[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sduibek Like Slayer, right? I was listening to some Slayer the other night... it thrashed pretty hardcore. After banging my head for a while, I then realized how horrible it was and wanted to kill myself. Death or bliss, who knows. It's one and the same with Slayer. I hear ya, though. Nothing like good music

I have never been very big on slayer, I really like South of Heaven, and Seasons in the Abyss, but the rest of their catalog has never really caught me. Either too boring (their recent stuff) or too mindless (some of their earlier stuff). When metal gets too obessed with death or anti-religion (even though I'm an atheist), or too atonal I tune out pretty fast.

 

[timberwolf]

Quote:

I guess you could say I don't necessarily hate any certain period of music (except most 80s, heh), I just hate bad music. And there's a LOT of bad music on the radio these days. :/

Why do people give the 80s such a bad rap? People have such a short memory that they don't remember the 80s was a time where a cornuccopia of styles exploded or existed, all enjoying equal time and exposure in the mass media. It is where the emerging styles in the late 70s met with the emerging styles of the early 90s.

The 80s were where the emerging punk rock movement of the 70s developed, ie. The Police, The Cars, Blondie, The Clash, The Stray Cats, Devo, Talking Heads, etc - all under the "punk rock" description but each one sounding totally different from each other. The 80s was still early enough that you can go to disco bars and dance to disco. It was early enough that hard rock still have Led Zep, Queen, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Kansas, Moody Blues, Yes, Dire Straits, etc. with most of the bands at their peak.

The 80s also produced its totally own styles. It has new wave/modern romantic/synth pop/Goth/etc. that produced bands likeThe Motels, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Go-gos, Eurythmics, OMD, Tears For Fears, Dexy's Midnight Runners, The Cure, The smiths, Billy Idol, Big Country, Men At Work, etc. ... all sounding different from each other. Nowadays, except for one or two bands you really can't tell one from the other.

The 80s were where the new wave of heavy metal (Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, etc) continued. It is where metal went to the masses in the form of pop(hair) metal and the billboard top chart was peppered with heavy metal acts. It is when the general masses can listen or see acts like Van Halen, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, etc from the radio or tv even without trying. This was when metal formed its subgenres like trash, death, speed, power, etc ... each one of them enjoying its most success.

Pop has Michael Jackson, Prince, George Michael, Lionel Richie, Air Supply, Bangles, Cyndi lauper, Whitney Houston, etc. in its lineup. Rock has Bruce Springsteen, U2, Journey, Dire Straits, Guns N Roses, etc. enjoying all-time records. Hell, the 80s produce the most succesful/popular albums of all time.

The alternative rock movement started in the late eighties. Nuff said.

If you ask me, the 80s was when the music scene was at its most active since the 60s with vastly different styles enjoying their success at the same time both in the billboard and media (radio, tv).

 

[GuineaMcPig]

In my opinion, there hasn't been a "bad decade" of pop music since the 50's. Music just keeps sounder newer and better, with more and more possibilities for a variety of sounds. We may not have any amazing bands that sell out stadiums and leave the whole world holding its breath for the next album, but we have way more possibilities for unique sounds than ever before. I can understand wanting to go back to the "golden years" of a truly innovative international music community and all the excitement that that must have brought, but honestly, I'm just as excited about what album is going to take over my life in the next 10 years.

 

[erikiksaz]

I wouldn't necessarily say rock is dead, but it is on its way to its deathbed.

If it weren't for Maynard James Keenan and Trent Reznor, we'd be flooded with teenie bopper "rock" bands (fifi dobson anyone?), and all that emo crap (blech, dashboard). Oh wait, it's too late.

 

[10068]

Quote:

Originally Posted by erikiksaz I wouldn't necessarily say rock is dead, but it is on its way to its deathbed. If it weren't for Maynard James Keenan and Trent Reznor, we'd be flooded with teenie bopper "rock" bands (fifi dobson anyone?), and all that emo crap (blech, dashboard). Oh wait, it's too late.

I've been wondering when Tool's next album will come out. Lateralus blew me away. NIN is cool, but not really my thing. The massive distortion bothers my sensitive ears after a while.. I just start twitching and craving some nice string quartets or something. heh.

