Pissed off at the musical world?

[bennettr]

Does anyone else share my frustration that good bands seem to be non existant these days, when back in the 70s and 80s musical revolutions were popping out left and right? even the 90's were good still good. (obviously DMB) anyways, it just pisses me off that my dad can tell stories about when he was in college how he's talked to bob marley, seen the who (legendary concert where keith moon passed out and an audience member stood in), seen van morrison, rolling stones.. and now I'm in college and I don't know of one good band that plays near here. ... so ":twenty4" pretty much sums it up. :lol

[TaT3rs]

well, i agree to with you to a point. If your emo now is the best time of your life because there is a new band every day. Underground bands are cool and totally undiscovered, i love finding a good band that no one knows about.

[evolvefurther41]

I think there are plenty of great bands out there, the problem is more in the abundance of music. Music itself has moved from a special event in one's life to background "life's seldom heard soundtrack" music.

The days are long gone when people buy their albums to take home and listen to on a hi fi stereo while sipping a glass of wine. Now its rush home and rip it to your ipod so you can listen to it while working out or driving to work or any other time you can't afford to give it your undivided attention.

In the battle of quality vs. quantity, quantity is winning.

Don't give up though. This can't last forever. What's great is that now that everyone is trying to be the loudest cd in the carousel (or mp3 in the ipod) the things that actually do stand out now are the songs that breathe a little and show some qualities of dynamics.

And that, my friend, is my two cents. Or maybe its a quarter's worth.

[bennettr]

I feel like no one sees live music these days. I have a strong desire in playing, listening and seeing music and I am about the only person I know of my friends who searches for good bands to see live (and you have to search a good deal.) And its sorta an oxymoron that the emo kids are happy about something. Even with youtube and "free" music at the click of a button, music has lost something, and I don't think there is a lot of effort to bring it back. ... and it is neat to find out about a band that no one knows about, but I don't know a lot of those.

[bennettr]

I think there are plenty of great bands out there, the problem is more in the abundance of music. Music itself has moved from a special event in one's life to background "life's seldom heard soundtrack" music.

The days are long gone when people buy their albums to take home and listen to on a hi fi stereo while sipping a glass of wine. Now its rush home and rip it to your ipod so you can listen to it while working out or driving to work or any other time you can't afford to give it your undivided attention.

In the battle of quality vs. quantity, quantity is winning.

Don't give up though. This can't last forever. What's great is that now that everyone is trying to be the loudest cd in the carousel (or mp3 in the ipod) the things that actually do stand out now are the songs that breathe a little and show some qualities of dynamics.

And that, my friend, is my two cents. Or maybe its a quarter's worth.

thats what I'm talking about! plus I think that with music so easily accessible without having to pay for it, people don't have an understanding of the monitary value of music. and thus they loose any value in it all together.

[TaT3rs]

sometimes i think these kids just listen to the music like death metal just because they can bang there head to it and that all of there little friends are doing it too.

[bennettr]

I think looper petals and more one man bands are the future for now

[evolvefurther41]

thats what I'm talking about! plus I think that with music so easily accessible without having to pay for it, people don't have an understanding of the monitary value of music. and thus they loose any value in it all together.

Its a good point. People are willing to spend 25 dollars now on Blu Ray DVDs for hd video content, but shit a brick when cds cost 15. I don't fully understand. PLUS, its becoming easier and easier to be a "recording artist" and the easier it is, the more unqualified people assume that role. That's where this abundance is coming from.

[bennettr]

preach

[born 1991]

The problem is that everyone's afraid to come up with something new nowadays. There's not a law that says you need to have a specific genre. We need some more trailblazers.

[VanHorneDog]

im trailblazing! seriously... im trailblazing the whiney indy acoustic folk thing! its awsome.


(well kinda)

[Robby~C]

Shinedown
Seether
Foo Fighters
Disturbed
30 Seconds to Mars
3 days grace
Sick Puppies
Strata
Chevelle
Jet
Widespread Panic
Chris Cornell
Breakin Benjamin
Finger 11
Buckcherry
Deftones
Reel Big Fish
My Chem. Romance

. . . . all these bands are touring this summer, if not already. I have no problem finding great bands to see. you might just need to expand your horizon a little.

turn on your local rock radio station and listen, there is a lot of good things going on right now.

and before anyone goes off about how these bands don't compare to classic stuff, I'm not trying to compare.

