The American Spectator : Out of Tune

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Out of Tune

Popular music has never been so unpopular — and the music industry is blaming consumers!

Sales of albums fell in August to their lowest weekly level since Neilsen Soundscan began comprehensively tracking purchases in 1991. Merchants sold just 4.95 million albums during the week of August 8-14. Being number one isn’t what it used to be.

Who’s to blame? The music business points to a peculiar scapegoat: consumers. The recording industry rails against their market audience for illegally downloading tunes. The customer, apparently, isn’t always right.

Trust them. It’s not their fault people don’t buy their product. It’s ours.

Certainly people won’t pay for what they can get for free. But people won’t pay for an inferior product, either. Pointing the figure at consumers dodges the most obvious reason music isn’t selling like it used to: most of it is not very good.

The 2000s witnessed a precipitous decline in albums sales. The volume moved in 2010 — a figure that includes digital albums — is projected to be less than half of that of 2000.

The best-selling album of the 2000s illustrates that the cash-register rebellion chafes not against paying for music, but against paying for bad music. The Beatles “1,” a greatest hits collection whose most recent track reached number one on the charts more than forty years ago, outsold every album released in the United States during this past decade. It’s analogous to Andy Griffith Show reruns generating higher ratings than everything currently in prime time or The Sound of Music triumphing at the box office over premieres in their opening weekends. That’s how out of tune today’s music industry is.

A combination of pop music settling for a niche- rather than a mass-audience, visually obsessed marketers dictating the sounds you hear, and corporate efficiency imposed upon art has conspired to undermine album sales. Laying all the blame on illegal downloads is an excuse that may make industry executives feel good temporarily, but ultimately prevents them from solving the problem.

Popular music has never been so unpopular. The top three songs in America right now are (3) Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” (2) Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite,” and (1) Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie.” Have you heard any of them? If you haven’t, it’s not because you live in a cave. It’s because allegedly popular music now plays in caves sealed off from the rest of us. Pop music caters to a niche market of especially superficial suburban teens, urban denizens, and club-goers stuck in extended adolescence. Everybody else is pretty much left out, which explains the market void.

The music industry has been taken over by marketers who know image but not sound. Are Katy Perry and Brittney Spears really the best singers or just the best-looking singers? The massive promotional budgets propelling such acts suggest the degree to which tin-eared industry insiders think visual trumps audio even in a purely sonic commodity. Consumers have responded in kind to this insult to their intelligence.

Where would the plus-sized Meatloaf or Aretha Franklin, or the cartoonishly ugly circa-‘64 Rolling Stones, fit into such eye-candy marketing schemes? They wouldn’t. Only on American Idol, where the people’s vote decides, do visually challenged performers get a fair shake. The noise pollution listeners have been subjected to since video killed the radio star tells the obvious part of the story. The greatness red-lighted because visually appealing inferiority got green-lighted is the overlooked greater tragedy.

Contemporary music trades efficiency for authenticity. Like so many other industries, the music industry has outsourced human talent to machines. Consumers may tolerate a computerized answering service usurping the receptionist’s position, but replacing Keith Moon with C3PO hasn’t made for a rush on record stores. Only slightly less offensive than drum-machine automation resulting in pink slips for actual drummers is the impulse to use synthesizers in place of musicians. Would it erase profit margins to hire a horn section instead of a keyboardist imitating a horn section? Synthesizers are to a string quartet what orange drink is to orange juice, what Cheez Whiz is to cheese, what Splenda is to sugar.

And then there are the soulless computer-perfected vocals. Would listeners really find it more appealing had a computer smoothed over John Lennon’s hoarseness in “Twist & Shout”? A machine wouldn’t improve Sam Cooke’s vocal in “A Change Is Gonna Come”; it would only strip it of its humanity. Passion, more so than perfection, has always moved listeners of popular music. Pitch correctors and other studio gizmos remove emotions from an art form that attracts fans by appealing not to their intellect but to their feelings. Plato knew as much when he banished music from his ideal republic; 2,500 years later studio wizards don’t grasp that elemental point.

One can still find good music. What’s changed is that good music doesn’t find you. MTV no longer stands for “music television,” with its corporate moniker finally catching up to its programming. Rolling Stone is just another celebrity magazine. Once-mighty rock-radio-ratings juggernauts, such as Boston’s WBCN, New York’s K-Rock, and Washington, D.C.’s WHFS, have gone extinct over the last decade. One could rationalize these developments as causes of the music industry’s slump. But they are primarily symptoms of it. For the same reasons listeners have shunned new music, they have shunned television stations, magazines, and radio promoting that music.

About one percent of Americans purchased albums during the August sales nadir. I confess that I am among that lonely percentile rather than the crowded ninety-nine. Eschewing illegal digital downloads for a physical compact disc, I am not part of the problem — at least according to the recording industry. Alas, my purchase, 1979’s “Repeat When Necessary,” Dave Edmunds’ rockabilly/power pop album considered a guitar-bass-drums throwback even upon its release 31 years ago, suggests that their self-serving self-diagnosis misses what truly ails their industry.

About the Author

Daniel J. Flynn, the author of The War on Football: Saving America’s Game, blogs at www.flynnfiles.com.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (162) | Leave a comment Leave a comment

Pennie | 9.2.10 @ 6:28AM

I turned off the airwaves years ago. You need to hook up with XM radio. There you will hear a wide variety of new music.
XM would be greatly improved however by adding former WHFS DJ Weezel to their programming.

Clinton nee Publius| 9.2.10 @ 9:24AM

Me too. I am not going to subsidize a freak show. Sorry, but I have a nice collection of reggae, rock and classical music that will entertain me for the rest of my days without having to pay homage to those who want my money to subsidize their derision of my life. I might buy some country music in the future, but that's about it. We don't buy much music any more and it is not likely to change.

Carolyn| 9.2.10 @ 1:13PM

I love XM radio. Escape plays music to relax and we have it on most of the day. Seriously Sinatra plays music that is classy and great for listening and good memories. I even love the Nashville sounds of Prime Country and the Highway: I actually remember the words and can sing along with Glen Campbell. BTW, the last CD album I bought (in July) was Sinatra's "Come Fly With Me".

Rick Johnson| 9.3.10 @ 9:42AM

My most recent CD purchases: the latest from John Mellencamp and Jimmy Vaughn and a ten-year-old effort from Russell Smith. All loaded with passion and soul, bereft of synthesizers.

PACoug| 9.6.10 @ 2:18PM

Amen, brutha. And Kenny Aronoff, Mellencamp's longtime drummer, doesn't need a drum machine; he IS a frickin' drum machine.

Best walk tempo drummer in the business. Mellencamp struck gold when he struck up with Aronoff.

My sister and her husband are concert pianists; I'm a horn player, wife is a violinist. We constantly add to our classical collection when a good performance comes highly recommended. But my collection of pop cds came virtually grinding to a halt when grunge killed butt rock and Madonna jumped the shark.

All the pop I buy now is old stuff to fill glaring holes in my collection. I guess if you count country as 'pop,' which I guess it is a subgroup of, I'm still a fairly significant consumer. But that's because country still cares about songwriting and musicianship.

Find me today's Foo Fighters please. If a good rock band with an average age under 37 is out there, I don't know what it is.

Anthony R. Auchincloss| 9.4.10 @ 4:16PM

The ugliest of all musical instruments? The electric guitar! How I hate it.

The most beautiful of all musical instruments? The piano--the acoustic piano, not the electric one. "Dig a hole for rock 'n' roll," is what I say, "and shove the sh*tty synthersizers into the hole and bury them."

And while you're at it, bring back melody and harmony . . . and literate, well-crafted lyrics!

PACoug| 9.6.10 @ 2:20PM

Go to Nashville or Branson, my friend. L.A. and New York are wastelands.

PaulD| 9.2.10 @ 6:34AM

And I thought I'd never heard of any of these people or their "music" because I was just getting old...

Paul D| 9.2.10 @ 9:02AM

From one Paul D to another:

My daughter is 20 years old. The two most popular groups for her generation are the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. She found a Led Zeppelin poster and put it on her dorm room wall (along with the old photos of the Beatles from the White Album I'd kept all these years and gave to her...) That poster was a picture of the group taken in 1970. The White album photos were from 1968. So essentially, she is listening to the same music I was listening to when I was six to eight years younger than her.

I never imagined this would happen. Who would have thought it?

Anastasia Mather| 9.2.10 @ 9:35AM

This is totally true - my three children - ages 30, 25 and 20 - prefer the music from "our" generation and even older to today's dreck.

Appleby| 9.2.10 @ 10:43AM

My boys were horrified to discover that their idol Alice Cooper is the same age as I am....

Occam's Tool| 9.2.10 @ 7:25PM

My 7 year old daughter insists on going to sleep to Classical or Classic Country. My 6 year old son prefers that, too.

Tom M| 9.2.10 @ 10:44AM

My daughters listen to Led Zeppelin, the Beatles and Van Halen along with other bands and artists from the 60's, 70's and 80's. They tell me no one makes music like this anymore and they're right. Who would have thought that music of my youth is popular in 2010? I listen to Sirius/XM for music now with its wide selection it’s easy to avoid autotune.

Betts| 9.2.10 @ 5:19PM

As a kiddie still in college, the only modern bands, who formed within the last 10 years, I'll hear from my fraternity is heavy metal (Avenged Sevenfold, Archenemy, Tool, and System of a Down as examples). Pop songs are pretty much strictly for parties and they come and die. For the music everyone listens to on a daily basis is pretty much from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. And as I sit down, listening to the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, Rush, and Allman Brothers I too can say that the heart and soul of music has been suffering decay. Grunge Rock from the early 90s was an attempt to bring that back, as I'll often hear from my dad who grew up going to Lynard Skynard concerts for days. However, it died as quickly as it came.

There is the whole hipster scene, but it is incredibly niche and pretty terrible.

PACoug| 9.6.10 @ 2:25PM

Tool is older than you think, kid. They were kickin' it in the '90s.