 

[DarkAngel]

The original statement is pretty much true if you are talking about USA market......powers to be have decided you don't need a real band now and since the early 1990's we are flooded with lame rap artists and American Idol style karioke artists. What little rock music remains in USA is either fluffy kiddie mall punk or lame nu metal acts. Just watch the Disney channel to see who the next MTV icon will be in a couple years.......

A tragedy since the USA ruled the world in rock/metal during the 1983-1993 period, this is where it all happened......it have been nosedive down ever since for USA music scence.

Rock/metal is still alive and well but mostly in Europe/Nordic countries where all the best music originates from since early 1990's. There are huge open air fesitivals all over Europe/England during summer where you can see what is really currently happening in the rock/metal world. Thanks to internet if you are really interested you can keep up with events and still buy great new rock/metal music.......don't expect to watch VH1/MTV/MTV2 and know anything about real music today (there is some good stuff still on FUSE however)

 

[erikiksaz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sduibek I've been wondering when Tool's next album will come out. Lateralus blew me away. NIN is cool, but not really my thing. The massive distortion bothers my sensitive ears after a while.. I just start twitching and craving some nice string quartets or something. heh.

The next Tool album should be coming within the year. Tool sans Maynard has been working on new material, but they don't want to officially start until Maynard's in on it. And APC is finishing up their touring, so once they're done...

 

[ditto_n]

erik is right, next cd is due the end of the year, The rest of the guys are workin on the music (like they did with lat) and maynard will fill in some lyrics after touring with APC. Oh, and I'm gonna go see APC tommarow

 

[stuartr]

I am literally awash in fantastic new music -- and I think to categorize any of it in something like "rock" is just meaningless. Every genre has mixed so thoroughly since the mid 70s that there is no real point in trying to lump music into categories. It's just good. I am listening to american analog set, the postal service, chris whitley, cub country, Chris mills, Damien Jurado, older stuff like Liz Phair, New Order, The Frogs, Ryan Adams, aphex twin, Jonathan Richman etc etc. etc. There are thousands of great bands out there, you just have to look for them...and get rid of your preconceived notions about what genres you like or dislike. Listen to everything and you will find gold in every stream.

 

[minya]

Amen, Stuart!

- Chris

 

[10068]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuartr I am literally awash in fantastic new music -- and I think to categorize any of it in something like "rock" is just meaningless. Every genre has mixed so thoroughly since the mid 70s that there is no real point in trying to lump music into categories. It's just good. I am listening to american analog set, the postal service, chris whitley, cub country, Chris mills, Damien Jurado, older stuff like Liz Phair, New Order, The Frogs, Ryan Adams, aphex twin, Jonathan Richman etc etc. etc. There are thousands of great bands out there, you just have to look for them...and get rid of your preconceived notions about what genres you like or dislike. Listen to everything and you will find gold in every stream.

Indeed, but I think the point was that there was a time when you didn't have to look for music. I remember when I was younger, my favorite bands were all on the radio, all the time. These continue to be some of my favorite bands to listen to. So while i'm not going to say "music is dead" or anything like that (far from it, I'm amazed at how many insanely talented bands are out there), I think that because of societal, financial, etc reasons, the Mainstream music is just crap. Which is a shame, really.

I'd love to turn on the radio and hear some Opeth or maybe a little Porcupine Tree or Squarepusher or something.

I'm not sure if I agree with your genre mixing coments though.. I mean, sure, there's Avant Garde bands that aren't really a genre.. but I think there's still a difference. Does trance sound like death metal? No. So whilst when you look at really high-end bands you will see the genres start to blur and lose meaning, they're still a nice benchmark. For example, if I said Opeth did "Death Metal, acoustic, Pyschedelic and Prog rock depending on the song and album" people would get a better image of their sound than if I said, "Hey man, it can't be categorized, it's just Opeth."

I see what you're saying though. For example.. what genre is Dream Theater? Who knows, but it doesn't really matter cause it sounds really cool.

I also liked your last sentence.. I think people seem to forget that there's good music in EVERY genre (or whatever label you wish to use). I like Prog rock a lot, but i've also found rap, string, classical, jazz, techno, swing, punk, etc that I like. Although some styles take longer than others for me to find stuff I like, but that's beside the point

 

[Riordan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by minya Amen, Stuart! - Chris

and another heartfelt amen from me. i can understand the original point about mainstream rock, but there is so much under, above and beyond it - there is enough great music in every direction to last you for decades, one just has to look for it.

anyone hungry for music just get an issue of uncut or one of the other british music mags, check out www.allmusic.com, try pitchforkmedia, and most of all, heed the great recommendations right here on this very forum.

rock is ever-changing, but on the other hand, guess who's touring europe right now? chuck berry and jerry lee lewis.

