What Has Happened To Music ??????

[woodbox]

Check out "Freddie and Francine".

Two voices, one guitar, there's nowhere to hide.

Well written original songs, "Simple Thing" is a favorite.

Well chosen covers knocked right over the far wall.
YouTube their live version of "I Would Rather Go Blind".
Oh mercy....

[AgentKooper]

Rather than repeat the obvious point that there are a ton of worthy bands out there making great music right now, with their own instruments and everything, I’ll just point out the irony that someone who booed Black Sabbath off the stage for more Humble Pie is wondering “What has happened to music?”.

[lodi_55]

Originally Posted by BT55

In the early 70's I went to a concert. Third on the bill was Yes on their first trip to the US. They flattened the audience and were brought back for an encore. Second on the bill was Humble Pie. During I don't Need No Doctor Steve Mariot's guitar broke. Peter Frampton played a solo for about fifteen minutes while they fixed Mariott's guitar. They finished and yes, another encore. Top of the bill was Black Sabbath. We boo'd them offstage and Humble Pie came back and finished the show.

Back then and for years following bands came out and performed. They actually played their instruments, no autotune, dancers or backup singers - just good music. What happened to those days when musicians ruled ???

You "boo'd" Black Sabbath offstage? Seriously?

[AgentKooper]

Originally Posted by BT55

I'm sure that there are good bands out there. But how good are they? Are they popular in a particular area or are they good enough to have name recognition outside that region? If they're as good as you think they'd have name recognition and would be headlining in concert halls in the Northeast. There are more concert halls less than fifty miles from my home than I can count. Currently the majority of the acts booked are cover bands or bands that were popular in the 70's thru 00's. Tommy Emmanuel, Chris Botti, Peter Frampton, kd lang and many other name brand performers have sold out these "intimate" halls in the last two years. I've seen plenty of niche performers that I enjoyed but they can't fill a small concert hall. Concert halls would gladly book anyone who will sell tickets. I just saw Lewis Black's sold out show two weeks ago. My question to you is why don't the performers you're referring to have name recognition here? If they did they would have no problem booking concert halls five nights a week.

What’s a concert hall?

[Joe Beamish]

Originally Posted by Willie Voltaire

I hate to break it to you, but it hasn't been 1972 for 46 years. That said, you should've been in Austin this week during SXSW. I saw dozens of inspired performances by some awesome bands from all over the world. Instead of griping about what you don't like, seek out some stuff you do. It's out there.

Agreed. Me too, here in Austin, fresh off of seeing eye-opening, inspired performances this week.

I’m not sure we’ll easily see such newness again as the Yes performance or Sabbath or whoever in the 60s/70s. Because that was part of the beginning of the whole broad art form. That was undoubtedly a magic time. But as other posters have said, stuff is still happening, and rock/pop expression is still vital and vivid. It’s just that the same channels are no longer in place for hearing them and no, it’s not so new or as far-reaching in culture as it once was.

[colins]

Haven’t been to SXSW but have really enjoyed the mix of old and new at Bruce Hornsby’s Funhouse festival, which runs in Williamsburg VA each June. I got to see shows by Kentucky Thunder and Chessboxer at the same festival. Awe-inspiring live music is still out here.

(Oh, and in the 70’s I booed a band off the stage too. They were called Queen, did they ever get anywhere?)

[Steel and wood]

This Australian took his wife last week to see Jose Feliciano in downtown Canberra.

[jessupe]

what you're really missing is the business model and the songs that came from that buisness that no longer exists due to the internet via "sharing". This "sharing" took a once protected and privately disseminated music product and created and unstoppable means to "share" music which made it no longer profitable or possible for the once dominant record industry to protect their products.

Musicians, along with record companies, A&R, management, promotion, and radio stations had a closed loop syndicate that added a methodology and structure to the business that allowed the controlled model to flourish for 50 years.

In this 50 year run are all the "music memories" that were created by this logical business model.

This business model that relied on coveting their artists and their products gave a very clear cut path and goal structure for ANYONE who could develop the chops to compete, and thus the "forming of the bands" that gave musicians vehicles to take out to the clubs and small venues in the eventual hope that they would do that one gig where so and so from "that" record company would be there, if all went well the signing party happened, next came getting on the bill with bands bigger than you, then came the album rleases, the press, and then the all holy radio play which is what really drove home the "hits" and all the bands that made them

Things were simpler, generes were cut and dry and you knew what audeince and thus market share you were going after, this also made it easy for promotions to target the right audience,it all made perfectly good business sense

Now there are WAY,WAY more artists and musicians, the genere diversification is almost obscene, but the sad fact is most of these people are stuck doing small local gigs, recording at home and "fishing" for some market, by themselves with no record company nor radio play to spread any kind of fire or beat it into your head.

The sad truth is the internet took the logical somewhat cartel like "music business" away from the owners and gave it to the world , but by doing so took away the logical path to stardom as well as killing radio as it was once known and by doing so killed the "hit song" made by musicians who fought their way to being signed and getting a deal.

No deal, no money, no money, no motivation in the sketch. No radio play, no hit songs, no hit songs, just lots and lots of songs by tons of talented people who will probably be lucky to make 100 bucks out of it all.

There is still a business, but it is conglomerated and commercialized and no longer seeks good music to make money off of, they just seek money.

[Fresh1985]

Things like x-factor and the voice show just how low music has sunk. Television has a big role to play in musics decline, its more about looking good than sounding good.

Society no longer seems to accept any imperfections in music, only perfection will do, hence the autotune.

[Silurian]

It all went downhill when the lyre dropped out fashion.

[Ozark]

One of the Bands I like that have a stage full of musicians playing real instruments is Tedeschi Trucks. Derek Trucks is a master on guitar and his wife Susan Tedeschi has a wonderful bluesy voice. They have a band full of brass and electric instruments and they sound great.

I have my tickets to see them at Red Rocks this summer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0kXfPrHHcw

[Mr. Jelly]

Face it bands are creating and playing the same music that was being invented in the 70s. How can it be fresh, inventive and novel?

[Silurian]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

Face it bands are creating and playing the same music that was being invented in the 70s. How can it be fresh, inventive and novel?

And weren't lots of those 70's bands playing lots of the same blues licks that were invented in the 20's/30's/40's ?

[shekie]

As the proud owner of a 15 year old daughter, I can share some insight into her musical world. She loves music, listens all the time. She detests commercial radio but spends a lot of time listening on Spotify. We share an Apple Music account so I see what she downloads as it shows up on my phone.

Her tastes are eclectic, ranging from the latest rap music to Green Day, Led Zeppelin, Beatles etc. One of my favorites moments recently was driving her and a friend when Joe Jackson's "Is She Really Going Out With Him" came up on my phone rotation. They knew all the words!

When I asked how they had even heard of this 1979 song, I could hear the eyes rolling in their heads with accompanying sarcasm, "Why are you always surprised when we know one of "your" songs?"

In many ways, their world is far more musically diverse than mine ever was. And they know they're being played by the music poobahs who still follow the outdated MTV model of visuals over talent. There are millions like my daughter out there. My job is to expose her to as much music as I can while not being dismissive of some of the stuff she's listening to. Maturity and adulthood will take care of the rest.

[mickthemiller]

Originally Posted by Silurian

It all went downhill when the lyre dropped out fashion.

I blame Pink Floyd, but I still love 'em. There's still lots of live music about here in the UK in pubs. Lots of great acoustic/folk/roots music just down the road from me here in Doncaster almost every week at the Ukrainian Club.