And grunge didn't bring back anything--it killed good ol' four chord rock and roll. Now you have to go to a reunion concert to hear it, or check out a new band full of old rockers like Chickenfoot.

Sammy will tell you boy. There's Only One Way To Rock.

JJ| 9.10.10 @ 3:37AM

Dude. Grunge did a hell of a lot more for music than disco. So did punk. Grunge was another form of innovation that represents another branch on the tree of rock n' roll. There are lots of ways to rock.

If you like the simple chords then listen to some Ramones. Punk didn't kill rock n' roll, it gave it a new lease!

For a great sampling of grunge, check out Nirvana's "Never Mind" -- one of the great rock n' roll albums of the 90's.

And for all of you others, and the author of this article, spend some time exploring the Rolling Stone "top 500 albums" list from 2003. It's introduced some new 'old' music to me, and I'm 52. Take the list with you to the used CD store and check titles off as you collect them.

GW| 9.2.10 @ 5:56PM

I'll throw my hat into the ring as well. I'm 22, in college, and prefer classic rock bands like Skynyrd, Kansas, Led Zeppelin, and Boston over any "popular" music of today. For more contemporary bands, I do like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Incubus, however most of both bands' good stuff is about 10 years old by now, so within a few years they could almost be categorized as "classic."

Music is not only not as good as it once was, it is also more plastic. Think of timeless songs like The Beatles' "Yesterday" or Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird." Now think of some Ke$ha or Justin Beiber bulls*** the tweens go crazy for. This is why those my age (starting around 15) stop listening to current pop music. When I was younger, I still prefered some plastic pop. However, when I grew out of it, I realized my generation had little music good enough to stand the test of time. Unfortunately, this generation of adolescents has even less.

Alice Moore| 9.2.10 @ 6:42PM

It would be like my generation(b. 1958)only listening to Glen Miller and the other Big Bands in the 1970s and eschewing Led Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac.

I feel very sorry for this generation.

Occam's Tool| 9.2.10 @ 7:27PM

Umm, Led Zeppelin kicks the ass of any music of "this generation." So does Steely Dan, The Doors, The Stones, The Grateful Dead---I didn't listen to any of them as a teenager in the 70s---I was too focused on getting into the six year med. I listened to them as an adult in the 90s.

Old Soldier| 9.2.10 @ 9:27PM

Can't argue with the rest but Led Zep is nothing but a good cover band.

http://www.warr.org/zep.html

PACoug| 9.6.10 @ 2:28PM

I didn't know Zep did covers.

Thought their stuff was original.

Did they cover some Spinal Tap stuff?

Just kidding. You can be a good cover band and still be totally awesome--look at Van Halen. Eddie still makes up licks faster than the other guitarists can copy them, and they hardly had a hit that wasn't a cover.

Real Old Guy| 9.10.10 @ 4:04AM

That site is complete crap. I compared the lyrics for Moby Grape's "Never" and Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You" that the reviewer at the link says: "lyrics are the same as Moby Grape's "Never," though the music isn't similar".

The lyrics are not the same. Nowhere close, even. The first sentence is similar but that's as far as it goes. The rest of the song lyrics are completely different. There is no basis for the defamatory claim. And most of the other 'evidence' looks sketchy too.

Of course Led Zeppelin haters are all over -- Rolling Stone magazine used to be the same way. They couldn't stand the success of Led Zeppelin. Now, like the article says, RS is just another celebrity mag.

Alice Moore| 9.3.10 @ 7:12AM

I wasn't saying that there were good bands in this present day. It's just that today's young music enthusiast must go back for a great selection.

rb| 9.2.10 @ 10:59PM

i walked into an old record store in Austin , summer 2009, just to see what was in there. the guy working there said young kids were coming in after the guitar hero thing was going strong. They were buying old rock in roll records because they were introduced to, and liked, the music loaded in them.

A. Murray Kahn| 9.2.10 @ 6:37AM

I was a recoding engineer in the time leading up to MJ's Thriller. In that time of schlock, "album" sales were diastrous. Record executives were lobbying heavily for a tax on blank cassettes to be paid to themselves to make up for free downloading (from broadcast to tape). Oh how they howled. Unfortunately for their argument Quincey Jones produced Thriller and the collection of songs set new records (pun noted) for sales. Someone I know is responsible for pitch correcting a well known singer using the latest digital tools. All the clappy handy prancing and gangsta dancing in the world along with light shows and pyrotechnics won't make up for crap material. It really won't. And without honest emotions there is no reason to care. In a song, the performer can't just start screaming the hook over and over, especially if it has no meaning or emotional resonance. In music at least, you have to earn your orgasm.

Anastasia Mather| 9.2.10 @ 9:37AM

My youngest went to school to become a sound engineer. Some time, Google or Bing Autotune and you will come up with many hilarious sendups of the people who can't sing, but can shake their booties properly. Especially Weird Al Yankovic sending that up.

Michael L. Hauschild| 9.2.10 @ 7:00AM

The demise of the recording industry is simply the same phenomenon occurring to the MSM. People do not like what they are hearing and turn to the input provided by the internet. (Right now I am listening to “Baby Come Back” by the Equals, a tune that no doubt ranks right up there with Branigan’s “Gloria” as something I will hum in my mind all day long.) Why my antiqued venue? So help me Lord, they play Lady Gaga, Fergie, and Perry all day as background where I work.

Alert1201| 9.2.10 @ 8:07AM

I took my family to a minor league baseball game here in Dallas Texas this summer and between innigs they played videos of Gaga and other current MTV sensations and I was stunned by the loud-lude-in-your-face attitude of the videos. Cannot believe people expose their kids to such garbage.

Last night I was You-tubing some of early MTV vidoes I remeber watching and the difference was daunting. Squeeze, Split Enz, Flock of Seagulls and Duran-Duran were not my cup of tea but at least you could listen to them w/o felling like you were being dragged through a strip club.

P. Aaron| 9.2.10 @ 7:21AM

IN the 60's in Detroit, CKLW AM was it. They played everything from the Stax & Volt artists, to Motown, to B.B. King, to the Phil Spector productions, The Beatles, The Stones, The Kinks, all of the great British artists, to locals like the Stooges and the MC5, along with Chicago style Blues and the Califonia sounds, & Mississppi - Louisiana blues based artists. Some diversity daily on one station.

Along came FM and while providing more stereo fidelity, eventually ended up segregating all of these artists and styles into individual niches leaving one stuck to button-push the radio or flip the dial. Hey it was technological progress.

Then came along the video age where imagery eventually trumped the listener. Most folks listen to music or watch TV. Occasionally, you can see an artist play music on TV. But a face for recording excellence doesn't a;ways make for good television. Sadly, TV won out.

scotchieguy| 9.2.10 @ 4:13PM

But the music was REALLY good back then. Other than a few alt/indep. artists like Lucinda Williams and Wilco, the music today is just dreadful.

geezer| 9.10.10 @ 4:16AM

True. I would add that home theater has almost killed the audio business. People quit listening to stereos as they migrated to home theater, and the quality of audio equipment has since plummeted.

I also blame Bose for coming out with those tiny little overrated cube speakers. They started a trend toward smaller and uglier speakers that we're still suffering from.

If you want to experience music get an old component system. They don't make that stuff like they used to, especially for the low price you pay for the old vintage gear now.

stmichrick| 9.2.10 @ 7:49AM

The built-in flaw of the record industry is that it only promotes what is new and how it 'looks.'

As a jazz fan , there is a wealth of undiscovered 'gold' that I missed because I was too YOUNG. Accessibility of music for purchase has never been better. They need to come up with another excuse.

LaneyB| 9.2.10 @ 7:51AM

When we were seventeen my future husband and I sat cross-legged on the floor singing and tapping out the beat to everything Motown and English invasion (Beatles, Stones, etc.) that came on the radio or from our antique stereos. We fell in love to that music as it swelled with emotion and captured the musical rapture of the times. Now that we are in our seventh decade, we shake our collective head whenever a clip on TV shows a performer trying to sing something unlistenable.

The death of melodic music came at the same time as the rise of talk radio. I see a pattern there.

Hanslick| 9.2.10 @ 7:59AM

Simon Said "I could be home listening to Beethoven."

GreginOkinawa| 9.2.10 @ 8:05AM

This customer rebellion against the music industry we are seeing is the Free Market answer to the music industries' illegal price collusion that has gone unchecked for years. Honestly, when was the last time anyone purchased a CD and liked as much as half the songs on the album? Usually only one or two, BUT, alas, all recording companies offer about the same number of crap songs on the CD at about the same price...illegal price collusion, and we consumers are sick of it. f ther music industry wants me to by a CD, then dammit, record something good, natural, and honest.

AMENBRO| 9.2.10 @ 8:08AM

WHFS, WHFS,man you cause me to shed more than one tear. Last I heard they went MARIACHI without warning at 5:00pm after relocating from Bethesda to Arlington. I had the priviledge of living the FM subculture that was DC from 75 to 81.
Their Bumper Sticker WHFS HOMEGROWN RADIO 102.3 in BETHESDA , MD. is the folder JPEG for my Music Files on 2 externals. I was stationed at the NNMC in Bethesda, I have carted their Lowell George commemorative poster from state to state for 30 years. Its framed now, prominently placed in my man cave.. But you can see the tape marks & pin holes in the corners,,LOL.

The WEASEL. Man you make me wanna be 20 again. I have got at least a 200 slowly oxidizing cassette tapes from their nightly Midnite Album plays. I remember one afternoon they were playing some slammin stuff, never heard before , never heard again. I called up & asked the DJ what kind a music it was , he said I don't know great stuff isn't it. The DJs , the music, the PSYCHEDELI across the street. The Bar scene in DC late 70s, Warner, Lisner, Cellar Door, Carter Barron, Wolftrap, Bayou, HOLY SHEET BATMAN.

MAN. Man-o-Man did you really pen a piece sir. Thank you so much for reminding me why I got a 1.5TB & growing media stored library for my son when he grows EARS. Also why, I listen not a note to the RADIO or TV muuuzak. Praise God & Greyhound for 30gig IPODS & 50-79 JAZZ, BLUES & ROCK-n-ROLL.

