When Did Hit Songs Become Garbage?

[Briza]

There is an amazing amount of good music out there these days, if only through the average of numbers if you understand my drift.

The problem is sorting through the crap to find that golden nugget. It's literally a needle in a haystack.

With the advances in modern technology in regards to ease of recording, the sheer boom in number of artists putting their material out there, be it myspace or whatever, is mind boggling. There is probably 2000+ DECENT hit worthy songs out there right now waiting to be discovered.

But ultimately, I believe the record companies are a little blind to all of this, with the industry desperately hanging on to the threads of what it once was. From a financial point of view, the industry climate has forced the powers that be into playing it safe. They are catering for the kids, so to speak, because this is their easiest most "pliable" market. Kids will listen to whatever is "in".(most of the time)

This, I believe is the real reason in the decline of quality when it comes to radio hits.

I can forsee a revolution in radio in the not so distant future, with some of the stations beginning to reject this R.C. pre meditated, lifeless, boring, unoriginal crap.

just my two cents.

[brandondrury]

I can forsee a revolution in radio in the not so distant future, with some of the stations beginning to reject this R.C. pre meditated, lifeless, boring, unoriginal crap.

I don't disagree. However, with the Clear Channel bucks dominating the music world, I think any revolution will be delayed by 20-50 years.

Brandon

[Sweet T]

I think the problem is that many songwriters are forced to make a buck, and therefore trying to be too technical, or cool, whatever, and have stopped writing what pours from their soul. Whether they are fast dance tunes, or slow, passionate ballads, I want the lyrics to touch my emotions and make me feel something. That's what good music is, in my opinion. I don't care if it's only a I, IV, V progression. In fact, looking in my little book of songs I'm learning to sing and play on guitar, nearly all of them are just that simple. And not because I'm a beginner therefore I'm only choosing easy songs! I choose what I like to hear, then I print it, then I learn it.

I do think Brandon is right, Chris. I think that the people making the decisions about what is playing on the radio are less creative and passionate than just a few years ago. I think that because we have so much technology now, that the "digi brains" are the ones who climb the tower. They are choosing what we listen to. The more passionate, creative minds are falling further and further down the food chain. If it's true, then our world will continue to loose creative focus, and the artistic, and musical genius will be ignored.

I went to a model train expo today with my two little boys. The whole time I was there, I heard two adults laugh. Me, and my cousin who went with me. The HUGE amount of people were all walking zombies. I couldn't believe the lack of emotion on parents faces as their children rode a choo choo train. And guess what? The children weren't having much fun either. Just sat there.

What the hell? I'm laughing, talking loudly, saying to my kids "Whooo Whooo, chugachugachuga" and people stared at me in disbelief. I'm NOT making this up. My kids are little, so they are fine with this, but as they get older, they are going to start saying "Moooommmm you're embarassing me". Why? Because I laugh? Because I cry? Because I get excited? Because I feel? Because I'm HAVING FUN? Because I don't have to take a PILL to be happy?

Look at educators. They are forced to teach standardized lesson plans, and their entire day is focused on improving test scores. Teachers don't have time for creativity, their lesson plans are mapped out for them like a road trip. Elementary schools are full of computers, printers, and TV's. Many schools are ripping Physical Education, Music, and Art completely OUT of the curriculum to make room for computer science and typing classes. CHILDREN need to explore their world, draw, fingerpaint, eat crayons, and peel dried glue off their little hands to marvel at the "skin" they just made! THAT'S how they will learn to be creative, emotional, compassionate, and caring human beings. Who the hell cares what a second grader scored on the mathematics portion of the latest fucking standardized test?

Our society is becoming more and more technical, robotic, automatic. Creativity has no place, it is slowly being sucked out of our lives to make room ... for what?

When I am old, and look back on my life, I want to be able to say I loved, I lived. I had fun. I laughed. I cried. I FELT. That's what my kind of MUSIC is made of.

