I am going to be shot down by the people slightly older than me, but what the hell...
With absolutely no offense intended whatsoever, this argument that "oh, music was so good in the 60's and 70's" doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I mean, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones...Hell, even AC/DC (of which I am a huge fan) didn't exactly play overly complex music. It was new when it first appeared and that was appealing. And sure, compared to today's mass-produced pop music it was unique - P!nk and Beyonce are barely distinguishable in style because modern pop music is so overly simplistic that it has lost any true meaning, despite lyricists trying to prove otherwise by writing 'heartfelt' lyrics. But I digress.
There is music out there that is just as good as anything else that came about 30 years ago. The only issue is the genre - for example, a classic rock band resembling The Beatles' sound is very hard to find these days, but if you look hard enough, they're there.
I will not deny that bands such as Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, as well as Zeppelin and the like set the standard for the music I listen to these days. If it wasn't for them, the bands I listen to probably wouldn't be around. But I like to think that bands such as Dream Theatre or Opeth can be classed in the same breath as Black Sabbath. Opeth in particular - their old catalogue is a breath-taking ride through gothic, ambient, atmospheric metal, and even just plain old rock.
The issue is that as soon as someone releases something that sounds good these days, one of two things will happen:
(1) everyone jumps on the bandwagon and that artist is accused of selling out to appeal to the masses to get rich; or
(2) everyone starts saying, "It sounds just like <insert artist name here>!"
I use the Foo Fighters' "Wheels" as an example (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_WH5Kfaj5Y). Personally, I love the song, as I do Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters. But it has received negative comments and reviews because apparently it sounds just like some of Tom Petty's work.
Now, I am a big fan of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - my dad played them in his car all the time and I think he is fantastic. But for the life of me I cannot understand why there is so much negativity surrounding "Wheels". Is there a similarity between it and an earlier release by Tom Petty? Perhaps so, yes. Does it mean it's a bad song? I don't think so - Tom Petty is pretty well-respected, and rightfully so. The only thing one could argue is that it doesn't bring any creativity to the table, but then you could argue many other bands - even influential bands from the past - weren't exactly innovative either. Music has been around for a long time, and just trying to do something new sound-wise should be enough for people to be commended for it. Comparing "Monkey Wrench" (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ck2ygpSUg8) to "Everlong" (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H0BMfqFP9c) to "Learn To Fly" you can see they have adapted styles on a few occassions to bring different music to our ears.
Myself, I am into music that is generally not heard or TV. Because of that fact it is probably less mass-produced and easier to find bands that actually write good music. But to say that music was better 40 years ago and imply nothing is good these days is incorrect. You just have to work harder for it these days because there is just so much to see.
) and my friends all love rap and hip-hop.
