[rant] Music is boring

[P.T.]

Two things.
Most music now is uninspired and uninteresting all sounding the same genre nonsence.

Hormones. Or lack of.

Oh,yeah...Turn off the moronic radio.

[Amberience]

Why don't you just put a 12gauge in your mouth? That'll stop music being boring rest assured.

[mark77]

i think 'music is boring' has something to do with age, as well as being a musician. I know for a fact that the more years i have been into music, the more my understanding of it has increased. With that came knowledge of how things get done, how sounds are made, and what processes a song goes through before it actually gets released. This knowledge also elevated me above the common person, who, lets face it is completely clueless about all these procedures. Because of this experience, and also because i have grown up (i'm 28 now) i dont find the same songs/things entertaining as , lets say a 12-18 year old. So, something that i classify as a 'shit' song, may not be shit at all, its just that i have grown out of it. But thats not to say it's bad. What concerns me more these days is originality. Looking at the music scene now, everything seems to be rehashed. We had groove/70s/funk influences towards the 90s, and now it's all the 80s coming back... my question is where will we go from here? The nineties cant really be copied because that was all influenced by the 70s. So, here's hope that within 5 years a new genre of music will be invented... I dont care what it is, as long as it gets rid of all this rnb and gangsta shit out of the mainstream. Ok, as a final note, i think this is something thats in our hands. We're musicians/producers, with way more power at our hands than ppl a few decades back. If ppl all those years ago managed to be original, we sure as hell can do it too. So, basically, if you think music is boring, then do something about it.. come up with a new style and woo the world!

[Arglebargle]

You're bored because you're listening to too much ambient shit on KVR.

[shamann]

just listen to Spymob

Why?

To Thomas:

I sort of get where you are coming from, but when it comes to what you'd rather listen to it's less clear to me.

It seems at first that you are looking for novelty in music, that most music holds little surprise, but then you refute that by saying you'd rather listen to known music like Frank Sinatra than new things of a lesser quality.

Then it seems it isn't about being boring, but rather that most music isn't good. Those are very different concepts, plenty of boring things can be quite good. For instance, sitting idly with no obligations for the day can be quite a pleasure, but really is just about enjoying boredom. I find boredom is too often maligned, being bored can be an excellent state.

Most human endeavour is pedestrian, no surprise that music isn't any different. But, discover what use music is to you, and what you expect from it, and you might find pleasure in it again, even the least challenging examples of it (within limits, some things are just awful on all scales). For me music is a physical and communal pleasure, enjoying sound as I would a nature walk but also enjoying the manner in which other humans choose to interpret and rejoice in those sounds.

This idea that music is good or bad is troublesome, as it ascribes definition where none actually exists. When Mariah Carey hits a bum note that makes her howl like Tom Waits, some would say it is bad. But when Tom Waits howls, others would say it is good. The truth lies elsewhere, however, as we can only really observe that in both cases there was a result, although in the first instance, the result fell outside of the singer's intent. Beyond that, the hierarchy established to ascribe quality is artifice, i.e. the layers of meaning we choose to hold dear not the meaning innate to the sounds.

So what is it that you want from music? What are your expectations of music? You are going to have to define the qualities that add up to 'good' for yourself eventually, beyond that certain I-don't-know-what. Perhaps you simply prefer to be dissatisfied with music? Nothing wrong with that, but that doesn't really have much to do with the music.

[shamann]

You're bored because you're listening to too much ambient shit on KVR.

Yes, he really should listen instead to the stuff where they take those ambient sounds, add repetitive drum beats over top of it and call it Electronica. Of course, no boredom to be found there.

Something tells me that Thomas's sentiments run a little deeper than "you really need to listen to..." solutions.

[Arglebargle]

[shamann]

I'm glad you saw the humour, I really should have added one of these after the eye-rolly.

[eduardo_b]

I’m reading this thread with great interest. There seem to be a few different schools here...
3: I too feel a bit tired of the music scene now. Maybe it’s because of age/experience, maybe the music scene is truly boring.

If you look at some of the more serious and thoughtful posts in this thread, there is a common experience with our relationship to music: I think it changes and evolves with the passage of years, increased experience and complexity of life, and a more refined sense of what we make emotional connections to. It's no accident that the demographics of music sales and movie tickets are skewed to the 18 to 34 range, when a lot of the world is still new and exciting. While the precise time frame varies from person to person, most of us find we become more discerning about quality and what makes us react emotionally to music as we move further and further into adulthood. If you find yourself saying "I've heard it already" to most of what you listen to, it's not surprising that it seems there's not much to make a connection to.

There are so many highly acclaimed bands and artists that to me seem marginally talented, that I have asked myself if it's me or simply record companies filling shelf space with product, most of which is mundane or worse. I've decided it's not me. There's simply not that much original, innovative, compelling music on the market, and the market is so big that thousands of CDs are produced every year. The lowest common denominator becomes the winner more often than not.

Keeping up with trends, new releases and all the cultural buzz takes way too much time and energy for anyone with a typical adult life. Just keeping up with all the stuff on KVR takes more time and effort than many of us really have available. There's nothing wrong with taking a break from all of it.

In fact, that may be the real issue. We think there's a problem simply because we assume we're supposed to always care about music the same way, which is often it's a big part of our lives. But priorities change, we change and the music around us changes. It just ain't the same anymore.

[P.T.]

I think music was better back when the labels had more control and bands had trained and talented people helping with the writing and arranging.

When bands became more in control it all went amatuer.

Heretical or not, that's part of the problem.

[Amberience]

You're listening to the wrong bands.

[respirator]

just listen to Spymob

Why?

Indeed!

I sort of get where you are coming from, but when it comes to what you'd rather listen to it's less clear to me.

It seems at first that you are looking for novelty in music, that most music holds little surprise, but then you refute that by saying you'd rather listen to known music like Frank Sinatra than new things of a lesser quality.

Sinatra was a bad example, I think. I didn't choose him because he was old, but because his music is far removed from what I tend to do. I don't look for novelty. I just look for something I enjoy.

Someone mentioned Led Zeppelin - and though I own most of their oeuvre I honestly find most of it as boring as most... I'm not trying to make the good old days into something better than the present.

Then it seems it isn't about being boring, but rather that most music isn't good. Those are very different concepts, plenty of boring things can be quite good. For instance, sitting idly with no obligations for the day can be quite a pleasure, but really is just about enjoying boredom. I find boredom is too often maligned, being bored can be an excellent state.

Absolutely. "Boring" was used in a polemic way. "Not good" (see below) is better. Boredom is a refined state of mind.

Most human endeavour is pedestrian, no surprise that music isn't any different. But, discover what use music is to you, and what you expect from it, and you might find pleasure in it again, even the least challenging examples of it (within limits, some things are just awful on all scales). For me music is a physical and communal pleasure, enjoying sound as I would a nature walk but also enjoying the manner in which other humans choose to interpret and rejoice in those sounds.

The thing that got me wondering was that I enjoy music more now than ever (and I've been a musician for 20+ years). I enjoy making music, I enjoy thinking about music - and I find music in my surroundings. But my CDs and LPs and in particular the music in the public space is awful.

This idea that music is good or bad is troublesome, as it ascribes definition where none actually exists. When Mariah Carey hits a bum note that makes her howl like Tom Waits, some would say it is bad. But when Tom Waits howls, others would say it is good. The truth lies elsewhere, however, as we can only really observe that in both cases there was a result, although in the first instance, the result fell outside of the singer's intent. Beyond that, the hierarchy established to ascribe quality is artifice, i.e. the layers of meaning we choose to hold dear not the meaning innate to the sounds.

I detest relativism. But I agree that “good” is a troublesome term in some respect. But still I'll insist that good and bad, or to use a better term – quality - aren't just relative, subjective measures. That is not my point though. It's about pleasure, enjoyment. And for me – and this is perhaps my main point – my musical pleasure is so far removed from the commercial music scene that it's almost absurd. And I'm wondering why.

So what is it that you want from music? What are your expectations of music? You are going to have to define the qualities that add up to 'good' for yourself eventually, beyond that certain I-don't-know-what. Perhaps you simply prefer to be dissatisfied with music? Nothing wrong with that, but that doesn't really have much to do with the music.

I don't prefer being dissatisfied – though it's a nice starting point for a good debate I think the conclusion is that I've grown very selective – and that it is not a problem. I have lots of musical moments that I return to again and again. Some of them highly unlikely – like a live album of Blood, Sweat & Tears, Aaron Neville's “I have seen...” on The Maker from Daniel Lanois' Arcadie, Marc Ribot playing St. James Infirmary, Cash's American Recordings, Miles Davis (and Sinatra) doing It's only a Papermoon, Shel Silverstein (and even some of the Doctor Hook-stuff), Vivaldi sans Quattro Stagione, Messian's choir works, Robert Rich etc.

I LOVE music! But I think much of the commercial music scene it is bad, boring and undeserving of our attention. Let's make music something that is a natural way of expression. Not something that strives to be big business.

PS: I do NOT think that music was better before. Perhaps before music became business. There was at least as much inferior music published in the sixties as in this decade. It's just all forgotten...

[P.T.]

It's interesting that you mention Led Zeplin. There is an example of inovation and doing something different.

I'm talking about the 1st album.

You can't hear it if you weren't there at the time, but when it first came out it was a revelation. Wow, what's THIS.

The Doors, Tull, Yes, and many others. You may not like them, but they were doing something special. But if you only heard them for the first time many years after they were made you won't be able to hear the historical context.

I don't see anything like this in pop music now. I say pop music because they were top 40 bands. You didn't have to go on a great search into dark holes to find them.

I think we are in a time when greatness, and uniqueness are discouraged.

[shamann]

I detest relativism.

It's funny you say that, as I detest absolutism.

But I agree with you completely that most of the music with the highest public profile is not worth mentioning, because so much of it is about fitting a prefabricated design, and so much of it is about so much more than just music (merchandising, perpetuating media industries, lifestyle branding, promoting a company's stock, etc). There's a book called "The Trouble with Music" by Mat Callahan that calls it anti-music, music that is manufactured as product exclusively and fulfills none of the functions which music has always played in social settings.

I am confused though, as your position seems to have changed often over the course of this thread. For example, Harry Partch is hardly what anyone would call mainstream or commercial, yet you earlier suggested it, too, was not very good.

[Amberience]

Closest you get to anything remotely Tull in the charts is Shania Twain... that's a f**king sad thing...

What genre's do you destest Resp? Glitch? Industrial?

Whatever you have detested for the longest time... go find some of it, the cream of the crop... get into it... analyse it.. you may find something you never saw before.

Otherwise quit your bitching