Rick, you are lucky you don't live in a majorly Spanish speaking country where we are already 2 decades trapped in a reggaeton loop. When the trend started I thought it would go quickly out of fashion but here we are. Imagine listening to only one type of drum beat forever. It is hell.
Rick - I’m 73 years old and have lived through many of the genres you mentioned. I find your videos and your introspective look at the music industry so fascinating. Always enjoy listening to your insights and your wonderful interviews.
I first got into pop music as a 5th grader in 1963, when my school bus driver in suburban New Jersey always played AM top forty - either WABC or WMCA in New York City. Four years later, living in New Mexico, I was listening to clear-channel KOMA from Oklahoma City every night. I think those format radio stations (and even the concept of AM clear channels) are long gone.
@@pickles224 wow, you are really going to say 'a lot of his insights are wrong', and then just duck out instead of giving data... examples... proof? wouldn't you find that behavior cowardly (or at least lazy) if you saw others exhibiting it? give us an example of where his insight is 'wrong', and back it up with your own thoughts. As for me, I find Rick's commentary to be thoughtful, educated, and passionate. Even if his facts aren't 100.000% correct, I'll take his insights over mean-spirited, any time!
You can definitely still have that if you join the (still existing) mainstream. Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, etc are all ubiquitous. However, if you're lucky enough to find someone who enjoys similar stuff while choosing freely instead of having the choice made for them, I'd say there's potential for higher quality and deeper bonding
Yes 100% agree, it's a weird time. Not bad entirely but not good, and despite the opportunities technology now offers young artists to produce and share their music worldwide in an instant, the power of the algorhythm is still massively skewed by the major labels dollars. Hopefully, that will change but it's hard to see the new era emerging when we are in the fog of whatever this era is called, if indeed it has a name? One era I think Rick missed was the "Emo" genre of the mid 00s which was pretty big worldwide, but after that I'd agree it's hard to point to any genre or "era" that has been dominant or groundbreaking; that has created, as you say, "the shared experience". The closest I can think of is Taylor Swift and her insanely passionate fanbase, but I would hardly call it a genre. Strange times indeed, but I am sure that music will find a way to continue to delight and inspire us until the sun burns out 😎
@@FredPriest-ud6cu That was an amazing time. Seems crazy now, even to me, but whoever got hold of the "latest" big album, we'd all head to theirs or someone elses house to check it out together. It was an event - usually with some beer and weed to enhance of course lol. Closest I get to that these days, and it's almost as exciting, is if a friend sends me a spotify or UA-cam link and says "Check this out" and that's how I have discovered some of my favourite new bands of today. it's fine, but its not the same ya know.
What I like about Rick's observations is above all what a fine community is showing up here in the comments section! Always interesting and mostly following the netiquette without strain.Thank you.
I am of two minds here: The ability to curate your own individual playlists is very cool and feels freeing. HOWEVER, the sense of a shared experience and cohesion that we all felt in the 60's and 70's, where all of us knew the words to those songs....that was something special and important. I don't think young people can really know what that felt like....to feel like you were all connected and joined together by a common experience. It created a sense of "generational cohesion". It felt right....and comforting. Perhaps "Swifties" have that now..
I think people still have the shared experiences that generate cohesion you speak of. However, they are an order of magnitude more niche while also evolving incredibly rapidly. You might share an incredibly memorable experience but as part of one of a billion online communities. There will always be things that break through, but even those are very short-lived now. Culture has almost become individualised.
Yes, this is the main take away. We can be fans of many types of music, but the genres were cornerstones of shared youth culture. It doesn't exist Iike that anymore with my teenagers and their friends.
Witness that Spotify has over 6,000 genres competing for the ears of its listening/subscribed audience. During my 30+ years in the music business interests in artists and songs was generated by radio and labels run by people with a musical knowledge and a vested interest in the success of their product. For better or worse that changed with the advent of downloading and streaming that, in my mind, changed music and listening patterns inexorably.
All very well, but……if you don’t like the dominant music it can lead to feeling intense isolation. or as in my case while I was growing up simply believing “I don’t like music”.
Yeah right 👍it was the radio era...nothing like hanging out with your buddies and pals and everyone would sing along to the songs in the radio 📻...everyone knew the same songs 🎵
Yeah but that would mean dissecting genres made without physical instruments (i.e. EDM, hip-hop) and that wouldn’t pander to his following of Beatles-worshipping music purists.
I was ready to say, "we're not in a musical era, it's now a musical error". But you are correct - just like your "post-genre" idea, I find myself exploring all kinds of music on the internet that I simply can't find on the radio. It's both refreshing and freeing.
Yes. Good for you but I’m really set in my ways and cannot get myself to listen to new music cause I HATE auto-tune and my love for old music is too strong and there is still so much old music I haven’t heard. So the urge to do so is not present.
@@Funkybassplayer Can I recommend J-pop? My kids recommended it and the basslines are insane as are the vocals. It might not be everyone's cup of tea but the musicianship is off the charts compared with the 'dumbed down' stuff that passes itself off as Western pop these days. Yoasobi, Zutomayo and Fujii Kaze (actually I recommended him to my kids) are but a few examples. (As a family we are also really into vgm jazz because The Consouls are local to us)
It's also isolating because nobody else listens to or even is aware of the things you like. We all live in our own respective bubbles. Carefully curated for us by the amoral tech bros that now run the world.
When I was growing up in the 60s 70s, half of our conversations would be the new song that just came out from insert artist here. But I was listening to the likes of Hendrix, Trower, Zepplin, and everybody would be excited about it. Now I mostly hung out with musicians as I was a budding drummer then, but it was a high point in everybody’s day when a specific song would drop and everybody would love it, or even hate it. I miss immensely those experiences. I do, however, love today, especially with this channel that I am able to discover people from all over the world with the taste of mine that I never would’ve been able to. So kind of a Catch-22 there. Keep them coming Rick you’re doing a great job.
It seems that we're in the Discovery Era. Kids are listening to their parent's and grandparent's music. If the #1 album this year is Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, that says it all.
Great songs are great songs, my daughter got into FM about 10 years ago she is 26 now, and my youngest is 16 loves FM now,. It was the first album I bought with my own money in 1980 ( I was six, used cassettes, rumours and queen- jazz, still have them), . Real music, real instruments, and great songs can't be beat.
It seems you refer to the year-end Billboard 200 list, and Rumours is not the #1 best selling album on it by a long shot. It is number 34 and was reported as the _highest-ranking rock_ album within that list (which apparently features only 29 rock albums in total). The highest sellers are pop, hip hop, R&B and country from the last few years. Although I see some higher ranking albums are categorized as rock or its derivatives on Wikipedia, but I don't listen to those and don't know if that's accurate. For example, at number 12 there is an album called Guts by Olivia Rodrigo and Wikipedia categorizes it as "rock, pop, alternative rock, power pop". EDIT: Also, Rumours itself is basically a soft rock album. Not wrapped in an electronic production like new "rock inspired" stuff, but it's still on the so-to-speak more approachable end of rock to people who won't listen to lots of distortion and heavy riffs.
You are right. I was surprised by my kids making a 50s Crooners list on Spotify (grandparents music) and then really enjoying eg. Stevie Wonder, Toto, Steely Dan and Jamiroquai etc (my era) but also recommending Laufey to me (NOT Swift) amd J-pop. They discover past music but also wider contemporary music.
Kids were, already, gravitating towards: "their parents' music" (or things similar in style & demeanor) in the 1990s. ...and, let's face it🤷🤷: if you had older siblings (in any era from the '50s through the '90s, at least!)??: THEIR music, their tastes and their friends' tastes were what younger siblings/kids, first: learned from and gravitated towards! (OR!: became SO OFFENDED by that they, purposely, sought out "the exact opposite," BECAUSE of what those older siblings/that age group was listening to/invested in!)
We're simply experiencing the chaos and depression of overabundance. Saturation. Satiety. When Elvis or the Beatles appeared seemingly out of nowhere, there was a relative scarcity of artists offering music and breaking social barriers, and the world was hungry for this. 6 or 7 decades of technological revolution and mass consumerism later, there seem to be almost more artists than listeners and most doors and ceilings have been broken and flung wide open. Where we go from here is anyone's guess...
I agree. I think it’s the same with television and movies. We are so over saturated now with streaming choices and within each streaming company there are hundreds of shows and movies to choose from. We are a long way from the days of 4 tv stations: abc, nbc, cbs, and pbs. Sometimes it takes me so long to choose what I want to watch, I am too tired to watch it! 😂
19 годин тому+17
To a degree but also current quality controls lack so the current stuff is an ocean of mediocrity to find one grain of sand.
we live in the golden era of music production. musical instruments are accessible, recording is accessible and ppl still love making and listening to music. it's like when the printing press was invented and publishing became accessible to 'ordinary writers'. but it takes a second for the good stuff to get distilled... record companies were 'pushing' garbage then just like the 'algorithm' is pushing it now. because some artists/albums became classics we're under the impression they came down from heaven when in reality they just managed to flood the market... not saying the music was bad but not all was that great either :). there's great and terrible music now just as it always was.
It's not just music. It's everything around us that lacks a discernible era. I went into a grocery store the other day that I first walked into 20 years when it was brand new. They have never refurbished or renovated it, yet it looks exactly like every modern grocery store today, even brand new ones. Now think about the difference between a grocery store in the 70's vs. just ten years later into the 80's. A complete change in appearance. This is why I think "vintage" eras are so cherished now. Because they were distinctive and I think people hunger for that.
There's clothing as well. Watch a tv show from the early 2000s. The fashion is very similar and it's because you no longer have an organic growth of individual styles that slowly marches across the country in waves. Now you can see what everyone is wearing instantly.
@@rheeslane9529 💯! I have noticed this as well. Clothing changed dramatically each decade from the 1940’s through the 1990’s, but for the past 25 years fashion has been basically the same. It’s a weird phenomenon.
Been saying this for almost 10 years now. When I saw “country” artist running around on stage waving a towel like it was a hip hop concert I knew things were changing. The first time I heard Linkin Park I knew it was over.
@@pol9938 worst band ever. Utterly forgeable, soulless and overproduced to boot. Awful music. Absolutely dreadful. The first time I heard them I literally thought my local active rock station changed formats to pop.
"Influencer, I hate that word..." Spot on, as I said to an artist earlier today who had their entire visual concept stolen by an influencer who reached millions when they only reached maybe hundreds of thousands, if that; "Fuck influencers, why? Because FUCK influencers." They are literal artistic thieves, in the past going through traditional media channels the stealing of intellectual property outright wasn't possible because it could get a channel or station shut down. Now that threat is conveniently placed behind months of arbitration behind lawyers, and ONLY if the artist can outspend the influencer. Diabolical. But that's 2024.... Keep addressing these issues Rick, you're one of the last of the Mohicans in this fight.
Rick is an influencer without trying to be one. He influenced me into caring who Steely Dan is, for example. Also, I can tolerate higher levels of dissonance nowadays. I started following Rick when he was still doing jazz theory and some of those chords were spicy!
@@WayneKitching Rick is a voice of the people like Nardwuar, if Nardwuar is considered an influencer these days, then I'm in the wrong timeline... Love and Peace - Tyler
@@WayneKitchingI don’t see Rick as an “influencer”. I see him as “influential” because he loves sharing his knowledge and views of music. I’m not splitting hairs here. Rick loves music, an “influencer” loves “clicks” and “likes”.
Any "visual concept" can now be instantly stolen by an AI agent. Here's how you'd do it. Have an agent that monitors visual content. When agent notices that a visual idea is getting attention, it immediately steals is, makes a website with a payments portal or whatever (Zero code), markets it on instagram and tiktok, and makes a ton of money. All of that can be done automatically, without human intervention.
Old music used to be pushed out of the way so new music could be heard. MTV could only play 1 song at a time. Maybe you had 3-4 radio stations in your area worth listening to. It was a zero sum game. Now everyone can listing to anything whenever they want. Stuff is never "uncool" now and never goes out of style because no one has to make choices about what to listen to anymore.
To add, the internet itself makes things timeless. You can discover things that have been around and have conversations with ghosts- reply to old comments, read old threads about something and peoples theories- the method of joining in a fandom of sorts is completely different than meeting people at a concert or in a record store.
@@vaderladylno beauty in that. No anticipation, no forethought, no expectation... Just endless possibilities creating both choice paralysis and diminishing the worth of music further. Human beings are just not designed to have it all always and whenever at disposal
@@darkogst It's FOMO. I find great music all the damn time - it's not even hard. Do I miss things? Of course. I don't care - there is SO MUCH good stuff that I don't need to worry about it.
“The problem with TV and entertainment isn’t that it’s evil-it’s that it’s addictive. It gives us what we want, but not what we need, leaving us empty and craving more.” - David Foster Wallace Now apply that with personal data collection & self referential silos
Remember listening to 1 album and being *all good* after that? Or a weekend party where you rocked for hours with your friends or went to a show and you were all good to go for the week. Cathartic.
Rick, I think your analysis is spot on. One positive about this age is that because music is so accessible, kids are able to discover older music very easily. Because of this you could see a resurgence of popularity with bands like the Beatles, Stones, etc. However, as you said it is difficult to define exactly what 'age' of music we are in. I love your content, thank you so much!
I don't really know if it's true that it is easier for kids to discover older music because it's more accessible. The algorithm is what steers most people, so how would a kid even know where to start if the algorithm feeds to them what they want them to listen to?
We're just in a content era now. Everything competes for attention. Streamers, Video Makers, Musicians, Gaming, Makers, Educators, Vloggers, Writers, Films, and even old media like Television and Radio (remember them?)
