A small rant on todays music...

[Krutch]

For some reason I watched about six or seven "Teens React To..." videos on 90s and 00's music. And it's seriously depressing seeing so many teens are completely unaware of songs that were straight up legendary in my day.

I also noticed a trend: If its Hip-Hop or Rap, they know it. If its anything else, hell, anything with a guitar they just go catatonic and shrug. Is Hip-Hop considered timeless to the point where the youth can sing along with every word yet when Oasis or Nirvana comes on they find it lame and dated? I'm so confused...

I know I'm going to come off as an old man here but seriously, what the hell is wrong with todays music? What happened to teen angst?

It feels like there's no variety anymore. Everything is either hip hop/pop/pop rock or some kind of combination of it. When I was in high school there were boy bands, punk, ska, metal, numetal, grunge(though on it's way out), rap, hip-hop, pop-punk, pop... variety out the wazoo.

Now it's all crap. It's allllll crap.

(Yeah, slow day at work and my coffee hasn't hit me yet.)

[plastroncafe]

I'm willing to wager this "all music" you're hearing has more to do with where you get your music, than it does with all music.

As for where the angst went, good gravy am I glad that Daddy Doesn't Love Me crap has gone the way of the dodo.

[Krutch]

Basically the only time I hear anything playing today is when I'm at a nephews, or at the mall, or I'm curious enough to turn on the radio.

And whining about how so-and-so doesn't love you is part of teenage life.

Hell, Linkin Park basically built a career off it.

[plastroncafe]

Originally Posted by Krutch

Basically the only time I hear anything playing today is when I'm at a nephews, or at the mall, or I'm curious enough to turn on the radio.

Ahhh places where you're no longer the target demographic.
Welcome to the outskirts of popular culture.

Originally Posted by Krutch

And whining about how so-and-so doesn't love you is part of teenage life.

But it doesn't have to be, and I think maybe kids have realized that you can get more satisfaction from the things you have, rather than whining about the things you wish you had.

Originally Posted by Krutch

Hell, Linkin Park basically built a career off it.

Again, could NOT be happier.
G'bye Daddy Doesn't Love Me music.

[snake]

Hip Hop is what's in today. I'm a big fan of the genre, but I listen to tons of other stuff as well. Looking down on "today's music" is cliche and stupid.

[Krutch]

Originally Posted by plastroncafe

Ahhh places where you're no longer the target demographic.
Welcome to the outskirts of popular culture.

lol dude I'm well aware I'm not the target demo; that wasn't my point.

Originally Posted by plastroncafe

But it doesn't have to be, and I think maybe kids have realized that you can get more satisfaction from the things you have, rather than whining about the things you wish you had.

That's a fair point, and one I agree with. I'm generally a glass half full person. But teenage attitudes are all over the place; they're not always going to want to think of just the good things. It feels so limiting when everything sounds the same, singing about the same stuff. Why not have both?

Originally Posted by plastroncafe

Again, could NOT be happier.
G'bye Daddy Doesn't Love Me music.

Oh c'mooooon... I know NuMetal wasn't for everybody but who in their youth didn't love to rock out to One Step Closer or Down With The Sickness

[ToTheNines]

There's still great punk, metal, rap, etc. You just aren't gonna hear it on the radio. And awful music has always been around lol.

Country has really gone to **** though. Some of the old singers still make albums, but everything else thinks it's ****ing club music. Save for very few exceptions.

[Powder]

Ya, it's just chart music that sucks, & chart music always phases in & out of total suckage. I do think that certain genres have hit an all-time low, but otherwise, garbage music has always been a thing. Really sick of mumble rap, for example, but just 'cause that's what's popular doesn't mean there aren't genuine MC's out there doing their thing. Rock is kinda dead, yeah, but only commercially. Not too surprising, really. It dominated for decades.

If you need new music that doesn't suck, you just gotta dig a little deeper.

[Krutch]

Yeah I didn't mean to over generalize as much as I did. I was mainly speaking about mainstream music that's actively being pandered and marketed towards teens today.

I know there's still plenty of good music being churned out there if you look for it, but I guess I'm just surprised how narrow the mainstream has become with providing alternatives.