Raised this poor boys spirits for weeks sir. thank you sincerely for penning what I've been saying for 15 years. LADY GAG ME YEEEEEECH

Steve| 9.2.10 @ 8:22AM

Do you notice how arbitrarily the music industry goes after scofflaws. Do they go to the inner city or even the suburbs to find them? No they go to University's were the students are all nice and gathered up and the IT divisions supportive with worries of liability. Meanwhile, the vastly larger population happily downloads with impunity. Good luck with getting this phenomenon back in the bottle.

Alert1201| 9.2.10 @ 8:22AM

There is definitely a lack of talent at all levels of the entertainment industry. A few years ago I bought my kids the complete set of the Muppet shows. It provided (and still does) hours upon hours of pure enjoyment. When you look at the talent that was available to the show in the 70s and early 80s it is stunning. The a partial list of hosts just for the first two seasons were people like Elton John, Ruth Buzzie, Milton Burle, Lou Rawles, Julie Andrews, Connie Stevens, Paul Williams, Jim Nabors, Lina Horn, Peter Ustinov, Vincent Price, Rich Little, Peter Sellers and George Burns. And they all sang, acted, danced and told jokes. It was an amazing to think about. And most of these performers had been loved and adored by the public for decades, going back to the pre-TV years of vaudeville.

A show like the Muppets could never be done today. If they did they would run out of popular talented guests after the first season.

Anastasia Mather| 9.2.10 @ 9:39AM

Yes! For my son's 30th birthday, we bought him all three seasons of this show - what a delight of talent and comedy and genius!!! He howled with delight when he opened his gift.

Mr. Rolf| 9.2.10 @ 12:32PM

I must agree. One of the annoying things about Sesame Street are those stupid, two-minute cameos by Hollwood actors ("Hi! My name is Hugh/Debra/Ricky/Jenny and I'm going to talk about the letter B!"). The worst was when they had Sarah-Jessica Parker shilling her 'Sex in the City" work by talking about how she was waiting for "Big" (in a discussion with Grover). "Big" turned out to be Big Bird. Jesus, is there no shame?

RickG| 9.6.10 @ 12:50AM

Totally agree on the lack of talent. Our grandson watches a lot of Cartoon Network. Can't believe the amateurish stuff on there. At least they do have Tom & Jerry on, so there is some class.

Big Tony| 9.2.10 @ 8:32AM

An interesting and perhaps mostly accurate prospective I believe that the role of major radio station owners such as Clear Channel also played a huge part in this as well.
Additionally pricing is a problem look, for instance at the cost of a DVD where the movie cost $150 million or more to produce and the cost of a CD that could cost less than 1% of that to produce yet the 2 products a simularly priced at the retail level. Someone is being gouged and the savy consumer knows who that someone is.
I like XM because you can be exposed to good new music, it's is out there if you hunt for it. But once again if cost is a consideration, and if the choice is add to my collection of CD's or pay for XM I'll take a something I can physically own over a service anyday. Peole like me are something XM/Sirrius should have considered that when pricing and before launching their service.

Doctor Right| 9.2.10 @ 8:33AM

Let's not forget that the "pop" in pop-music stands for "popular", meaning it was written for the great, unwashed masses of lumpenroles, most of whom have very plebian tastes.

Pop music has always been crap.

(Sorry to sound like an elitist, but if I hear anymore hip-hop garbage being referred to as "music", I'm going to puke).

groovimus| 9.2.10 @ 9:52AM

A pretty elitist arrogant comment. Would you consider the popular Jethro Tull "crap"? Go listen on youtube to "With You There To Help Me" by the group.

Doctor Right| 9.2.10 @ 11:33AM

Jethro Tull is NOT "pop". Jethro Tull is "rock".

You're confusing your idiomatic expressions.

"Pop" music means a particular type of music. It's quasi-rock, quasi-lite, and generally vapid, meaningless, and devoid of substance.

Think "Top-40" ( a format that will rarely if ever play Jethro Tull). Think bubble-gum rock. Think Billboard.

Pop is the musical equivalent of a generic product. It sounds like a song...It's made of notes, and melodies, and harmonies...People sing it, and play instruments...But it's ultimately not very satisfying.

Most of your "one-hit wonders" in the music industry are "pop" performers.

That doesn't mean there aren't talented "pop" performers. Look at the late Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop". But don't forget that MJ came-up as a Motown artist, and NOT a pop-performer. And don't forget that he had real, genuine talent that enabled him to have cross-over appeal to rock, pop, R&B, and Motown.

Hope that helps to explain things.

BTW...Jethro Tull are still performing??

AMENBRO | 9.2.10 @ 12:08PM

Not elitest nor arrogant in the least sir. Quite to the contrary. The very plebeian tastes to which you refer are a stark indicator of exactly how ignorant the US educational system has rendered the populous. MOTOWN was POP, Hank Williams Sr & Hee Haw was Pop. All rock & roll short of PROG Rock was pop. Research marketing consistently defines the narrowing of the AMERICAN Attention span. TITS, SEX, & Violence is about all 80% of the population fixates on through the desensitization of moral-less education & coarsening of society due to Liberal howls of freedom of expression & ACLU howls to moral reinforcement education, the lack of a participation in the town square and lastly the ELITE MEDIA. No sir you are exactly right. Plebian tastes have deteriorated for the worst enabling garbage to be shoveled down their throats adding to their ever broadening bottoms cause they for the most part have no respect for themselves either. Look around at just how many lard asses POP-u-late our country.

scotchieguy| 9.2.10 @ 4:26PM

As a music snob and as a movie snob, I find the similarities striking--the same crowd attracted to a summer block buster is the same crowd attracted to some superficial top-40 crap on the radio. If it sells, it is probably crap. This sounds elitist, but it is true. Same thing w/ most products. You rarely see ads for Porsche or Chivas, other than in exclusive magazines. Most beer advertised during football games is crap--miller, coors, etc. Most popular music is sold and marketed to the masses who really do not have very sophisticated tastes. There IS good music out there--you just have to find it. My latest thing is to check out great un-heard bands at local joints before they get too big. It's a real treat when you do. A perfect example--the band Spoon. They sound very similar to John Lennon in '69-71, very sparse, passionate, but oh so good. And you can see them up close in a club.

Hank Rearden - WI| 9.3.10 @ 12:19AM

Actually Tull just started, at their website, jtull.com, a 365 radio link to hear nothing but Tull, through a plethora of venues.

While their work ranks very highly in my library Ian Anderson's comments in the Asbury Park Press shortly after 9/11, have caused me to ONLY buy their music on used CDs thru Ebay. Ian and his bank account would have been better served had he followed Joe Walsh's advice to " shut up and play your guitar (flute)."

Austrian Outlook| 9.3.10 @ 12:20PM

Sorry Hank but you have misattributed a quote from the late great Frank Zappa. Now there is the definition of "not pop".

stmichrick| 9.2.10 @ 8:39AM

I think there exists the same number of talented people, it's just that the sound (hip hop or angry and whiny drone music) that sells to the targeted demographic is at odds with grounded (educated, sophisticated) musicians have to offer.

Give jazz a listen.

Ghost Of Michael O'Donoghue| 9.2.10 @ 8:50AM

Cool, you can never have enough Dave Edmunds in any record collection. Also, regarding pricing of DVD's vs. CD's, Entertainment Weekly ran a piece in the past year about the decline of CD sales. Most current DVD's come down in price, a lot, after a year or so, while CD's, especially back catalog items, never do. Also, record companies, for whatever reason, ignore the interests of the consumer. A case in point, the band Squeeze, recently rerecorded some of their greatest hits for a CD called "Spot The Difference". The reason? The company that holds the US rights to their catalogue, for whatever reason, refuses to reissue it, so the band took it on themselves to re-record some of their best material, and put Universal's feet to the fire, and reissue their classic stuff. It's boneheaded business decisions like this, and not pricing CD's affordably that has led to the decline of the record business.

Adam| 9.2.10 @ 1:46PM

a good point, and in line with an excellent point made by a local DJ in my hometown: A DVD of a new hit movie will retail for between $10 and $15, while a CD soundtrack of the SAME movie (being a CD it has less info on it) will retail between $12 and $17. Does that make any sense??? BTW, the record industry's figures are being skewed, because you see ?I have not purchased a NEW CD in years. I pick up used CDs in good condition from Amazon, ebay, the local flea markets, yard sales. Wonder how many other people do the same?

scotchieguy| 9.2.10 @ 4:30PM

I have hundreds of used CD's. One of the things wrecking the
CD-buying experience is they are simply too long. Half of any given CD is filler. In the 70's a typical record was around 40 mins. long. Today, most CD's are 70 mins. So, it is not as satisfying. It is diluted. It is terrible marketing. An innovative record co. should take the best 40 minutes of a given disc, and market that as the album for 7.99...guarantee they would sell alot more.

Rachel| 9.3.10 @ 4:41PM

I agree, most cds are way too long and filled with a lot of garbage. However, there are some artists that are doing shorter 6-song albums. Blake Shelton is one example. But still. The only new music I listen to is country and it's really starting to be so bad I want to rip my radio out of my car.

Alice Moore| 9.2.10 @ 7:03PM

I do the same. I have purchased individual songs on ITunes(none of them Top 10).

August's hard copy purchases were Chopin's Nocturnes the Who Live at Leeds. Half of the artists are Dead White Guys.

Trebuchet| 9.2.10 @ 8:57AM

I recently purchased a DVD of Jimi Hendrix's set at Monterey Pop. After watching it I turned to my wife and said, "If they wanted to destroy Lady Gaga, all they would have to do is let Jimi Hendrix open for her".

Alice Moore| 9.2.10 @ 7:06PM

Amen to that. I disagree with everything that was advocated by the 60's set. Worse still were those artists' opinions.

But, they did have Talent.

Old Soldier| 9.2.10 @ 9:33PM

During the "Monsters of Rock" tour in '88 Van Halen made the mistake of letting Metallica open.

