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His own Pop culture has been nearly eradicated and replaced by the lowest common denominator by megacorporations who have no interest in producing quality entertainment, but market so-called "artists" with little investment(think of the time it took to compose and record Sgt Pepper)that can be easily replicated with anyone willing to sign on the dotted line.
It's manufactured as pseudo-rebellion by megacorporations who have destroyed popular music in the name of the quick cheap buck
pop music is no longer about talent and they churn out the dumbed-down trash as fast as they can and only the most credulous and naive and often dumbest of all will purchase the shit which is played via Clearchannel channels nationwide!
but the longhair will not partake in it and his numbers will continue to grow and his culture will return one day and real music by real artists will triumph!
he is the HOPE for the future!
it may even require a massive boycott, but change will come...eventually!
I don't entirely disagree with what you're saying, but you should ask yourself if removing corporate influence is going to change anything at all?
You could remove every manufactured social/entertainment influence overnight, but how many are going to ditch their Lady Gaga albums in favor of Les Miserables?
Mindless entertainment sells because people buy it. They buy it because it's what they can understand and relate to, and to some degree, it has always been that way. The ability to comprehend and enjoy sophisticated artistic concepts isn't evenly distributed across the board. Those who are interested in more than making that "booty go thump" will always be a minority, in my opinion.
Even the lauded rock music of the 1960's, though it may have been more interesting, was manufactured in no small part by straight-laced men looking for a profit.
Would you mind listing or linking some real music, by real artists? :)
at one time record companies were in business to sell records and only records. talent scouts looked for new talent usually in some small club and these artists were signed and nurtured and then promoted.
local radio stations were privately owned and Disc Jockeys and/or program directors had a say in what got played, thus a D.J. could make or break a record by a local artist.
those days are long gone.
somewhere along the line(probably when Sony purchased columbia records and other mega mergers began)things changed for the worse.
now you have a few Multi-national corporations that have control not of just major labels, but in other forms of media as well.
Clearchannel communications and Infinity have a monopoly on commercial radio.
unlike the days when record labels would nurture talent and quality music was produced, they choose the cheapest way out and that is why the crap continues to sell because it's easy to produce and easy to market and it requires very low investment.
The Merchants of Cool is a highly recommended PBS documentary that all should watch.
This documentary will open some eyes who think that the reason today`s mainstream crap sells is because that is what the public wants which is a big lie!
watch for yourself!
as for Real music, I suggest you do a search on Independent Labels and look at their artists. many Indie labels offer samples of their artist`s music on their sites with free mp3 downloads often.
as for those who actually continue to actually listen to commercial radio I would say the percentage is a fraction of what it used to be. probably less than 1/3 of the general populace.
I would even speculate that the majority of the members on this board get their music from elsewhere.
To LongHairRevolution,
I tried the link and could only listen to about 15 seconds of this utter low grade gangsta rap rubbish before quickly pressing the pause button on youtube. I think only a moron or someone very young in the head or retarded would waste anytime listening to it. Anyone who actually takes this culture seriously and is inspired by it is probably a bit disturbed in the head. Low grade music often attracts listeners and fans of a low grade mentality so it is good that you can identify potential sociopaths of low intelligence.
Most rap or hip hop can have good lyrics unfortunately the commercial radio stations play the campy gangsta rap rubbish that dominate the airways due to big big corporate sponsorship pushing it onto immature kids who haven't fully grown-up yet. I find the lyrics and the messages contained in it to be very negative, hateful and offensive.
I was a teenager in the 1980's decade and it too had it's fair share of rubbish that was supposedly "popular". Most 1980's music despite crap lyrics could still reasonably carry a tune unlike the above mentioned rap. Instead as a teenager I found my inspiration in the music of the past and only listening to worthwhile music of good quality played in the present era.
We the public are free to make up our own minds what music we choose to listen to, and can vote with our wallets and our hands to change which radio stations that we choose to listen to. There are non-profit community radio stations run by volunteers that we can all choose to listen to if so desired.
I do not need to go on any protest or march, I prefer to devote my more valuable time to things that matter: helping minimise global warming and leaving a small carbon footprint. I vote with my wallet which at the end of the day is what makes the mainstream music industry powerful: making money. The Less money given to them the less powerful they are.
At the end of the day we must seek out what inspires us and to have discerning tastes.
cheers, Duncan
It's easy to produce and market and that is why they continue to sell more of it. it appeals to the lowest common denominator and the more offensive the more it is likely to sell to millions of Beavuses and Buttheads.
they can take anyone off of the street and put and record them now. no talent required.
the major labels are in business to make $$$$$$$$$ , not make music. the quickest cheapest most efficient way is to record and market trash.
if they could figure out a way to market Gorilla Farts to the dumbed-down masses they would market that next!
I would take the worst of the worst pop music of the 1980s any day over that excrement such as the example I posted a link to which passes for "music" on commercial radio these days!
Yes, and I also strongly advocate checking out independent labels and listening to samples online.
I cannot decide what labels of music are right for you, only you can, but there is worthwhile music out there. you're just not gonna hear it on commercial radio.