I have seen all these bands at least once and can honestly say I have never seen a show in which I left disappointed.

[Gladstone]

I think there are plenty of great bands out there, the problem is more in the abundance of music. Music itself has moved from a special event in one's life to background "life's seldom heard soundtrack" music.

The days are long gone when people buy their albums to take home and listen to on a hi fi stereo while sipping a glass of wine. Now its rush home and rip it to your ipod so you can listen to it while working out or driving to work or any other time you can't afford to give it your undivided attention.

In the battle of quality vs. quantity, quantity is winning.

Don't give up though. This can't last forever. What's great is that now that everyone is trying to be the loudest cd in the carousel (or mp3 in the ipod) the things that actually do stand out now are the songs that breathe a little and show some qualities of dynamics.

And that, my friend, is my two cents. Or maybe its a quarter's worth.

Absolutely. I'm still that hi fi guy that sits back, sips a cup of tea and enjoys the music. Obviously, there's still good music being made, just very little. Last good stuff I can remember I bought was Maria Rita's newest album and Tal Wilkenfeld's debut. Brazil has a lot going on right now I believe, and they've never let me down in the past.

Still pales in comparison to the 90's, 80's, 70's etc.

[bennettr]

Shinedown
Seether
Foo Fighters
Disturbed
30 Seconds to Mars
3 days grace
Sick Puppies
Strata
Chevelle
Jet
Widespread Panic
Chris Cornell
Breakin Benjamin
Finger 11
Buckcherry
Deftones
Reel Big Fish
My Chem. Romance

. . . . all these bands are touring this summer, if not already. I have no problem finding great bands to see. you might just need to expand your horizon a little.

turn on your local rock radio station and listen, there is a lot of good things going on right now.

and before anyone goes off about how these bands don't compare to classic stuff, I'm not trying to compare.

I have seen all these bands at least once and can honestly say I have never seen a show in which I left disappointed.

Seems like we have a very different musical interests. I personally have zero interest and very little respect for that matter in MCR (not trying to bash you or anything. I'm glad you can be content with music these days.) I personally find that it seems inefficient to try to find good modern music when there is a plethora of great music that already exists. I suppose it just makes it that much better when you finds good bands. Kings of Leon, Ben Folds (solo career), Xavier Rudd, Umphrey's Mcgee are some of my personal favorites.

[Robby~C]

I dont think too many people gave MCR's newest album a listen. yeah its title track is your typical emo-radio hit, but that album is one monster of an album. There lead guitarist must have taken lessons or something in between albums because his solos are 100x better then previous material.

[AFurth]

:thumbsup

i can't believe i'm saying this but... wait for it...

read my blog. (ouch, that actually hurt to say).

i'm totally anti-blog, but our manager said I should start writing one. so i've just been writing about how the music industry sucks haha.

http://www.theprojectboston.com/blog

so i totally agree with the sentiment. i think there's shit out there and its because people have gotten too used to labels and radio spoon feeding them good music. the labels realized, as long as they were holding the spoon and people were hungry, they could just charge them for shitty music and shove it down their throats.

[Dobler]

i can't stand a ton of the music out there right now. I am getting married this summer and my mom got like 5 mixed cd's from her friends son's wedding (or something like that). I think there was like 2 good tunes out of the 100 tunes. She was telling me how amazing the tunes were and how everyone was up dancing.... ya cause i love rhianna, gwen stefani, fergie, nickelback etc.... i cant even remember the last time i even bought a cd... maybe when the foo's last cd came out, and before that tool.

[evolvefurther41]

I think any one of us could list ten bands or artists right now that we have on our ipods and we tell our friends about. Here's mine:

Brett Dennen
Missy Higgins
John Mayer
Amos Lee
Mason Jennings
Gomez
Yael Naim
OK Go
FourWayFree
Marte

I don't think that was the point. Or maybe that is the point. You could agree or disagree with my list, but either way you could think of ten more or ten alternatives to each. There's just a huge abundance. That should be a very cool thing for us music listeners. Is it? I don't know. I think its come with a sacrifice. That's been my point anyway.