Hank Rearden - WI| 9.3.10 @ 12:09AM

"If they wanted to destroy Lady Gaga, all they would have to do is let Jimi Hendrix open for her".

Ouch - That ones gonna leave a scar.

(Great ID, too.)

Rob| 9.2.10 @ 9:00AM

Hits are marketed. They have little to do with talent, the ability of singers to sing or writers having the talent to compose quality pieces. Hits have alot more to do with how talented the sound technician mixes and 'fixes' the music. I have never had a problem paying for the music I listen to. I will continue to buy music as long as there is something out there that I deem worthy of buying. I try to keep in touch on what is selling and popular by using sites such as iTunes. I am shocked at what I hear...am I sounding like my father yet?

MikeBee| 9.2.10 @ 9:02AM

What we are experiencing is the result of the Sixties Generation's push for a lack of standards in everything. Liberals of the time would say, "Why should we have to learn standards, and practice for hours on boring compositions? Art (Music) really comes from within the person, and is an expression of the human person, always good, always honest." Bunk. Artists of all types today are simply untrained. No longer could an artist today produce such a beautiful work as Manilow's Mandy, adapting a classical piece of music to beautiful lyrics. The changes of tempo and mood in Brian Wilson's "Good Vibrations" leave modern artists in the dust. The Beatles' use of a full orchestra stirred the listener's soul; what today ranks the same?

We need to return to training our children in standards in all subjects. Sit your xxs down and practice, practice, practice, and maybe one day you can hope to be one of the better ones at your craft. If all artists do is "express themselves," we may not like what we see, for all we will see is humanity, when we all yearn to transcend humanity. Artists of the past could aid a listener in transcending reality; today's artists just throw more reality in your face.

Walden| 9.2.10 @ 9:03AM

Let's face it, the only positive legacy of the hippies was their music. Pick up a Grateful Dead Dick's Pick live CD or two, and crank up the knob on your stereo. Go buy the DVD "The Last Waltz" a concert primarily including The Band, but also many other wonderful performers from the 60's and 70's. This stuff today is a joke.

JP| 9.2.10 @ 9:32AM

My 2 oldest sons (13 and 15) started playing the guitar about 2 years ago. My 15 year old moved to the bass after a few months, while my 13 year old enjoys playing rhythm guitar. They both were attracted to the funk-rap-metal of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But that was 18 months ago. From listening to guitarists John Fruscante and Flea that were drawn to some of the music I listen to on occaison (early Led Zepplin and other acid blues performers). And from there, they began to appreciate jazz and early R&B, and Funk. Much of this can be attributed to You Tube (the bane of the music industry), and the fact that they can download the sheet music and tabs for free (another benefit of the Internet).

Thier taste for current pop music (or what passes for it) decreased during this period. I find it ironic how a younger generation of people are rediscovering music that rarely gets any "air time" these days. Go figure.

scotchieguy| 9.2.10 @ 4:35PM

It is because they are "playing" music. As a long-time guitarist, I can attest to the infectious nature of hearing a great musician and wanting to emulate it...keep them playing!

John - TMF| 9.2.10 @ 9:43AM

Talk about "striking a cord!"

My 20 year old son was in the basement looking for "stuff" to decorate his apartment room at school. I was busy getting other household things done, when I heard him hollering from the bowels of the basement storeroom... "DAD!!! DAD!!! Can I take them? PLEASE!!! Wow these are so cool... like ROCK history!!!"

He had found my old Orange crate of my Vinyl records of ages past...

From 1976 Eagles - "Hotel California", Boston's "Boston"... Boz Scaggs

All of the Cars albums, Dire Straits... Blondie... etc.

But he wanted the albums to hang up on his wall in a display, not the actual vinyl, the covers.

What I am finding from my three kids, youngest is my 9th grade daughter, is interesting and sort of sad in a way. The boys are hungry for "Classic Rock". The old admonition "TURN IT DOWN!!!" is an exercise in literally, not figuratively channeling my parents. It is really difficult to entreat them to turn down "Foreplay/ Long Time"; especially when the impulse is to crank it up yourself...

The daughter, alas, is where I really feel that the "Pop" music culture has decided its best money and limited talents are spent. She is stuck on that rolling fetid mess once known as Bubble Gum. Rotating teen heartthrobs cranked out with the musical taste of plain oatmeal, and the brutal efficiency of a factory assembly line.

The last great musical impulse in what is known as the Rock Era is the Seattle Sound/Grunge movement of the early 1990's. It was a Gen-X echo of Punk and New Wave of the late 70's.

And then the world went Emo... Motown lost out to Hip-Hop's eternal anger fueled sameness (as a movement it is probably eligible for AARP)... the Apple rotted... The Stones eventually dribbled to a halt and were covered by moss.

Sadly, the dynamic inventive, revolutionary ever changing world of modern music exhausted itself... and our kids are picking up the trail searching for melody in their lives.

"Paradise by the Dashboard Light" was prophetic... on many levels, wasn't it?

Regards,

The Mighty Fahvaag

Ken in People's Republic of MD| 9.2.10 @ 10:17AM

Oh, yes, the great HFS, run by a guy called Einstein(really). As noted above, it went Spanish dance about seven years ago. The calls are still here, in Baltimore on a sports talk station, but it's not the same.
But there are a couple of worthy successors to the HFS legacy. And to be sure, HFS, in its last days, went from an underground, alternative DJ's choice station to a much more corporate one.

But fear not, Annapolis's WRNR took over from WHFS and plays indy rock, with a lot of classic alternative and new non-mainstream music. You can hear Hendrix segue into The Sundays segue into Bob Marley segue into The Beatles segue into Death Cab For Cutie segue into Coldplay segue into.....and the beat goes on.

In Baltimore, Towson University's WTMD-which was WCVT back when I worked for it back in the early 80's- plays a very eclectic mix that puts even RNR to shame. It's an NPR station but it's kept its college radio roots, and college radio is where it's at. So there's hope on the airwaves.

And don't forget Record and Tape Traders, with locations all through the Baltimore Metro area. It's collection of hippies, yippies, and mods, running the place can find just about anything and their music knowledge is unsurpassed. It's what you would expect of a music store that hits you with incense as soon as you walk in the door. I love it.

Bob Miller| 9.2.10 @ 10:19AM

While the best 1960's-1970's music was fun to listen to and even inspired/inspiring at times, memory plays tricks on us. Much of that era's playlist was nothing to brag about. Today, we still have the valleys, but far fewer peaks.

scotchieguy| 9.2.10 @ 4:40PM

Man, what world do you live in? Listen to Let it Bleed, Abbey Road, Who's Next or the Allmans at Fillmore East, and tell me anything that even comes close today? That was the high-renaissnace of music--today is the dark ages...

Appleby| 9.2.10 @ 10:48AM

Most of the British Invasion music was 4-chord boring guitar with a drummer that knew one or two riffs. What made it take off the way it did was its siimultaneous release with the availability of satellite television -- the first time we could get life teevee from outside North America. In fact, it was a lot like when teevee was first invented, for those of us who can remember.

Had they come along five years later, nobody would have cared.

rongordo | 9.2.10 @ 10:58AM

I don't know... a lot of it still works and finds new listeners.

RickG| 9.6.10 @ 12:56AM

Agree it still works. I watch You-tube a lot and most of the comments on the old songs are from young people who hate the new "music".

rongordo | 9.2.10 @ 10:54AM

The problem with American Idol is that it's giving us new versions of Michael Bolton. So they got great lungs. It's karaoke, basically, and nobody cares. Give us a band talent show, where creative musicians have to write and play their own stuff, and have the judges be local highschool kids. Technical proficiency is only half of the process.

DVG93| 9.3.10 @ 9:55AM

I agree. Think Ed Sullivan. Elvis, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Mamas and the Papas, Paul Revere and the Raiders.

What would the ratings be for AI if talent like that came on?

PACoug| 9.6.10 @ 2:57PM

I've been very impressed by some of the Idol performers. That Carrie Underwood has been very respectful of her genre's traditions and elder statesmen, and the Opry crowd has enthusiastically embraced her as one of their own.

She can do roots with the best of them in the country genre.

As for others there, I'm one of the guys that despite being straight really appreciated the talent of the gay guy a couple years ago. I'm sure you'll agree, Adam Lambert is NOT Michael Bolton, or anything like thereunto. The guy also happens to be visually outrageous and philosophically offensive, and will probably die of AIDS.

But ask the members of Queen--they would kill to have this guy fronting for them.

Lambert would have been a star without American Idol. Idol gave him exposure it would have taken years to achieve from Broadway, and then nobody would have taken him seriously as a rock and roll vocalist--which he is utterly capable of.

Now, if he can hook up with a band as good as he is.

David| 9.2.10 @ 11:15AM

At least 80% of the songs the #1 radio station in town plays are from the 80's and 90's. (in reality it probably more like 90%+) Out of the 250 songs on my IPod less than half a dozen are from the last 10 years.

Off the top of my head I couldn't even name more than one or two songs that have come out over the last 5 years and I listen to the radio almost every day. Maybe I am just getting old, but when the music industry just ignores everyone over 25 it is their own fault no one is buying their records.

Seek| 9.2.10 @ 11:26AM

I have a suggestion for Daniel Flynn: The next time U2 or Bruce Springsteen come to his town, let him count the empty seats come showtime. If he can find one, let him write another column.

Paul D| 9.2.10 @ 1:16PM

U2 is a political movement, not a rock band.

Bruce Springsteen is a 70's band, not much newer than Led Zeppelin. You have inadvertently proved everyone elses point here.

Cheers, Paul

Seek| 9.2.10 @ 2:38PM

Paul, you've inadvertantly proven the power of wishful thinking.

U2 is a rock band first, second and last -- Bono's politics are a sidebar issue. People don't go to the group's concerts for sermons and never have. They go for the music. Ever been at one?