In regards to commercial radio, I would estimate that those listening is way down compared to the 1980s and only about 1/3 of the population still supports it if that!
Clearchannel owns a monopoly so they don't have to worry about competition like in the old days.
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trash. 20 seconds of that was as much as I could stand. Do people actually buy that? What happened to real talent? Today's "music" is a real cesspool of garbage.
I grew up in the 60s when there was real talent and rock music ruled the airwaves.
Scott
Scott,
there is good music out there. the problem is that you're not going to hear it on commercial radio.
it's easier to appeal to lowest common denominator and more profitable to record utter garbage that requires ZERO talent and market it to the most naive and idiotic of all.
Unfortunately those days are long gone.
the reason is that radio stations were privately owned so they were in competition with one another and if one station played a better wider selection it got more listeners.
no listeners meant the station went out of business.
Clearchannel Communications is one mega corporation which owns a monopoly on the U.S. commercial radio market. they don't need to compete and they don't care if the public likes the trash they play or not.
the music`s major labels are owned by a handful of multi-national corporations and they have a monopoly on what gets played on commercial radio.
Check out the "Merchants of Cool" PBS documentary which I posted a link to previously.
All generations of music have a small quantity of high quality selections mixed in with mostly junk. No generation is better than others in that regard.
There's also a matter of perspective and opinion. For example, I would call your example of Sgt. Pepper garbage, while you might have the same opinion about music I really enjoy. It's easy to hear a small selection of music from a genre and make a blanket statement about all of it, but it's not really a fair evaluation.
Technology really isn't the culprit either. Just because we have better equipment that makes it easier to produce more product in less time doesn't mean everything it produces is low quality. I would agree that it probably increases the amount of junk, which makes it harder to find the good stuff, but that's just a matter of higher ratio.
The Beatles were Rock and Roll man!
Check out their version of "Twist and Shout" and compare it to the original done by the Isley Brothers which seems very lame by comparison
The girls went really went crazy for the Beatles as evident in their live performances like this one!
You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I personally can not stand the Beatles. I'm sure there is music I like that you probably can't stand. It's just a matter of taste and preference.
There must be if you don't like the Beatles. I would say that they have had the widest appeal of any band in my lifetime so far, and you don't get to that point without genuine talent and ability.
The Beatles came along at the right time in history
Today, there are so many genres and styles which did not exist back then.
Like Damian UK, I prefer post-punk era styles and beyond such as Goth, Darkwave, Ethereal, Electronica, and Dream Pop
none of these existed at all before the 1980s.
there was no Punk, Metal, or Progressive Rock music in the early 1960s and to my knowledge there was no Psychedelia yet.
It would be impossible for one band to appeal to such a wide range of people today like there was in the early 1960s.
The idea of any one band appealing to that many people makes you wonder if it was preordained.
I'm not trying to discredit what they accomplished, but for some reason I think Capitol Records and Ed Sullivan made some secret deal to promote them months before they hit the American airwaves and the fact that Beatlemania in America occurred directly after the J.F.K. Assassination makes you wonder.
for the record, I'm not a conspiracist.
I have to come to my generation's defense a bit here. Sure, we have our insipid artists, but so does every other generation. Furthermore, much of that insipidity is self-conscious; there's artistic value to music that is intentionally depraved.
Beyond that, though, we have Kelly Clarkson, Demi Lovato, Paramore, fun., and many other talented singers whose lyrics are heartfelt and well crafted.
Give us some credit.
I wish I could , but your generation seems easy to manipulate.
As for Clarkson she was on American Idol and manufactured to look and sound a certain way. no she's not the worst of the worst, but there is nothing authentic about her. Lovato sounds like Miley Cyrus and not something anyone over 13 would probably listen to anyway.
Fun is mediocre at best. they may be listed as "indie" , but there is nothing authentic about their 'indie" credibility. they sound like so many bands I've heard before.
"We Are Young" is not what I consider an exceptional song. it's o.k. and certainly much better than the excrement produced by these gangsta rap wanna-be`s, but not something I would ever consider purchasing and probably not something that will be memorable 20, 30, 40 years from now.
it's basically throw-a-way pop.
the exceptions are probably people like Jack White of White Stripes,Joy Formidable,Silversun Pickups,Black Keys, Flyleaf and a few others, but 95% of the stuff played on mainstream commercial radio is utter crap imho.
some retard saying F-this and F-You in every other sentence because he cannot carry a tune so he has to act like some badass Mother F`er does not impress me. as a matter of fact it is INSULTING to my intelligence, thus I generally don't listen to commercial radio at all and tend to avoid it like the plague!
there *is* good music available , but the majority of quality music is on independent labels these days. you just have to google independent labels and find a list and see what they have to offer.
In the meantime I highly suggest you watch the 2001 PBS documentary "The Merchants of Cool". it will explain how your
generation is being manipulated and being sold pseudo-cool/hipster garbage all for the mighty $$$$$$$$$.
I have included a link to part 1 of 6 parts which I located yesterday on youtube.
I'm partial to Wolfmother and Foo Fighters, myself. Otherwise my hard drive reads like the classic rock hour of flower power with random thick streaks of techno, heavy metal, and internet memes dispersed through it.