Is it just me or is a lot of today's music absolute garbage? I feel like as I have gotten older I have started to appreciate music from before my time a lot more. Maybe this is a natural thing, I do not know; but when I put on a contemporary radio station these days it usually goes off pretty quickly. Everything today is synthesized; this is most evident in hip hop. While my love is mostly for classic rock, I can still really appreciate good rap (I like to think so at least). Stuff like Notorious B.I.G., 2pac, Jay-Z, Wu-Tang Clan, Gangstarr and the old Eminem albums I could listen to any day of the week and be satisfied.
But today nothing of that quality comes out, especially in rap. Everything is generated by computers, including the voices. T-Pain and Akon sound like they are stuffed with helium - but somehow this stuff sells. And the topics that these guys rap about today are becoming more and more ridiculous - I heard a song called "hit me up on twitter" about a week ago. Gone are the days where a simple beat can be laid down and guys can just rhyme about stuff that actually matters. I should note that Lupe Fiasco is one exception to this - his lyrics, flow and content are all phenomenal.
Rock is a little bit different in that the things that are being sung about are all more or less the same as old times but for me the quality is not there. When I think about the experiences I have had at the 9 Springsteen shows I have seen I sit and realize that there is no one who is a relatively new band that could come anywhere close to what I get with the boss. CCR, Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones are all timeless acts - what bands of today's era are we going to be able to say that about 10 or 20 years from now? If anyone has something to prove me wrong here let me know because I'm always looking to expand my music library. Just make sure that whoever it is has nothing about twitter or myspace in their songs.
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At least hip hop and rap have lyrics that tell some sort of a story. Plus if you can understand the urban slang you are able to understand their point. I also like that type of music because I think its clever how they integrate the three points that are present in 99% of that type of music. My chick, my gun, and my weed. Next time you listen to hip hop listen for that. And Snoop doesn't count, he includes weed in his bet time prayers. Music right now is top heavy with one hit wonders, crappy musicians and generic lead vocalists. But the thing I hate is that there are not many song writers out there who can tell a story. That's why Bruce and Led Zeppelin and the Stones are still selling 20 year old records every day. And when you get turned on by a Robert Earl Keen or the "dark" version of Robert Earl, Chris Knight, you hear a couple of the great unknowns (unless you're from Texas ... REK's their Bruce). Allot of the great musicians have one thing in common, they went to places like Julliard or they studied many different types of music like classical, blues, and music from other cultures. Everyone wants to be a rock star, very few learn how to do it. Its what separates the Stones from the Spin Doctors.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you do take the time to You Tube Chris take the time to google his lyrics ... kinda mumbles. Listen to his song "enough rope" and you'll see a true song writer.