Another sign that I'm getting old....

[poltr1]

I think I'm turning into an old fogey. I haven't a clue as to what's hot in the popular music scene. I could watch the Grammys and say, "Who are those guys?"

The last time I was into top-40 was in 1986, when the top-40 station I was listening to played "Nasty" by Janet Jackson three times in a 4-hour period. That's when I gave up on top-40 music and stations, and went with "the Wave" and CFNY.

I know about Nirvana, the death of Kurt Cobain, Pearl Jam, White Zombie, Beavis & Butthead, Alanis Morrisette, Nine Inch Nails, Vertical Horizon, Coldplay, and the Black Eyed Peas. But the popular acts now? I wouldn't know them from Adam.

When did hip-hop take over the music industry?

And why do bands now try to sound like each other? I remember when bands tried hard to get their own signature sound.

Comments

[min0taur.livejournal.com]

My take on it is that everyone in The Industry is running scared, trying to find the "sure thing" as usual, and they don't much care what it sounds like as long as it brings in enough cashflow to support the lifestyle to which they've become accustomed. ;-)

These days that's pretty much hip-hop, possibly because having two or three generations enjoying rock'n'roll wasn't making somebody enough money. The Industry tends to stir up the fake generation-war now and then with weapon-music (as rap from snoring cars is presently, no less than Led Zeppelin was for my generation) to keep the parental generation grousing and the current kids buying.

Of course "rock" as I knew it was as much a would-be worldview as an evolving style of music, no less than was/is "swing." I'm fogey-fied enough that I still listen to the stuff I like because I like it, but I'm still delighted when I can find the odd tune on the airwaves (airwaves? how 20th-century) that occupies the 10% of everything that isn't crap (or at least uninspired "product" that's only entertaining as an afterthought).

[athenawindsong.livejournal.com]

There is hope. I still say iTunes will revolutionize how we choose music - and why the Industry is pushing drivel in order to make a buck before stores selling CD's are completely obsolete.

It used to be that music defined a decade, but since the 90's were primarily concerned with 70's music and culture, there has yet to be a set pattern to the first decade of the 21st Century (the 80's are coming back, but only in little flashes). I predict that 2009 will bring the cream to the crop in talent once again - just in time for the 2010's, which will develop a whole new style all its own.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

A good (and cheap) way to get to know some of the current music is via MP3 blogs. Yes, they share tracks; on the other hand, nothing is stopping you (and the reputable bloggers encourage you to) buy artists' work after hearing it. Some of the blogs I'd recommend:

Largehearted Boy (which also has a feed here on LJ, if you prefer to read that way; one thing you might want to check out is his roundup of the Best of 2007 lists)
My Old Kentucky Blog
Said the Gramophone
I Am Fuel, You Are Friends
elbo.ws is a blog aggregator; that is, it pulls in summaries of a LOT of music blogs, so that you can see what's going on. It's also searchable, in case you want to see what's happening with any one bad, for example.

Also, check out the blogrolls for all of these guys; they'll have lots more links than I do to places where you can see what's hip and happening. If you really want to, that is. As you note, much of the current mainstream music scene is bland mush, or simply bad. (Fortunately, one thing the blogs do is keep good tabs on the independent scene, but that gets way too hipper-than-thou really fast.)

Enjoy!

[gorgeousgary]

When did hip-hop take over the music industry?

Around 1988.

At least, that's when the DJ's at college dances stopped playing mostly pop rock and started playing mostly funk & hip-hop.

[shatteredkarma.livejournal.com]

LOL you and me both bud. I could have written the exact same thing. Its a good thing all my children are hooked on classic rock (plus some of the better current goth/rock) or they would be lost musically.
We watched several channels on New Years Eve (was the 8 yr olds first real party) and i only knew the music of one of the groups (i recognized the names of one or 2 more), the rest were all total strangers.

[owlsforodin.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm repsonding to a 2-day-old post, which is ancient in internet terms. However, I now have time to say what work, errands, and illness have held back.

I'm right there with you as far as today's music goes. The last really inspiring CD that I saw was Nickelback's "For all the Right Reasons", and that was probably because "Photograph" and "Saving Me" hit me on a very personal level. Not quite "Jagged Little Pill" level, but close. There have only been a few musicians whose music I've really gotten into since the 90's and most of them don't inpire me much anymore.

As for hip-hop dominating pop music, that's one of those "I get it, but I don't" deals. I find most rappers' style to be indistinct to the point of unintelligible. After a few listens, I could figure out what Kurt Cobain was saying. Not so with rap. As such, I have difficulty getting into it. When Offspring released "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)", I had hopes that the middle-class white kid emulating urban street style trend would pass, but it's been almost ten years and the trend seems only to have deepened.

Now to the part I do get. Comparatively speaking, hip-hop is fairly inexpensive music to make. It relies heavily on sampling and synthesizers, which means that one doesn't need to have a backing band. It also means that an artists can record in less pricey locations (Like home studios) because they rarely need many people around all the time. Dave Grohl once quipped about how he made a Grammy-winning record in his garage for free. That was the first Foo Fighters' album, and he played all the instruments. Now that he has an actual band, I bet he doesn't do that anymore. Alanis Morrisette has also commented that 75% of what one here's on "Jagged Little Pill" was the original demo recorded in Glen Ballard's home studio, with Glen playing most of the instruments. It's difficult to record in those settings with a backing band, and quality session musicians don't come cheap. Comparatively speaking, hip-hop is cheaper music to make, and that's probably why the record companies are throwing it in front of the mass public every chance they get.