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This video has the most deceptive title I can recall. It covers why that would be a really ignorant way to think. Mary Spender is enjoying how everything is changing and opening the opportunities for music creators and listeners. The content of this Mary Spender piece is anything but what the title is. The doors have blown off the creation and marketing of music and Mary (and I) could not be happier about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd7Z90NLZ80
Watched the video. Of course, the title has nothing to do with the video's content. I, like Mary Spender am a Millennial although I do not subscribe to the label's definition. From my experience I'd say music was better back then, as was how it was mastered. I do not appreciate her dismissal of older generations who say new music sucks with the whole, "What else was there for them to do?" remark she makes around the 2:50 mark, alluding to boomers and earlier not having very many options to pass time outside of listening to music. Striking me as yet another person who wasn't there, yet thanks to a bit of self-ability, TV, magazines and the internet she is a self-elected expert complete with smug facial expressions during the whole video. I think what she missed there is that her generation and those following take for granted all of the different things available to them to pass time, but it wasn't like there weren't things to do back then, that's just ignorant.With that I feel there is a certain degree of ADHD associated with everything available to the younger crowd, as few Millennials and even fewer Z's "just" listen to music. It is something most of them do passively, it accompanies their 101 other distractions like Tick-tock (I refuse to spell it like an illiterate person), Facebook, Twitter ect. People seem to be taken aback when I tell them that I can simply sit and listen to music and just music for hours. No phone in my hand, no other thing pressing at me except just my thoughts and the music lifting my spirit and taking me places within my mind no other medium can. She starts to touch on that around the 4:30 mark when she refers to her "options" for getting/finding music. I'll say firsthand that as someone who has done "crate digging" that the satisfaction from finding a likeable new artist is akin to striking gold. She goes on to say that video game and movie soundtracks are where young people are getting their material from. It's no surprise that with their ADHD, that's one way to get through to them. That's not a novel thing either, though. We all remember jingles, don't we? Some were so stupid, yet boy did they help move or create awareness of a product.. But even when I was young and played "Legend of Zelda" or "Battletoads" or "Comix Zone" or "Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2" for the first time I took notice. However, how is injecting music into a medium not everyone uses any different than the limited methods of discovering music she bashes early on? It's also no surprise that what's popular isn't necessarily a best seller either. I suspect the younger crowd doesn't want to pay for it, the amount of views of a given track/artist on YouTube support that with modern artists; Millions of views, yet not necessarily millions of sales. Since they're probably listening through computer speakers or headphones, why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? But none of that really speaks to "why new music sucks," least not in my opinion. It sucks because despite all of the technology available, it isn't utilized or appreciated. However, good music is still out there and being made. Yet despite what she says about all these new ways to find music, it is still rather hard to find it unless you are in certain circles, much like back then. Again, music imbedded within a video game's realm isn't going to reach everybody. She then goes on to say, "In my very humble opinion.. ..because just over a decade ago I was told my music tastes suck, however, as I keep broadening my horizons I'm excited to take some responsibility educating [people of all ages] to [things they wouldn't be exposed to] as my audience ranges from teenagers to people sixty-five and older.. ..Gen Z's are knowledgeable, self-aware and socially conscious.." LoL! Humble my ass, because that's why she shamelessly plugs all of her BS at the end that she wants you to spend money on.. Gen Z'ers in my experience have been some of the most self-serving, impatient and entitled people I have ever had the misfortune to come across and work with, let alone share the road with. Bleepers couldn't even sit still for ten minutes with just a stick to entertain themselves. I'll be damned when I find one who doesn't do something for someone else unless it was already going to help them in some way. It's happens every once and while, but I've noticed I have far more complaints with peoples' behavior & inconsideration than I did ten years ago. But it doesn't stop there, "..