[41 Step]

One of the reasons that I write my own music is because most of the stuff out there is so lackluster.

[trlev]

i'm enjoying the shit out of music right now. Last year, in particular, was one of the finest year's for music output. i can never complain about the status of music because no matter what.. there is always a musical act out there that you will find something in or connect with in some way.. its just a matter of looking/finding them.
i'm actually kind of confused by your post. what are you pissed about, exactly? lack of "revolutionary" bands/shows/genres? no good talent in your area? or music is too accessible these days, therefor, no appreciation for "good" music? cause, honestly, none of these gripes hold much water.

[bennettr]

i'm enjoying the shit out of music right now. Last year, in particular, was one of the finest year's for music output. i can never complain about the status of music because no matter what.. there is always a musical act out there that you will find something in or connect with in some way.. its just a matter of looking/finding them.
i'm actually kind of confused by your post. what are you pissed about, exactly? lack of "revolutionary" bands/shows/genres? no good talent in your area? or music is too accessible these days, therefor, no appreciation for "good" music? cause, honestly, none of these gripes hold much water.

Yes I am saying all three. I don't know why you said that they don't hold water, because it seems so obvious that music is not what it used to be. In terms of live music, I have talked to people who used to go to Virginia Tech and what they discribe is absolutly nothing like it is now. I think a huge factor of it is that they raised the drinking age. People used to go to shows all through college because they could drink there and listen to live music.

Please explain how last year was the best year for music...

[trlev]

well, i said "one of" but yeah..

in rainbows ~ radiohead
liars ~ liars
good bad not ugly ~ black lips
awitc ~ bloc party
person pitch ~ panda bear
elegies to lesson's learnt ~ iLiKETRAiNS
untrue ~ burial
boxer ~ the national
love is simple ~ akron/family
beyond ~ dinosaur jr.
the reminder ~ feist
ga ga ga ga ga ~ spoon
the shepard's dog ~ iron & wine
strawberry jam ~ animal collective
the flying club cup ~ beirut
neon bible ~ arcade fire
i'll sleep when you're dead ~ el-p

..and modest mouse, bright eyes, bjork, the shins, of montreal, wilco, andrew bird, LCD soundsystem ALL released albums last year. Thats a pretty decent year, imo anyway.

and what do you mean they raised the drinking age?

[amoore624426]

Good bands exist but they aren't top 40 radio so no one really gets to hear them. Thank god for internet downloading. Saved music for me.

[bennettr]

well, i said "one of" but yeah..

in rainbows ~ radiohead
liars ~ liars
good bad not ugly ~ black lips
awitc ~ bloc party
person pitch ~ panda bear
elegies to lesson's learnt ~ iLiKETRAiNS
untrue ~ burial
boxer ~ the national
love is simple ~ akron/family
beyond ~ dinosaur jr.
the reminder ~ feist
ga ga ga ga ga ~ spoon
the shepard's dog ~ iron & wine
strawberry jam ~ animal collective
the flying club cup ~ beirut
neon bible ~ arcade fire
i'll sleep when you're dead ~ el-p

..and modest mouse, bright eyes, bjork, the shins, of montreal, wilco, andrew bird, LCD soundsystem ALL released albums last year. Thats a pretty decent year, imo anyway.

and what do you mean they raised the drinking age?


drinking age used to be 18

[trlev]

well


then i guess i would be pissed too, but not at the "musical world".

buy a flask? or maybe go to a show without drinking? dun dun dun.

[Munford]

Rock is going down hill

[bennettr]

well


then i guess i would be pissed too, but not at the "musical world".

buy a flask? or maybe go to a show without drinking? dun dun dun.

lol, thats not the point at all.

The fact is college people used to care more about live music because they would actually want to go to shows. I can go do shows now that I am 21 and sure there are a good amount of shows that are 18 and up but when it comes to a Friday night, drinking is usually everyone’s number one priority. When as long as you were 18 you could drink, people would go to bars and do it, and as they were there they could listen to live music and there would be a lot of people there to appreciate experience live music. Which subsequently, caused a greater interest in music. With the greater interest, more people are willing to write and more talent comes about. So since the age was raised, it killed live music. I was talking to a guy who has been playing with a band called the kind for like 20 years and he said that he used to be able to get like 1500 dollars on a night, and now he is lucky to get around 400.




