Am I the only one...

Honestly Bill,
 
No I don't think you are the only one  
Somedays I have a dificult time trying to understand what passes for music ... 
 
What are you gonna do about it ? do you honestly think talking about online it is gonna make any real difference ?
 
As far as I'm concerned I came to grips with these type of issues a long time ago .
 
I'm not here to fight the whole world or the music and entertainment business .
Letting other musicians do their own thing is a very tough thing to learn  …it takes practice .
 
Since I'm primarily a guitar player…..
I already know there ain't gonna be no bust of my head sitting up there on the mantelpiece right next to Mozart  
 
Kenny

Cookie Jarvis
...sick and tired of the mediocrity of the current age?! Music, movies, books, painting...it seems like everything has degenerated into forgettable mundane averageness.

Here's the good news - it hasn't. If you like, I can point you towards great movies, books, music and art, all from the current age.
 

I sort of see where you are coming from with some of what you say, particularly movies - nothing ever inspires me to want to go to the cinema any more and it seems at times like every other film is a re-make, but that said, I only glance at the mainstream stuff and have never bothered to delve deeper.
 
Musically......at what point does it become "cheating" ?  That's the question. Put written music in front of me and I couldn't just play it there and then on sight, but does that mean I can't "write" my own tune just based on playing what sounds right ? Clearly I can, so is this not music ? Should I not have the right to a certain degree of pride in a song that I created and if someone wanted to pay money for a copy of it, should I refuse because I'm not a proper musician ?
 
Is a guitar player cheating the minute he adds a bit of reverb or a delay to his playing ? What he's actually playing doesn't really sound like that does it ?   Creative or cheating ?
 

 

 
Every single thing we do with all the various tools at our disposal to improve the sound of a mix could be construed as cheating if you wanted to see it that way.
 
I dislike a lot of what gets presented as music these days, but not necessarily because of how it came to be, or the methods used, but because I don't find it appealing or inspring or the fact that person presented as being the "artist" probably played very little part in the creation of it.
 
The way I see it is that mainstream pop/rock/whatever music is all "cheating" to some extent until someone starts releasing just pure recordings without a single effect or any kind of treatment anywhere at all in, so it doesn't really matter to me what tools they used, just whether it is good or not, but then that is totally subjective anyway.
 
 
 
 
 
 

kennywtelejazz
do you honestly think talking about online it is gonna make any real difference ?

^^ this ^^
 
Ever since Jimmy (rimshot) posted about his dis-taste/like I've been giving this some thought and I've concluded that what myolpal says is true; it's what makes it a horse race.
 
Like Kenny, I just do what I do and listen to what I listen to. Complain nevermore is my motto.

I would say the worst thing to happen to music was money - lots of it! When you have the kinda money floating around at the big record labels, it is going to make people even greedier, and that begins to influence the product. People look for ways that they can make even more money, often at the expense of the product they are selling. For example, in popular music there is a software program that analyses new music. This software compares the new music to existing top selling songs. Don't get a high enough score and the music doesn't get recorded or played. The result is that all music tends to sound the same, as everyone is trying to match the software algorithm. Further it reinforces itself. To get recorded I make it sound like the algorithm. If it sells, it reinforces the algorithm. Its an endless cycle
 
Now combine that with radio. To save money they began using automation. Automation means that I don't need DJs anymore - money saved there goes to profit. All I need is one DJ whose voice can be sent across country. I can also make sure that only the songs I want promoted are actually played. I no longer have to worry about some DJ in some town introducing new music that might knock my star's record off track. That guarantees I'll make money. Now I control what gets recorded, and when it gets played. The result is not only do the recordings sound similar, they are played over and over again.
 
The part of the equation they forgot was that when you hear the same thing over and over again, it gets boring. Why listen to this one singer when that singer over there sounds the same. The labels feel that since they are the only game in town, you have to buy their albums, except since I am bored with your singer I don't buy anything. And since everything tends to sound alike, I can let it fall into the background and the music begins to lack value. If it lacks value, why pay for it.
 
I believe we have lost a lot in the music industry due to greed and technology. Its not that the technology itself is bad, its the way it is used. It is the technology and the control it offers that has stopped new and different acts, new and different styles of music from appearing. Think back to the 50s and 60s (for those of you my age ). Technology allowed new sounds (like rock) to be spread far and wide. It allowed old favorites (like folk music) to have a new place in our homes. It allowed music to be used for entertainment and to make political statements. Because of technology, music had value. If the technology used today was available back then, we would still be listening to Glenn Miller clones (as any music that didn't match the algorithm of Glenn and his orchestra wouldn't be recorded), and with automated playlists and no local DJs, Buddy Holly and Johnny Cash would have never had a record played.
 
As far as the comment "do you honestly think talking about online it is gonna make any real difference ?" let me ask you this - do you think staying silent will? We should be talking about it. Online, at concerts, anywhere we can. Because staying silent will ensure that it doesn't change.
 
