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Save This PageMusical Dystrophy
Posted by crazydiamond on May 13, 2001 at 10:24 PM
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burn2shine spoke on May 17, 2001 at 11:02 PM
The thing is, the only way you will truly stumble across a band these days is to see them live in your hometown or for them to be super underground and you hear about them via word of mouth (such as with Atom & His Package for me). I first heard BFF on the radio back when Underground was getting airplay so I can't claim liking them before they went "mainstream". I CAN however claim being a fan of Moby, Fatboy Slim, New Found Glory, Dido as well as a handful of others before they became all poppy. So the point is, everything on the radio is going to sound like ass because it's all been heard and done before. The last great "revolution" in radio died out around 97 when alternative got overplayed when suck-ass bands like Creed and Limp Bizkit became popular. The music scene isn't rotting away, it's just slowly eating itself until the next big thing comes along. We should all pray that will be very, very soon. If I hear one more god-damned blond haired little skank posing as an "artist", I'm going to scream.
AquaVelvet spoke on May 18, 2001 at 12:25 PM
It's ironic, and a little sad I think, that the more radio struggles to hang on to the audience it has left, the more banal its programming becomes, and hence, the more intelligent listeners it loses. This is partly because few stations are willing to risk potentially alienating the square-heads out there by auditioning new or daring bands. Radio survives by ad revenue alone and if the advertisers don't think it'll sell, and the ignorant masses may not like it, well..it don't get played. This started happening back in the late 70s probably. Certainly it was in full swing by the mid 80s. How else could someone like Rick Astley go so far? But you know what? If you're reading this, you're smarter than the average radio drone out there, and you probably haven't relied on radio to introduce you to good music for years. I'm like burn2shine, though, in that I *do* get some of my music from hearing it on the radio first, but the vast majority of it, I just get from word of mouth. My friends hear something, either online, or from some indie-rock college station, and pass along the tip. Radio has a chance to be good again, I think...but it won't the same model we use today. It'll be all digital, fully customizable, with enormous choice and variety of content, and it won't be free. It'll be subscriber-based, and most of you that choose to pay, will think it's well worth the cost. But that's a few years down the road. In the meantime, since today's radio is about as fresh as those 1997 issues of Reader's Digest you find in the doctor's office, your best hope remains with finding your own good music. Your friends are usually pretty good for this, the Net is a big option too (gee, who woulda thought?) and so is going out to concerts and clubs. Crazy-D, you live in a college town--count yourself lucky. You have it better than most of the country. Go out. Explore. Have fun. And turn off the radio if you feel like it. I imagine a lot of old folks are already smiling at that prospect.
Bella1911 spoke on May 18, 2001 at 11:34 PM
Ever heard of Elvis? How about the Beatles or the Big Bopper? Music has always been marketed -- how else would it reached the MASSES???
Bella1911 spoke on May 18, 2001 at 11:37 PM
Also, Ben Folds Five is played on the radio -- and so were major players like The Cure during their day. So understadn that what is "radio crap" to you is something nice to others. And your great stuff is "radio crap" too.
crazydiamond spoke on May 19, 2001 at 07:10 PM
Yeah nat, but how often do they play my "radio crap" as opposed to the SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT they play now?
RickySilk spoke on May 20, 2001 at 08:22 AM
I think what we're experiencing now is a teeny-bop music explosion and it makes me a little nauseous.But the fact is just because a band get's played on the radio doesn't mean they suck. There's plenty of good artist's that get radio play. How about the Red Hot Chili Peppers? Nine Inch Nails? If Trent Reznor had not gotten on a decent label and never gotten a couple tracks from Pretty Hate Machine out to the masses there's a good chance we wouldn't never heard from him. That would've been a shame.
Yeah, there are alot of shitty copy cat bands out there but they'll be gone soon while bands like The Smiths, Tool, NIN, etc. continue to make music.
As far as The Cure goes, they're one of my favorite all time bands. I've been a fan since the early 80's when one of my fellow skate punks played Boys Don't Cry for me. (I credit this guy for introducing me to all kinds of great music at a young age including the violent femmes, agent orange, minor threat. Yes, I was listening to blister in the sun way back in 83 before many of you were even born.) Anyway I like all there stuff even though there's a big difference between the early music and the music now. I have heard any of there recent stuff, the last album I bought was Disintegration. Two albums any Cure fan must own are Disintegration and Standing On A Beach.