[gen Z'ers] have instant access to ALL the information in the world, they're making some of the most formally inventive and experimental music of any generation and they don't need anyone's permission to do so.. ..We haven't had the gen Z Sgt. Peppers equivalent.." Smug YouTuber confirmed. Spoiler alert, you will NEVER hear a gen Z or later gen Sgt. Peppers equivalent because there will be no equal. Oasis, anyone? Again, that crowd can't sit still for ten minutes, let alone be bothered to enjoy a thirty-five minute or more album. "The most formally inventive and experimental music of any generation?" What that F...? Laugh my butt off.. Clearly she has never listened to the likes of early Pink Floyd or King Crimson. Because yeah, when I'm out in public and subjected to popular music or what is currently being played, it all sounds the same to me: vocals mastered higher than everything else, no creative use of the stereo dimension, they have some sort of format that is shared between the current and next song, the most irritating being the songs that have this "step-up" synth drum beat in the middle of them, ugh. Then there's the handclap, finger snap, sprinkler sound effects, boom-boom bass beat and/or what sounds like someone stomping on the floor. So ok, Mary never actually answers the question in her video's title but I will: It's repetitive, mindless, forgettable and non-engaging. That's why new music sucks. Despite all of the techniques available, artists to listen to & be inspired by and the history to learn and glean from, this is what we've got to show for it all. Trash like Billie Ellish and her stumbling & mumbling into the microphone wins awards and gains popularity but talented acts like Joe Bonamassa or Billy Strings stay hidden in the shadows by comparison. Bunch of rubbish. Cool she plays guitar, but that's about it. She covered "Sultans of Swing" like she'd just heard the song thirty minutes before doing it with Josh Turner, who was actually enjoyable to watch.
Gotta laugh at "What else was there to do" Plenty before pixelated crack became "manditory" to exist in society.
Anyone can find lot's of new and great music if you take the time to look!
Rob :)
Pixelated crack.. :rotfl: Good one. There was punctuation in my first post on this thread, but it isn't showing up for some reason. Think I had it broken into three paragraphs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Robh3606
Derek, check out post #26 in this thread and follow Earl's instructions.Quote:
Originally Posted by DerekTheGreat
https://www.audioheritage.org/vbulle...802#post442802
Alright, I tried to fix the word salad with a few edits now that I've reread it..Quote:
Originally Posted by DerekTheGreat
A little synopsis of the way this commercial music thing currently works. You can disparage what Mary Spender says, you can like it or hate it, but the reality of it is undeniable. I am personally no more in love with the way things were then than the way things are now. There never were a bunch of John Hammonds working the streets. The barriers were always so high, why not try something else. Cowboy Junkies, a great band, remembers their major label days (with RCA) as their worst experience in the business.
https://youtu.be/_LyHG1R0p28
Another Mary Spender video? I've watched enough of her videos to determine that I've got zero interest in watching another one, unless it's from her OnlyFans account.
The miss titling of videos is known as "click bait." It is a way too common practice on video sites. Having been duped by this tactic for a while, I can now smell the aroma of click bait by reading the title and looking at the thumbnail. The misleading thumbnail for the video is a further way to "set the hook" and make you click the link. This is also done for any number of links from video to photos to media articles.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ducatista47
The one thing I have learned from the way music is distributed these days is that there are loads of talented people out there and the talent that is being promoted by the "US music industry" is far from the best available in the talent pool. Most all the music industry wants is a body and they will market and auto tune the rest. The amount of raw talent that exists is about endless if you look in the right places. I have found numerous singers who are unknown by 90-95% of Americans and they have vocal talent that is unbelievable. Dimash Qudaibergen, Morissette Amon, Kim So-hyang and so many more that cover every genre of music that exists. It would behoove Americans to look at who the rest of the world is following when it comes to music talent. Doing this has opened up a whole new world of music to me that I would otherwise have never known existed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ducatista47
Checkout Bandcamp, WKXP Seatle, WKXP Rekovic Iceland for Euro bands, Audiotree, and NPR Tiny Desk concerts if you don't already. That's where I find almost all of the artists I follow and see live.Quote:
Originally Posted by VintageJBL
Rob :)
Will do, Rob. Here is a link to a Dimash video that does a great job of highlighting his vocal ability. He composes much of his music, plays multiple instruments and is a consummate showman. Also, he performs live in this video. He does everything from opera to pop to rock to traditional folk music to instrumental and more. He can combine all these genres into one song and jump 4-5 octaves from one note to the next flawlessly. He truly is a generational talent. https://youtu.be/lFsB5HVnmSAQuote:
Originally Posted by Robh3606