I suppose I am upset that there is a lack of musical interest in todays society. Which causes less good music to be created.

[Dave45]

You know, I was just talking about this with a guy at work last week. It's not that no great music is being made, someone suggested a list of pretty modern acts that are currently doing great stuff. I just saw a Breaking Benjamin / Seether / Three Days Grace show and was pretty blown away, and I'm not even that crazy about that kind of music. And you have other acts like Umphrey's, moe., and OAR, who are putting out good new music, certainly worth the price of admission when they roll through town. So that's all well and good, I don't think there's any dearth of good, new, fresh music from talented people... You just have to be willing to find it, and dig a little deeper past the American Idol glossed over top-40 radio.

The bigger issue we were talking about is this: like, in the 60's you had the invention of pop, 70's rock & disco, 80's dance and metal, and 90's alternative and rap... And, I mean, you can rattle off a "game-changing" band for probably every one of those 40 years from 1960-2000... in no particular order - The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, CCR, Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, Phish, Bob Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Van Halen, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, 2pac, Run DMC, maybe even Snoop, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Guns n' Roses, Dave Matthews Band, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Metallica, etc etc you know we could continue...

The question I have is what band, that came around in 2000-2008, would you feel comfortable including in a list like that? Or, what band has really CHANGED music since 2000? Sure, it might be tough to see when we're still in the decade, but to me even back in 1994 when I was a kid, and I bought Vitalogy, it was pretty clear to me that we would always be talking about Pearl Jam. I mean, sure, Breaking Benjamin and moe. are some good bands, but are we really going to be talking about them in 30 years? After a good 20 minute freakout with the guy sitting across from me at work, we came up with Coldplay and Eminem for 2000-2008, and those might even be a stretch. Wierd. Any other suggestions, or thoughts? I mean, come on, there have GOT to be more, or this is really starting to look depressing.

[bennettr]

You know, I was just talking about this with a guy at work last week. It's not that no great music is being made, someone suggested a list of pretty modern acts that are currently doing great stuff. I just saw a Breaking Benjamin / Seether / Three Days Grace show and was pretty blown away, and I'm not even that crazy about that kind of music. And you have other acts like Umphrey's, moe., and OAR, who are putting out good new music, certainly worth the price of admission when they roll through town. So that's all well and good, I don't think there's any dearth of good, new, fresh music from talented people... You just have to be willing to find it, and dig a little deeper past the American Idol glossed over top-40 radio.

The bigger issue we were talking about is this: like, in the 60's you had the invention of pop, 70's rock & disco, 80's dance and metal, and 90's alternative and rap... And, I mean, you can rattle off a "game-changing" band for probably every one of those 40 years from 1960-2000... in no particular order - The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, CCR, Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, Phish, Bob Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Van Halen, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, 2pac, Run DMC, maybe even Snoop, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Guns n' Roses, Dave Matthews Band, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Metallica, etc etc you know we could continue...

The question I have is what band, that came around in 2000-2008, would you feel comfortable including in a list like that? Or, what band has really CHANGED music since 2000? Sure, it might be tough to see when we're still in the decade, but to me even back in 1994 when I was a kid, and I bought Vitalogy, it was pretty clear to me that we would always be talking about Pearl Jam. I mean, sure, Breaking Benjamin and moe. are some good bands, but are we really going to be talking about them in 30 years? After a good 20 minute freakout with the guy sitting across from me at work, we came up with Coldplay and Eminem for 2000-2008, and those might even be a stretch. Wierd. Any other suggestions, or thoughts? I mean, come on, there have GOT to be more, or this is really starting to look depressing.

excellent point.

I think recently something that is changing music is talkboxing. Listen to like half the songs on the radio and you should hear it. Snoop has that new song where he is essentially singing notes that are he never has came half the distance to being able to hit. Kanye's "faster, stronger" thing uses that like nuts, although that is a sample (I don't know the date on when that song came about.)

Youtube is now here.. but I don't think its really changing anything, musically speaking.

It really seems like there isn't any band that is revolutionizing music.

