Frank Sinatra was a boy singer. He was signed because he was cute. He didn't
become a great singer till quite a few years later. The music business has
always done that. Always.

Go back and look at the top ten from any year from the late 60s on and see how
much good music there was on the radio then. Go ahead.

Music is just as good and bad as it has always been. 5% or so remain in the
public conciousness for years, the rest either vanishes, or shows up on late
night sales shows for people who only want to remember the music that existed
from when they were 15-22.

The bands from the 60s that are remembered are remembered because they made good
music. The crap is forgotten. And there was an awful lot of crap.

Some good bands from the last decade or so ...

I said when their first record came out that Pearl Jam was in it for the long
haul. They were a band that would be around for decades. Friends looked at me
like I was crazy. They are the Led Zeppelin of their generation, although,
unlike Led Zep, they actually write their own songs rather than steal old blues
songs and claim them for their own. It took Zep three records before they put
out a record that was all their own songs.

As for where are the Neal Pearts and Randy Rhodes ... look to the neo-prog
bands. I hate them, but Dream Theatre are brilliant. Look at Tool, their drummer
is Neal Peart good. Both have been around for a bit (10-15 years) but especially
Tool continue to put out astounding music. Some of the best metal and prog ever
... ever.

Also, music is cyclical. Lately music has leaned toward the song, rather than
the player. That will change as tastes change.

Writing off modern music is foolish. You may not like it for whatever reason,
but to say that music was better anytime. naw ... music has always sucked.
Always. Go look at the charts for the evidence. There have always been boy
bands, there have always been chick singers who are more there for their looks
than their talent, there have always been cute boys for the girls to freak out
over.

There is good music out there, but with the "music was better then" attitude,
you won't hear it even if it is played for you, since it doesn't sound like the
music from back then.


-----Original Message-----
From: gregor22@...
To: chameleons@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Fri, 8 Dec 2006 9:19 PM
Subject: [chameleons] The State of Music...Today


Your examples, which are from previous decades, only underscore my
point. Where are some examples of your brilliant music from NEW BANDS
of today--music that speaks to an entire generation as Bob Dylan's once
did--bands that will be played on the radio for years to come and
ultimately deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Show me the
Led Zeppelin's of today.

And yes, there's some good music out there, but in general music is not
of the same standard as it was in some previous decades like the 60's,
70's and 80's. And yes, there was some crap back then too, especially
the 80's. But there were also great bands to come out of that era that
were a part of pop radio.

Nowadays, these bands on pop radio are signed because they sound like
everyone else. But that's just part of the problem. Bands nowadays can
barely play their instruments. How many great guitar players or
drummers have you heard about in the last 15 years? Zero. Where are
the Randy Rhodes or the Neal Pearts of today? They don't exist because
bands nowadays are more interested in signing record contracts and
picking up groupies. IMO, there hasn't been a really great new band on
pop radio since Nirvana.

But I will agree with you that if you look, you can find some GOOD bands
out there. Stellastarr, The 69 Eyes, and some others have been nice
discoveries.

greg

DKriel@... wrote:
>
> I like to remind people when they say things like this ...
>
> Kajagoogoo had more #1 hits than The Chameleons (1)
>
> Starland Vocal Band had more #1 hits than Creedence Clearwater Revival
> and Jimi Hendrix combined (1)
>
> Music has always sucked, in any era. People our age said the same
> thing about the music we listened to in our teens and twenties.
>
> There is brilliant music out there ... There always has been brilliant
> music out there, but you have to go looking for it. Never stop
> looking, and remember, the music changes, so should you.
>
> K
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: gregor22@... <mailto:gregor22%40pacbell.net>
> To: chameleons@yahoogroups.com <mailto:chameleons%40yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Sat, 18 Nov 2006 11:40 AM
> Subject: Re: [chameleons] OT-Bell Hollow, Blacklist, Catpeople
>
>
> This is exactly how I feel about today's music. And if these kids do
> say something worthwhile, it's hidden under the crappy music that
> accompanies it.
>
> .
>
> __________________________________________________________
> Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and
> security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from
> across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>



________________________________________________________________________
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