The entire music experience and consumption is so different now than when I was a teen in the 80’s. My young adult children never listed to the radio and they never watched MTV. That gives them the benefit of not bring force fed whatever the current musical fad is. They listen to diverse styles and aren’t really influenced by mass media and record company driven marketing and radio air time
Yes, content era. Amazing that someone could get 100 million UA-cam views, but nobody will remember individual videos that got this many hits 2 years from now because other content comes along & replaces it
I love these videos. My oldest son (23) is obsessed with discovering 80s and 70s music. Every week he’ll say something like “Dad, do you know who Asia is?” or the like. He had his friends are thinking about starting a podcast for Gen Z about the merits of older rock/pop.
I'm 24 and I started off being obsessed with the Beatles as a teenager and have been working my way through the 70's , 80's, and 90's through various artists like David Bowie whose work spanned those decades. Right now I'm kind of on an early 80s new wave kick.
Show him some Gary Moore, Motörhead, Alice Cooper, Bon-Scott-era AC/DC, Scorpions, Judas Priest, ZZ Top, Camel, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Frank Zappa and (especially Peter Gabriel and early Phil Collins) Genesis.😃
My thoughts: One of the things that allowed bands like The Beatles and Pink Floyd to grow was a solid foundation of playing genre tunes that built up their musical sensibility allowing them to later experiment much more successfully. The idea that we're sold is that with this personalization we'll get what we want. But it doesn't actually allow us to develop the language and skills needed to take ourselves further. It's like training, but now instead of going in depth on one thing you have to go very broad. Jack of all trades, master of none kind of thing
This is an era when good hard rock and indie rock can thankfully be found in Japan. Band-Maid and Yonige, for example, have brought me a lot of joy. Both caused a rare event after many years: the purchase of physical media. So after a long time, I have also started buying records and live Blu-ray discs again.
In the 90’s, it was difficult to get music. It took me weeks to find Robert Johnson and Eno’s Music for airports cassettes. Now it easier to hear all the music from the past. This is a good thing.
yeah it's good but it's a double-edged sword. when you have everything on a plate, it can be hard to appreciate stuff in the same way, as weird as that sounds
@@pickles224 Rick's a broken record that makes the same video every 2 weeks to get views. I'm pretty sure he doesn't really mean most of what he says, at least I hope so.
@@santaclaus3175 I don’t think so either. I just think he’s cantering to an audience he knows will agree with him. Like how he claims there haven’t been any recognizable trends past the 90’s. He HAS to know that’s not true, but he knows his audience of Boomers, who haven’t listened to popular music past the 90’s, will believe it.
There was something so special about going to a record store or even Borders or Best Buy to look through the CD's. Loved seeing if an artist had a new CD out. Ever since CD's became a thing of the past I haven't kept up with any new releases from my favorite artist. I so miss the days of the LP jackets with the lyrics and even the images on the CD inserts.
Imagine my era in the 70s and 80s going to a record store, (the infamous Tower Records) sifting through actual ALBUMS, buying them, taking them home, getting so excited about ripping the plastic off, admiring the cool cover art and lyrics on the front and backs of the albums, placing a needle on the record. Then..., sitting back and enjoy those moments over and over again every time a new album came out from your fav artist/s.
...and i just read an article accusing Spotify of loading up its official playlists with pieces composed/performed by "ghosts" that are packaged by third party companies. This is designed to lower Spotify's royalty pmts. Just friggin sick
I agree. We are in the "playlist" phase were algorisms, need it now, and instant gratification rule the music world. Something that came of it this, good or bad, is musical acts can no longer be put into a category, they just are.
Sounds healthy to me. All kinds of music to listen to. No one trying to put themselves in a genre, just making the kind of music they want to make. Wonderful!
In a way, yes. Though I would encourage people to find their music community based on the songs they listen to. With that, we are still able to recreate that sense of shared music taste. And it's even more possible to do that now globally.
100 years ago, a person listened to whatever music was coming from a neighbors front porch. No other options- unless you played an instrument yourself.
💯. I have about 900 songs on an Apple Music playlist that I really like. The overwhelming majority of the bands are at most five or eight years old. It does take some time and dedication, but it’s totally worth it. And I’m an old guy who still loves 60s through 2000s music.
@@kenmarvin370 Well, 150 years ago, for those who couln't afford the opera house/ concert hall, there was the music hall. Can't speak for the States though.
I've been saying this for years. I also remember a time in 1983 or so - stationed in England - sitting around with my friends after a recording session we did on my Tascam Porta-Studio 4-track, and talking about what the future of distribution would look like. We already had access to some very early computer networking capabilities in the military (MILNET spun off ARPANET in 1983), and that coupled with an imagination fueled by Star Trek and Star Wars, we came up with the idea that corporations would try to control things - but people having direct access to a public network - would have direct access to creators of music, eliminating the middleman. We saw it as very egalitarian, and an opportunity for relatively small costs for creators. That is absolutely true today; the internet is ubiquitous and with a bit of knowledge and programming skill, anyone can establish nodes on the network that can serve up music (or whatever you want). However, corporations managed to maintain their place as a mediator between the creators and consumers and are poor curators. I think we need quality curation going forward that AI, as good as it may be in other areas, is not up to the task.
I just rewatched Running on Empty with River Phoenix, set in the late ’80s, and there’s this great scene where a music teacher compares Brahms and Madonna. Brahms is all about melody and complexity, while Madonna is driven by rhythm-easy to dance to and instantly “get.” It made me think about how today’s shorter attention spans, easy access to digital tools, and quick uploads to streaming platforms have pushed music even further in that direction.
Good point. Streaming and choice broke the song-length barrier, but consumers are choosing shorter content now so we may see a return to the "not longer than 3 minutes" song. Or maybe even something that is only 30 seconds long.
@ “Algorithms are the opiate of the masses by design.” Big Tech knows exactly what they’re doing. They work closely with behavioral researchers-like those at Stanford-who study how to make people addicted. They’ve even borrowed tricks from slot machines to keep us hooked. This kind of social engineering is a fascist government’s dream come true. Keep that in mind for the next four years…
@@joshuagodinez5867 “Algorithms are the opiate of the masses by design.” Big Tech knows exactly what they’re doing. They work closely with behavioral researchers-like those at Stanford-who study how to make people addicted. They’ve even borrowed tricks from slot machines to keep us hooked. This kind of social engineering is a fascist government’s dream come true.
I get where the fear is coming from, but it is not correct. Maybe rap isn't your thing, but both Tyler the Creator and Kendrick Lamar (two of the most prominent artists nowadays) came out with albums this year that need to be listened start to finish. At Tyler's album release concert there were thousands of people who were singing along with every single word (of a rap album!), which already kinda disproves the attention span point
Interesting how you didn't mention the 70s as a particular era. The 70s were interesting because several genres were really strong - punk came and went, trad rock was very strong, heavy metal was strong, pop was strong and disco was strong. What an era.
Agreed, I came of age in the 70s, just missed the Beatles. Biggest genre for me was country rock/pop like the Eagles and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, what we call Americana now. Alongside those were some niche groups doing everything from jug band, like goose creek, etc. to folk/rock like Cohen, CSN, and Young. Crazy to think there was also heavy metal, r and b, and disco all sharing the bandwidth, sometimes even on the same radio stations.
When I was teenager coming of age in the 70s, music was a shared experience. You'd be somewhere, and someone would have music playing, whether it was the radio, or an album playing on someone's stereo or a guy playing Foghat on his car 8-track. It seems like we experienced music communally. Now, in the streaming era, music is a lot more private. We tend to listen alone now. That shared experience is part of what made the music so good. There were no cell phones in the 70s, so if you were at a concert, your attention was concentrated on the people on stage, not getting photos of yourself with the band as your backdrop. So when you hear those old songs, you not only think about the music, but the people you enjoyed it with and the places you heard it. On a jukebox in your favorite pizza place, where you and your friends hang out. Music today seems devoid of emotion.
I have come to understand that music -- some are imperfect - but at least in the 60s, 70s, 80s, you had music with amazing tunes, long musical pauses, beats that excited your body. Music with great lyrics and good messages. Today, you walk outside to wash your car or to grill your food; or you walk out of the grocery store, and there's an out of sync, awful sounds of rapping swears and other genres. Why can't we enjoy some fun and excellent music in the community without the eerking of autotuned, out of sync, crazy lyrics that make no sense? Perhaps because everyone has evolved into enjoying different genres that suit their lifestyle only, and sadly, it's not for everyone. Sadly, my ears bleed whenever I hear certain music at max while someone drives around with speakers at 200%. I understand that's their lifestyle. We must be kind. But again, it is not for everyone.
Ive always had very diverse tastes. Im 50. I feel like music today matches how i have always consumed music. Making my own mix taps that are genre bending. Mix tapes that shifted from rock to pop to country to classical that made perfect sense to me.
That's the other difference now. You don't have to listen to what's new like you did back in the day. You can spend your whole life listening to Hendrix and Led Zeppelin and the Stones if that's what you wanna do. And if you want to throw in some Latin, country, hip hop, classical, Gregorian Chant, whatever... it's all just a click away. Everything's a giant mix tape now.
@@erics7992 id get bored just listening to the same ol same ol. I used to poor through record store collections, and ‘zines. Now its following the rabbit-hole of ‘similar artists’. I love discovery.
What I listen to instead of shifting, my playlist just got bigger and bigger. I guess the internet helps me discover a new thing (especially Shazam, best thing ever invented). But listening multiple genre in one session often drives me nut. Like, first track Taylor Swift, next Iron Maiden, next Jhonny Cash, next BrunuhVille; Ruining the vibe! 😆 I wish Spotify were able to jump into a song with similar genre whenever I shuffling my giant collection.
We are in a post rock era. Rock music now occupies the same cultural space as jazz did post 1970. One silver lining is that bands that were important to me in my youth are by and large free of commercial pressure to appeal to a wide audience which allows them the creativity to release albums like The Cure's latest album.
@@tmage23 you are talking about mainstream audiences, that play music casually. I am talking about real, long time fans that go with the hardcore stuff or go off the side of mainstream.
Something interesting I'm seeing among the students in the school I teach at: They are collectively gravitating to older music. Individually they have their own playlists and whatnot, but when they seek some kind of collective musical experience, it seems to be around music from 20 years ago...or older. I have no explanation for this yet, but it somehow seems connected to what you're saying here.
I commented a few minutes ago something quite into this topic. I am a volunteer at a school and a homeless shelter. I heard Credence Clearwater Revival, Dolly Parton, Steps -pop and another artist. It seems like there are people craving more and more uniqueness. We have had older music with excellent tunes, quality in sounds, and lyrism. The new generation wants that not the crazy autotuned, out of sync, slurs, and crazy non-sensical music that is given to us through trashy-trendy music. Thankfully, there are a few independent artists who still record and sing without autotune or use it but very lightly. Have a Wonderful and Blessed Holiday!
I'm 65, so I grew up through the 60s and 70s heyday of pop and rock (and even then, realized that a lot of it was crap: bubblegum in the 60s, disco in the 70s, etc.). Early on, when I was 13 or so, I started "rebelling" against the "dominant sound" that you'd hear on radio--I searched for the "alternative" FM stations, sought refuge by listening to jazz (Jarrett, Davis, Corea) and classical. Ever since then, I've hardly given whatever's "popular" or "trending" a second thought. The "post-genre" phenomenon that Beato talks about--I think it's great! We're also living in a "post-fashion" world--does anyone really give a crap any more about what the fashion designers are coming up with, and what everyone else is wearing? Same thing's true in the art world--just ask yourself what the "dominant trend" is. There isn't one, unless you break the timeline down into 10 minute intervals. I think this is all incredibly liberating.
post Fashion? You’ve got to be kidding. Tell that to a woman. There might’ve been a lot of crap in the 60s 70s but there was a hell of a lot of good stuff that wasn’t main stream.
@@TaraTara-ld2xb Exactly. I'm 57 and I find myself searching and listening to lower charting song of popular artists of the 60s and 70s. I have found quite a few songs I like, that I have never heard, or heard of before.
I'm 70 and I don't care anymore about fashion either--but I'm pretty sure the kids do. Also, like what you like, but there was a lot of good disco out there (it was badly maligned mostly because it became a multi-racial, multi-sexual genre and the world wasn't quite ready for that). Donna Summer, Chic, the Headhunters (Herbie Hancock, et al) and even Quincy Jones dabbled in disco--and were all pretty good. As with all genres, there was crap too. But I like to gravitate toward the good stuff.
I was a "skater" & a drummer in high school. All my friends listened to Misfits, Penny wise, the sex pistols & Ramones. I listened to Van Halen, Bon Jovi & Poison. Then day I came home from being out skating, turned on MTV & saw the video for One by Metallica. This is the greatest thing ever... as Butthead would say on Bevis & Butthead. I was hooked. I went & bought Kill Em All, Ride The Lightning & Master of Puppets. I would put on my headphones & play the drilums to all of it.
I write my own music alongside a co-writer, playing all the instruments and handling the production myself. I've been influenced by all the genres you mentioned, which makes labeling my music incredibly difficult. SoundCloud requires me to categorize it for publishing, but I often wonder if I’m choosing the right label! I think your perspective on this is spot on.
I have been relegated to finding the unheard acts that fit my ear. This means, since I am 65, that new stuff is hard to find, but it is out there. You just have to dig for it.
MusicGunn...couldn't agree with you more. But my concern is the amount of digging you have to do. It can be very time-consuming and yield just a nugget. I'm 60 (compared to your 65) and find it quite discouraging. Good music is tough to find.
And we no longer have record stores (or even CD shops) to browse racks to spot that interesting cover that pulls you in. I’ve also gone back to re-assess music I discounted back in the day (we had so much to choose from in the 60s, 70s and 80s), that I ignored because there was other stuff I liked.
@@RidgeRunner10 Yes, I understand. I am pretty open to different genres but like Rick says, there are no genres anymore and I am not a fan of what is presented as mainstream anymore. You gotta go back and listen to the stuff you didn't pay attention to, or find new artists that do fit into the genres you are looking for. I for one found Porcupine Tree, but they are no longer producing new music anymore. But there is a lot of very good Progressive music out there still being produced. I like some of the Prog Metal, but not all of it. It used to be that the great musicians were making Jazz Fusion, but there aren't many new artists making that. I think the really great NEW musicians starting now are doing Prog because the range is very open. I'm someone who thinks the original Prog band was the Beatles. Look where they went in just a few short years. From I Want To Hold Your Hand to I Am The Walrus. That is the definition of progressive.
