All of them
I went back and listened to Crash from DMB the other day. I wasn't a fan at the time but after listening to it again, I liked. I also think Bob Seger Night Moves (live) and Live Bullet are both great albums. I also think Darius Rucker has a great voice.
I don't like Bob Dylan.
There everyone hate.
I don't like Bob Dylan.
There everyone hate.
Pretty much all of the 'cool' NYC acts.
I Already mentioned Patty Smith. Velvet Underground (sorry @cyclones500 I know they're one of your favorites). To a lesser extent - Ramones - who would be a local bar band without a record deal if they were from Des Moines.
I Already mentioned Patty Smith. Velvet Underground (sorry @cyclones500 I know they're one of your favorites). To a lesser extent - Ramones - who would be a local bar band without a record deal if they were from Des Moines.
Like The Dude, I hate the $%*(&#& Eagles man, and it's all because of Don Henley. Just can't stand it.
Not to mention that I read "Oh Darling!" as something more than a little parodic (it's those back-beat guitar "MROWWS" and the arpeggios in the bridges).
Supposedly the "loudness war" peaked sometime in the early 2010s (right around the time of that article) and has (slowly) been receding, but I don't have any data to back that up, just anecdotal stuff and what my own ears tell me. Mostly because (I think) producers were reaching the limits of what you could do without distorting the sound beyond recognition.
There are, in my opinion, some interesting things happening in odd niches of the musical world, but it definitely pales in comparison to the variety of (and exposure of) the late 60s-early 70s peak. But I also have weird taste, so take that as you will.
I haaaaaaate Hootie. It is total “head in the oven” mode.
Other than Rage, I said what I said.
Only 4 bands? I like breaking it down into genres.
Rock: U2, DMB, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty
Metal: GnR, Poison, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi
One hit Wonders/80s slush: Soft Cell, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Men at work, Tears for Fears
Pop Tarts: Madonna, Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Katy Perry
Country: All
Rock: U2, DMB, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty
Metal: GnR, Poison, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi
One hit Wonders/80s slush: Soft Cell, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Men at work, Tears for Fears
Pop Tarts: Madonna, Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Katy Perry
Country: All
I think this is pretty broad strokes…
In the past two years alone, a few amazing acts:
Kendrick Lamar
Steve Lacy
SZA
Megan Thee Stallion
Jack White
Kacey Musgraves
Brandi Carlisle
LCD Soundsystem
Japanese Breakfast
Arcade Fire
There is a pretty deep well of great music there in a variety of genres and experience levels…. For every super poppy act (or maybe two), there is generally a quality one.