 

[DLP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuartr There are thousands of great bands out there, you just have to look for them...and get rid of your preconceived notions about what genres you like or dislike. Listen to everything and you will find gold in every stream.

Agreed wholeheartedly.

Sduibek, you take your music a little too seriously I feel. You also seem to miss a certain fact which is there is no emotion in a song unless you feel it. If you don't feel it, then it isn't there for you. That doesn't mean a song is completely emotionless which you seem to easily classify many bands as. Otherwise, how do people pull stories out of classical music that have no lyrics? And why is it not everyone hears the same story, if any at all? I mean not to attack you, but you have a very strong view which you makes you seem to feel the need to reply to anyone's post about a song they like that you don't only to slam it. My view of life: change with the times or let life pass you by and miss so much.

 

[10068]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DLP Sduibek, you take your music a little too seriously I feel. You also seem to miss a certain fact which is there is no emotion in a song unless you feel it. If you don't feel it, then it isn't there for you. That doesn't mean a song is completely emotionless which you seem to easily classify many bands as. Otherwise, how do people pull stories out of classical music that have no lyrics? And why is it not everyone hears the same story, if any at all? I mean not to attack you, but you have a very strong view which you makes you seem to feel the need to reply to anyone's post about a song they like that you don't only to slam it. My view of life: change with the times or let life pass you by and miss so much.

I never said I didn't take life seriously.

You mentioned classical.. IMHO there's a big difference between the London Symphony Orchestra and Audioslave or Black Label Society. It's indeed true that songs can have things like emotion and not speak to me, but that's usually because those songs sing about stupid crap. I don't like listening to some guy whine about his girl, or scream about his homies or whatever. Or even if they do chose to sing about that, there's better ways to do it.

Bands like Three Doors Down sing about things like love and whatnot, but I like their music. That's because they're more than just a no-talent garage band, yknow? I've always been one to enjoy quality in everything, so I definitely have the tendency to trash some bands, because let's face it: some bands are quite low quality

A good analog is movies.. I hated the movie "Triple X" because it was just such a typical action movie BS. Horrible acting, but lo! It had great chest shots and explosions!

On the other hand, I love Aliens, Terminator 2, Saving Private Ryan, (and to a lesser degree: Predator, Van Helsing, etc). All fairly well-done action movies.

I don't see what the big deal is.. is it so bad for me to hate crap?

 

[stuartr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sduibek I never said I didn't take life seriously. You mentioned classical.. IMHO there's a big difference between the London Symphony Orchestra and Audioslave or Black Label Society. It's indeed true that songs can have things like emotion and not speak to me, but that's usually because those songs sing about stupid crap. I don't like listening to some guy whine about his girl, or scream about his homies or whatever.

See, if you pay attention to opera, you would see that this is exactly what most are singing about -- sappy love affairs, tired fairy tales, and cheezy action. Even the great operas (Don Giovanni for example). This does not make them any less great. Classical can be just as banal as modern music and still be entertaining -- Vivaldi for example, or Mozart (to me). Just like modern music can be entertaining even if the lyrics weren't written by James Joyce or Jonathan Ruskin.
I don't know -- I guess from my point of view it is okay for you to think stuff is crap, but not to tell others it is crap. There is a subtle difference. For example, the vast majority of people might think cheezy television shows are crap, but I like my television sappy...what's wrong with that? It does not reflect on my level of sophistication, just the level of sophistication of the kind of television I like to watch. Sometimes inane plotlines are just what I need to relax. I take my music a bit more seriously, but someone else might have the same relationship with their music. This does not make them any less sophisticated. I will go one step farther and say that there is a important place for low-brow entertainment in the world. Without it, there would be no foil against which to compare good entertainment. Even moreso, we would never have the ability to embrace something that might be awful, but in a wonderful way -- B movies like on Mystery Science Theater 3000, kitschy talk shows and pulp fiction.
Ok, anyway. I guess if I could sum this all up in one sentence: Lighten up; there is a place in the world for all tastes.