I'm 73...I grew up in the '50's & '60's. We heard all kinds of music on the radio. I never thought of genres. Til this this day...I love it all...all kinds of music. Music is such a Blessing. I love how It's become so easy to record and express yourself through music.
It's definitely a fascinating era whatever it is. The amount of sub genres, most of them I've never heard of, that are being discussed amazes me. They'd never have existed in the old times, or at least would never have had so many fans. My son listens to a lot of my old favourites (mainly heavy rock, prog metal etc) but at the same time finds tons of tunes and genres himself. It's certainly not all doom and gloom but a very different reality for musicians.
Absolutely love this channel. Probably the best musicians channel on UA-cam. I believe we’re in the mixed genre. I noticed music trends went from decade to a few years to one year to all been done anything goes. I experimented with digital step edit. I shut off quantize and programmed random note number patterns. Blasted through a keyboard midi. Sounds I’ve never herd before. I see a bright future in digital mixed with analog. The kids always find a new way.
Being 51 years old, I’ve gone through so many of the great eras in music that you have mentioned. Here’s my take. I think we’ve gotten to a point where we can’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to genres. I think now is the time to take stock of all that we’ve known and loved about pop music over the past 70 to 80 years and even more and take as many things from those genres that we know and put them into a melting pot and see what happens. We are already seeing in some corners of the industry where musicality has started to creep back into pop music, e.g. Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, etc. I would love to see musicality and timeless songwriting come back to the forefront and musicians be acknowledged once again.
The sad thing about how we consume (stream) music, TV, movies is we're all listening and watching something different...Watching the same shows & listening to the same music used to give us something we would have in common... I was born in the 70's but listened to music my dad listened to from the 50's and we always had that bond over his music...Now it feels like a big disconnect between everyone and the stuff we're watching & listening to.
Now it's more organic. We have to actively share our experiences with others, which is also great because we're not pigeonholed into what the corpos feed us.
people still connect today. Just because you don't know how to in this day and age, doesn't mean others don't know how to. And the big difference is we get to choose. You and your dad didn't.
@@prunelle9068 You think algorithms let you choose what you're listening too?...We had less choices but better quality cause the garbage was weeded out!...And being pulled in a thousand different directions every day is the reason why no one has an attention span longer than a minute these days!
As a 24 year old musician, I love this age. So many people I know are into the grunge stuff, into the psychedelic rock of the 60s, into 80s pop, and are discovering new artists everyday. Removing the idea of a mass collective experience of music really makes you appreciate a person who has a similar music taste to you. I think there is a bunch of nostalgia for older heads who liked the shared experience of music, and I get it and would love to see what it was like back then, I personally love that I can be inspired by the artists of old and new with just a click of a button. It is transforming new musicians into something that Rick described above. My generation probably has the most musical influences of any generation because of this, and if you look deeper you’ll see how it manifests. I look at mk.gee as the perfect example of this.
I'm 44 and love the post genre music experience. There's so much good music coming out in nearly every genre and it's instantly accessible. It's never been a better time to be a music listener.
I agree with Rob. The whole “djent is a not a genre” discussion has been so fun and funny and self-deprecating that it makes me appreciate the bands and fans even more. The bottom line for me is that I’ve found a ton of my new favorite bands by searching for “djent” so I think that genres are still alive and doing what they need to do but I get that it’s way harder to fit bands into genres nowadays and that’s OK. I often find new artists through collaborations. If a band I like is working with an artist I don’t know I immediately look up that artist to check out their stuff. It’s a super exciting time of discovery.
Rick, as usual, you have keen insight into a topic that we all feel something about. As a musician myself, I had strong feelings about certain genres and certain artists as I was growing up, but as a 67 year old man now, it's evolved into a range of personal tastes that crosses the old genre boundaries. But I dont think that's a bad thing. When I'm writing a song, I'm not thinking about staying loyal to a particular genre. I'm giving birth to an independent entity and letting it decide what religion it wants to be. Sometimes the story takes the author where it needs to go. That said, I don't enjoy certain genres. Like rap, bubblegum pop, EDM, plus certain ethnic music from certain countries like India, China, etc. And there are some genres that I liked when I was younger but have outgrown. There are also some that I like in small doses, but they lose their appeal after 2 or 3 songs. Country music is like that for me. And then some music, like jazz, can be very appealing when certain instruments are prominent, like guitar or piano, but I reach a saturation point with certain other instruments. When Kenny G gets going with his endless sax solos, it sounds beautiful for about 30 seconds, but after 4 minutes of it. I'm grinding my teeth praying for it to stop. I've walked out of retail stores after ten minutes of that, because there is no way to turn it off. But back to genres, they were a handy way for music distributors and retailers to organize music for distribution and sales. Back in the days when music was purchased by people, that is. But that's back when there were perhaps 100 famous musical artists in the world, and maybe 10 were superstars. You could expect how many new albums of important music each year? 20? 10? With the internet, it's a little more crowded now. I would bet there are more than a million artists recording music constantly (and I would be one of them) and I would not be surprised if there were 25,000 new songs hitting the internet from someone somewhere every single day. Including weekends. You might think that this demands even more genre classification and organization than ever, but I think it's gone in the opposite direction. With this much volume and variety, and people trying to blend parts of different genres to prodyce unique sounds, it has blurred the lines so much that the old genres cannot apply any longer, and new ones are too diffused that that level of classification has been rendered moot. People can hardly decide what artists they want to follow. Let alone what genre they want to listen to. But then, the mainstream distribution of music is not physical in most cases anymore. Few physical vinyl records these days to press, package, ship to stores, fit into retail bins to sell. It's all available on a song by song basis to everyone everywhere instantly. You get your newest song by your favorite Australian artist the moment it's released, in your pocket. While you're eating your lunch. Genres just don't help anymore in the way they used to. And I still haven't heard a whole song by Taylor Swift. She is the most famous and popular artist in the world and I just had to ask my wife what her name was again...
I can't remember the phrase, but we are living in an era where there are too many choices. As you have said, 10,000 songs added to streaming service each day!? So I, a boomer born in 1949 discover new music thru YOU. The only streaming service I use is youtube or I can listen, via the internet to my hometown(Chicago) radio station thru the internet or I play the records/cds that I have purchased in the past. If I were a teen today what is my music. First of all, your kids started listening to what you listen. Mine was Big band that my parents loved. I still like it! Then, in my era, radio. And radio expanded from AM to Fm and in FM anything goes. When it came out Led Zepplin was originally in top 40 radio. In my area there was a Sunday night program for that music(Zep, Sabbath...) to out there for top 40, even on FM. Where is that experience today? Somewhere in today's 10,000 songs uploaded to streaming - impossible.
"Future Shock" is the book by Alvin Toffler in the late 60s that said we wouldn't be crushed and controlled by authoritarianism but would be paralyzed by the overabundance of choices in the future. I don't know why the expression went out of vogue but it was a very prophetic book.
I’m in my ninth decade, so I have been through all of the eras you’ve described. I’ve enjoyed them all. The greatest part of today’s “era” is the creative freedom that artists feel and the resulting music isn’t locked into the control of a label or a DJ. The worst part, as you mentioned, is having fewer opportunities to become aware of the newest good stuff. Listening to you, Rick, helps a lot, though. Keep it up.
Thank you, sir. I am much younger than you but I have been beating this drum for a while. Music is better than it has ever been, but like you said it's harder to just go around and hear different stuff. You have to go find it by yourself.
This is the era of the New Jersey Drone Genre, Rick. Everything is based around a buzzing sound like that of a bee and everybody cranes their heads upward as they bounce to the beat.
Enjoy watching your channel for your insights and wonderful interviews. In general, music is consumed more on a personal level now and less communal. As a teen you would jump in a car with friends and one of the first things we discussed what radio station we wanted to listen to on our ride. Today I jump in the car with my kids and grand kids and they all have earbuds in listening to music, podcasts, etc. I enjoy todays world of quick access to any kind of music I want that fits my mood at the time. Maybe this is the era of musical exploration into all eras of the past. Blurring the lines between genres is good in my mind. It has happened with music in the past and has resulted in great new music.
Some of us have always curated our own music. I was a teenager in the 80s, but I was listening to The Beatles, The Who, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Small Faces, Sex Pistols, T Rex, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, The Jam, The Doors, The Specials, Selecter, The Beach Boys...
Rick, don't forget ' American Bandstand' and 'Soul Train'. Also Casey Casion( sp) for the count down to #1 for that week, on radio of. course. Always have loved music, and boy, you bring it home!
Very informative Rick (but aren't all your videos?). 😊 I'm 57, and I only listen to my favorites from the 60s, 70s, and 80s on Sirius or my playlists from UA-cam Music. I don't have a clue about artists of today. Not saying that there isn't good music out there today, I'm just happy to stick with the three best decades of music. 😁 Keep up the awesome interviews, they're fantastic!!!
4:03 "There are countless subgenres that exist in parallel... and each of them have their own dedicated fan bases because today there's really no unifying broadcast platform like we had with radio and MTV that force this collective experience for listeners." That's exactly it! Everything has been individualized. There ARE no common pop culture touchstones anymore because everyone is in their own world. iPod, iPhone, iPad - EVERYTHING is about "I." Everything is me, me, me. It's horrible.
I'm a 53 year old gen Xer. I can't say this is a bad thing. There's a plethora of great music out there to be found, both old and new. That said I myself mostly ignore the algorithm generated playlists and look for my own stuff.
Same. I've never spent more money on music than I do now, there's so much good stuff out there to find, both new and old. More than I could ever listen to. The tricky part is keeping new discoveries in rotation when they get displaced by more new stuff, and getting enough plays of the kind of challenging albums that need several listens to really cement themselves as truely great rather than just interesting oddities.
I’m from the same era (52), but feel the downside is that there’s less music that’s universally shared in common that can be talked about. I can’t really look back less than 10 years ago and find many songs to share in discussions.
It might sound crazy but I really wish new wave didn’t die out , it was so interesting and even bizarre at some points but it really captures your ear ; I wasn’t alive in the 80’s but whenever I hear a new wave song it always captivates my attention
You make some really interesting points about how our media consumption has become so personalized. It makes sense that the idea of a collective "zeitgeist" is harder to pin down when we're not all watching the same shows, listening to the same music, or even experiencing those things at the same time. Your examples are spot on: TV: We used to gather around the TV for must-see events, creating water cooler moments the next day. Now, we binge at our own pace, and those shared viewing experiences are rarer. Music: Albums used to be a cohesive artistic statement we'd absorb as a whole. Now, it's more about individual tracks and playlists, often shuffled. Movies: The theatrical experience used to be the way to see a film. Now, with streaming, that communal excitement of a packed theater is becoming less central. Given how personalized everything has become, it's hard to imagine a scenario where those large-scale shared experiences make a full comeback. We're so used to on-demand content and curated algorithms that cater to our individual tastes, it's unlikely we'll revert back to a more homogenous media landscape. This shift definitely has implications for how culture is shaped and shared. It'll be interesting to see how artists, creators, and the entertainment industry as a whole adapt to this new reality.
Love what we have now!! We are not force fed by the industry- we can hear anything we want on spotify, not just the current single that the "Brilliant Music Executives" think should be the "next song" off the album. I am 58 and grew up as a music fan but hated the consolidation of the music industry, especially after the AOR stations got swallowed up. It was infuriating you go the store and cannot find the song you want to listen to without having to spend $13 on a CD! I would say I wish I would have grown up in the current day, except that the music is horrible. Great video! (And I know literally one Taylor Swift song and no idea who Mr. Beast is- and am not curious enough to find out more about either)
0:39 My grandmas brother Creed Taylor produced this record and brought up a lot of young talent from Brazil and helped popularize bossa nova he even produced a lot of fusion guys later on
He produced some great music. Did he collaborate with Quincy Jones on an album incorporating jazz guitar evolution featuring greats like Eric Gale, Jim Hall, etc….? Peace.
Born in 1965. Been following music steadily since 1973. I prefer the way things are now. Bring on that galaxy of possibilities! "You know, you have all the old records there if you want to reminisce." - John Lennon
Rick!!! You rock!! You have just articulated so effortlessly what's been swimming in my head since I returned to writing and recording. I'm a 46 year old French and Spanish white girl from California taking some of my old Americana/Bluegrass Pop tracks and adding rap lines to them {and writing plenty of new stuff too}.. Talk about genre blurring haha! Blessings, honey!!
It's not really the algorithm that's "destroying" music (and by music, I mean mainstream music specifically), it's really the industry heads who are curating who appears in the mainstream algorithm, hence significantly lowering the chances of talented new artists to be discovered by the general public.
It’s the new normal. Music has no value anymore. Subscribing and streaming in the background while doing other activities is the new music experience. When was the last time someone took us aside and said, “listen to this!”? Sitting still and just focusing on the sound doesn’t seem to happen outside of the studio anymore.
i remember an old episode of 'arthur' from probably the early 2000s where muffy, the spoiled rich kid, tries to act 'mature' and goes to hang out w/ her friend francine's high school age sister. there's a scene where all the teenagers gather just to sit and listen to the 'poetry' of the music on francine's sister's CD. i feel so old now thinking of that episode and looking at high school kids today passively listening w/ earbuds while doing other stuff.
I get where you come from, but it is not universally correct. Maybe rap isn't your thing, but both Tyler the Creator and Kendrick Lamar (two of the most prominent artists nowadays) came out with albums this year that need to be listened start to finish. At Tyler's album release concert at Gnaw there were thousands of people who were singing along with every single word (of a rap album!), which already kinda disproves the fact that people can't sit still and just listen to a full length record
The same with movies and video games. You'd be surprise how many people actually dont play video games these days, they just watch youtubers playing video games or talking about movies.