As for Springsteen, he's a contemporary musician. The fact that his career started in the Seventies doesn't mean he's a "Seventies act." In point of fact, he didn't become a mega-platinum seller until 1984, the year of "Born in the USA." In any event, record sales aren't the same thing as artistry -- and Bruce has retained cartloads of both, even though I don't care much for his politics either.

Cynics out there have declaring rock and pop to be "dead" ever since Elvis went into the Army in 1958. The predictions, as always, never come true. And neither will the equally half-baked prognostications of Daniel Flynn.

Paul D| 9.2.10 @ 3:35PM

Seek,

I think you're missing Flynn's basic point that popular music today sucks, which is why no one is buying it. I don't know what prognostication Flynn is making other than if it got better, people would start buying it again.

Seek| 9.2.10 @ 6:24PM

I understand Flynn's point. The problem is that it's wrong -- and badly argued. The author cherry-picks a few superstar-hyped artists like Lady Gaga under the guise of "proving" his preordained conclusion. I can't spend too much time at this, but check out Little Steven's Underground Garage (weekly, nationally-syndicated two-hour radio program) for some great recent releases that aren't getting heard enough on commercial radio.

Again, let it be said: Record sales and content are two entirely separate things. A moderate downturn in domestic sales does not an artistic collapse make.

Louis Jenkins| 9.2.10 @ 11:27AM

So much of today's music is visual. Crazy dance moves that require a performer to be double jointed. What's more the sound tracks are computer enhanced. Even the magazines that used to cover music have moved on to social issues. Listen to popular mussak is a misnomer. Who listens? While the music industry makes claims against the free downloaders, maybe people have just stopped listening.

Stoddard| 9.2.10 @ 3:25PM

Not only is so much of the music bad, so much of it sounds alike from bad engineering/mastering.
Look up:
The Death of High Fidelity: In the age of MP3s, sound quality is worse than ever
By Robert Levine

Tom Osterman| 9.4.10 @ 2:11PM

"Fidelity" is not the problem. In the old days, a lot of stations on the AM dial played pop/rock/R&B and prospered. Individual songs were sold as singles on 45 records, not LPs. A great many teenagers listened to music on record players (not stereos) or on handheld transister radios with two-inch speakers. The MP3 format may be sound inferior to an LP, but it's the music that flies or doesn't. Bad music doesn't sound any better in high fidelity.

Sandra| 9.2.10 @ 11:32AM

Our daughter (age 24) favorite recording group is
Lynyrd Skynyrd, and ours is still Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band. Our son (22) has taken (MP3 copies) of all my Moody Blues and REM with him to Afghanistan.

Really there has not been much in the last 10 years (other than old favorites doing some new material releases).

Ignoring over 25? I think they are ignoring almost everyone except their tiny social circles

Maddox| 9.2.10 @ 12:26PM

They market music much like the MSM markets politicians. They tell us how to think and what we should buy (how to vote). Most current musicians have no talent, their voices and music are digitally enhanced in studio. They are selling the image they want to promote rather than substance. The public is no longer buying either.

cuban pete| 9.2.10 @ 11:33AM

Since their birth I have taken every opportunity to babysit my grand kids. Once in my house they are "subjected" to Ellington, Basie, Sinatra, Bird & Diz. Interspersed are the Three B's, Handel & Purcell. One night while humming "You are my sunshine" to my eldest grandson before bedtime he turned to me and said,"Hey Poppy, How about something by Basie?" I switched to "Corner Pocket". In any event it is a moment I'll never forget.
I'm happy to say my two sons have an appreciation for quality music as well .
There is hope.

stmichrick| 9.2.10 @ 8:12PM

Finally, some taste.

Petronius| 9.2.10 @ 11:40AM

I bought 1 CD this year. Rolf Lislevand's Diminuito. It is period music in modern arrangement. And it is highly pleasant without being schmaltz.
Today's SOSPHAD offerings of aural excrement are simply louder than that which Steve Simuls complained of being "redolent of an electric eel expiring on a rotisserie" so many moons ago in the now defunct Stereo Review. But I pitched my Frank Zappa and embraced the Tallis Scholars long since. And above listening, I had the privilege of singing heavy polyphony with Met winners and a dear friend who studied with The King's Singers. Real Music will give you the urge to make It yourself.
But Pop is bottom. It is just put out there because it does not require listening; the common frequency everybody is on just like Facebook.
Real Music has succumbed to Price's 1st Law of marketing. "If everybody doesn't want it, nobody gets it."
FYI: The temple of LP's known as the Record Exchange is 2 blocks from me and my System.

NavyBrat | 9.2.10 @ 12:24PM

By & large, modern day music SUCKS. I like my Dave Matthews (yes, I know his politics suck, but I dig his music) & Big Head Todd & the Monsters, but that's about it.

I listen almost EXCLUSIVELY to classic rock like Zeppelin, Floyd, Creedence, Hendrix, ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Boston, Journey, the Eagles, etc. The only NEW artists I like are ususally blues guys.

No one makes music like BB King, Stevie Ray, Albert King, or guys like them. Johnny Lang, Joe Bonamassa, & Kenny Wayne Sheppard are great modern blues musicians.

Start making good music again, & people will listen.

Here's one of the BEST blues performances I've ever seen or hear. Its Joe Bonamassa & Eric Clapton at the Royal Albert Hall. If you like blues, check this out. I PROMISE you won't be disappointed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEEfDdJyxPY

Kenneth E. MacAlister Jr.| 9.2.10 @ 2:00PM

Navy Brat, if you want to hear some really good blues-rock check out the following:
1) Anything by the original Peter Green-led version of Fleetwood Mac. This band was & is criminally overlooked & made the best blues-rock of the late '60s. I forgot about Eric Clapton after hearing Peter Green & Danny Kirwan's blues guitar playing. A good starting place is a 2-cd set titled "Jumping At Shadows, The Blues Years"
2) Any of Peter Green's solo albums
3) "East-West" by The Paul Butterfield Blues Band feat. Michael Bloomfield & Elvin Bishop on guitar
4) Anything by Robin Trower
5) "The Biggest Thing Since Colossus" by Otis Spann backed by Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
6) "7936" South Rhodes by Eddie Boyd backed by Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
7) "Live At The Waldorf" by Michael Bloomfield
8) "Freddie King's Greatest Hits Vols. 1,2,# 3"
9) Anything by Joe "Guitar" Hughes
10) Anything by Ronnie Earl
11) Anything by Walter Trout
12) Anything by Jimmy Thackery
13) Anything by Buddy Guy
14) Anything by Roy Buchanan
15) Anything by Rory Gallagher
16) "Truth" & "Beck-Ola" by Jeff Beck
17) Anything By Albert King
18) "A Hard Road" (Deluxe Edition) by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers feat. Peter Green
19"Crusade" by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers feat. Mick Taylor
20) "Long Old Road" by The Brunning/Hall Sunflower Blues Band
I could go on forever, but this list will keep you busy for quite a while. Enjoy!

NavyBrat | 9.2.10 @ 2:05PM

Mr. MacAlister.

Thanks for the list. I've LONG been a Buddy Guy fan & have seen an amazing YouTube vid of him playing with Jeff Beck. Almost as amazing as the Joe Bonamassa & Clapton video. What did you think of it (the video I posted)?

scotchieguy| 9.2.10 @ 4:49PM

A good list, w/ some serious ommissions. I 'll be really specific:

Allman Bros. at Fillmore "71
Roy Buchanan--livestock
Popa Chubby--hit the high hard one
Original bluesbreakers w/ Clapton--first album
Jeff Beck-Wired
Jeff Beck-Blow by blow
Rolling Stones--get your ya ya's out --Mick Taylor
at his brilliant best

Bob Miller| 9.2.10 @ 12:32PM

Other worthy blasts from the past:
Lonnie Mack
Youngbloods
Brinsley Schwarz
King Biscuit Boy + Crowbar
Sir Douglas Quintet
Fairport Convention

T1Brit| 9.2.10 @ 12:33PM

Spotify is going to change the face of music.

Once people have it they never want to give it up.

It's the most wonderful thing to happen since the invention of records - it's like having every song in the world on a single jukebox.

Typical that the American music industry is resisting tooth and nail. They want to keep it simple - like the good old days - play Mddona's new 'song' 100 times a day on every station and watch the moollah roll in.

Thank God for the Internet.

Kurt| 9.2.10 @ 12:38PM

I would rather beat my head against a concrete wall then listen to rap music, it would be MUCH less painful!!! I miss the music of the seventies, groups like lynyrd skynyrd, bad company, boston, led zeppelin, eagles, reo, kinks, ted nugent, pink floyd, humble pie and so many more!!! I lust for the old days of rolling up a fat one with a friend in my 72 nova with a craig powerplay stereo with jenson tri-axials and listening to PF's money. Yes, music has changed for the worst! I watched an old Nervana video on youtube last night called teen spirit and fell in love with the quality of the music. Listening to the local radio stations today is disgustingly bad!!!

scotchieguy| 9.2.10 @ 4:54PM

...a fat one w/ a Pioneer Super-tuner w/ Jensen tri-ax's in a 67 Camaro listening to this intro: "OK, the Allman Brothers Band...one, two, one, two, three--duh, duh, da, da, duh" ... and a sixpack of cold millers on a hot summer night.

scotchieguy| 9.2.10 @ 4:56PM

BTW, check out Wilco and Drive by Truckers, two of the best newer bands--really, really good....and they keep getting better!

Petronius| 9.3.10 @ 2:18AM

Somebody told me "the C in Rap is silent." Some liberals I know were taken aback a fortnight ago when a white youth was accosted and beaten by a black for listening to that genre on his Ipod, and I piled on with "served him right." They almost dropped their glasses of chardonay as I told them I considered the white teens listening to such rubbish cultural treason. Since that black youth wouldn't abide a wannabe, good for him. And that left them all totally flummoxed. Not having any culture except hedonism, they couldn't relate to defending it in any way.
Pssst. Want a good song off of Youtube? Try United Breaks Guitars.

