Have the Eastern Washington University FM jazz station (89.9) on all of the time here. Great mix of new and old. NPR on AM will play good jazz as well. I'm an antique radio/record player collector. Doesn't get any better than a 40's tube radio kicking Buddy, Gene or a ballgame.
Creighton
Worth a watch:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPZztrRWjZ8"]Music Industry Crisis (1/13) "Before The Music Dies" - YouTube[/ame]
I'd argue that there's potentially more good stuff coming out now then ever; the thing you have to get your head around is that you're most likely not going to find any of it on commercial radio or tv. There are so many good bands out there, many of which are without major label support (often by choice these days). The internet, be it web pages or blogs and community/internet radio stations are probably your best bet. The fact that its so much more accessible to record an album these days means there's all these bands who previously wouldnt have been able to get a record out because they dont fit the mold of a particular label or they aren't evidently profitable but now they can record locally and release it themselves or via an independent label. Yes, there is also a lot more crap being recorded due to the nature of it but there's also plenty of good stuff to get excited about, you just might have to find it yourself.
It's still around. It's just not on the charts.
I did production for a great old Canadian band from the 80's, Honeymoon Suite, on Saturday nite.
They were great. Still sounded amazing and they're in their mid 50's.
They pulled a good crowd and the crowd really got into it, in spite of the rain(outdoor show).
Radio is all electronic/urban now. Only real "band" action rite now is in country.
Very thoughtful discussion. I have been (had been) a country music fan for decades. I think that in general today’s performers are talented artists, although there are certainly some “entertainers” who care more about the show than the content. To me what is missing most is great songs. It seems every country “song” has basically the same 3 or 4 note “melody”, the same tempo, the same shotgun meter to the lyrics. They all sound essentially the same…boring. I guess country music writers do a good job with the words, but seem to place little importance on a melody. Have all the workable combinations of notes been used up by the writers from W.C. Handy through Paul McCartney…are there no new melodies left??
Thanks for the comments on this subject.
Still I would like to see Artists become famous for there talent and what they have to offer the music world. Especially If it's new an exciting. Not for there image. Hopefully one day someone will through a wrench in the current main stream artist assembly line and go back to the way it was.
Also worth considering that it's getting harder and harder to do something as groundbreaking (or 'new') as it was back in the day. Compare the musical landscape from 1964 to now; we've from a having maybe a dozen genres to the COUNTLESS genres and sub-genres that are around now. Avant Garde Metal to Hasidic ***ish Hip-Hop to Flower Punk to LO-FI indie to Trip-Hop... The boundaries have been pushed pretty hard since the beginning of the British Invasion.
It has gone to crap in all genres, really. Rock seems to be turning to electronica; Rap has turned into just repeating the same exact phrase over and over again; Country music.. wow... where to start.. just an abomination! This all, in the mainstream sense.
I think the general public, who aren't necessarily gifted with musical talent, seem to follow just about anything the "music industry" feeds them. Same as how, in general, it seems that the public (especially young people) can't tell you a lick about what is going on in the world and/or USA today, but they can tell you everything about the Kardashians, American Idol, Honey Boo Boo, etc.. (insert reality show)
There are still plenty of really good acts out there though! It is almost sort of a re-birth in a way. One of the pluses of the internet is that we are able to access all kinds of good bands outside of what the music industry tries to feed us.
> i also would not want to be a fake and make money that way.
That's the copy-cat syndrome and it's been around since the early days of recording. Somebody makes a popular record and shortly after, a dozen other people have written and recorded songs that sound just like the original. That aspect of commercialism in music has always existed. However, it's a little harsh to label musicians who cash in on commercial trends in music as 'fakes' or 'phonies.'
Everybody has to eat and in the good old USA as long as it isn't illegal and you pay taxes, how you feed your family is your business. Some guys go the 'commercial' route, but you can't judge them for it, or label them as fake musicians because of how they chose to make a living from their talents. We can't all be in ELO, or Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. 'Some' of those copy-cat guys are really talented musicians! From the guys that play standards in wedding bands all the way up to guys that imitate, 'Yummy, Yummy, Yummy I've Got Love In My Tummy' in order to sell a few records to support themselves and their families aren't 'fakes' - they're just working musicians.
Don't judge them so hard. 'There but for the grace of God go you, or I.'
John
There's tons of talent out there. It's just not on pop radio much any more. There's lots of killing stuff om YT.
When I go to youtube to find old hits I liked, they're often by bands I'd never heard of. "One Hit Wonders", which is a derogatory term, but maybe was the result of some pretty good "filters" back in the day.
Here in T.O. there are a good many super-talented local bands doing original music, though admittedly some of it is pretty throwback to the 60s/70s.
It is possible that music as a form of expression is approaching a time when doing something new becomes more and more difficult...certainly men's fashion peaked in the 50s... This may be related to some truth about why we emerged into this reality in the first place, if there was a reason. I have a theory but this is not the place :)
Mitch