Its like that commercial for the job site that only has people trying to make 100K a year or above. It's main point is that when you everyone can stand out just, you lose sight of the ones that are truely better than everyone else. So if anyone can put their song on myspace or youtube then maybe its causing a lack of really good bands to grow. My friend has his band's music on itunes. If you knew his band, you would understand how rediculous it is. Just a thought.

or you could argue that the radio is killing us. A lot of the more famous rap songs these days have samples of old music. so that in itself is only recycling music. American Idol is continuingly molding the exact same thing, year after year. All country music sounds the same to me.

I seems like the music we hear everyday is not that complex or new or anything, and I'm sure people think that they can do it themselves and then get famous and make money. My friends band is just that, he hears an punk song and says, gosh i can do that. because anyone can do it. People are doing music for the wrong reasons. Play guitar, get a girl. Go on american idol, get famous. Record yourself on youtube, get a billion hits. Being here at virginia tech, I was appalled by how many bands tried to make a song about 4/16, "oh man, if i write a song about a tragedy real quick, I bet people will listen to it!" If you are wondering why the "we will prevail" speech is so popular, its because it moved people, it changed people. There was a problem of everyone feeling alone, and weak. It fixed it by uniting everyone with a phrase. It wasn't about "making it" or being famous, it was just something that was real.

Everything is becomming less and less personal because of the internet and cell phones. if some band can find a way to make music more real or personal or something, then they will be revolutionary.

[evolvefurther41]

excellent point.

I think recently something that is changing music is talkboxing. Listen to like half the songs on the radio and you should hear it. Snoop has that new song where he is essentially singing notes that are he never has came half the distance to being able to hit. Kanye's "faster, stronger" thing uses that like nuts, although that is a sample (I don't know the date on when that song came about.)

Youtube is now here.. but I don't think its really changing anything, musically speaking.

It really seems like there isn't any band that is revolutionizing music.

Its like that commercial for the job site that only has people trying to make 100K a year or above. It's main point is that when you everyone can stand out just, you lose sight of the ones that are truely better than everyone else. So if anyone can put their song on myspace or youtube then maybe its causing a lack of really good bands to grow. My friend has his band's music on itunes. If you knew his band, you would understand how rediculous it is. Just a thought.

or you could argue that the radio is killing us. A lot of the more famous rap songs these days have samples of old music. so that in itself is only recycling music. American Idol is continuingly molding the exact same thing, year after year. All country music sounds the same to me.

I seems like the music we hear everyday is not that complex or new or anything, and I'm sure people think that they can do it themselves and then get famous and make money. My friends band is just that, he hears an punk song and says, gosh i can do that. because anyone can do it. People are doing music for the wrong reasons. Play guitar, get a girl. Go on american idol, get famous. Record yourself on youtube, get a billion hits. Being here at virginia tech, I was appalled by how many bands tried to make a song about 4/16, "oh man, if i write a song about a tragedy real quick, I bet people will listen to it!" If you are wondering why the "we will prevail" speech is so popular, its because it moved people, it changed people. There was a problem of everyone feeling alone, and weak. It fixed it by uniting everyone with a phrase. It wasn't about "making it" or being famous, it was just something that was real.

Everything is becomming less and less personal because of the internet and cell phones. if some band can find a way to make music more real or personal or something, then they will be revolutionary.


I hate to start my reply like this, but I'm very glad I read what you wrote before I visited your music myspace page.

I love that this thread has turned out to be as popular as it has. This musicians forum rarely gets the attention it deserves, and this is such a great, relevant topic to things that are happening right now.

I totally agree that there are no bands from this last decade, at least in my mind, that can join the list of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Clapton, etc. Coldplay was a good choice, but I think we can only thank them for bringing piano back to rock and that driving drum beat in just about every chorus in songs nowadays (even dave uses it now in "The Idea of You."

I think people would be foolish to say that no good music has come out lately, as I agree that I have been overly delighted by so many artists breaking out lately. The first time I put in Ray Lamontagne's "Trouble," I thought it was the freshest sounding music I'd heard in a long time. Great stuff exists, and I don't think anyone is refuting that.