Climbing down off of soapbox now

paulo
I sort of see where you are coming from with some of what you say, particularly movies - nothing ever inspires me to want to go to the cinema any more and it seems at times like every other film is a re-make, but that said, I only glance at the mainstream stuff and have never bothered to delve deeper.

I'd recommend one of the streaming services..I would never have seen gems like 'Prince Avalanche', 'The Way', 'Into the Wild' or..umm..'Machete Kills' without having Netflix.

MandolinPicker
 
As far as the comment "do you honestly think talking about online it is gonna make any real difference ?" let me ask you this - do you think staying silent will? We should be talking about it. Online, at concerts, anywhere we can. Because staying silent will ensure that it doesn't change.
 
Climbing down off of soapbox now

 ….hmm ……OK  
 
Staying Silent has absolutely nothing to do with it. A lot of people in every area of life can talk a good game 
 
The World is full off these types of people , especially the day after a sporting event , car race , movie premier ,….
or  just fill in the blank ….do you get my drift ? …if not , let me help clarify my point ...
 
As complex as human nature may apear …..
I usually run across two types of people when it comes time to get it done
 
The two types are …….Players and Benchwarmers  (btw... I've been both at one time or another  ) 
 
The Players are out on the feild dealing with the play as it happens …
the boxer throws the punch , the guitar player plays the song and hits the note , the software company develops a new plug…the football player drops the catch and his team looses the game …you get my drift  ?
 
Benchwarmers on the other hand are not in play unless they can get off the bench 
often times …...they appear to have all the answers ….why don't you just talk to one of them " the day after " and I'm sure you will hear a PHD level play by play disertation on how they would have run the play and won the game  
 
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
 
to whom it may concern ,  
 
Let me ask you this , 
Do you want to do something about it? ..
if you do , then by all means take a deep breath ….STFU , go to the store , and buy yourself a can of Goya beans ..
Then take the can of Goya beans and place it on top of your music rig or where ever you can always see it….
 
Now every time you look at the can of Goya beans why don't you ask yourself a simple question ...
 
AM I a Player ? or AM I a benchwarmer ?….
 
If you happen to fancy your self as a Player , then by all means take the information contained on the can of Goya beans
this formally top secret information has been declassified so it's perfectly OK to use that information to go out and" do something about it "
 
 
now some folks might not understand what I may be talking about …….so, let me spell it out  …..
 
GOYA =
…..…………….Get   
……..…………………….Off 
….…….…………………………...Your 
………….……………………………………...A$$ 
 
 
by all means ,  
feel free to disagree w me if you so choose , not everybody happens "to get tough love " in todays watered down world 
I would love to stay and chat some more if I could , but I got a John Wayne movie to watch 
 
have a nice day , 
 
Kenny

Benchwarmer?  Heck, I'm doing more than just warming it! 
(I've got gas too...)

Rain touches on something I try to do; focus on other things. Paying too much attention to pop culture can make you miserable and prevent you fron discovering the many gems that exist outside of the pop world.

jamesg1213

paulo
I sort of see where you are coming from with some of what you say, particularly movies - nothing ever inspires me to want to go to the cinema any more and it seems at times like every other film is a re-make, but that said, I only glance at the mainstream stuff and have never bothered to delve deeper.

I'd recommend one of the streaming services..I would never have seen gems like 'Prince Avalanche', 'The Way', 'Into the Wild' or..umm..'Machete Kills' without having Netflix.

Thanks James , I'll check those out some time. I've always avoided Netflix or any other service that demands that I set up an account before I get to see exactly what's on offer/what it costs and then also requires my credit card details for a "free" trial though.

Rimshot
I was a player in 70's and 80's.
A bench warmer in the 90's.
A quarter player/benchwarmer in the 00's.
A half player/benchwarmer in the 2010's
A half wit player that loves to play and sing and not so much a bench warmer but my day job keeps me from really playing ALL the time.  
So I think that makes me a play-bench warmer?
Maybe a full time player in my heart that has to sit down more than in previous years?
 
 
Yeah, that's it.

 

Hello Rimshot, 
say, that sounds kind of like my story  
it wasn't exactly an E ticket Disney Ride , yet it was a Roller-coaster ride….
yeah , we might get older and maybe even change all of our goals to fit the changing landscape of life itself .
imho, as far as what people do or what they have done , nobody can take that away from anybody ...
have a good one , 
 
Kenny

I'm so not worried about there being any shortage of  young musical talent:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCHCxDaV59c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTcjGsRb8-8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQDA3vBr3xA
 
The talent pool is endless
 
Your beef is with the structure of the music industry that cares about physical appearance and hashtag stats.

bapu
Well, Yellow Submarine is my least favorite Beatles song.

 
Ringo just crossed you off his Christmas Card list. 
 

bapu
I almost never regret listening to The Beatles.
 
 
Well, Yellow Submarine is my least favorite Beatles song.

 
Me, too, and yet I find myself singing along every time I hear it.