The state of so-called ‘modern music’

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Let me preface this by saying that I am a complete and total music enthusiast. I have over 10,000 songs, and my tastes range from Spanish Gypsy Jazz to Viking Black Metal to Dutch Progressive Rock. I mention this because I want people to understand where I’m coming from when I talk about the state of ‘modern music’.

Every few days, I hear stuff like this, and it drives me up the wall:

“Modern music sucks!”

“Ugh I hate rap and country!”

“I wish I was born in the 80s, at least they had good music then!”

“Justin Bieber/Miley Cyrus/Jonas Brothers/Nickelback SUCK! Am I right guys?”

First, let’s talk briefly about what music is, and why we listen to it. Ignoring the technical nonsense, music is a form of expression. It’s our feelings and emotions laid out for us to hear using melody, pitch, and rhythm. Music has been around since the prehistoric era. Flutes as old as 40,000 years have been discovered in various archaeological sites. Just think about that for a second; we’ve been fooling around with music since we were still neanderthals! Yet you have the gall to tell me that “modern” music sucks…

We listen to music because it creates within us a feeling of connection. Angry? Listen to some death metal. Sad? Listen to some blues. Happy? Listen to some swing. Relaxed? Listen to some jazz. And it is through these associations that we bond with one another. How many times have you started a conversation by asking someone what sort of music they listen to? Listening to the same music means that, on at least one fundamental level, you have shared the same feelings.

So how then, can rap, country, or dubstep “suck”? Can’t it be that these genres simply illicit different emotions for you as an individual? Maybe for you, country is corny. Or maybe you don’t like it because you don’t want to be associated with rednecks. Or maybe you’ve never really tried listening to it, and are just hopping on the bandwagon with everyone else, bonding in the shared hatred of that particular genre.

Very rarely is there bad music, or good music. Music is either effective, or ineffective. I’m not talking about the skills or lack thereof of composers or musicians. No, I’m talking  about what music makes you feel good. Justin Bieber just not doing it for you? Good. You aren’t the target audience (though I will concede that he does look like a girl). Don’t like rap? No big deal, it’s just not effective for you. Or try dubstep. People tell me it’s just noise. Well, have you actually sat yourself down and listened closely? You might surprise yourself at what you’ll find.

Take Nickelback, for instance. Look at all the awards they’ve won. You’re trying to tell me that they’re bad? I’ll use myself as an example. It’s true, I don’t like Nickelback, but I have reasons for it. I don’t like Nickelback because to me, their style is repetitive, and their lyrics don’t have enough substance for me to become interested in them. Other people may like Nickelback’s style, and hey, good for them. They’re not bad, just ineffective for me.

This brings me back to my main point, the state of “modern music,” as its called. If you are looking for meaningful, deep, interesting, or creative music on the radio, you’re doing it wrong. Sure, every now and then you might find a nice song, but if you are basing the music of an entire decade off what you hear on the radio, you are basically giving a giant slap in the face to all the artists out there legitimately trying to make “good” music.

You’re probably thinking then, what about classic rock? Wasn’t classic rock played on the radio all the time? That’s pretty indicative of that generation, is it not? And you’d be right, sort of. A common misconception is that there was no bad music in the 60s/70s/80s. Wrong! The reason you think that is because Classic Rock has stood the test of time. And if you think that those rockers were only in it for the music, well then I’d laugh at you and point you to Kiss, AC/DC, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin to get you started.

The fact is, society has changed. Music on the radio is designed to be sold. Who are the record labels going to pander to? People like you and me who expect a very high standard of substance and depth? Or the majority of people who want songs they can dance to without having to think too hard. Modern music isn’t dead. Far from it, you just need to be looking in the right places. Music on the radio isn’t bad, it’s just not meant for you.

Have you ever found yourself inadvertently tapping your foot to a song you’ve previously said you hated, and then realized what song it is? Next time you find yourself blindly disliking something, ask yourself why. Discovering the world of music is a truly wonderful and fascinating journey, one which is never likely to end. Don’t do yourself disservice by closing doors.

I feel like everyone has room to grow and learn, and if everyone just stopped and asked themselves why they feel the way they do, we could avoid a lot of problems. One of my old bosses liked to play the “Seven Whys Game.” If something just isn’t agreeing with you, ask why, then ask why again up to seven times. If it doesn’t sound silly or isn’t resolved by the seventh “why,” well then I suppose you have bigger stuff to worry about.

That being said, liking more music doesn’t make you better than anyone, it just means that those genres are able to illicit your emotions. Allow me to help you expand your horizons with some stuff you probably won’t hear on the radio:

(note – I’m mostly including the genres people tend to be afraid to listen, and I’m also trying to vary songs as much as possible within each genre)

Rap

1. Jimmy Recard – Drapht (Australian rap)

2. Dump the Clip – Army of the Pharaohs (Old school rap)

3. Paradise – Cyne (Somewhat alternative, has Spanish guitar)

4. Gang Starr – Moment of Truth (Slow spoken words, deep meaning)

5. Ain’t Nothing Like You – BlakRoc (Song combined with rap)

Country (and Bluegrass)

1. Head over Heels – Blue Rodeo (Pop/country)

2. Wait So Long – Trampled By Turtles (Bluegrass, but these guys have insane shredding skills)

3. Slow Hand – Conway Twitty (Old school country)

4. Old Number 7 – The Devil Makes Three (Old time, slow acoustic)

5. When I’m Alone – Lissie (Pop/country)

Metal

1. Unbesiegt – Equilibrium (viking/folk metal)

2. Indiscriminate Murder is Counter Productive – Machinae Supremacy (8-bit/upbeat metal)

3. Somewhere Out in Space – Gamma Ray (power metal)

4. Bleed – Meshuggah (extreme/experimental metal)

5. Balrog Boogie – Diablo Swing Orchestra (syphonic/opera/avant-garde metal)

Dubstep

1. Forgive Me – Document One (filthy)

2. Victim Support – Distance (dark)

3. Bass Cannon – Flux Pavilion (heavy)

4. Blue Notez – Mala (deep)

5. Lullaby – Shakes (heavy)

Rock

1. Robots – Dan Mangan (Canadian rock)

2. Somebody That I Used to Know (Cover) – Walk off the Earth (Alternative)

3. Blue Cassette – Friendly Fires (Indi)

4. Funny Bunny – The Pillows (Japanese chill rock)

5. Oshakashama – Radwimps (Faster japanese rock)

Misc

1. Brio – Jesse Cook (Spanish isntrumental)

2. Baila Me – Gipsy Kings (These guys are basically the Spanish equivalent of the Rolling Stones)

3. Jolie Coquine – Caravan Palace (Electroswing, thing 50s swing music with a techno backbeat)

4. Zimbabwe – New Navy (Pop)

5. Summer Goddess – Soil and Pimp (Japanese instrumental jazz)

Have fun!