I guess it could be argued that everyone who puts their music exclusively on MySpace/Facebook/YouTube are changing the way we hear music, the same way the Beatles did, and Dylan, and Tom Dowd, but maybe that's the debate. Is that a change for the better or worse?

[bennettr]

I hate to start my reply like this, but I'm very glad I read what you wrote before I visited your music myspace page.

I love that this thread has turned out to be as popular as it has. This musicians forum rarely gets the attention it deserves, and this is such a great, relevant topic to things that are happening right now.

I totally agree that there are no bands from this last decade, at least in my mind, that can join the list of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Clapton, etc. Coldplay was a good choice, but I think we can only thank them for bringing piano back to rock and that driving drum beat in just about every chorus in songs nowadays (even dave uses it now in "The Idea of You."

I think people would be foolish to say that no good music has come out lately, as I agree that I have been overly delighted by so many artists breaking out lately. The first time I put in Ray Lamontagne's "Trouble," I thought it was the freshest sounding music I'd heard in a long time. Great stuff exists, and I don't think anyone is refuting that.

I guess it could be argued that everyone who puts their music exclusively on MySpace/Facebook/YouTube are changing the way we hear music, the same way the Beatles did, and Dylan, and Tom Dowd, but maybe that's the debate. Is that a change for the better or worse?

Yea, I don't mean to be contradicting myself by having a myspace page, thus causing more clutter to the musical world. I just try to use it so that I have an easy way to get feed back from my brother or whoever really. I am obviously not trying to make it big or something.
Another tricky thing about being a musician these days is that I feel like it has conflicted how I have approached the art. At first I thought I wanted to be able to impress girls (which actually worked well later down the road). Then I thought I could try to make it with a band, become popular or win respect or whatnot. And I think a lot of that is caused from the way our society is built up. I couldn’t see the value in simply playing music and self expression. I still struggle with that from time to time.

Ray Lamontagne is great though.

[Dave45]

Yea, I don't mean to be contradicting myself by having a myspace page, thus causing more clutter to the musical world. I just try to use it so that I have an easy way to get feed back from my brother or whoever really. I am obviously not trying to make it big or something.
Another tricky thing about being a musician these days is that I feel like it has conflicted how I have approached the art. At first I thought I wanted to be able to impress girls (which actually worked well later down the road). Then I thought I could try to make it with a band, become popular or win respect or whatnot. And I think a lot of that is caused from the way our society is built up. I couldn’t see the value in simply playing music and self expression. I still struggle with that from time to time.

Ray Lamontagne is great though.


Well man, personally I think a lot of those changes are great. I have a website, and a MySpace, and I just uploaded my EP to iTunes (it's not actually UP there yet), for a few reasons. First, there were a lot of people that ASKED about it - as these are becoming "normal" distribution channels for music. And it's a lot easier and cheaper for me than printing off CD's and trying to sell them at shows. Secondly I put a hell of a lot of money into trying to perform and record music (a lot more than I make doing it), and if someone wants to slip me 5 bucks for a few songs to say they like my stuff, I appreciate that. I also still have all of my stuff up for free download too.

I have a day job, and I'm not trying to "make it big", although I think every artist has the hope that somehow the things they create can inspire a bunch of people. I would love to do it for a living, but I love doing it as a hobby as well. It really gives us, as ameteur musicians, a way to connect with fans. To me, my goal is to write a song, and when I'm happy with it, share it with whoever wants to listen. Before the internet, we could never accomplish that. It's also great for promoting shows...

The negative is what you said - EVERYONE can put up a youtube video or release a song. Someone hit on pitch correction - that is crazy man, I still have a hard time dealing with the fact that a vocalist need not be able to even "sing" anymore. But it really is no different from some of the awful bands that got major label backing throughout the years - or the kid in school who thought he could sing and made everyone cringe :) - it's our responsibility to ourselves to listen to good shit and take the bad shit for what it is. I know I recorded and let some friends listen to some songs that make me almost puke now. But if it wasn't for encouragement and a shit ton of criticism I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now... so I don't know, I can't pass judgement.

I just hope we're not running down like a path where we get so damn overwhelmed by the crap that no one is inspired to do anything worthwhile anymore. At least there are some people & bands resisting the flow of it for now. haha.

[pkpro1]

get sirius. you'll find a lot of good music :)

[Crazy#41]

This is simply just not true.
There are TONS of good bands now-a-days... more and better than ever!

I can debate this for hours, but I'll sum it up:

TURN OFF YOUR MTV and look elsewhere.

[VanHorneDog]

This is simply just not true.
There are TONS of good bands now-a-days... more and better than ever!

I can debate this for hours, but I'll sum it up:

TURN OFF YOUR MTV and look elsewhere.

they get TV in Canada?

[bennettr]

Well man, personally I think a lot of those changes are great. I have a website, and a MySpace, and I just uploaded my EP to iTunes (it's not actually UP there yet), for a few reasons. First, there were a lot of people that ASKED about it - as these are becoming "normal" distribution channels for music. And it's a lot easier and cheaper for me than printing off CD's and trying to sell them at shows. Secondly I put a hell of a lot of money into trying to perform and record music (a lot more than I make doing it), and if someone wants to slip me 5 bucks for a few songs to say they like my stuff, I appreciate that. I also still have all of my stuff up for free download too.

I have a day job, and I'm not trying to "make it big", although I think every artist has the hope that somehow the things they create can inspire a bunch of people. I would love to do it for a living, but I love doing it as a hobby as well. It really gives us, as ameteur musicians, a way to connect with fans. To me, my goal is to write a song, and when I'm happy with it, share it with whoever wants to listen. Before the internet, we could never accomplish that. It's also great for promoting shows...

The negative is what you said - EVERYONE can put up a youtube video or release a song. Someone hit on pitch correction - that is crazy man, I still have a hard time dealing with the fact that a vocalist need not be able to even "sing" anymore. But it really is no different from some of the awful bands that got major label backing throughout the years - or the kid in school who thought he could sing and made everyone cringe :) - it's our responsibility to ourselves to listen to good shit and take the bad shit for what it is. I know I recorded and let some friends listen to some songs that make me almost puke now. But if it wasn't for encouragement and a shit ton of criticism I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now... so I don't know, I can't pass judgement.

I just hope we're not running down like a path where we get so damn overwhelmed by the crap that no one is inspired to do anything worthwhile anymore. At least there are some people & bands resisting the flow of it for now. haha.

This is simply just not true.
There are TONS of good bands now-a-days... more and better than ever!

I can debate this for hours, but I'll sum it up:

TURN OFF YOUR MTV and look elsewhere.

haha, alright valid points. I like your personal story. It seems very similar to mine.

These are my general thoughts..

1. Music is very easily accessible via internet. (good)
2. There is less general appreciation for live music these days. (bad)

I think that number 1 mostly causes number 2.

[VanHorneDog]

i think #1 will prove to be the rebirth of #2 in the coming years

especially when bands realize thats how you make money not with signing a CD contract and being a label's bitch.

you can put out your own stuff, but the money is in the touring. then the internet will a great place to check on local music.

sadly i cant find a good site that lists live music in my area that works well enough. but as soon as one does, i will def hit more live music.

[Crazy#41]

they get TV in Canada?

Yepp..

Weak attempt at trying to be funny.

We have MTV, MTV2 and MTVCanada... haha
But also, we have all Canadian channels, about 950+ American channels and lots of European channels all on our Digital TV box.

[VanHorneDog]

Yepp..

Weak attempt at trying to be funny.

We have MTV, MTV2 and MTVCanada... haha
But also, we have all Canadian channels, about 950+ American channels and lots of European channels all on our Digital TV box.

i know, but you get so much shit in the PoliSci forum about it i thought it might make you laugh at the sillyness.

id like to note that i support Canada, just like the rest of the US, without us gravity would make you fall down to Mexico.

[bennettr]

i think #1 will prove to be the rebirth of #2 in the coming years

especially when bands realize thats how you make money not with signing a CD contract and being a label's bitch.

you can put out your own stuff, but the money is in the touring. then the internet will a great place to check on local music.

sadly i cant find a good site that lists live music in my area that works well enough. but as soon as one does, i will def hit more live music.

use jambase, facebook (by putting in bands that you like in iLike, it tells you if they come near you) and maybe also use demand or something like that.. i don't look at that very much