Padoux| 9.2.10 @ 12:51PM

At age 64 I'm stuck in the fifties and early sixties music and have no knowledge of today's pop music other that what I read about it. I have become a fan of traditional and moder Celtic music which has rich instrumentation, grace, wonderful gifted vocalists and is very soothing and relaxing. I still like Elvis, Fats, Berry, Buddy Holly, Orbison, Rivers, Cajun rock, John Fogerty, Creedence, Little Richard, Otis Redding, Motown, and on and on. Long live 'em all.

Bill| 9.2.10 @ 1:05PM

The best the writer could do for Sam Cooke is A Change Is Gonna Come? How about Bring It On Home To Me? Or Chain Gang?

Francis W. Porretto | 9.2.10 @ 1:09PM

Some niche markets in contemporary music are quite vibrant. My favorite is "progressive" or "prog" (nothing to do with progressive politics, thanks), which exploits experimental rhythms and rhythm combinations, but usually remains melodic and highly listenable. One particular prog ensemble, Glass Hammer, whose emphasis is on musical narratives drawn from Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, is among the very best groups of our day...but because of the marketing emphases mentioned in this article, GH has had to produce, manufacture, and sell its own CDs. Fortunately, that hasn't impeded them much.

The early veins of gold tapped by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan are tapped out. We must expect to work harder to find what remains.

NaavyBrat | 9.2.10 @ 1:15PM

If y'all wanna hear a good classic rock radio station, the one in Memphis is AWESOME! They're playlist is ALL the best classic rock. With the internet & IHeartRadio on one's iPhone or Blackberry, its easy to listen to them.

Check out Rock103.com

Their morning show is HILLARIOUS too. It runs from 7-11am eastern. Check em out.

Jeff| 9.2.10 @ 1:19PM

I raised my kids on classic rock. Clapton, CSN+Y, CCR, Beatles, Who, Zep, BTO, Guess Who, Lyn Skyn, Doobies, Jefferson, Boston, Kansas, ELO, Fleetwood Mac, BST, Kinks, Aerosmith, Allman Bros, America, Tom Petty, etc, etc, etc. My son is 17 and always says, "You can't go wrong with classic rock." I guess I done good.

A. Murray Khan| 9.2.10 @ 1:27PM

Truly new music forms in the world are rare. By the time a music style has acquired a uniform, the creative days are over. Think Country and Western or Mariachi or Polka. With a uniform, the music has crystalized. Performers come and go and some are better than others, but the form remains largely unchanged. The birth of Rock and roll was a once in a life time explosion caused by the coming together of African rhythm and the Anglo Saxon chord structure. Now rock and roll has a uniform and expectations. The moves are all studied, the attitude is coached and the music has all been heard before. Some of it is highly entertaining and more of it is mediocre. Rock musicians have become America's Mariachi. The hair, the tats, the posture, the denim is completely formulaic. It means no more than a wide sombrero. It is just another costume and pose.

LMajito| 9.2.10 @ 1:32PM

for me it has to do with greed...i was in charge of cd production for one of the first companies that had titles of collections to sale with professional quality (we're talking late 80's here) and back then when the cd industry was in their ancient tracks, a set of three professionally mastered cds (sony did the work) came to about 30 cents each and that include a plastic case and copy art on both the cd and insert for the case...when i go to the store and see that they want around $15 for a cd that has at most 13 tracks in it with perhaps two or three good songs, and the rest marginal at best, I leave it be...i rather give my 99 cents to itunes or amazon or fuentes or any other music outfit for each song that i want, put them in either a cd or mp3 than be fleeced by these greed merchants...put on the cd that was made in china and for sure i'll never buy again a cd...the thing about old school music was that the lyrics spoke of a man that will do anything to win a woman's affection ("when a man loves a woman"), women sang about crossing the earth for her man ("no mountain high enough")...it was music that took one's soul and made it soar...nowadays the obscene look, whorish outfits and filthy language makes one nauseated...and latin artists like shakira with her latest song 'she wolf' takes the top...in colombia (where shakira is from), you call a woman a 'loba' (which is the real title of the song) when she engages in intercourse with every guy that crosses her path...listen to her lyrics...she's bored at home so she leaves her husband and picks up the first guys she encounters at the bar and goes to do the horizontal bop...i like the way she sings but i totally dislike the message/content of her songs...so i don't even listen to her anymore...that's the real reason why sales are dismal...quite pumping out garbage, fleecing with those prices and maybe folks will come back and buy some music...there's way too much good sound produced in the 50-80's range to keep this old dude satisfied for years to come...

Adam| 9.2.10 @ 1:34PM

I think the real problem is niche marketting- that Flynn briefly touches on-is killing the music industry. When Rock and Pop music were universal, it was because the acts appealled to everybody, or at least most everybody. When Elvis was on the top of his game, He really was King. A bit later The Beatles did the same thing. In the 70s Fleetwood Mac and Billy Joel released music and sold millions of albums that appealled to the kids, their 20 something siblings and their 30 and 40 something aunts and uncles. Michael Jackson did the same thing in the 80s. Today popular music is so fractured and comparlmentalized no act can appeal to more that a tiny demographic group. This is because the music industry has so many niches that they are doing a better and better job of marketting to a smaller and smaller audience. In Rock alone, there is Classic Rock, Album Rock, Alternative Rock, Classic Alternative Rock, New Rock, Adult Rock, Hard Rock, Contemorary Rock, and every radio station always plays a just a tiny spectrum of music. Ever heard a radio station playing The Foo Fighters along with Katy Perry, Van Halen, The Violent Femmes and Linkin Park?

paulie4| 9.2.10 @ 1:42PM

Oh this piece hit home! Indeed where HAS the music gone? My wife and I were invited to a dinner party some weeks back and as soon as we walked though the door I knew that something was different, it turned out to be that the host was playing records, you know vinyl? The sound was amazing, like meeting a long lost and most loved friend. The whole party turned into people picking though the hosts albums, putting them on and sharing the music with everyone else. Oh, modern music has lost its soul. Listen to a record, the pops, the hiss, artists coming though, it’s real, it’s great! The last straw for me was when our church’s band leader started using a drum machine to “Supplement” our actual drummer. I made the mistake of asking if the drum machine had a relationship with Jesus Christ or if it was a seeker?

Petronius| 9.3.10 @ 2:23AM

Seek and Ye shall find at AccousticSounds.com out of Salina, Kansas.

GavInTucson| 9.3.10 @ 5:42AM

I prefer vinyl too. Besides the obvious sound issues, there's simply something gratifying about holding the analog product in your hands, as opposed to clicking an electronic device that pulls a digital copy... from the cloud.

Did I mention the sound?

Mojo Risin| 9.2.10 @ 1:43PM

I'm 62 and I don't listen to the trash that's passed off for music today. I prefer Jazz, Blues, most 60's rock, music that doesn't sound all-the-same, music with a distinct individuality. The Doors don't sound like the Beatles, especially Miles, Thelonious, or Frank, YES FRANK!!!

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related

Otis R. Needleman| 9.2.10 @ 3:20PM

I'm a bit younger but in the same music mode as you. I listen to jazz and 60s-mid-70's rock, basically.

Stoddard| 9.2.10 @ 3:35PM

I got a international radio app for my phone and have been enjoying music as far afield as Spanish bolero music, Croatian folk and Hindustani ragas -- even stations playing nothing but movie soundtracks. These radio directories catalog thousands of stations.
There is so much out there we previously only had limited access to. Stay curious!

fsilber| 9.2.10 @ 1:52PM

I think the consumer rebellion is 40 years late in coming. Bad music typifies the 2nd half of the 20th century -- including virtually all cool/progressive jazz, rhythm&blues;, motown, soul, country, country rock, hard rock, punk, or rap. Good music includes most folk, doo-wop, western (as distinct from country -- western has the melody and harmony needed to calm the cattle), almost anything from the 1920s or 1930s, dixieland, ragtime, and serious music from the romantic period (1800s). Some rock&roll; from the 1950s and '60s is also good (e.g. Beatles, Beach Boys, Mommas&Poppas;).

It is truly amazing to realize that I am pretty much the only person who can distinguish between music that sounds good versus that which doesn't.

Felix Mendoza| 9.2.10 @ 2:30PM

As that old Zydeco Blues Revivalist, Blind Sarcastic Rhubarb once said, "Is that an ambulance I'm chasin'!"

Mojo Risin| 9.2.10 @ 1:56PM

Most taste is subjective, I'm sooo sorry for my tastes, but they are mine...

MG| 9.2.10 @ 2:24PM

Check out this new artist. He has been a professional blues musician for 10 years and I had never heard of him. Great jazz/blues talent and right up there at the top of his game like Stevie Ray was.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related

GregA| 9.2.10 @ 2:27PM

I listen to Pandora and CBS online radio at home, and my iPod on the road (unless I'm in a rental car that gets Sirius/XM). I don't listen to commercial radio, mainly for the reasons stated in the article: the niche programming is too limited.

Convet| 9.2.10 @ 3:28PM

I remember, not only the songs, but the fidelity of the recordings. Mobile Fidelity provided recording that were matchless for their time. When CD's made the market they were touted for they're fidelity. Now music, even rereleases, are so compressed as to be unlistenable. I resorted to a dynamic range expander to get some semblance of the way the master was recorded. Now I hunt the second-hand stores for the original releases. None of the new "stuff" is worth buying!

scotchieguy| 9.2.10 @ 4:07PM

One of the main reasons for lousy album sales is kids don't have the attention span to enjoy listening to an album. They are too ADD to even finish listening to any given MP3 in its entirety before they get restless or bored and then click on something else. Or else their buddie texts them, or someone invites them to play mafia wars on facebook. The point is, this is a totally ADHD generation of "instant-gratification" kids they are marketing to. Not to mention the obvious--the music just sucks! No wonder they are listening to their parents music.