[thesilentdrummer]

I agree with you Sweet T. The reason I have written so few songs (besides the fact that I lack any formal knowledge of any kind of chord progression/melody type thing) is because I lack the emotional state of mind to produce something worthwhile. Whenever I feel like writing, its normally because I am bored. When I do write, its usually something of excitement, usually rewriting lyrics to songs and sharing them with my friends. Actually, I normally do not like songs unless I am emotionally impacted by it. I refuse to listen to some songs I really like because of the way they emotionally impact me.


And the school thing:
I too am appalled that music gets cut, but we do need to think of priorities. In reality, the majority of schools are aimed at preparing people for the real world, if not college. Honestly, we have admit the vast majority of people who move through the schools will need skills like math and reading and computers (in this ever increasing technologically advancing world). We live in a world where colleges want to see you will so many credits in English, so many credits in Math, so many History credits, and by the time you add them up, there is no room left for things like art or music classes, so school find it most financially logical to cut those programs. Sad, but true.

Creativity in a more "technical, robotic, automatic" world:
The guy who created facebook was on 60 minutes last night. Most label him some computer nerd type guy. I see his as a creative genius. He was able to turn simple numbers and letters in the form of code into an incredible masterpiece. How is that much different what we do in creating music recordings?? We capture vibrations in the air, electronically convert them into something we can alter in various ways using a computer or electronic peripherals, then inscribe the raw data onto a plastic disc with pits and grooves for a laser to read and send electronic signal through some wires that gets interpreted by a speaker in such a way that it causes more vibrations. And all that, as scientific and mathematical as it is, can evoke emotions.

That aside, in the end, grade schools and high schools are supposed to leave you a well rounded person, however, demands place by higher powers don't necessarily allow room for that. In California, though, their public state universities require at least one year of arts credit. I wish every college would require that. Maybe then more people would get into music, and fewer schools would feel they should cut music

[Sweet T]

You know what? I agree with you. To a point. In high school, college.

But when exactly, are kids able to just hang out and be kids? I fear that technology and the education it requires is fast becoming more of a curse than a comfort.

[thesilentdrummer]

Originally Posted by Sweet T

But when exactly, are kids able to just hang out and be kids?

The problem is that with the advent of the global economy, the internet, and huge advances in other parts of the world, the US kid is no longer competing with just other US kids, but also kids from China, Japan, etc. So he needs to keep up with insane kids in Asia (they get a lot more schooling there, and their public school system is better) to justify getting a job over some kid in china (who would do the same job for less money).

In the end, people go to school to get a job that pays a lot of money. Unless you are really invested in you love for music, really talented, or (best yet) both, then you really aren't going to make a significant amount of money. Lets be honest, the number of people who actually go into music as a profession is small. If you were filling out a survey on your job, I'm pretty sure you'd have to fill in other (ie, you couldn't check a box that said "musician" like you can check a box that says "doctor" or "lawyer"). On top of that, the number of actually successful musicians is even smaller.

But this is turning off topic. Go here

[FreeAlba]

There have always been Garbage/Rubbish/shite hit songs. There always have been and always will be!

The Last Fifty years have seen a major change in the production of music for the masses. Anyone with a guitar and the ability to play three cords(or less) in the contemporary music age has an opportunity to write and release music. This has revolutionised the way the human race listens to music. Music now is far more accessible than it has ever been, not only for the listener but the creator!

All The above is fantastic, It means that, in the past fifty years music has never been so diverse. Creatively, music is flourishing. It has given us the Beatles and blah, blah, blah after that!

Nevertheless, there is a downside. Due to the fact that the creative aspect of music has never been so accessible to the masses, you not only get the greatest music the world has ever created, you also get the shitest! You can say that, that is personal taste and to some degree it is. Nevertheless, there are just some recording artists who are bloody awful.