[Powder]

Not to get all conspiracy-drunk on y'all, but you gotta realize that the powers that be use media to shape collective thought. The music biz is one of the most powerful/influential ones out there, subverting entire demographics of people. It does not benefit the order to make millions of able bodied people wanna rebel against authority or think freely (barring manufactured outrage that serves to facilitate an agenda), & that sort of ideology has always been the soul of good music. That, & love, which not only brings people together, but helps them be greater than themselves. Narcissism is a BIG industry, so they no longer promote love or fighting the power but instead shill music that sells you on lifestyle choices which make you hedonistic, complacent, & otherwise apathetic. You don't hear nearly as much about heartbreak & chasing "the one" these days 'cause everybody is (or should be) having casual sex. Love is lame now. & why complain? You can get a chick to show you her tits for free with the push of a button in the palm of your hands.

In this day & age, there's plenty to take issue with regarding the government/citizen relationship, smart TV's recording your conversations, NSA, etc. but people are either too comfortable to care, or wrapped up in doing the thought policing for them because they've been convinced it's cool to virtue signal. Punk & other genres of a similar foundation cannot exist in any remotely commercial capacity anymore (one might argue that defeats the purpose in the first place but I digress) when it would be shedding light on this kinda thing. Punk was okay in the 80's & 90's when the veil was still over people's eyes, & the worst things we knew about were on the nightly news, but with the internet making truth a lot easier to find & subsequently spread, they run a much greater risk allowing "rebel music" to flourish. They don't want the masses to be enlightened or empowered in a context that could force a change that they weren't soliciting themselves from behind closed doors.

[DestronMirage22]

Originally Posted by Krutch

For some reason I watched about six or seven "Teens React To..." videos on 90s and 00's music.

See, that's where your problem began. I personally stay far away from those videos, as it's just depressing seeing how idiotic the teens of today are.

[plastroncafe]

One of the few benefits of being old: I don't have to worry about videos of me being an idiotic teen making it to the internet nearly as much as you young'uns..

[ToTheNines]

[myconius]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

OH CRIPES!!!!!!!

[IndigoErth]

Yeah, the old 8 tracks. Why you kids don't know about those...? lol Though to be honest, I've never seen one used, but there were still two or three laying around the house when I was growing up. Heck, they're probably still in some box of junk somewhere.


Never been a fan of rap/hip hop. Do kids think it is something new for their generation? Because that stuff has been pushed since I was in middle school in the early 90s. I remember that's what largely made up most of the music at middle school dances at my school. Well, that and the Electric Slide. Tell me kids still at least know that one.

Looking back though, that 90s stuff was so much more tame compared to most of what's produced today though. It's almost enjoyable now, if at times just little hokey seeming in comparison. These days so much of it seems to have become... well... like that crap they made for the 2014 Turtles film end credits. If such superficial, selfish garbage, there and via other genres, is what the world is and will continue to be, then maybe the world should just go ahead and bomb itself to pieces... The "everything is about me" mentality is getting old.

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cef4fCWWIAAh8EP.jpg

That disturbingly makes a very good point...

[TurtleWA]

It's difficult to sum up a generation when only basing it on a handful of kids. I think there are some who only know certain genres of music but also you have lots of younger folks who do know all types. Every generation has the people who stick with current pop culture and people who bounce all around and explore various decades of pop culture. I remember the ol' 8tracks and records from my parents. Still have some Zeppelin records that I collected in my early twenties.

[Wesley]

I agree that there doesn't seem to be much variety in chart music nowadays, but I always thought a lot of songs sounded the same or had similar lyrics anyway; it's just on a larger scale today.

[CyberCubed]

It might be because almost every type of musical cue has already been done. Not just in music, but in stuff like TV shows and videogames, etc.

[Prowler]

I don't listen to the radio nor do I touch those top 100 playlists on spotify since I know they'll be fully of pop songs that I don't like. That being said, I'm sure there's more "underground" musicians than ever. Just like there was crappy music back in the 60s/70s but no one remembers the worst acts. As for the 80s... well that era had lots of sh*tty music.

It sucks that so many larger than life bands are dying off or old as hell, though. It feels like arena rock bands aren't much of a thing anymore. and the greatest metal bands ever are also gonna hang up their boots someday and can't think of younger bands which are big enough to fill in their shoes.