TKPedersen | 9.2.10 @ 4:32PM

I stopped buying music when they stopped recording music. I may be odd, but I like my music to have some peculiar things: 1) a tune that I can hum to myself, 2) words that I can sing or speak in civil mixed company, and 3) a rhythm that backs up the tune and words MOST of the time. I do like rythm...and drums...there is nothing as inspiring as drum solo in "Sing, Sing, Sing." If I want to hear somebody swear rhythmically (a rarity, to be sure) or talk casually about killing people (also not my usual desire), I can go down to my local jail and ask to listen in to the goings on in the holding tank. But I guarantee you that I will not spend money or listening time on that kind of detritus put to disc, chip or record...not ever going to happen.

Stephen| 9.2.10 @ 4:58PM

Heck, go to You Tube and listen to Jon Carroll and his son sing "Just Relax"...there are people out there who are real and who love what they do.

Skinner| 9.2.10 @ 5:04PM

I listen to a local FM station that plays mostly classic rock, but a few years ago, I heard this guy and have been a fan every since.
He was "discovered" by Miles Copeland playing at a pizza joint.
He got disgusted with the recording industry and started his own label, Perpetual Obscurity.
Kriss Kristofferson calls him "the best kept secret in the music business".
The video is almost 10 minutes, but it's worth it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0k1Ngd_5FY

TKPedersen| 9.2.10 @ 5:14PM

Good pick, Skinner. Had not heard him before...good stuff. Thanks.

Skinner| 9.2.10 @ 5:38PM

If you ever listened to the Bob and Tom show and heard "It's a Great Day for Me to Woop Somebody's Ass", this is the guy.
He's toured with Toby Keith, Bonnie Raitt, Mark Knopfler and John Prine.
He's got about seven albums out, and they're all different, and all the same.

Ignats75| 9.4.10 @ 11:26PM

Very nice, Never heard of him. Sounds like a little bit of The Band and Little Feat. Not a bad combination.

chris| 9.2.10 @ 7:34PM

This article is spot on.

I would add the dominance and control of the musicians and performers by the large record producers.

Music is so canned that I frequently buy live music recordings to get some of the feeling that goes with performing the music.

And I assiduously try to avoid purchasing CDs produced by MCA, Sony, etc.

I listen to a lot of alt country, alt rock and country rock, much of which is produced on independent labels by artists who I can see in concert at smaller venues for $30 - @.

Seeing the cute chicks in teddys on CD covers is easy on the eyes, but these largely untalented singers wash out after a couple of CDs.

And the faux country musicians (e.g., Carry Underwood, Keith Urban, et al) are all hat and no cattle.

Renard| 9.2.10 @ 9:39PM

Daniel,
I agree with you 100%. I loved the last part. I also have Dave Edmund's "Repeat When Necessary" and several other albums by him also. (I've seen him twice also, great concerts in small venues). Whenever I buy an album, it is invariably no less than 30-35 years old - and often much older yet!.

Interestingly enough, I've noticed many young people today listen to music that is older than I am (46). My 13 year old son is absolutely fanatical (as is my 21-year-old) about the 1940's era music (The Inkspots, Bob Crosby & the Bobcats, Billie Holliday, etc.) in a current popular video game. For weeks now, he has been scoping out the next edition of this game which will be released in another month! His exact quote to my wife and I earlier today, "Greatest music ever!" The funny thing is, I can't say I disagree with him, but I also know full well that MY dad was just a young boy when this music came out!

Old Soldier| 9.2.10 @ 9:40PM

The #3 album is sales this year - Sade, Soldier of Love - is the only one I bought. Almost no radio play or promotion. Just a real artist with a real band.

Unlike Mind| 9.2.10 @ 9:51PM

I tuned out of "popular" music in the early 80's once MTV took hold and every artist had to put their songs to some stupid video. At that point , in addition to still enjoying classic rock as mentioned in many of these posts, I started exploring classical music and jazz/big band from the 1930's up to that time. What a goldmine of fine music! It doesn't get much better than Buddy Rich & Orchestra! I also still enjoy "out of the box" progressive artists such as King Crimson, Soft Machine, Roxy Music and early Genesis (when Peter Gabriel was their front man), etc. Progressive had a resurgance in the 1980's and 90's (Dream Theater a & Flower Kings to name two examples) which I did not learn about until recently. Once the visual image marketing promoters got a hold of pop music, it was a goner... the good news is there is plenty of music from quality artists of the "old days", and some newer bands as well, still out there to discover and enjoy.

chester arthur| 9.2.10 @ 11:22PM

CD's?Your world frightens me.Just kidding,but I've never bought a CD player,someone gave me one,and when it broke,I didn't miss it.Vinyl is still pretty much what I listen to,and find records on online sources to fill out the collection.When the music industry forced the change to almost all CD,they lost most of my business.When they quit making cassettes,they lost the rest of it.I don't think I'm missing much,judging by the music acts I saw when occasionally tuning in for that part of the deadly unfunny SNL.I just have to turn it off when the snark without jokes does the news segment afterward.

Petronius| 9.3.10 @ 2:29AM

I Second. Analog Rules! Pick up an issue of The Absolute Sound.

GavInTucson| 9.3.10 @ 5:30AM

I'm sure that illegal downloads are still digging into profits. However, the whole paradigm has changed. No longer do we live in a world where the average consumer hears a song on the radio, and then buys a whole CD (or vinyl), only to discover that 80 percent of the songs stink.

Apps like iTunes, et al, allow the consumer to pick and choose which songs they like, and download/pay accordingly. I like this free market alternative. Before, the average consumer had to settle for what the record company, artist, or DJ wanted us to hear on the radio. No longer. We all have different tastes, after all. One man's B-side is another man's A-side, to use a vernacular that isn't much used these days.

By the way, I agree with the analog crowd. Vinyls have always had, in my personal opinion, an edge over the sound of digital. But, another great invention of the free market is the advent of software that artificially introduces that "sound" to digital media.

GavInTucson| 9.3.10 @ 5:35AM

I almost forgot to mention... your average FM radio station seems to recycle the same ten songs over and over again. Talk about boring.

Thank God for XM and Sirius... two avenues that have made me rediscover a much wider variety of music, much of which I hadn't heard in years.

aware| 9.3.10 @ 6:20AM

If you are counting on the corporations and their radio to keep you informed on good music it is depressing indeed. You would think nothing but garbage is available.

But dig deeper and you will see under the radar some of the best rock and roll is being done right now. Examples being bands like Dream Theatre, Symphony X, Circus Maximus. These don't get the attention that talentless(musically that is) sluts like Madonna.
Just pick up Symphony X "V- the New Mythology Suite" or "the Odyssey". Or Dream Theatre "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" or" Metropolis" or "Octavarium". Soon you will forget all about the shitty state of modern "music".

Matt| 9.3.10 @ 12:53PM

I just want to agree. There is plenty of good music being produced but the big record companies aren't really interested whether the music is good only if it will sell. As I was commenting I am currently listening to Joe Cocker and just downloaded an albums by Discipline, Porcupine Tree and Kamelot. Look and thee shall find good music.

aware| 9.3.10 @ 7:03PM

Killer, man! Pop crap, as well as nu metal and alternative, would also make you think that the day of the guitar virtuoso soloist is passed, yet the above named show that in fact, the absolute best players are now. The evolution of Rock guitar continues and innovators still lead!

Not to take any thing away from the pioneers cause they showed the way and blazed the path.(I still love Hendrix' "Lover man" off "In The West"....and "Voodoo Child"....and "Machine Gun" from Band of Gypsies".....and....well most all of it!)
Dang, think I'll do some listening too.

Frank Swerda| 9.3.10 @ 8:57AM

Sigh....'HFS....

XM is great, in its way, but Damian, Weasel, Neci (oh, how I miss the Reggae Splashdown) and people like that were smart, interesting DJs. I could always turn on 'HFS to get good music and interesting musical commentary. They even used to play Dr. Demento on Sunday nights...

With all the damn avenues to get entertainment to me these days, why doesn't something like that exist anymore?

DVG93| 9.3.10 @ 10:06AM

Used to have XM, but since the merger, the music went downhill, so I canceled. No more Hearts of Space. Ch 2 used to have a lot of interesting stuff.
The channel that mixed classical with the likes of the Moody Blues went away. The 60's programming has become way too top fourty.
Spa channel has no spark compared with what the new age channel used to offer.

It just seems to me they are trying to duplicate the failure of over the air broadcasters.

CharlieEcho| 9.3.10 @ 10:13AM

Are we going through another phase such as "disco"? I almost choked on my bubble gum at the thought. I was watching the Country Music (whatever awards) Awards the other night. I prefer country music when is has that "old" rock sound or style. Would a synthesizer have helped Huey Lewis, I think not.
Anyhow when Kid Rock began singing the other night I was shocked. I hope other country fans were also. What were they thinking. I'm still playing LP's and Cassettes. Don't get me wrong, I have DVD's too. I choose what I want to hear, and today they don't have much of it.

nekoxgirl| 9.3.10 @ 6:39PM

Modern country is the worst man! Zombie Johnny Cash needs to rise from the grave and kick all their asses.

Charlie B| 9.3.10 @ 12:01PM

I was on the road with my band in a dumpy hotel room in Iowa and I saw the very first MTV video.."Video killed the Radio Star"...and I thought well this is the end of Rock 'n Roll.

RipTide| 9.3.10 @ 3:04PM

On my iPod:
The best of 3DogNight
The best of REOSpeedwagon (The beginning of Ridin' the Storm Out still makes me jump to my feet and play air guitar)
Sinatra live at the Sands with the Count Basie Orchestra
Michael Bouble
Van Morrison

My teen age daughters love "Brandi, you're a fine girl" by Looking Glass.

Who is lady ga ga?

old white guy| 9.3.10 @ 3:55PM

consumers are to blame. we refuse to buy or listen to crap.

Morrison| 9.3.10 @ 4:08PM

Grew up in Taiwan in 60's and early 70's. Kids would return from the States with the latest records. Sneaking Jimi Hendrix into the dorm to listen to...(forbidden!) Beachboy records in the student lounge....hearing "Because" (the Beatles) for the first time. Listening to tunes from Woodstock...and wondering what was really happening back in the USA...music was our best clue....we were American kids in a foreign culture...they were the best of times.