In terms of the kids coming up with good new music, well there have always been ups and downs. I'm Scottish and we mainly get immersed with the contemporary music of England. Obviously we ourselves produce some contemporary music as does Ireland and we also get a fair helping of new State side music, but mainly it's English (At this point I do begrudgingly hold my hands up and say that per capita the English AND YOU DON'T REALISE HOW MUCH THIS PAINS ME TO SAY THIS, WELL YOU PROBABLY DO AS I'VE TOLD YOU I'M SCOTTISH have produced the best contemporary music of any nation in the past 50 years) Nevertheless, I digress, back to the kids, In terms of new music produced by them, I feel that, at the moment there is just a bit of a slump. I have a theory that this is because they are taking too much inspiration from crappy 80's bands, but there are a few gold nuggets, you just have to look for them and sometimes not to hard. On this side of the pond the Arctic Monkeys have made a big splash and rightly so. Also, from the more commercial pop side of things there are people the likes of Lilly Allen and Amy Winehouse, Who are just good commercial pop girls, the best in that genre for many a year!

Basically, I'm just saying that things aren't all that bad!!

[Superstition]

"Hey There, Delilah" by Plain White Tees, as well as "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt were both burnt to crap because the radio station couldn't stop playing them. Same with "Good Riddance (Time of Your life)" by Green Day. I mean, what was that song . . . radio killed the rock n' roll star? maybe I have the title backwards, but it's all the same. Radio stations obsess over songs. People would probably be more open to music if radio stations would learn when enough is enough.

[FreeAlba]

Originally Posted by Superstition

"Hey There, Delilah" by Plain White Tees, as well as "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt were both burnt to crap because the radio station couldn't stop playing them. Same with "Good Riddance (Time of Your life)" by Green Day. I mean, what was that song . . . radio killed the rock n' roll star? maybe I have the title backwards, but it's all the same. Radio stations obsess over songs. People would probably be more open to music if radio stations would learn when enough is enough.

There is NO excuse, no excuse what so ever for James Blunt!!! All James Blunt tunes need burning, literally and so does he for bloody-well realising them onto an unsuspecting audience!!

[brandondrury]

I think the problem is that many songwriters are forced to make a buck, and therefore trying to be too technical, or cool, whatever, and have stopped writing what pours from their soul.

I don't think many people have anything pouring from their soul. In fact, I've just started to feel like I have something of social significance to write about in the past few months. I've been reading history obsessively in my limited free time. That's opened the door to being REALLY pissed.

In college, my history professor called my generation "the generation with no identity" (I was born in 1980). He said that the generation before me had Vietnam. Before that WW2 / depression. In the middle of all that we had major civil rights changes.

I'd be very interested to see what kind of music that came out of Russia post-WW2 or in Iran-Iraq in the mid 80s after their giant war. (3rd largest war in the 20th century).

I have this theory that loss, pain, suffering, etc are like a rubber band: a storage of potential energy. The average 16 year old American kid with his Ipod and cell phone has no idea. Hell, I have no idea! I'm just 27 and a lot more pissed off about anything and everything than I used to be.

Obviously we ourselves produce some contemporary music as does Ireland and we also get a fair helping of new State side music, but mainly it's English (At this point I do begrudgingly hold my hands up and say that per capita the English AND YOU DON'T REALISE HOW MUCH THIS PAINS ME TO SAY THIS, WELL YOU PROBABLY DO AS I'VE TOLD YOU I'M SCOTTISH have produced the best contemporary music of any nation in the past 50 years)

I hate to say it too as a dumb ass American who uses his arm for a napkin, hates anything "proper", and is disgusted by British imperialism, but from a per capita standpoint the British have excelled at pretty much everything! Even Hitler recognized this. (See Dunkirk)

As primarily a rock dude, classic rock stations are dominated by the Britons. The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and The Who get us started. It keeps on going from there. (Ironicaly, all of these bands grew up in the post WW2 generation. Interesting)

Brandon