crazydiamond spoke on May 20, 2001 at 02:59 PM
I think I should clear something up: I am dissatisfied with the way the music scene is NOW. Maybe I should have explained that a little more. Yes, some of the best bands ever were introduced to the masses with the radio. But what I'm trying to say is that right now, and for the past few years actually, too many bands and artists that totally suck are being shoved down our throats. The record industry isn't very selective anymore, and with their copy cat artists, they're just trying to make a buck. There are always going to be people out there who will love a certain artist no matter how talented they are, and will like them just because everyone else has been brainwashed into it, and the moguls know that. They are playing that up, while the rest of us are sighing and groaning. And if by the rest of us I only mean myself, so be it.
burn2shine spoke on May 20, 2001 at 03:01 PM
You are right RickySilk. Radio is a double edged sword in that you can get a lot of notice but your original supporters may get pissed at you for it. Look at what happened to Reel Big Fish. They make a song called Sellout that gets popular and then have to write a response song on their next album because people accused them of really selling out instead of JOKING about selling out. Personally, the only radio I listen to now is the college station here and that's because they play stuff with no commercials and music that I would NEVER have heard otherwise, so it's always fresh. The thing that turned me off of commercial radio so much though was the invasion of talk. It seems like every single station now has a duo hosting their morning show. Tuttle & Kline. John-Boy & Billy. Jim & Tammy. What ever happened to MUSIC in the morning? You can't hear anything on the radio now except for talk until 11 in the morning. You instead have to be subjected to stupid games played by the DJs with listeners. I could write a whole Foo piece on the inanacy of morning shows but I'll save it.The biggest issue I see now with radio right now isn't even that it's teen music. That's just a genre that is popular and there isn't much you can do about it, it will fade. What I see happening however with radio music is that it is eating itself. Anything "old" (meaning like 6 months) is out of style. 80s music, though I think a lot of it is fluff and prolly shouldn't be played again, (The Smiths, The Cure aside) is now considered oldies. You don't hear songs that were popular a year ago anymore, all you hear now is the best "new" music. Radio is churning out songs so quickly that people can't keep up and by the time you find a song you like, it is either overplayed to death because it "crossed over" to another genre, or it is replaced by something else. What happened to hearing a song 4 or 5 times and then deciding if you like it? That just doesn't happen anymore because radio is forcing people to "pump it or dump it" within a shorter and shorter time period. And anything old, music wise, is chastized and relegated to another station. 80s music may have not been the most revolutionary stuff in the world, but to deem it oldies seems a bit harsh. The sad part is, this won't change any time soon and will probably end getting worse. Satelite radio may help things a little but I think radio in general is doomed, not because "video killed the radio star" but because it killed itself.
Bella1911 spoke on May 21, 2001 at 11:48 AM
Just because you don't like someone's music doesn't mean it sucks. They put just as much time and effort into what they do as anyone else does. So just because you are dissatisfied with the "scene" doesn't give you the right to say that those musicians aren't worth shit and there product is worthless. Obviously SOMEONE likes them, or they wouldn't be as popular as they are, now would they?
CozmoTrouble spoke on May 22, 2001 at 01:22 PM
I think the point is not that the music sucks, it is more of the origin of today's music and the general lack of diversity in today's music scene. "Commercial crap" and boy and girl bands have been around for ages. What I mean by commercial crap is music that is created expressedly for mass consumption (Read: to make money). It is not about the musical expression of the artist as in many of the songs that are on the charts are not written by the artist nor do many of these so called "Bands" play their own instruments. It is music that is CALCULATED to appeal to the lowest common denominator and thus created to generate revenue. This does not mean that the music is not finely crafted or expertly performed and in fact it is quite the contrary. The point of the matter is that the air waves are FLOODED with the aforementioned music and is choking out much of the other music out there, much like kudzu If your not familiar with kudzu. [link] My main gripe is that the element of diversity, and not quality, is suffering in the music industry's attempt to extract as much money from the American consumer. Profitability is being exploited at the expense musical and artistic integrity.
crazydiamond spoke on May 22, 2001 at 03:15 PM
Yeah, they put in time and effort. Enough time and effort to get packaged and ready to ship out to the teeny boppers.
fruiteepants spoke on May 28, 2001 at 05:16 PM
yeah yeah, sometimes the goddamn radio sucks. i'll admit it. but there's perfectly nothing wrong with liking or listening to pop music. so what if it's manufactured? if it still sounds good, what's wrong with it?i'd also like to note that just because music is odd or unconventional doesn't make it good. sure, bf5 is a great band, but you make it sound like they're the grand high titmasters of uber-artistic music. give me a break.
AND FOR THE RECORD, daft punk was given their name by a critic listening to a demo reel of theirs, and basically told them they were a pair of "daft punks." ass. as though eiffel 65 invented vocoding. just because you'd never heard the effect before doesn't mean it didn't exist. as a matter of fact, daft punk was using vocoding on their album "homework," and before that as well.
the "scene" is not rotting; there is, in fact, more than one scene out there. if you don't like pop music, or "techno" (which annoys me that you lump it all together in the first place), great. don't listen to it. the punk scene is still alive and kicking; head over to boston for proof. take your rambling nonsensical asshole corporation-bashing idiocy and cram it.
(oo oo capitalism sucks!)
Anonymous Coward spoke on Jun 01, 2001 at 02:32 PM
Ok, what it all boils down to is "Your time has past". Remeber when you first started to get into music and your father was like "What is this crap? This is REAL music" and proceeded to put on an album that made your ears bleed it was so bad? Well guess what, that's you now.You bitch about music. That's fine, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But the bands you use as examples are evidence you don't listen to the radio and that fancy stereo system's dial has never been turned past the pop-station. I may be spoiled by living in the New York Metro are where we have an abundance of radion stations, but does anyone even listen to the bands you mentioned any more?
I'll admit to watching Britany Spears videos, with the sound off :). Every band you mentioned was a pop band. You didn't even mention any of the new/good stuff.
But you do get a three though because i agree that pop sucks and i was turned onto one of my favorite bands by a friend.
Rob
crazydiamond spoke on Jun 01, 2001 at 09:29 PM
Oooh Mr. Fruiteepants. Your name alone inspires fear in the very depths of my soul. Go off the deepend why don't you, you faggoty jackass.
Ademu spoke on Jun 01, 2001 at 09:37 PM
I like listening to Cat Scratch Fever on the radio; it makes me want to stick my head inside a llama's ass dripping with nutrients.
MagnetGirl spoke on Jun 04, 2001 at 11:27 AM
Hey crazydiamond, calm down. If the only way you can respond to an opinion that differs from yours is with an uninspired, half-assed insult than you've got more to worry about than the state of the radio.Personally, I agree with fruiteepants. There's more than one scene out there - if the only music you can find on the radio is the stuff you were complaining about in your article, then you're listening to the wrong stations.
Also, you say the best bands are often stumbled across accidentally. Personally, with streaming content sites live live365.com around now I think it's easier than ever to stumble across good new music. What better way to find new stuff you like than by browsing through and listening to thousands of personal music collections put togehter by people with tastes as varied as your own? Sure, streaming content isn't the "main scene" today, and it's got a ways to go before it really threatens radio, but I think it's a great alternative if you really can't find anything you like on the radio at all.
So that's just my two cents. Spend a little more time looking than it requires to check the 5 "popular" radio stations, and I think you'll be pleased with what you find.
crazydiamond spoke on Jun 04, 2001 at 02:40 PM
Yeah I understand. My comment was a little childish. But you know how it is with people named fruiteepants. Where do you guys live? Because there aren't many good stations here in Tallahassee. Except for a college station, most of them are mucho mainstream. Net streaming is good. But not everyone has access to the net. Hard to believe, but true.
AquaVelvet spoke on Jun 04, 2001 at 07:22 PM
OK, everybody take a deep breath. Crazy-D is just lamenting the dearth of meaning in so much that passes for pop out there and the fact that most big radio stations don't carry the kind of music she likes. Some people (like the folks in Cleveland OH) have a worse radio selection than I do here in Columbus. Which is ironic, given that the Hall of Fame is in Clevelend. Classic rock in that city is essentially any song by Bob Seger that incluses the words "Old Time Rock & Roll" in the title. And yeah, streaming content channels like Spinner and Live365 (home of RickySilk's radio station) are a fantastic source for new music. But not everyone has the bandwidth or the patience to sit in front of their 'puter hunting down songs they'll like. Everyone here agrees that if you want to guarantee great music fillin your ears all day, Top 40 radio isn't the only place you should be listening. So go out and explore every outlet you can. Alright, enough cheese. I'm outs.
dr-funk spoke on Jun 19, 2001 at 12:59 AM
Yes yes yes. We all hate pop music. We all hate what the record business has done to our precious music but you really are barking up the wrong tree. You can't complain about the "what"s without examining the "why"'s. 1. Why is it that we have this glut of "pop" music out there?
The easy answer is that the record company is forcing us to listen to it. Okay, maybe that's true but does anyone remember the New Kids On The Block. Yes, I'm sure you hated them as much as me back in the 80's but why did they disappear in the early nineties? Did the record company just suddenly decide that the didn't want to shove them down our throats any more? No, it's because they stopped selling records. Their audience grew up and decided that the Boy's were played out, wack, and wanted something else. Now I'd like you to remember a few bands from the early nineties. Nirvana. Pearl Jam. Red Hot Chili Peppers. Jane's Addiction. Mudhoney. Screaming Trees. Smashing Pumpkins. Weezer. Those were the top selling bands of the day. They sold records like chickens lay eggs. Would you say that those bands were shoved down your throat? I wouldn't they were, and still are, some of my favorite bands. That was the music that was dominating the radio in those days. Now can anyone claim to have discovered Pearl Jam? If you did I'd like to see the ticket stub because you are a truly unique person my friend. I'm not saying that these bands are frauds or engineered like today's N'Sync or Backstreet Boys, but they got very popular very quickly because of media hype. And by definition, anybody who sells millions of records, like those nineties bands, are popular bands (hence Pop music). So the reason we have all this pop music is because people are buying the records in droves.
2. So why are people listening to pop music?
Well if you remember way back to in the late eighties North America and the rest of the world wasn't doing so well economically. There was a "recession" which was really a depression. People were not doing well, unemployment was high and there was a general dissatisfaction with the status quo because the middle class was slipping behind. Don't forget that the middle class is where the bulk of our most talented artists come from. So how does this relate to music. Well it's two fold. On one hand when you're on a down turn you don't want to hear happy-go-lucky pop songs about silliness. The second part is that artist that are suffering along with us will likely reflect our dissatisfaction with the world around us. So it always takes a couple of years to catch up but finally in ‘91 there comes the tidal wave.... "With the lights out, it's less dangerous!"
Now in the years since 1997 (I'd argue that it's been since 1995) we've had some of the best economical times in modern history. Technology is taking off and we've all been prospering like never before. Who want's to hear depressing songs about disillusionment and sorrow. Okay some of us do but the rest of those pups who're too young to remember the early nineties don't and they just want to ride the teenage spending hog and buy anything shiny or poppy, because it's happy and so are they.
So it's not the record companies fault, entirely. They'd be bad business people if they didn't sell what the public wants. It's those younger brothers and sisters and cousins who're fucking the whole thing up. But don't fret. We're heading into "an economic down turn" (a.k.a.: another depression) so we'll be seeing some heart felt and important music again soon.
So what can we do in the mean time? Next time you see a kid in the store with a Britney Spears CD in her hand poke her on the shoulder, slip her a Radiohead CD and blow her mind. Maybe it'll start something in a "grass roots" sort of way.
Rock On Kids!
RickySilk spoke on Mar 04, 2002 at 05:45 PM
Look how long dr. funks post is. He must feel very passionate about the subject. To bad he doesn't come around anymore. DR FUNK COME BACK!
Anonymous Coward spoke on Jul 02, 2002 at 06:07 AM
Put your money where you mouth is and head over to mp3.com cuz all the shit you mention is part of the same NYC LA moneymaking shit. But music sounds shitty on mp3.com doesn't it? Why you ask? Because we've been trained not to take real independent music seriously, myself included. I'll bet there's the same ratio of shit to shine on mp3.com or iuma as there is in the signed world - just that the shit part indiewise is underproduced whereas the shitpart on radio is too shiny. But we're all mindfucked not to listen to indie music the same way. If a band doesn't have thousands of fans our minds can't take it seriously.
python0868 spoke on Feb 01, 2005 at 08:13 AM
Could you tell me what the name of the band and song is that "I got a head full of serpents and a mouth full of spiders"
came from? Iknow a band that does that song but its hard to get ahold of them and I'm trying to get all the videos I made of them named.
Thanks
I don't put a whole lot of effort into finding the music gems, but I know exactly where you're coming from. People listen far too much to what other people say is the next best thing and they just accept it as being so without even really LISTENING to the music. I hate it when my friends tell me how a band is really cool before i listen to it because then my thoughts become somewhat influenced by their opinions, whereas if i hear it first, it's easier to analyze. Usually what they like is nothing like what i like. Some of this shit out there right now...oh my gosh...it's like the song writers put in a good 5 minutes worth of thought into the lyrics and then threw in a mix up of some else's music to go with it. All rap is is someone talking really fast about sex drugs hookers money and jewelry with some other person in the background making some really scary noises with his mouth. I gave up oral sound effects when i was in elementary school...oh that's right...most of them never even graduated elementary school...As far as punk goes...I like the classic stuff, and like mxpx and stuff, but the modern version of "punk" seems to be sounding more and more like what my mom listens to on the local "soccer mom" station. Some punks.