Frank Inserra| 9.3.10 @ 5:03PM

Sorry, I'm not buying most of this commentary. While I prefer music from my own generation (late 60s, 70s) and earlier, a lot of the stuff my kids listen to has merit. For a while there some of it was harkening back to "song and dance," but, otherwise, it still has merit. For example, fellows like John Mayer (especially when he is not catering to adolescent girls) and Jonny Lang are quite good. There's worthwhile latter-day R&B/neosoul too (Jazmine Sullivan, Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, Ciara). Black-Eyed Peas would make it in earlier markets. Even the Rock endures (if you listen): Kings of Leon, Sheryl Crow, Goo Goo Dolls (many others). Nope, the record companies have serious intellectual property problems, but that's not all. Subscribe to Rhapsody (why buy mp3s, if you mostly listen at home)? Not only are the new acts competing against each other -- they are competing against all recorded music since the piano roll -- as if it was released yesterday and available to all. What the companies have to do is change their sales model, including allowing translations, mash-ups, club play, embedded advertising, looser sync rules for video, and cutting the old fat since distribution is dirt cheap.

JTopps| 9.3.10 @ 5:14PM

Why should popular music be exempt from the rot of popular culture? Appealing to the LCD (Least common denominator) is the name of the game in almost all media. Have you had a look at the upcoming shows for the fall TV season? I rest my case.

nekoxgirl| 9.3.10 @ 6:35PM

Yeah classic rock is definately popular with us "kids" these days (mid-70's to early 80's especially) but there are a lot of good bands out today. Modest Mouse, Neko Case, Widespread Panic, Matisyahu, the Yeah, Yeah, Yeah's, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Flogging Molly to name a few but don't expect to hear them on FM radio. The local music scene, at least where I live (NC), is pretty good too. None of this would probably be possible without the networking/advertising made possible by stuff like myspace and youtube though. Internet killed the video star I guess.

Jormungandr| 9.3.10 @ 7:13PM

The only artist I buy a CD for now is Tom Petty. If the music industry wants to change things around, in addition to actual music, they need to change their prices. Why, oh why am I paying $16 for the Beatles' White Album 40 years later?

As for radio, L.A. still has KLOS and Jim Ladd's free form radio.

mad libertarian guy | 9.4.10 @ 9:24AM

Porcupine Tree

New music with actual musical sensibilities.

Suzanne Rhoades| 9.4.10 @ 10:26AM

It's a bit creepy that your children will be having the same music flashbacks that you have just had twenty years from now. Do I want my kids to say that (fill in appropriate snob rock anthem) was the best song of their senior year in high school? In 2010? It seems so stilted. Aren't any of your kids the list bit creative? Ambitious with their musical talents? Are we doomed to reminisce about "More than a feeling" for all eternity?

Ernest Johnson| 9.4.10 @ 3:36PM

Crusty old geezer thinks music was better in his day. News at 11.

When the Beatles came out there were a handful of television stations. There was one pop radio station. It was a different time. People had fewer choices. Yes, the Beatles were a great band, but their timing was perfect for stardom. Now we have a plethora of sources to get music from be it terrestrial radio, satellite radio, streaming internet radio, suggestion services, iTunes, filesharing, websites, tv, etc. There are so many solid bands vying for position it's like having dozens of Beatles coming out at the same time. No one band is going to stick out as much.

There are also now hundreds of sub-genres and fractions. There can be no big wave amongst the youth anymore. Music has decentralized. Record labels held a monopoly on the recording studio, distribution, and publicity. Thanks to advances in technology and cheap overseas production, recording music has never been easier. An entire home studio industry has opened up. Thanks to the Internet, bands can sell music directly to consumers and through Internet portals like iTunes. Publicity is probably the label's last remaining hold out.

Using album sales alone is also a bit of a simplistic way to look at the industry. It ignores the fact that iTunes is huge and enables consumers to purchase a track at a time instead of a whole album. There are also other ways the record labels make money. Ringtones are huge now (seriously). Licensing for film, tv, or video games, etc.

The entire section on synthesizers is the most clueless. The sound of music has changed. The author not only doesn't get it, but refuses to acknowledge his own irrelevance. I recently went to a show and saw one of the best drummers I've ever seen live. For some songs she plugged in a drum machine. Why? Because that's the sound they were going for. It had nothing to do with limitations in budget or talent.

These "studio gizmos" have enabled new ways to expression and soundscapes. The Beatles' producer George Martin was one of the biggest innovators in this area. Artists and engineers are not forced to use them. They choose to. They are making creative and artistic decisions. Some may over do it, but there are no clear lines for taste in art.

astonerii| 9.4.10 @ 7:05PM

I used to buy music. Back when cd players were the devices to be used and the ownership of the CD meant you were the owner of the music on that CD. Then the computer came along and mp3's became the easiest to use music, along with MP3 players. I could rip the music I owned onto my computer and transfer them to my MP3 player and burn a spare CD for use in my car. But the music industry was not happy with my paying once for the music I wanted to listen to. Sony started putting viruses on the discs that ruined computer systems, changed the idea of a cd from ownership to some form of rental. I was expected to pay for the music on the CD, each and every MP3 player I planned to use, ripping a spare CD for my car was theft. Fair use went away and so too did my business. They can all go bankrupt and out of business for all I care. 60s 70s 80 and 90s music is what I own, and as far as I am concerned I own it, for ever. As for the late 90s and the rest of music history, until musicians start producing because of the love of music and not the love of money, there is nothing worth renting out there.

Petronius| 9.5.10 @ 8:58AM

Yeah, we all need a hug. And you simply must hear Rolf Harris sing Stairway to Heaven backed up by didgeridoo and wobble board.

Trebuchet| 9.5.10 @ 11:31AM

Back in 1967 I was in a band and we played Beach Boys and some Yardbird and Kinks stuff. I played Bass and had a 65 P-Bass and a Dual Bassman Fender amp with a whopping 50 watts and 2, 12 inch Jensens. I thought I was something. Cream had just hit the charts and all the guys were buzzing about their sound. On Sept. 4th 1967 Cream played at the Whiskey and our drummer and I ran up there and got in early so we could get up close to the stage. The opening act was a group called the Nazz fronted by an as yet unknown Todd Rungren. They were a good group doing mostly the same stuff we were doing, I was pretty impressed. They finished their set and the roadies came out and started setting up for Cream. They set up 4 Marshall 100 watt stacks, 2 on each side of the stage. I asked the drummer "What in the hell are those?" "I dunno", he said slacked jawed. Then they brought out Bakers double bass kit and began nailing the bass drums the stage. The drummer and I looked at each other bug eye. Cream came on stage looking like psychedelic Cowboys and launched into NSU. When they finished there was about 10 seconds of stunned silence. I remember Clapton looked at the audience seemingly puzzled, and then the crowd erupted in the loudest ovation I ever heard. It startled Clapton and he backed up a step or two. I turned around to see what the rest of the crowd behind us looked like. Right behind me stood Mike Nesmith of the Monkees, Steve Stills and David Crosby. Nesmiths had a look of shock on his face and he said to the other two, “We’re screwed”. Crosby answered back, “No F-ing Sh#t man”. That night we all knew Rock had undergone a major change. Just this weekend I found out that that gig had been recorded and a group has come into possession of the tape and has put both sets on the web so it can be down loaded for free. I haven’t heard it yet and I’ll probably need my granddaughter to download it for me, but for anyone interested in Rock History from that period it would be worth a listen.

Nica| 9.5.10 @ 4:26PM

Hmm. I just checked and over the past few years I have downloaded an average of 100 songs a month--everything from an Annette Hanshaw ditty mechanically transcribed in 1926 to a Selena Gomez tune I heard in a KMart ad yesterday. I have thousands of pop tunes on my various media devices but I haven't bought any of them. I don't recall *ever* buying a CD. I certainly don't own any--or a CD player.
The Beatles album you mention? I'm sure it was a nostagia buy by baby boomers. Check the demographics. Do you really believe the sales were pushed by 18 year-olds?
Annette Hanswhaw can't make any money off my downloading her tunes since she's been dead for 40 years, but Selena Gomez can, because when she arrives in my town on tour, I and my friends, who like her music, will buy tickets to go see her. And KMart paid her to be in their ad because they know we like her music--maybe not by her CD sales but by the number of hits her videos get on YouTube.
That's the way it is these days.

Aldomeir| 9.6.10 @ 2:34AM

I keep saying people are pronouncing Lady Gaga's name wrong....it is Lady Ga-Ga-Garbage.

bernardo| 9.6.10 @ 5:49PM

It is often a good idea to be skeptical of older folks claiming that things were so much better in their youth, since judgments can be colored both by nostalgia and by the fact that, for many oldsters, life was so much more fun in their youth simply because they were young. However, sometimes the judgments are valid. As the fellow said, if a bunch of grumpy old Englishmen had been sitting around in 1640, griping that they just don’t write plays anymore the way they did when they were young, they would have been right. I think in respect to popular music, this is another of those times when the old guys are correct.

Phil| 9.7.10 @ 11:12AM

The ADHD generation needs video stimulation, since they have little in imagination skills. The want video to narrate the story.

Thankfully Beatles didn't have too much video to interpret their music.

For a great teaparty politics music video, check out "Criminal Politician" by citeableboy on YouTube. Nails it.

Shoshanna | 9.7.10 @ 1:02PM

I'll take Meatloaf or Aretha (either one at any size!) any day of the week. The early Stones? You bet! And while Bob Dylan never won a beauty contest-- nor, to the best of my recall, sang a clear note-- his lyric imagery has gone unmatched for half a century.

Brittany Spears-- does she sing? Who knew! I thought her only claim to fame was that of regularly making a public embarrassment of herself.

As for the M&M person, isn't he one of those inexplicably successful rap creatures who recites verbally illiterate doggerel to an uneven beat (both degrading and downgrading the lexicon with every word) and makes one shudder for the future of the collective gene pool?

Is it any wonder that the Beatles still sell so well?

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