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How could you describe these days pop music in one sentence?
I just listen to a playlist of my fav 70's soul sessions and I read the youtube comments, and what a surprise!
The reply I read for about 101st time is the EVERLASTING cliche that:
"every new generation doesn't understand the culture of the upcoming generation".
I say that it's bullshit!
I say these days pop music is in general the most sterile and boring ever!
It doesn't have heart, it doesn't have soul it doesn't have balls, in most cases it doesn't have ANYTHING to say, and in most cases it's not even fun!
Like a perfumed whore with plastic tits and plastic lips that CAN'T FUCK!
Here's the proof:
Let's talk say the pop culture after the world war II,
I'm spending regularly a lot of time researching about music ever since I was 10 years old, as it's something that always fascinated me, so I will dare to try to comment this.
Let's talk about the 50's:
- you had Rock n Roll coming up, what a revolt!
No more Sinatra BUT nasty moves, nasty lyrics and nastily simple riffs on the stage!
In jazz you had hard bop, cool jazz - incredible times with Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Coltrane, Miles all those greats - what a turbulent time!
the 60's:
- probably the most inspiring era ever, hippie, surfing style, white blues, hard rock, roots of punk rock, alternative rock, golden era of soul - Motown sound
Skinny kid called Iggy Pop is pumping real raw punk rock energy around Detroit with his band Stooges.
Skinny black kid called Jimi Hendrix amazes the world with his honest guitar AND songwriting excellence.
You have one of the best soul arrangers of all time Isaac Hayes stepping into the game.
Andy Warhol fucks everything that moves and starts one of the most respected alternative acts of all time - The Velvet Underground.
In jazz cool transforms into free jazz which is probably the least listenable jazz era ever (and was HEAVILY influenced by the drug consumption).
Then it's Miles who, drugged up beyond recognition fills his band with incredibly talented young musicians who will ALL become legends after they leave and makes the Bitches Brew double album - starting the whole jazz fusion genre!
What a turbulent time!
The 70's:
Hard rock bands are honing their skills and doing more booze and more coke than ever, resulting in many talented musicians dying and many more playing a constant Russian Roulette.
BUT you had the Birmingham band called Black Sabbath - definitely one of the most influential pop music formations of all time laying roots of something HEAVY.
Tommi Iommi is chopping one great riff after another, Bill Ward plays some of the most inventional drums, backed by the versatile bass abilities of a former guitarist Geezer Butler and terrible, but very intense voice and stage presentation of John Osbourne.
They're pissing on all the hippie antics singing about things that are usually very close to most of the people - bad luck, shit hitting the fan and death.
Then you have the whole punk stunt when Malcolm McLaren chooses three assholes and one talented guitarist to form Sex Pistols to sell out all of his punk clothing stores.
You have the new wave of British heavy metal emerging, bands like Budgie, Judas Priest who will later become 80s leather pants super stars etc.
You have Thin Lizzy and the incredibly talented renegade and hero for the masses Phil Lynnot playing every concert with two guitarists and 110 pct. heart.
You have glam rock - Bowie changing genders on the stage, Marc Bolan turning straight guys gay.
You have a lot of alternative things laying its roots - Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Iggy Pop almost dies and goes solo.
You have FUNK music with Brothers Johnson or Earth Wind and Fire hitting the ceiling with their super orthodox afro's.
What a turbulent time!
80's
The era of pure decadence, Uncle Reagan is printing more money than ever and everyone wants to have fun, resulting in the most decadent era up to date and some of the most bizzare visuals in the pop history.
Prince is making milliions while wearing female lingerie and starts what will become probably the biggest one man empire success in the music industry history.
Madonna is giving a serious boner to any straight male and makes many girls and women turn blonde.
Faggots with fake hair are raping the synthesizer, creating the new romance movement.
You have The Cure or U2 creating some of the most sophisticated acts with mass following.
You have the whole trash metal movement on the side, lots of great punk rock bands, interesting heavy metal bands art rock bands lot of things on the side gets still airing in the media.
Van Halen are kicking ass with Diamond Dave literally flying on the stage.
Guns n Roses show how a bunch of compete punks with serious overuse of drugs and booze can create one of the most interesting and dedicated music acts of all time.
The whole old school HIP HOP thing is emerging in the American suburbs.
Stray Cats play old school rockabilly and they make the charts!
A complete drunk and one of my all time fav songwriters Shane McGowan plays old school Irish musicand they make the charts!
What a turbulent time!
1991 - 1996:
Seattle bands who are closer to the 60's hard rock sound sound mixed with punk rock energy are killing the Big Hair.
You have very interesting acts like Bjork Gudmundsdottir hitting media, you have incredibly interesting trip hop scene with Massive Attack, Portishead or Tricky.
Soul and hip hop still make sense with acts like Gang Starr, Tribe Called Quest or Public enemy,
Hell you even have the Nu Metal shit that's getting profane fast but that definitely has some character.
Note that MOST of the artists in the top 40 still actually SING.
The first five years were very turbulent time!
THEN something happened after say 1996 ..there's a big empty
There are good bands but they're usually recyclates of already proven acts - an example are Foo Fighters who produce some of the most entertaining music videos ever while keeping the music real and fun.
1996 - 2000:
?
2001 - 2009:
?
We're in 2009, we can almost bilance now and yes, call me a DICK, because I don't watch MTV anymore so I don't know that many NEW acts I only know that those I've seen are almost exclusively:
NOT INTERESTING (well they're usually interesting visually)
NOT ORIGINAL
NOT EVEN AMUSING
A couple questions:
What's going on?
What is the main MOVEMENT in these days pop culture?
Is there some form of revolt or ANYTHING at all that young people could identify with?
Does it say anything at all?
How can you characterize these days "modern" pop culture?
Could you describe it in one sentence?
Is it mostly an interracial gang rape of the synthesizer and mixing machine these days?
I don't know, help me understand..
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