The effects of corporate music


I'm old enough to remember AOR and being able to listen to music that at the time I thought was just bizzare, and that was on the radio. There were so many stations around with a huge variety of music to hear, including things I had not heard before.

In the last thirty years music radio has changed so much, and for the worse that I no longer listen to music radio. I can't help but think that cumulus and others of their ilk have destroyed radio, but I also wonder how big their influence has been on the quality of music.

There used to be more of an edge to music, and I'm not talking about the trash made up of violence and sex that is todays rap music. People had more to say, and better ways of saying it when I was young. The musicians did not try to substitute shock for substance when making their records.

Are there still musicians around that are great artist, but we never get to know them because they don't fit the formula of corporate radio stations? Is there still a place for small stations that are unwilling to play the drivel that passes for pop music, or the oldies that comprised our youth, but are getting old even to those of us that love those songs???
128x128nrchy

Showing 4 responses by slappy

NRCHY, they are everywhere, the only problem is finding them.

Here are a few to check out.

Nick Cave and the Bad seeds
The Legendary Pink Dots

Never heared either of these on the radio, both excellent groups. Nick Cave has a somewhat twisted sence of humor though.
Nrchy

Was thinking about this thread and it reminded me of a KORN video i saw, it was a bunch of people trashing a record store and it kept displaying all these tidbits. It said that there are on average 100 songs released each day by record companys, however, only 4 songs get added per week to record station playlists.

There are really alot of real good bands out there that DO hit the billboard charts that do in fact have pretty provative and thoughtful lyrics. KORN, believe it or not, is definatly one of them.

Here is a short list of other "HARD ROCK" or top-40 bands that really do have deep meaningful lyrics. of course, sometimes you have to have the lyrics to understand what they say. But Musical taste/ability aside, these are all very insightful bands that sing/scream/yell of all sorts of controversial issues from a rather educated standpoint.

Rage Against the Machine (major advocate for human rights)

Metallica (anything from war, to prison, to hate, to love)

Tool (social issues, things they view as wrong in socioty)

A Perfect Circle (social issues, very similar to tool of course.)

Korn (lots of songs involving current social issues, anger, betrayal, learning about oneself and dealing with emotions and pain)

KMFDM (very political, lyrics about corruption, greed, power, government etc)

Marilyn Manson (check out an interview with this guy sometime, he will really suprise you, the guy is extremly bright/intelligent. yeah he is goofy, but in any interview ive ever seen him in where they try to make him look bad/weird he makes the interviewer look like a complete moron)

Linkin Park (insightful lyrics to the angst of growing up as a modern teen, hard for older people to relate, but lyrics are dead on with many troubled youths, and very well done)

Skinny Puppy (very political, abortion, vivecection, war, etc)

Rollins Band (lots of self awareness issues)

Limp Bizkit (various issues revolving around sex, growin up, and anger, betrayal)

Seems to be a pretty obvious theme here though. Most of the current bands producing intelligent/meaningful/insightful lyrics are usually Metal/hardrock. It is easy to dismiss these bands as unintelligable moronic guitar-rock bands, but scratch beneath the surface and you will see alot of meaningful insightful lyrics. Most of the real insightful songs are pretty filled with anger/angst, which is probably a result of musicians who feel changes are needed, or have standpoints on issues but feel powerless to do anything other than sing about it.

This is not a very long list, but it only took 2-3 minuits to come up with these bands. I challange anyone to say that there is nothing insightful to these bands and thier lyrics. In my view anyone who assumes that they are not insightful or intelligent is obviously close minded enough not to explore other genres of musical expression, and therefore missing out. Nobody has to like the music, but to dismiss something as unintelligent because thier taste does not cover that type of music, is showing who the unintelligent person really is.

But i aint saying all thier music is insightful, of course they do have songs just for fun, like any other band in the planet

Of course, this is only a small percentage of the crap that radio and MTV vomits out on yer plate and calls music.

i bet a few heavy bricks get thrown at me for this one.
I will probably get a ashtray as big as a big brick thrown at me for this, but here is the biggest reason people do not believe that quality rock music is made anymore.

Yer gettin old. ;)

The current rock music is made by younger people, and they sing and rock about what they know. Thier viewpoint is different from many "adults" because they did not grow up in the same social/economic situation as many "adults" (by adult im generally refferring to 40yrs and up)

It has nothing to do with low quality lyrics, it has nothing to do with lack of creativity, the crativity and lyrics are there (well, maybe not in brittney spears or N'sync, im talking about ROCK BANDS) it is the fact they they grew up in different times and cannot relate to your youth any more than you can relate to thier youth.

Remember when you were a kid listening to the Beeatles? And yer dad/grandpa is sittin there saying "This is all a bunch of trash, people dont know what good music is anymore"

Well WERE the beatles Trash? I dont like the beatles. I respect them, and i appreciate what they have done to the music scene, but i really dont care to listen to them. The main reason is i can not relate to them, i dont find anything truly inspiring in them either. Probably because i wasnt around untill 1977.

Just remember the adults when you were young saying "This aint music, it is nothing but garbage" And dont even try to say "It is different now" cause it aint. It is the same thing.

One day, even ol slappy will probably be sittin on on the porch, the hard years of life showing like a roadmap of wrinkles, proclaiming "Music today is trash! whatever happened to wholesome bands like Metallica and Korn?"

Just remember that music aint trash because you cannot relate to it. Keep an open mind. By Denouncing everything new yer just setting yerself up for complete conformity at the old folks home.

KEEP ROCK ALIVE!

but N'sync still sucks.
Heh.

Ya know, as much as i hate brittany spears music, every time her video Toxic is on, i have a hard time changing the channel. ;)

that girl is so freakin hot it's annoying. ;)