For me, a child of 70s-80s music I find today my taste in music have grown with UA-cam, spotify. I find myself listening to jazz, new and old. Classical music I have a deeper appreciation for music now and how it is created.
@@davidbrown418 Dave - there are new rock bands throwing it back to the 70’s. The band leading the Rock Revolution are Dirty Honey, The Band Feel, The Retrograde, High Fade. Give them a listen and enjoy my friend.
Fascinating video. I agree in part, although sub genres have always existed and although, as you say, the 90s had grunge, it also had Eurodance, Brit pop, boyband/girband pop etc. I think as there’s so much choice now out there for people and, as you said, no clear music directors such as MTV, there’s no universal sound. The top 5 most streamed artists on Spotify last year perhaps best showcase this: Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, Drake and Billie Eilish are all completely different in style.
Amazing video! I love this topic so much. I as an almost 22 year old band lead singer, and rock and roll lover, think that people have slowly become more copy paste than ever before. People look up to others that they’ve been shown and just want to recreate rather than be original and create their own new thing. My favorite Eddie van halen quote of his is, “Why the hell would I want to do what’s already been done, what’s the fun in that?” He’s so right! I hope more people our age become original and start to define a new genre. I do think that our current day music does reflect the 60s and 70s the most, though, with its groovy bass lines in pop music, and with softer rock influences throughout.
I'm waiting for you young ones to redefine rock and give us a new British Invasion style kick in the pants and knock the crap out of the stuff on radio now
48 from Russia. Totally agree that we live in post-gengre era, i dare to say we live in post-music era. Music is no longer something that it was even 20 years ago. Life is speeding up, people have no time to listening LPs or live concert broadcast, at least the most people. But i think it's not that bad. There are a lot of young people who prefer to dig deeper in golden age of music "archives". Not so long ago i have a customer im my shop, honestly we have not so much in common, usually talking about stuff i sell or he search, etc... He saw my guitar in shop, word by word i found that he do like King Crimson, and we takled about 2 hours about music, guitar players, gears. And this is not the only case. So the fact that this young man have real interest not only in modern music, make me comfort :) Everything will be fine, maybe very differetnt but fine.
Rick, It’s not just music! Everything in mass media has been impacted! News, cars, art, movies, all mass consumption now comes to “artificial life” through certain man-made algorithms instead of naturally through mass consensus. Great video.!
Music never naturally achieved mass consensus. The consensus was manufactured by the centralized labels. Rick mentioned this in the video: the labels controlled the means of dissemination, for example Clear Channel owning all the radio stations, which allowed the large labels to control what was on the radio at any one time. The mass consensus of the past was not a natural thing that was disrupted, it was an artificial thing created by the middle man music labels for decades that would inevitably by disintermediated by the internet. Then the algorithmic gatekeepers re-centralized control over how people discover music.
did you understand it at all? mass consensus is also man-made; in fact, it's even more concentrated in power. record labels and marketing campaigns control the "mass consensus" you're so in love with. wake up...
My daughter listens to all sorts of music. Her year end streaming repost included almost 12,000 artists. Her friends are the same. They are hungry for “good” music.
So good to have a broad range! My kids have recommended music to me - like Laufey and J-pop - while we all still enjoy classical (Australian Chamber Orchestra is brilliant) and jazz - especially video games music played as jazz (The Consouls are amazing). Interestingly, the kids love 50s crooners which they found on Spotify (it's not my thing - that's my parents' music 😅).
Consider learning an instrument bro. We have to fight the shitty music epidemic of the 21st century. Right now I'm getting a very short amount of sleep, doing homeschool, I have no friends but I manage to get a good 7-10 hours of practice a day while I study theory in the other part. I will fulfill becoming a great musician if I end up homeless for life by doing so. In fact watching this 6 min video and commenting is the only free time today I have beside practice and study but its incredibly sad that people see King Gizzard or the lemon twigs as saviours of music. They stole others peoples music and added more complexity to it, similar to adding 15 powder flavours into a jug of water and expecting it to taste good. Think about it: If you showed someone heavy metal music back in 58' they either not consider it music, or they would think its incredibly stupid music. Fast forward 10 years and heavy metal has already been played by the biggest band in the world. Only 2 years later and its a mainstream genre. Likewise, people's minds are too broad to consider the creation of a new genre (not subgenre), such as the psychedelic and disco stuff that would not be thought of in 1958. Because of this, I think we ought to give everything we have to try and make it a reality. It is unlikely but its worth if it did end up happening.
We once thought it was a bane having to listen to the radio's playlist and 90% of what we did not like but at least we heard a huge amount of diverse stuff. The ability to listen to only what we like has killed the industry and creativity. It is not just the loss of genres it is also the loss of associated youth cultures - the last two I identified were goths and emo kids. Remember how short music fads lasted in the past but rap is, sadly, now more than forty years old. The finest of ironies indeed. You have hit the nail on the head rick. Well done.
The late 90s and early 2000s pop music were the moment music took a huge drop imo. I'm really happy about the music right now cause your not spoon fed what you should listen by big corporation. It clearly affect artist cause you make less money but the music culture is pretty open minded right now.
We are in the post musical era in regards to pop music. Jazz is the only genre still innovating and producing excellence. Rock is dead, the best selling rock album NOW is Fleetwood Mac rumours.
I would love a peek into the amount of people digging into these streaming platforms vs the biggest number: how many people have access to these platforms! Tech is the explosive number here. More and more people, every day, have access to a wider collection of music. The increase in numbers just becomes the norm for these “micro” genres because we are used to some of these numbers for a “normal” genre and they shoot up so fast! Things are progressing so fast that there are constant progressions in the numbers of listeners and how we can keep track of them. Love these insights from a person that’s been in the industry and these behind the scenes look from someone that’s been in so many different aspects of the industry!
I love this post-genre world we live in. We as listeners can now truly explore so many sounds, styles, and bands that were never available to us. I'm old enough to remember being spoon fed what I'm suppose to like, the popular and cool bands on MTV... and yeah I loved some of them. But now I am in control and the DJ of my own headspace. It's amazing. Also...I have no idea what Mr. Beast does. I know he's a big dill from how much people refer to him but that's about it.
@@jgquinton Agreed on everything and honestly, the fact you still don't know what Mr. Beast does is a blessing. I know and I could totally be living without this information lmao
I think a big Point you're Missing here is the evolution of hip hop that happened simultaneously to popular music in the late 90s- early 2000s and finally broke through into the mainstream with Dr Dre's The chronic 2001 Album, the First Eminem Album, the First 50 Cent Album etc. At the Same time that Pop Artist Like Britney spears, Christina Aguilera etc started to become less relevant in the late 2000s, EDM rose to great prominence in the radio and the Internet. At some Point every Pop Song on the radio was so heavily influenced by EDM music with these huge choruses, massive synths and all electronically engineered instruments. Producers started to incorporate that into hip hop, which was one the Last breath of the Bling era at the time with artists Like Lil Wayne. With the merge of EDM and Hip Hop, Trap music evolved with some first Major Songs from Chief Keef or later Future. To say the Last 10 years werent the era of Trap music would Just because of a massive resentment towards the genre, because its obviously not sophisticated music, but this simple straight Forward formula definitely has been the Zeitgeist Up until now. Now we have reached a point of oversaturation, because it has become so easy to make a Trap song, that its slowly starting to die off again, being replaced with pop music artists like taylor Swift, Olivia rodrigo or Sabrina Carpenter.
This. As if the "forced collective" experience of Britney Spears & Backstreet Boys was a high water mark of civilization. There's more hidden gold to find than ever before. In addition to re-discovering old records.
...such serious things now, like everywhere. But I'd been feeling this yet couldn't really organize this question, just felt it. To feel 'i haven't liked the movement', feels too selfish. But to finally understand an answer together is a sweet thing! @ThAnk you for taking the time, @Rick!
This is actually a very interesting and profound idea. It encompasses more than just music but shared cultural identity and history. It needs to be discussed further.
I think we’re in the Sad-Girl-Pop Era. Think of Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Chappel Roan, Phoebe Bridgers, Laufy: one-woman acts with pop-y hits but also a moody, melancholic side. There is definitely a splitting where lots of smaller genres also exist (see: Kendrick, or the Latin beat stuff), but by largest cultural/commercial impact (ticket sales, streams, etc.), the girl-pop dominates the market; probably because they have mass appeal to teenage girls (teens/early-20s being the primary consumers of new music), whereas there is no contemporary band with mass appeal to teenage boys.
I'm a music student and covert influencer. I am a sixties child amongst a cohort 40 years younger. Yet, at the end of term karaoke I put on Mary's Boy Child, by Boney M, and across the divides between generations, cultures and occupations, with my aging voice and the sweet tones of students the dining hall was filled just for a moment with fun and singing and smiles. Music transcends . I've long stopped worrying what genre I'm in. If pressed I can dream up my own, such as grannyrap or folk fusion. Do your music ,do your best, up to God leave the rest . Merry Christmas to you, and your viewers , from UK xx
Jaron Lanier has a similar but slightly different take on this phenomenon - that we don't see such distinct and unique styles of (popular) music emerge anymore because they need time and isolation to develop, and that is almost impossible now. Basically there needs to be a small local scene with a limited set of influences and players that has the time to develop and grow organically into something unique to end up with a sound so different that eventually gets discovered and has a huge impact. Think Seattle and the grunge scene in the late 80s to early 90s. It's the isolation of a smaller group of musicians (and their fans) that provide the conditions for something new to develop, and once everybody has instantaneous access to everything everyone else is doing almost as soon as they do it those conditions are lost.
@@nilsnilsnilsify I don’t think it works like that. I argue trends usually have like a “trigger”, y’know like the artists that kick the trend off. Like, grunge didn’t become mainstream just because it had a scene. It got that way because Nirvana blew up, and then everyone started listening to stuff that sounded like that, and so then grunge blew up. So it’s like A: an artist blows up. B: people start listening to other stuff in that same genre. C: that genre becomes a trend.
Don’t forget Led Zeppelin and other big British rock bands ripped off a ton of music and riffs themselves! People trying to pretend otherwise are being disingenuous…
@@RB-oc7ti Ok vanilla ice. They might have reshaped a few things. But they were real musicians playing instruments. If you want that you have metal or country, which both kinda suck right now. Half of everything else is computerized b.s.
Spot on Rick. I miss the 70’s, music in general was great. And, being in my 60’s now, I just don’t get todays music. So, my long time band mate and I of 50+ years decided we’re writing and recording for the over 40 crowd. We don’t target youngsters, but some dig us. We live in different cities, so we zoom to write, then I record everything and it’s released. It’s unusual, but we’ve released 22 songs that way so far. Just stayin true to the music that moved us in the beginning 🙂 Love your show! Thank you.
Unfortunately I don’t think there are anymore genres to discover, its all been done. Just glad I was alive for the great music of the 60’s 70’s and…90’s✌🏻😉
@@TheAmateursOriginalMusic guys - there is a AN OLD ROCK REVOLUTION HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. The new bands coming out leading the charge are Dirty Honey, The Band Feel, The Retrograde, High Fade. Throwing back to the 70’s. New albums and touring. Give them a listen and enjoy! Let me know if you like any of them. Let’s kick county, pop and rap to the curb!
Hello Rick. I think that we have moved from one extreme to the other, where the desirable outcome is a healthy balance. As you said, in the past those huge artists were pushed, somewhat forced, by the few media that ruled the market, while nowadays we have way too much information everywhere which flows way too fast. Hopefully, people will begin to choose quality over quantity but with a decent amount of options so that they can be more free to choose.
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Rick, you are lucky you don't live in a majorly Spanish speaking country where we are already 2 decades trapped in a reggaeton loop. When the trend started I thought it would go quickly out of fashion but here we are. Imagine listening to only one type of drum beat forever. It is hell.
You must have a bit of Moombahton too! 😂
Lamentablemente, totalmente de acuerdo.
Maybe it could be worse - like 2 decades of disco.
NADA es peor que el reggaetón.
That sucks 😅
Rick - I’m 73 years old and have lived through many of the genres you mentioned. I find your videos and your introspective look at the music industry so fascinating. Always enjoy listening to your insights and your wonderful interviews.
I first got into pop music as a 5th grader in 1963, when my school bus driver in suburban New Jersey always played AM top forty - either WABC or WMCA in New York City. Four years later, living in New Mexico, I was listening to clear-channel KOMA from Oklahoma City every night. I think those format radio stations (and even the concept of AM clear channels) are long gone.
Except a lot of his insights are wrong
I'm 53 and couldn't agree more!
@@pickles224 wow, you are really going to say 'a lot of his insights are wrong', and then just duck out instead of giving data... examples... proof? wouldn't you find that behavior cowardly (or at least lazy) if you saw others exhibiting it? give us an example of where his insight is 'wrong', and back it up with your own thoughts.
As for me, I find Rick's commentary to be thoughtful, educated, and passionate. Even if his facts aren't 100.000% correct, I'll take his insights over mean-spirited, any time!
@@lofomuses And Rick knows a lot about music.
I like that the media and record labels don’t get to decide what we should be listening to, but I do miss the shared experience we used to have 🤷♂️
You can definitely still have that if you join the (still existing) mainstream. Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, etc are all ubiquitous. However, if you're lucky enough to find someone who enjoys similar stuff while choosing freely instead of having the choice made for them, I'd say there's potential for higher quality and deeper bonding
Yes 100% agree, it's a weird time. Not bad entirely but not good, and despite the opportunities technology now offers young artists to produce and share their music worldwide in an instant, the power of the algorhythm is still massively skewed by the major labels dollars. Hopefully, that will change but it's hard to see the new era emerging when we are in the fog of whatever this era is called, if indeed it has a name? One era I think Rick missed was the "Emo" genre of the mid 00s which was pretty big worldwide, but after that I'd agree it's hard to point to any genre or "era" that has been dominant or groundbreaking; that has created, as you say, "the shared experience". The closest I can think of is Taylor Swift and her insanely passionate fanbase, but I would hardly call it a genre. Strange times indeed, but I am sure that music will find a way to continue to delight and inspire us until the sun burns out 😎
Right on , I remember bringing a new album over to a friend's place to share it !
@@FredPriest-ud6cu That was an amazing time. Seems crazy now, even to me, but whoever got hold of the "latest" big album, we'd all head to theirs or someone elses house to check it out together. It was an event - usually with some beer and weed to enhance of course lol.
Closest I get to that these days, and it's almost as exciting, is if a friend sends me a spotify or UA-cam link and says "Check this out" and that's how I have discovered some of my favourite new bands of today.
it's fine, but its not the same ya know.
Yeah, but can you still get 12 CD's for .01 cent a piece, plus 3 free bonus CD's, just for signing up? At 12 years old ....😅
What I like about Rick's observations is above all what a fine community is showing up here in the comments section! Always interesting and mostly following the netiquette without strain.Thank you.
I am of two minds here: The ability to curate your own individual playlists is very cool and feels freeing. HOWEVER, the sense of a shared experience and cohesion that we all felt in the 60's and 70's, where all of us knew the words to those songs....that was something special and important. I don't think young people can really know what that felt like....to feel like you were all connected and joined together by a common experience. It created a sense of "generational cohesion". It felt right....and comforting. Perhaps "Swifties" have that now..
I think people still have the shared experiences that generate cohesion you speak of. However, they are an order of magnitude more niche while also evolving incredibly rapidly. You might share an incredibly memorable experience but as part of one of a billion online communities. There will always be things that break through, but even those are very short-lived now.
Culture has almost become individualised.
Yes, this is the main take away. We can be fans of many types of music, but the genres were cornerstones of shared youth culture. It doesn't exist Iike that anymore with my teenagers and their friends.
Witness that Spotify has over 6,000 genres competing for the ears of its listening/subscribed audience. During my 30+ years in the music business interests in artists and songs was generated by radio and labels run by people with a musical knowledge and a vested interest in the success of their product. For better or worse that changed with the advent of downloading and streaming that, in my mind, changed music and listening patterns inexorably.
All very well, but……if you don’t like the dominant music it can lead to feeling intense isolation. or as in my case while I was growing up simply believing “I don’t like music”.
Yeah right 👍it was the radio era...nothing like hanging out with your buddies and pals and everyone would sing along to the songs in the radio 📻...everyone knew the same songs 🎵
Rick, you should start a series where you dissect different genres of music and discuss their histories, key bands, etc. Would be very interesting
maybe after a macca interview
I'd follow that for sure!!!!
💯
Yeah but that would mean dissecting genres made without physical instruments (i.e. EDM, hip-hop) and that wouldn’t pander to his following of Beatles-worshipping music purists.
@bemmiu you might enjoy the "Trash Theory" channel - it does something a bit like that. Lot of UK stuff but not exclusively.
I was ready to say, "we're not in a musical era, it's now a musical error". But you are correct - just like your "post-genre" idea, I find myself exploring all kinds of music on the internet that I simply can't find on the radio. It's both refreshing and freeing.
Yes. Good for you but I’m really set in my ways and cannot get myself to listen to new music cause I HATE auto-tune and my love for old music is too strong and there is still so much old music I haven’t heard. So the urge to do so is not present.
Rumors should be album of the year every couple years when it's not Welcome to the Machine or Zeppelin 2
@@Funkybassplayer Can I recommend J-pop? My kids recommended it and the basslines are insane as are the vocals. It might not be everyone's cup of tea but the musicianship is off the charts compared with the 'dumbed down' stuff that passes itself off as Western pop these days. Yoasobi, Zutomayo and Fujii Kaze (actually I recommended him to my kids) are but a few examples. (As a family we are also really into vgm jazz because The Consouls are local to us)
It's also isolating because nobody else listens to or even is aware of the things you like. We all live in our own respective bubbles. Carefully curated for us by the amoral tech bros that now run the world.
Enjoy your bubble and limited conversations.
When I was growing up in the 60s 70s, half of our conversations would be the new song that just came out from insert artist here. But I was listening to the likes of Hendrix, Trower, Zepplin, and everybody would be excited about it. Now I mostly hung out with musicians as I was a budding drummer then, but it was a high point in everybody’s day when a specific song would drop and everybody would love it, or even hate it. I miss immensely those experiences. I do, however, love today, especially with this channel that I am able to discover people from all over the world with the taste of mine that I never would’ve been able to. So kind of a Catch-22 there. Keep them coming Rick you’re doing a great job.
It seems that we're in the Discovery Era. Kids are listening to their parent's and grandparent's music. If the #1 album this year is Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, that says it all.
Great songs are great songs, my daughter got into FM about 10 years ago she is 26 now, and my youngest is 16 loves FM now,. It was the first album I bought with my own money in 1980 ( I was six, used cassettes, rumours and queen- jazz, still have them), . Real music, real instruments, and great songs can't be beat.
It seems you refer to the year-end Billboard 200 list, and Rumours is not the #1 best selling album on it by a long shot. It is number 34 and was reported as the _highest-ranking rock_ album within that list (which apparently features only 29 rock albums in total).
The highest sellers are pop, hip hop, R&B and country from the last few years.
Although I see some higher ranking albums are categorized as rock or its derivatives on Wikipedia, but I don't listen to those and don't know if that's accurate. For example, at number 12 there is an album called Guts by Olivia Rodrigo and Wikipedia categorizes it as "rock, pop, alternative rock, power pop".
EDIT: Also, Rumours itself is basically a soft rock album. Not wrapped in an electronic production like new "rock inspired" stuff, but it's still on the so-to-speak more approachable end of rock to people who won't listen to lots of distortion and heavy riffs.
You are right. I was surprised by my kids making a 50s Crooners list on Spotify (grandparents music) and then really enjoying eg. Stevie Wonder, Toto, Steely Dan and Jamiroquai etc (my era) but also recommending Laufey to me (NOT Swift) amd J-pop. They discover past music but also wider contemporary music.
Kids were, already, gravitating towards: "their parents' music" (or things similar in style & demeanor) in the 1990s.
...and, let's face it🤷🤷: if you had older siblings (in any era from the '50s through the '90s, at least!)??: THEIR music, their tastes and their friends' tastes were what younger siblings/kids, first: learned from and gravitated towards!
(OR!: became SO OFFENDED by that they, purposely, sought out "the exact opposite," BECAUSE of what those older siblings/that age group was listening to/invested in!)
@@melian9999 FM? What the soundtrack to the movie??
We're simply experiencing the chaos and depression of overabundance. Saturation. Satiety. When Elvis or the Beatles appeared seemingly out of nowhere, there was a relative scarcity of artists offering music and breaking social barriers, and the world was hungry for this. 6 or 7 decades of technological revolution and mass consumerism later, there seem to be almost more artists than listeners and most doors and ceilings have been broken and flung wide open. Where we go from here is anyone's guess...
I agree. I think it’s the same with television and movies. We are so over saturated now with streaming choices and within each streaming company there are hundreds of shows and movies to choose from. We are a long way from the days of 4 tv stations: abc, nbc, cbs, and pbs. Sometimes it takes me so long to choose what I want to watch, I am too tired to watch it! 😂
To a degree but also current quality controls lack so the current stuff is an ocean of mediocrity to find one grain of sand.
Nail on the head!...And anyone can put out an album, with most of it is not worth listening to.
@@kellieh6798 😂 So true!
we live in the golden era of music production. musical instruments are accessible, recording is accessible and ppl still love making and listening to music. it's like when the printing press was invented and publishing became accessible to 'ordinary writers'. but it takes a second for the good stuff to get distilled... record companies were 'pushing' garbage then just like the 'algorithm' is pushing it now.
because some artists/albums became classics we're under the impression they came down from heaven when in reality they just managed to flood the market... not saying the music was bad but not all was that great either :). there's great and terrible music now just as it always was.
It's not just music. It's everything around us that lacks a discernible era. I went into a grocery store the other day that I first walked into 20 years when it was brand new. They have never refurbished or renovated it, yet it looks exactly like every modern grocery store today, even brand new ones. Now think about the difference between a grocery store in the 70's vs. just ten years later into the 80's. A complete change in appearance. This is why I think "vintage" eras are so cherished now. Because they were distinctive and I think people hunger for that.
Nailed it!
There's clothing as well. Watch a tv show from the early 2000s. The fashion is very similar and it's because you no longer have an organic growth of individual styles that slowly marches across the country in waves. Now you can see what everyone is wearing instantly.
@@rheeslane9529 💯! I have noticed this as well. Clothing changed dramatically each decade from the 1940’s through the 1990’s, but for the past 25 years fashion has been basically the same. It’s a weird phenomenon.
@@OriginalGrasshoppercapitalism
@@BurntheErn We've had capitalism for 250 years in the USA. Try again.
Been saying this for almost 10 years now. When I saw “country” artist running around on stage waving a towel like it was a hip hop concert I knew things were changing. The first time I heard Linkin Park I knew it was over.
Linkin Park destroyed rock and metal for future generations. Not sorry.
I always thought the fusion of hip hop and metal tantalising, LP are perhaps one of the most successful in my opinion.
@@joeylummox7330 wtf you talking about, LP its awesome
@@pol9938 worst band ever. Utterly forgeable, soulless and overproduced to boot. Awful music. Absolutely dreadful. The first time I heard them I literally thought my local active rock station changed formats to pop.
@@joeylummox7330 uhhh ok
"Influencer, I hate that word..." Spot on, as I said to an artist earlier today who had their entire visual concept stolen by an influencer who reached millions when they only reached maybe hundreds of thousands, if that;
"Fuck influencers, why? Because FUCK influencers."
They are literal artistic thieves, in the past going through traditional media channels the stealing of intellectual property outright wasn't possible because it could get a channel or station shut down. Now that threat is conveniently placed behind months of arbitration behind lawyers, and ONLY if the artist can outspend the influencer. Diabolical. But that's 2024.... Keep addressing these issues Rick, you're one of the last of the Mohicans in this fight.
Rick is an influencer without trying to be one. He influenced me into caring who Steely Dan is, for example. Also, I can tolerate higher levels of dissonance nowadays. I started following Rick when he was still doing jazz theory and some of those chords were spicy!
@@WayneKitching Rick is a voice of the people like Nardwuar, if Nardwuar is considered an influencer these days, then I'm in the wrong timeline...
Love and Peace - Tyler
Influencers are the snake-oil salesmen of the internet. They’ll push *anything* if it gets them paid.
@@WayneKitchingI don’t see Rick as an “influencer”. I see him as “influential” because he loves sharing his knowledge and views of music. I’m not splitting hairs here. Rick loves music, an “influencer” loves “clicks” and “likes”.
Any "visual concept" can now be instantly stolen by an AI agent. Here's how you'd do it. Have an agent that monitors visual content. When agent notices that a visual idea is getting attention, it immediately steals is, makes a website with a payments portal or whatever (Zero code), markets it on instagram and tiktok, and makes a ton of money. All of that can be done automatically, without human intervention.
Old music used to be pushed out of the way so new music could be heard. MTV could only play 1 song at a time. Maybe you had 3-4 radio stations in your area worth listening to. It was a zero sum game. Now everyone can listing to anything whenever they want. Stuff is never "uncool" now and never goes out of style because no one has to make choices about what to listen to anymore.
Excellent point.
and that is beautiful. Every single style at your disposition, any time, anywhere.
To add, the internet itself makes things timeless. You can discover things that have been around and have conversations with ghosts- reply to old comments, read old threads about something and peoples theories- the method of joining in a fandom of sorts is completely different than meeting people at a concert or in a record store.
@@vaderladylno beauty in that. No anticipation, no forethought, no expectation... Just endless possibilities creating both choice paralysis and diminishing the worth of music further.
Human beings are just not designed to have it all always and whenever at disposal
@@darkogst It's FOMO. I find great music all the damn time - it's not even hard. Do I miss things? Of course. I don't care - there is SO MUCH good stuff that I don't need to worry about it.
“The problem with TV and entertainment isn’t that it’s evil-it’s that it’s addictive. It gives us what we want, but not what we need, leaving us empty and craving more.”
- David Foster Wallace
Now apply that with personal data collection & self referential silos
every one has an opinion
A profound statement made by a musical monster ! How great he is.
@@FredPriest-ud6cu *Writer
Remember listening to 1 album and being *all good* after that? Or a weekend party where you rocked for hours with your friends or went to a show and you were all good to go for the week. Cathartic.
The medium is the message!
Rick, I think your analysis is spot on. One positive about this age is that because music is so accessible, kids are able to discover older music very easily. Because of this you could see a resurgence of popularity with bands like the Beatles, Stones, etc. However, as you said it is difficult to define exactly what 'age' of music we are in. I love your content, thank you so much!
I don't really know if it's true that it is easier for kids to discover older music because it's more accessible. The algorithm is what steers most people, so how would a kid even know where to start if the algorithm feeds to them what they want them to listen to?
Learned this from my kids in 7th grade literature class. "You cannot know what ers you are in while living it. Eras are assigned after they are over."
🤯
I guess this era is lasting longer than the others, because it's been 25 years, and still going.
I think they came up with Grunge pretty early during Grunge.
@@PincoPallino-zh8wm maybe because everything has been invented already? No more original stuff?
@@vaderladyl Likely. In fact, there are more covers and "sampling" going on now than ever before.
We're just in a content era now. Everything competes for attention. Streamers, Video Makers, Musicians, Gaming, Makers, Educators, Vloggers, Writers, Films, and even old media like Television and Radio (remember them?)
hunting camping fishing chess
As it has been, for ever. Its just the scale that has changed, its massive.
Pay attention to the newest shiny object every 10 seconds then forget it era
The entire music experience and consumption is so different now than when I was a teen in the 80’s.
My young adult children never listed to the radio and they never watched MTV. That gives them the benefit of not bring force fed whatever the current musical fad is. They listen to diverse styles and aren’t really influenced by mass media and record company driven marketing and radio air time
Yes, content era. Amazing that someone could get 100 million UA-cam views, but nobody will remember individual videos that got this many hits 2 years from now because other content comes along & replaces it
I love these videos. My oldest son (23) is obsessed with discovering 80s and 70s music. Every week he’ll say something like “Dad, do you know who Asia is?” or the like. He had his friends are thinking about starting a podcast for Gen Z about the merits of older rock/pop.
I'm 24 and I started off being obsessed with the Beatles as a teenager and have been working my way through the 70's , 80's, and 90's through various artists like David Bowie whose work spanned those decades. Right now I'm kind of on an early 80s new wave kick.
I have a 10 year old daughter and all she wants to listen to is 80s music. She doesn't want any modern stuff, which suits me just fine!
Show him some Gary Moore, Motörhead, Alice Cooper, Bon-Scott-era AC/DC, Scorpions, Judas Priest, ZZ Top, Camel, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Frank Zappa and (especially Peter Gabriel and early Phil Collins) Genesis.😃
@HeavyMetalNerd I wish my son would ask....😂
@@HeavyMetalNerd
I have seen 5 of those, some more than once: Motörhead, AC/DC , Judas Priest, ZZ Top, and Iron Maiden!
My thoughts: One of the things that allowed bands like The Beatles and Pink Floyd to grow was a solid foundation of playing genre tunes that built up their musical sensibility allowing them to later experiment much more successfully. The idea that we're sold is that with this personalization we'll get what we want. But it doesn't actually allow us to develop the language and skills needed to take ourselves further. It's like training, but now instead of going in depth on one thing you have to go very broad. Jack of all trades, master of none kind of thing
I think the Beatles would hate being labelled genre music. I always felt their music was innovative and genre-busting.
This is an era when good hard rock and indie rock can thankfully be found in Japan. Band-Maid and Yonige, for example, have brought me a lot of joy. Both caused a rare event after many years: the purchase of physical media. So after a long time, I have also started buying records and live Blu-ray discs again.
Digital is good but you just can't beat physical media. A least you 'own' it.
There is still good music being made. Its just not going to be mainstream.
There’s also a pretty big Shoegaze scene there. I work at a Japanese company so the exposure is right in front of me.
Good hard rock....search The Warning!
In the 90’s, it was difficult to get music. It took me weeks to find Robert Johnson and Eno’s Music for airports cassettes. Now it easier to hear all the music from the past. This is a good thing.
yeah it's good but it's a double-edged sword. when you have everything on a plate, it can be hard to appreciate stuff in the same way, as weird as that sounds
@@thepostapocalyptictrio4762 yeah but in Rick’s view, something being easier to get or create is a bad thing.
@@pickles224 Rick's a broken record that makes the same video every 2 weeks to get views. I'm pretty sure he doesn't really mean most of what he says, at least I hope so.
@@santaclaus3175 I don’t think so either. I just think he’s cantering to an audience he knows will agree with him. Like how he claims there haven’t been any recognizable trends past the 90’s. He HAS to know that’s not true, but he knows his audience of Boomers, who haven’t listened to popular music past the 90’s, will believe it.
It literally took 2 months for my local record store to order and ship me a copy of “Music for Airports”. That’s not a better system than today.
There was something so special about going to a record store or even Borders or Best Buy to look through the CD's. Loved seeing if an artist had a new CD out. Ever since CD's became a thing of the past I haven't kept up with any new releases from my favorite artist. I so miss the days of the LP jackets with the lyrics and even the images on the CD inserts.
Yeah watching $80 disappear for maybe 9 decent songs across three albums was awesome!
Yes the physical artifact of a record album was part of the experience of music.. Rich has talked about that in the past.
Imagine my era in the 70s and 80s going to a record store, (the infamous Tower Records) sifting through actual ALBUMS, buying them, taking them home, getting so excited about ripping the plastic off, admiring the cool cover art and lyrics on the front and backs of the albums, placing a needle on the record. Then..., sitting back and enjoy those moments over and over again every time a new album came out from your fav artist/s.
@@tribzman3977 Yep, I'm also in the 60's era. My first albums were The Monkees and The Association.
@@genestone4951 I so regret giving all my albums from the 60's and 70's away without a thought because a turntable didn't fit my decor. Doh!
Now we are in the “playlist” era, and the music genres now are like “shower music” “funeral music” “music to drink” “music to train” etc…
😭
...and i just read an article accusing Spotify of loading up its official playlists with pieces composed/performed by "ghosts" that are packaged by third party companies. This is designed to lower Spotify's royalty pmts. Just friggin sick
I agree. We are in the "playlist" phase were algorisms, need it now, and instant gratification rule the music world. Something that came of it this, good or bad, is musical acts can no longer be put into a category, they just are.
didn`t they describe Lou Reed as `music to slit your wrists to`? ;)
One of my playlists is indeed named 'shower'; how did you know?
Sounds healthy to me. All kinds of music to listen to. No one trying to put themselves in a genre, just making the kind of music they want to make. Wonderful!
In a way, yes. Though I would encourage people to find their music community based on the songs they listen to. With that, we are still able to recreate that sense of shared music taste. And it's even more possible to do that now globally.
100 years ago, a person listened to whatever music was coming from a neighbors front porch. No other options- unless you played an instrument yourself.
💯. I have about 900 songs on an Apple Music playlist that I really like. The overwhelming majority of the bands are at most five or eight years old. It does take some time and dedication, but it’s totally worth it. And I’m an old guy who still loves 60s through 2000s music.
@@kenmarvin370 Well, 150 years ago, for those who couln't afford the opera house/ concert hall, there was the music hall. Can't speak for the States though.
You will like nothing and be happy
I've been saying this for years. I also remember a time in 1983 or so - stationed in England - sitting around with my friends after a recording session we did on my Tascam Porta-Studio 4-track, and talking about what the future of distribution would look like. We already had access to some very early computer networking capabilities in the military (MILNET spun off ARPANET in 1983), and that coupled with an imagination fueled by Star Trek and Star Wars, we came up with the idea that corporations would try to control things - but people having direct access to a public network - would have direct access to creators of music, eliminating the middleman. We saw it as very egalitarian, and an opportunity for relatively small costs for creators.
That is absolutely true today; the internet is ubiquitous and with a bit of knowledge and programming skill, anyone can establish nodes on the network that can serve up music (or whatever you want). However, corporations managed to maintain their place as a mediator between the creators and consumers and are poor curators. I think we need quality curation going forward that AI, as good as it may be in other areas, is not up to the task.
‘I hate the word Influencer’
- Rick Beato 🤣
what is it?
This made my day =)
Yet, Rick himself is an influencer of music history 🤔
"I hate the word Influencer"
-Rick Beato, influencer 🤣
It’s a bit on the nose but I like Rick & his content (even if he is an ‘influencer’ 🤫 but don’t tell him) 🤣
Brilliant video!! I absolutely love listening to your analysis on this Rick! Thank you!
I just rewatched Running on Empty with River Phoenix, set in the late ’80s, and there’s this great scene where a music teacher compares Brahms and Madonna. Brahms is all about melody and complexity, while Madonna is driven by rhythm-easy to dance to and instantly “get.” It made me think about how today’s shorter attention spans, easy access to digital tools, and quick uploads to streaming platforms have pushed music even further in that direction.
Good point. Streaming and choice broke the song-length barrier, but consumers are choosing shorter content now so we may see a return to the "not longer than 3 minutes" song. Or maybe even something that is only 30 seconds long.
@ “Algorithms are the opiate of the masses by design.”
Big Tech knows exactly what they’re doing. They work closely with behavioral researchers-like those at Stanford-who study how to make people addicted. They’ve even borrowed tricks from slot machines to keep us hooked. This kind of social engineering is a fascist government’s dream come true. Keep that in mind for the next four years…
@@joshuagodinez5867 “Algorithms are the opiate of the masses by design.”
Big Tech knows exactly what they’re doing. They work closely with behavioral researchers-like those at Stanford-who study how to make people addicted. They’ve even borrowed tricks from slot machines to keep us hooked. This kind of social engineering is a fascist government’s dream come true.
Ever seen the Demolition Man?
🎶My bologna has a first name...🎶 😢
I get where the fear is coming from, but it is not correct. Maybe rap isn't your thing, but both Tyler the Creator and Kendrick Lamar (two of the most prominent artists nowadays) came out with albums this year that need to be listened start to finish. At Tyler's album release concert there were thousands of people who were singing along with every single word (of a rap album!), which already kinda disproves the attention span point
Fun fact: The algorithm is the reason why I'm watching this video.
both a great thing and a horrible thing at the exact same time.
No fun in that fact.
Interesting how you didn't mention the 70s as a particular era. The 70s were interesting because several genres were really strong - punk came and went, trad rock was very strong, heavy metal was strong, pop was strong and disco was strong. What an era.
Amen!! The 70's pop music and songwriting had the largest variety in history!! Several music genres were invented then, also.
Oh yes! And it was also a great era for prog rock, art rock, jazz fusion, and funk.
The "Pink Floyd" era imo which would lead into the 80's which is its own genre with MTV and music videos.
Agreed, I came of age in the 70s, just missed the Beatles. Biggest genre for me was country rock/pop like the Eagles and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, what we call Americana now. Alongside those were some niche groups doing everything from jug band, like goose creek, etc. to folk/rock like Cohen, CSN, and Young. Crazy to think there was also heavy metal, r and b, and disco all sharing the bandwidth, sometimes even on the same radio stations.
When I was teenager coming of age in the 70s, music was a shared experience. You'd be somewhere, and someone would have music playing, whether it was the radio, or an album playing on someone's stereo or a guy playing Foghat on his car 8-track. It seems like we experienced music communally. Now, in the streaming era, music is a lot more private. We tend to listen alone now. That shared experience is part of what made the music so good. There were no cell phones in the 70s, so if you were at a concert, your attention was concentrated on the people on stage, not getting photos of yourself with the band as your backdrop. So when you hear those old songs, you not only think about the music, but the people you enjoyed it with and the places you heard it. On a jukebox in your favorite pizza place, where you and your friends hang out. Music today seems devoid of emotion.
Such a good point
Excellent post, shared musical experience created cherished life long memories.
Absolutely true....now it is very far from communal.
Foghat on my 8-track in my Mustang....I'll be over in that corner crying.
I have come to understand that music -- some are imperfect - but at least in the 60s, 70s, 80s, you had music with amazing tunes, long musical pauses, beats that excited your body. Music with great lyrics and good messages. Today, you walk outside to wash your car or to grill your food; or you walk out of the grocery store, and there's an out of sync, awful sounds of rapping swears and other genres.
Why can't we enjoy some fun and excellent music in the community without the eerking of autotuned, out of sync, crazy lyrics that make no sense? Perhaps because everyone has evolved into enjoying different genres that suit their lifestyle only, and sadly, it's not for everyone.
Sadly, my ears bleed whenever I hear certain music at max while someone drives around with speakers at 200%. I understand that's their lifestyle. We must be kind. But again, it is not for everyone.
We just finished the hip-hop decade. Every genre became hip-hop, as demonstrated by Rick’s surveys of the top songs.
I have been a metal head and hard rock guy since early teens. I never changed. Lol. Hip hop has always been garbage to me.
Hip hop's been here for 40+ years.
Hip hop is one of the lamest forms of music. It don't make me want to go hippity hop 😤
Calling a whole genre lame is crazy@@Psalmist6693
@@saintrobski Yes, but hip hop was never as big/popular as it has been in the last 10-15 years.
Ive always had very diverse tastes. Im 50. I feel like music today matches how i have always consumed music. Making my own mix taps that are genre bending. Mix tapes that shifted from rock to pop to country to classical that made perfect sense to me.
That's the other difference now. You don't have to listen to what's new like you did back in the day. You can spend your whole life listening to Hendrix and Led Zeppelin and the Stones if that's what you wanna do. And if you want to throw in some Latin, country, hip hop, classical, Gregorian Chant, whatever... it's all just a click away. Everything's a giant mix tape now.
I also have diverse tastes and enjoy music more than ever in this current era, so easy to make playlists with a mix of genres.
@@erics7992 id get bored just listening to the same ol same ol. I used to poor through record store collections, and ‘zines. Now its following the rabbit-hole of ‘similar artists’. I love discovery.
What I listen to instead of shifting, my playlist just got bigger and bigger. I guess the internet helps me discover a new thing (especially Shazam, best thing ever invented). But listening multiple genre in one session often drives me nut. Like, first track Taylor Swift, next Iron Maiden, next Jhonny Cash, next BrunuhVille; Ruining the vibe! 😆
I wish Spotify were able to jump into a song with similar genre whenever I shuffling my giant collection.
We are in a post rock era. Rock music now occupies the same cultural space as jazz did post 1970.
One silver lining is that bands that were important to me in my youth are by and large free of commercial pressure to appeal to a wide audience which allows them the creativity to release albums like The Cure's latest album.
I don't know. There has always been a fan base dedicated to rock since rock came out, not like Jazz
@@vaderladyl The best selling Rock album this year is a 47 year old Fleetwood Mac album and it barely cracked the top 40.
This is true, but interestingly, in many countries (such as Japan), metal is bigger than ever.
@@tmage23 you are talking about mainstream audiences, that play music casually. I am talking about real, long time fans that go with the hardcore stuff or go off the side of mainstream.
@SeabassGoose exactly my point!
Something interesting I'm seeing among the students in the school I teach at: They are collectively gravitating to older music. Individually they have their own playlists and whatnot, but when they seek some kind of collective musical experience, it seems to be around music from 20 years ago...or older. I have no explanation for this yet, but it somehow seems connected to what you're saying here.
Its because older music has more spul and "reality" to it that speaks to us so much as humans, not robots...
I commented a few minutes ago something quite into this topic. I am a volunteer at a school and a homeless shelter. I heard Credence Clearwater Revival, Dolly Parton, Steps -pop and another artist.
It seems like there are people craving more and more uniqueness. We have had older music with excellent tunes, quality in sounds, and lyrism. The new generation wants that not the crazy autotuned, out of sync, slurs, and crazy non-sensical music that is given to us through trashy-trendy music.
Thankfully, there are a few independent artists who still record and sing without autotune or use it but very lightly.
Have a Wonderful and Blessed Holiday!
I'm 65, so I grew up through the 60s and 70s heyday of pop and rock (and even then, realized that a lot of it was crap: bubblegum in the 60s, disco in the 70s, etc.). Early on, when I was 13 or so, I started "rebelling" against the "dominant sound" that you'd hear on radio--I searched for the "alternative" FM stations, sought refuge by listening to jazz (Jarrett, Davis, Corea) and classical. Ever since then, I've hardly given whatever's "popular" or "trending" a second thought. The "post-genre" phenomenon that Beato talks about--I think it's great! We're also living in a "post-fashion" world--does anyone really give a crap any more about what the fashion designers are coming up with, and what everyone else is wearing? Same thing's true in the art world--just ask yourself what the "dominant trend" is. There isn't one, unless you break the timeline down into 10 minute intervals. I think this is all incredibly liberating.
post Fashion? You’ve got to be kidding. Tell that to a woman. There might’ve been a lot of crap in the 60s 70s but there was a hell of a lot of good stuff that wasn’t main stream.
I get what you're saying, but I'm sure that bubblegum of the 60's was better than a lot of the music out now.
@@TaraTara-ld2xb Exactly. I'm 57 and I find myself searching and listening to lower charting song of popular artists of the 60s and 70s. I have found quite a few songs I like, that I have never heard, or heard of before.
@@TaraTara-ld2xbi don’t think that was his point at all
I'm 70 and I don't care anymore about fashion either--but I'm pretty sure the kids do.
Also, like what you like, but there was a lot of good disco out there (it was badly maligned mostly because it became a multi-racial, multi-sexual genre and the world wasn't quite ready for that). Donna Summer, Chic, the Headhunters (Herbie Hancock, et al) and even Quincy Jones dabbled in disco--and were all pretty good. As with all genres, there was crap too. But I like to gravitate toward the good stuff.
The copy and paste era,
Not even... at this point its the "write an AI prompt, wait for the program to spit something out and then post it online" era
Does anyone believe that it is actually better now than say in the nineteen seventies????
@@johnnycarson67honestly never been better, more diverse, more available.
Or recycling era
I'm sure there is a postmodern critique to be had: simulacrum, pastiche, a change in temporal modes of consumption and consumer capitalism.
I was a "skater" & a drummer in high school. All my friends listened to Misfits, Penny wise, the sex pistols & Ramones. I listened to Van Halen, Bon Jovi & Poison. Then day I came home from being out skating, turned on MTV & saw the video for One by Metallica. This is the greatest thing ever... as Butthead would say on Bevis & Butthead. I was hooked. I went & bought Kill Em All, Ride The Lightning & Master of Puppets. I would put on my headphones & play the drilums to all of it.
I write my own music alongside a co-writer, playing all the instruments and handling the production myself. I've been influenced by all the genres you mentioned, which makes labeling my music incredibly difficult. SoundCloud requires me to categorize it for publishing, but I often wonder if I’m choosing the right label! I think your perspective on this is spot on.
I have been relegated to finding the unheard acts that fit my ear. This means, since I am 65, that new stuff is hard to find, but it is out there. You just have to dig for it.
MusicGunn...couldn't agree with you more. But my concern is the amount of digging you have to do. It can be very time-consuming and yield just a nugget. I'm 60 (compared to your 65) and find it quite discouraging. Good music is tough to find.
And we no longer have record stores (or even CD shops) to browse racks to spot that interesting cover that pulls you in. I’ve also gone back to re-assess music I discounted back in the day (we had so much to choose from in the 60s, 70s and 80s), that I ignored because there was other stuff I liked.
@@RidgeRunner10
Yes, I understand. I am pretty open to different genres but like Rick says, there are no genres anymore and I am not a fan of what is presented as mainstream anymore. You gotta go back and listen to the stuff you didn't pay attention to, or find new artists that do fit into the genres you are looking for. I for one found Porcupine Tree, but they are no longer producing new music anymore. But there is a lot of very good Progressive music out there still being produced. I like some of the Prog Metal, but not all of it. It used to be that the great musicians were making Jazz Fusion, but there aren't many new artists making that. I think the really great NEW musicians starting now are doing Prog because the range is very open. I'm someone who thinks the original Prog band was the Beatles. Look where they went in just a few short years. From I Want To Hold Your Hand to I Am The Walrus. That is the definition of progressive.
@@wessleymcgrath9768
I have found the suggestions YT gives when you listen to something you like, is a pretty good source for finding new stuff.
Yall go check out consistent yellow
I'm 73...I grew up in the '50's & '60's. We heard all kinds of music on the radio. I never thought of genres. Til this this day...I love it all...all kinds of music. Music is such a Blessing. I love how It's become so easy to record and express yourself through music.
It's definitely a fascinating era whatever it is. The amount of sub genres, most of them I've never heard of, that are being discussed amazes me. They'd never have existed in the old times, or at least would never have had so many fans. My son listens to a lot of my old favourites (mainly heavy rock, prog metal etc) but at the same time finds tons of tunes and genres himself. It's certainly not all doom and gloom but a very different reality for musicians.
Absolutely love this channel. Probably the best musicians channel on UA-cam.
I believe we’re in the mixed genre. I noticed music trends went from decade to a few years to one year to all been done anything goes. I experimented with digital step edit.
I shut off quantize and programmed random note number patterns. Blasted through a keyboard midi. Sounds I’ve never herd before.
I see a bright future in digital mixed with analog. The kids always find a new way.
Being 51 years old, I’ve gone through so many of the great eras in music that you have mentioned. Here’s my take.
I think we’ve gotten to a point where we can’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to genres. I think now is the time to take stock of all that we’ve known and loved about pop music over the past 70 to 80 years and even more and take as many things from those genres that we know and put them into a melting pot and see what happens.
We are already seeing in some corners of the industry where musicality has started to creep back into pop music, e.g. Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, etc. I would love to see musicality and timeless songwriting come back to the forefront and musicians be acknowledged once again.
The sad thing about how we consume (stream) music, TV, movies is we're all listening and watching something different...Watching the same shows & listening to the same music used to give us something we would have in common... I was born in the 70's but listened to music my dad listened to from the 50's and we always had that bond over his music...Now it feels like a big disconnect between everyone and the stuff we're watching & listening to.
Yes spot on. Been thinking this for ages
Now it's more organic. We have to actively share our experiences with others, which is also great because we're not pigeonholed into what the corpos feed us.
WWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
people still connect today. Just because you don't know how to in this day and age, doesn't mean others don't know how to. And the big difference is we get to choose. You and your dad didn't.
@@prunelle9068 You think algorithms let you choose what you're listening too?...We had less choices but better quality cause the garbage was weeded out!...And being pulled in a thousand different directions every day is the reason why no one has an attention span longer than a minute these days!
As a 24 year old musician, I love this age. So many people I know are into the grunge stuff, into the psychedelic rock of the 60s, into 80s pop, and are discovering new artists everyday.
Removing the idea of a mass collective experience of music really makes you appreciate a person who has a similar music taste to you.
I think there is a bunch of nostalgia for older heads who liked the shared experience of music, and I get it and would love to see what it was like back then, I personally love that I can be inspired by the artists of old and new with just a click of a button.
It is transforming new musicians into something that Rick described above.
My generation probably has the most musical influences of any generation because of this, and if you look deeper you’ll see how it manifests. I look at mk.gee as the perfect example of this.
Great to know there are people of your age following Rick and reacting to his videos
Im 23 and I think this musical era is butt
I'm 44 and love the post genre music experience. There's so much good music coming out in nearly every genre and it's instantly accessible. It's never been a better time to be a music listener.
I agree with Rob. The whole “djent is a not a genre” discussion has been so fun and funny and self-deprecating that it makes me appreciate the bands and fans even more. The bottom line for me is that I’ve found a ton of my new favorite bands by searching for “djent” so I think that genres are still alive and doing what they need to do but I get that it’s way harder to fit bands into genres nowadays and that’s OK. I often find new artists through collaborations. If a band I like is working with an artist I don’t know I immediately look up that artist to check out their stuff. It’s a super exciting time of discovery.
Yeah but its also harder to talk about music with others precisely because of the diverse tastes today.
Rick, as usual, you have keen insight into a topic that we all feel something about. As a musician myself, I had strong feelings about certain genres and certain artists as I was growing up, but as a 67 year old man now, it's evolved into a range of personal tastes that crosses the old genre boundaries. But I dont think that's a bad thing. When I'm writing a song, I'm not thinking about staying loyal to a particular genre. I'm giving birth to an independent entity and letting it decide what religion it wants to be. Sometimes the story takes the author where it needs to go.
That said, I don't enjoy certain genres. Like rap, bubblegum pop, EDM, plus certain ethnic music from certain countries like India, China, etc. And there are some genres that I liked when I was younger but have outgrown.
There are also some that I like in small doses, but they lose their appeal after 2 or 3 songs. Country music is like that for me. And then some music, like jazz, can be very appealing when certain instruments are prominent, like guitar or piano, but I reach a saturation point with certain other instruments. When Kenny G gets going with his endless sax solos, it sounds beautiful for about 30 seconds, but after 4 minutes of it. I'm grinding my teeth praying for it to stop. I've walked out of retail stores after ten minutes of that, because there is no way to turn it off.
But back to genres, they were a handy way for music distributors and retailers to organize music for distribution and sales. Back in the days when music was purchased by people, that is. But that's back when there were perhaps 100 famous musical artists in the world, and maybe 10 were superstars. You could expect how many new albums of important music each year? 20? 10?
With the internet, it's a little more crowded now. I would bet there are more than a million artists recording music constantly (and I would be one of them) and I would not be surprised if there were 25,000 new songs hitting the internet from someone somewhere every single day. Including weekends.
You might think that this demands even more genre classification and organization than ever, but I think it's gone in the opposite direction. With this much volume and variety, and people trying to blend parts of different genres to prodyce unique sounds, it has blurred the lines so much that the old genres cannot apply any longer, and new ones are too diffused that that level of classification has been rendered moot.
People can hardly decide what artists they want to follow. Let alone what genre they want to listen to.
But then, the mainstream distribution of music is not physical in most cases anymore. Few physical vinyl records these days to press, package, ship to stores, fit into retail bins to sell. It's all available on a song by song basis to everyone everywhere instantly. You get your newest song by your favorite Australian artist the moment it's released, in your pocket. While you're eating your lunch. Genres just don't help anymore in the way they used to.
And I still haven't heard a whole song by Taylor Swift. She is the most famous and popular artist in the world and I just had to ask my wife what her name was again...
I can't remember the phrase, but we are living in an era where there are too many choices. As you have said, 10,000 songs added to streaming service each day!? So I, a boomer born in 1949 discover new music thru YOU. The only streaming service I use is youtube or I can listen, via the internet to my hometown(Chicago) radio station thru the internet or I play the records/cds that I have purchased in the past. If I were a teen today what is my music. First of all, your kids started listening to what you listen. Mine was Big band that my parents loved. I still like it! Then, in my era, radio. And radio expanded from AM to Fm and in FM anything goes. When it came out Led Zepplin was originally in top 40 radio. In my area there was a Sunday night program for that music(Zep, Sabbath...) to out there for top 40, even on FM. Where is that experience today? Somewhere in today's 10,000 songs uploaded to streaming - impossible.
Remember when everyone told us that music piracy would kill music and nobody would make music if they couldn't sell $18 cds.
@@empathogen75 Making music and making a living from making music are two different things.
"Future Shock" is the book by Alvin Toffler in the late 60s that said we wouldn't be crushed and controlled by authoritarianism but would be paralyzed by the overabundance of choices in the future. I don't know why the expression went out of vogue but it was a very prophetic book.
I’m in my ninth decade, so I have been through all of the eras you’ve described. I’ve enjoyed them all. The greatest part of today’s “era” is the creative freedom that artists feel and the resulting music isn’t locked into the control of a label or a DJ. The worst part, as you mentioned, is having fewer opportunities to become aware of the newest good stuff. Listening to you, Rick, helps a lot, though. Keep it up.
Are you William shatner
Thank you, sir. I am much younger than you but I have been beating this drum for a while. Music is better than it has ever been, but like you said it's harder to just go around and hear different stuff. You have to go find it by yourself.
The 200 most popular new tracks now regularly account for less than 5 percent of total streams.
This is the era of the New Jersey Drone Genre, Rick. Everything is based around a buzzing sound like that of a bee and everybody cranes their heads upward as they bounce to the beat.
This made me burst out laughing, I don't know why.
@@matt_garrett_ Success!
Enjoy watching your channel for your insights and wonderful interviews. In general, music is consumed more on a personal level now and less communal. As a teen you would jump in a car with friends and one of the first things we discussed what radio station we wanted to listen to on our ride. Today I jump in the car with my kids and grand kids and they all have earbuds in listening to music, podcasts, etc. I enjoy todays world of quick access to any kind of music I want that fits my mood at the time. Maybe this is the era of musical exploration into all eras of the past. Blurring the lines between genres is good in my mind. It has happened with music in the past and has resulted in great new music.
Some of us have always curated our own music. I was a teenager in the 80s, but I was listening to The Beatles, The Who, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Small Faces, Sex Pistols, T Rex, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, The Jam, The Doors, The Specials, Selecter, The Beach Boys...
Rick, don't forget ' American Bandstand' and 'Soul Train'. Also Casey Casion( sp) for the count down to #1 for that week, on radio of. course. Always have loved music, and boy, you bring it home!
Casey Kasem. American Top 40 and also the voice of Shaggy from Scooby Doo cartoons (that one blew my mind when I found out).
@@joshuagodinez5867 Now my mind is blown!
Very informative Rick (but aren't all your videos?). 😊 I'm 57, and I only listen to my favorites from the 60s, 70s, and 80s on Sirius or my playlists from UA-cam Music. I don't have a clue about artists of today. Not saying that there isn't good music out there today, I'm just happy to stick with the three best decades of music. 😁 Keep up the awesome interviews, they're fantastic!!!
4:03 "There are countless subgenres that exist in parallel... and each of them have their own dedicated fan bases because today there's really no unifying broadcast platform like we had with radio and MTV that force this collective experience for listeners."
That's exactly it! Everything has been individualized. There ARE no common pop culture touchstones anymore because everyone is in their own world. iPod, iPhone, iPad - EVERYTHING is about "I." Everything is me, me, me. It's horrible.
I'm a 53 year old gen Xer. I can't say this is a bad thing. There's a plethora of great music out there to be found, both old and new. That said I myself mostly ignore the algorithm generated playlists and look for my own stuff.
Agree. Do a little research folks. New, good music is out there. It's just pushed down because of the "algorithm".
Yes, I agree. So much great music. This such a great time to life in.
I am here. 💫
Same. I've never spent more money on music than I do now, there's so much good stuff out there to find, both new and old. More than I could ever listen to. The tricky part is keeping new discoveries in rotation when they get displaced by more new stuff, and getting enough plays of the kind of challenging albums that need several listens to really cement themselves as truely great rather than just interesting oddities.
I’m from the same era (52), but feel the downside is that there’s less music that’s universally shared in common that can be talked about. I can’t really look back less than 10 years ago and find many songs to share in discussions.
It might sound crazy but I really wish new wave didn’t die out , it was so interesting and even bizarre at some points but it really captures your ear ; I wasn’t alive in the 80’s but whenever I hear a new wave song it always captivates my attention
You make some really interesting points about how our media consumption has become so personalized. It makes sense that the idea of a collective "zeitgeist" is harder to pin down when we're not all watching the same shows, listening to the same music, or even experiencing those things at the same time.
Your examples are spot on:
TV: We used to gather around the TV for must-see events, creating water cooler moments the next day. Now, we binge at our own pace, and those shared viewing experiences are rarer.
Music: Albums used to be a cohesive artistic statement we'd absorb as a whole. Now, it's more about individual tracks and playlists, often shuffled.
Movies: The theatrical experience used to be the way to see a film. Now, with streaming, that communal excitement of a packed theater is becoming less central.
Given how personalized everything has become, it's hard to imagine a scenario where those large-scale shared experiences make a full comeback. We're so used to on-demand content and curated algorithms that cater to our individual tastes, it's unlikely we'll revert back to a more homogenous media landscape.
This shift definitely has implications for how culture is shaped and shared. It'll be interesting to see how artists, creators, and the entertainment industry as a whole adapt to this new reality.
Love what we have now!! We are not force fed by the industry- we can hear anything we want on spotify, not just the current single that the "Brilliant Music Executives" think should be the "next song" off the album. I am 58 and grew up as a music fan but hated the consolidation of the music industry, especially after the AOR stations got swallowed up. It was infuriating you go the store and cannot find the song you want to listen to without having to spend $13 on a CD! I would say I wish I would have grown up in the current day, except that the music is horrible. Great video! (And I know literally one Taylor Swift song and no idea who Mr. Beast is- and am not curious enough to find out more about either)
0:39 My grandmas brother Creed Taylor produced this record and brought up a lot of young talent from Brazil and helped popularize bossa nova he even produced a lot of fusion guys later on
Nice! Creed Taylor was the man
He produced some great music. Did he collaborate with Quincy Jones on an album incorporating jazz guitar evolution featuring greats like Eric Gale, Jim Hall, etc….? Peace.
Wow! Creed Taylor! You are music royalty! 👍👍👍
3:00 - I think a lot of people owe Lars Ulrich an apology.
Born in 1965. Been following music steadily since 1973. I prefer the way things are now. Bring on that galaxy of possibilities!
"You know, you have all the old records there if you want to reminisce." - John Lennon
Also born in 65. I agree, bring on the possibilities!
Rick!!! You rock!! You have just articulated so effortlessly what's been swimming in my head since I returned to writing and recording. I'm a 46 year old French and Spanish white girl from California taking some of my old Americana/Bluegrass Pop tracks and adding rap lines to them {and writing plenty of new stuff too}.. Talk about genre blurring haha! Blessings, honey!!
It's not really the algorithm that's "destroying" music (and by music, I mean mainstream music specifically), it's really the industry heads who are curating who appears in the mainstream algorithm, hence significantly lowering the chances of talented new artists to be discovered by the general public.
Yep, they're still in control like they always have been.
Sampler era..?
I didn't know Laufey, but now I will. Thank you everything Rick!
The best chanel is yours!
I hadn't heard of Laufey before either.... and, wow, she's flippin' great!
It’s the new normal. Music has no value anymore. Subscribing and streaming in the background while doing other activities is the new music experience. When was the last time someone took us aside and said, “listen to this!”? Sitting still and just focusing on the sound doesn’t seem to happen outside of the studio anymore.
I’ve only observed this once, and it was with Porter Robinson’s awesome music.
You hit the nail on the head, friend. 👍
i remember an old episode of 'arthur' from probably the early 2000s where muffy, the spoiled rich kid, tries to act 'mature' and goes to hang out w/ her friend francine's high school age sister. there's a scene where all the teenagers gather just to sit and listen to the 'poetry' of the music on francine's sister's CD. i feel so old now thinking of that episode and looking at high school kids today passively listening w/ earbuds while doing other stuff.
I get where you come from, but it is not universally correct. Maybe rap isn't your thing, but both Tyler the Creator and Kendrick Lamar (two of the most prominent artists nowadays) came out with albums this year that need to be listened start to finish. At Tyler's album release concert at Gnaw there were thousands of people who were singing along with every single word (of a rap album!), which already kinda disproves the fact that people can't sit still and just listen to a full length record
The same with movies and video games. You'd be surprise how many people actually dont play video games these days, they just watch youtubers playing video games or talking about movies.
Love your content, Rick!
Please consider doing a podcast!
For me, a child of 70s-80s music I find today my taste in music have grown with UA-cam, spotify. I find myself listening to jazz, new and old. Classical music I have a deeper appreciation for music now and how it is created.
@@davidbrown418 Dave - there are new rock bands throwing it back to the 70’s. The band leading the Rock Revolution are Dirty Honey, The Band Feel, The Retrograde, High Fade. Give them a listen and enjoy my friend.
Fascinating video. I agree in part, although sub genres have always existed and although, as you say, the 90s had grunge, it also had Eurodance, Brit pop, boyband/girband pop etc. I think as there’s so much choice now out there for people and, as you said, no clear music directors such as MTV, there’s no universal sound. The top 5 most streamed artists on Spotify last year perhaps best showcase this: Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, Drake and Billie Eilish are all completely different in style.
Absolutely love Laufey, she has made one of the most interesting blends of modern and old music we have in mainstream music today
Amazing video! I love this topic so much.
I as an almost 22 year old band lead singer, and rock and roll lover, think that people have slowly become more copy paste than ever before. People look up to others that they’ve been shown and just want to recreate rather than be original and create their own new thing. My favorite Eddie van halen quote of his is, “Why the hell would I want to do what’s already been done, what’s the fun in that?” He’s so right! I hope more people our age become original and start to define a new genre. I do think that our current day music does reflect the 60s and 70s the most, though, with its groovy bass lines in pop music, and with softer rock influences throughout.
I'm waiting for you young ones to redefine rock and give us a new British Invasion style kick in the pants and knock the crap out of the stuff on radio now
48 from Russia. Totally agree that we live in post-gengre era, i dare to say we live in post-music era. Music is no longer something that it was even 20 years ago.
Life is speeding up, people have no time to listening LPs or live concert broadcast, at least the most people.
But i think it's not that bad.
There are a lot of young people who prefer to dig deeper in golden age of music "archives".
Not so long ago i have a customer im my shop, honestly we have not so much in common, usually talking about stuff i sell or he search, etc... He saw my guitar in shop, word by word i found that he do like King Crimson, and we takled about 2 hours about music, guitar players, gears. And this is not the only case.
So the fact that this young man have real interest not only in modern music, make me comfort :)
Everything will be fine, maybe very differetnt but fine.
Nothing to be proud of. Better not say where you are from.
Don t say you are russian!! Pootin is your bad master!!
Rick, It’s not just music! Everything in mass media has been impacted! News, cars, art, movies, all mass consumption now comes to “artificial life” through certain man-made algorithms instead of naturally through mass consensus. Great video.!
Music never naturally achieved mass consensus. The consensus was manufactured by the centralized labels. Rick mentioned this in the video: the labels controlled the means of dissemination, for example Clear Channel owning all the radio stations, which allowed the large labels to control what was on the radio at any one time. The mass consensus of the past was not a natural thing that was disrupted, it was an artificial thing created by the middle man music labels for decades that would inevitably by disintermediated by the internet. Then the algorithmic gatekeepers re-centralized control over how people discover music.
yes and all that rubbish will be gradually depleted by new forms of "napster"
did you understand it at all? mass consensus is also man-made; in fact, it's even more concentrated in power. record labels and marketing campaigns control the "mass consensus" you're so in love with. wake up...
My daughter listens to all sorts of music. Her year end streaming repost included almost 12,000 artists. Her friends are the same. They are hungry for “good” music.
So good to have a broad range! My kids have recommended music to me - like Laufey and J-pop - while we all still enjoy classical (Australian Chamber Orchestra is brilliant) and jazz - especially video games music played as jazz (The Consouls are amazing). Interestingly, the kids love 50s crooners which they found on Spotify (it's not my thing - that's my parents' music 😅).
That’s crazy sad. There’s no way you could do any deep listening when you have 12k to go through.
Consider learning an instrument bro. We have to fight the shitty music epidemic of the 21st century. Right now I'm getting a very short amount of sleep, doing homeschool, I have no friends but I manage to get a good 7-10 hours of practice a day while I study theory in the other part. I will fulfill becoming a great musician if I end up homeless for life by doing so. In fact watching this 6 min video and commenting is the only free time today I have beside practice and study but its incredibly sad that people see King Gizzard or the lemon twigs as saviours of music. They stole others peoples music and added more complexity to it, similar to adding 15 powder flavours into a jug of water and expecting it to taste good. Think about it: If you showed someone heavy metal music back in 58' they either not consider it music, or they would think its incredibly stupid music. Fast forward 10 years and heavy metal has already been played by the biggest band in the world. Only 2 years later and its a mainstream genre. Likewise, people's minds are too broad to consider the creation of a new genre (not subgenre), such as the psychedelic and disco stuff that would not be thought of in 1958. Because of this, I think we ought to give everything we have to try and make it a reality. It is unlikely but its worth if it did end up happening.
We once thought it was a bane having to listen to the radio's playlist and 90% of what we did not like but at least we heard a huge amount of diverse stuff. The ability to listen to only what we like has killed the industry and creativity. It is not just the loss of genres it is also the loss of associated youth cultures - the last two I identified were goths and emo kids. Remember how short music fads lasted in the past but rap is, sadly, now more than forty years old. The finest of ironies indeed. You have hit the nail on the head rick. Well done.
The late 90s and early 2000s pop music were the moment music took a huge drop imo. I'm really happy about the music right now cause your not spoon fed what you should listen by big corporation. It clearly affect artist cause you make less money but the music culture is pretty open minded right now.
We are in the post musical era in regards to pop music. Jazz is the only genre still innovating and producing excellence. Rock is dead, the best selling rock album NOW is Fleetwood Mac rumours.
Jazz still innovates?
The hybrid era, where artists smash together distinctive genres from eras past with louder mixes, to varying degrees of success.
That's being very charitable
Yielding zero evolutionary progress.
I would love a peek into the amount of people digging into these streaming platforms vs the biggest number: how many people have access to these platforms! Tech is the explosive number here. More and more people, every day, have access to a wider collection of music.
The increase in numbers just becomes the norm for these “micro” genres because we are used to some of these numbers for a “normal” genre and they shoot up so fast!
Things are progressing so fast that there are constant progressions in the numbers of listeners and how we can keep track of them.
Love these insights from a person that’s been in the industry and these behind the scenes look from someone that’s been in so many different aspects of the industry!
I WANT Dominant Genres back! I dont like how things are now. We have ZERO Identity.
I was lucky to grow up in the 80’s and 90’s
I love this post-genre world we live in. We as listeners can now truly explore so many sounds, styles, and bands that were never available to us. I'm old enough to remember being spoon fed what I'm suppose to like, the popular and cool bands on MTV... and yeah I loved some of them. But now I am in control and the DJ of my own headspace. It's amazing.
Also...I have no idea what Mr. Beast does. I know he's a big dill from how much people refer to him but that's about it.
@@jgquinton Agreed on everything and honestly, the fact you still don't know what Mr. Beast does is a blessing. I know and I could totally be living without this information lmao
Your channel is not just a place for entertainment, it is a source of inspiration and wisdom. Thank you for your creativity and diligence!🌏🐵✌️
With UA-cam and Spotify i discovered so much awesome music that will now love forever.
It was hard to find new music before this age.
At age 58 (Gen X) I find myself winding down before bed with chillwave/synthwave. Music is an interesting journey.
I put one of the Forza soundtracks on to wind down.
I think a big Point you're Missing here is the evolution of hip hop that happened simultaneously to popular music in the late 90s- early 2000s and finally broke through into the mainstream with Dr Dre's The chronic 2001 Album, the First Eminem Album, the First 50 Cent Album etc.
At the Same time that Pop Artist Like Britney spears, