Why is modern music so awful

[whyterabbyt]

There's a band called Toad The Wet Sprocket???

It's taken from a Python sketch if I'm not mistaken.

My first recollection of them was in 80s in the context of a mate talking about bands who were in what was being called the 'New Wave of British Heavy Metal'
Which was odd, because they're American, AFAIK.

[Bunny_boy]

There's a band called Toad The Wet Sprocket???

It's taken from a Python sketch if I'm not mistaken.

My first recollection of them was in 80s in the context of a mate talking about bands who were in what was being called the 'New Wave of British Heavy Metal'
Which was odd, because they're American, AFAIK.

There's two bands who decided that was a good name. I went down a wet sprocket rabbit hole (hmmm) the other night

[whyterabbyt]

ah, ok. didnt realise.

[TechHaus]

Three 90's albums I really still like:

Hum - "You'd Prefer an Astronaut"
Elastica - "Elastica"
Unkle - "Psyence Fiction"

EDIT: and yes I know half of the Elastica songs rip off Wire

[Aloysius]

... and Leo

[TechHaus]

Modernish...hmmm...

English Teacher is not horrible for indie pop rock:



I like Nilufer Yanya on the singer / songwriter side of the game. Not quite PJ Harvey...



And of course Turnstile just won a grammy. I like their Mike Elizondo produced album from a few years ago.




And I guess Jessie Ware's post pandemic pop stuff is good for bridesmaid party music. Some nice spring reverb on the snares in the music videos for these songs from this album.



Just random stuff that popped into my head thinking about the 2020's. Is this better than the old stuff?

[Bunny_boy]

Three 90's albums I really still like:

Hum - "You'd Prefer an Astronaut"
Elastica - "Elastica"
Unkle - "Psyence Fiction"

EDIT: and yes I know half of the Elastica songs rip off Wire

I don't think I could even be restricted to a top 10 90s albums

[BONES]

REM had more UK sensibilities somehow. I know they toured with Gang of Four and the English Beat a lot early on in their career, and then later had early Radiohead opening for them.

They also did a Wire cover as a b-side at some stage. They get a great deal of kudos from me for that but I can't listen to them, Michael Stipe's voice really annoys me. But that's at least one other thing they have in common with Pearl Jam - I f**king hate Eddie Vedder's vocals even more. He sings in the back of his throat, like he's choking.

Yes, well, Bloc Party's debut album was arguably better than the sum total of all of Pearl Jam's catalogue, so...

I don't have much respect for Peral Jam. I thought at the time that there probably 1,000 other bands who, given the same opportunities PJ got just from being from Seattle, could have done at least as well and possibly a whole lot better. The only time I thought well of them was when I found out they take an active interest in ticket prices for their gigs, ensuring they aren't any more expensive than they need to be, that they are a function of the cost of putting on the show, not of the greed of the promoter.

Bloc Party can be in the early 00's "last of the good stuff" category before we went off a cliff, and ALL music was horrible.

I don't know if I have ever heard a Bloc Party song, I don't even know what kind of music they make.

And I don't know about "all music" going off a cliff. Genepool, for example, really only hit their stride in 2007.



Sure, Killing Joke went through a bit of a slump but they brought it back with MMXII, appropriately enough in 2012, and Peter Murphy has released three fantastic albums since 2010, after a string of uninspiring efforts in the 1990s and early 2000's -



Moving Units debuted in 2004 and have gone from strength to strength since -



I could go on all day but I think this lot makes my point well enough. There is still plenty of great music being made, if you have the patience to go and find it.

One last one before I go. 1919 underwent a huge resurgence in the 2010's, sadly cut short by the death of their founding guitarist, Mark Tighe.

[stoopicus]

I don't know if I have ever heard a Bloc Party song, I don't even know what kind of music they make.

It's basically indie rock but it's really good. Their debut album Silent Alarm has to be, without hyperbole, one of the best debut albums of all time. I'm being serious, I would put it up there with Remission and Unknown Pleasures, and I say that with Skinny Puppy and Joy Division being my two favorite bands.





A bunch of artists like M83 did an homage remix album for them of the debut and it's equally good and very different.



I'd give Silent Alarm a listen, the whole thing is phenomenal. It's like if "New Years' Day"-era U2 were actually good.

Sure, Killing Joke went through a bit of a slump but they brought it back with MMXII

I actually really like their stuff around 2000-2005, songs like Asteroid were just fun. I mean come on, Youth back on bass, produced by Andy Gill and with Grohl on drums, it's gonna be a keeper.

[BONES]

There are two phenomenal songs on that album, Seeing Red and Blood on Your Hands, the rest of it is pretty ordinary. And that album was followed by Hossanas From the Basements of Hell and Absolute Dissent, which I like even less than Outside the Gate. They sounded like a band who had lost their way completely through that period.

Bloc Party sounds quite generic to me. I hate his high-pitched vocals A LOT.

[stoopicus]

lol all righty then.

[Teiloras]

well i think the video is pretty spot on tbh. It makes so much sense why everything on the radio sounds like the exact same track now. I always thought I was just getting old and cynical, but it's crazy to find out that literally two dudes are writing almost all the top hits and just copy-pasting the exact same vocal tricks and drum loops.

[Bunny_boy]

well i think the video is pretty spot on tbh. It makes so much sense why everything on the radio sounds like the exact same track now. I always thought I was just getting old and cynical, but it's crazy to find out that literally two dudes are writing almost all the top hits and just copy-pasting the exact same vocal tricks and drum loops.

Except that is not the sum total of music that is being currently produced

[VariKusBrainZ]

Yeah obviously its not the sum total, but its a detectable stereotype

[Bunny_boy]

Yeah obviously its not the sum total, but its a detectable stereotype

As it always has been. Chart music has always been dross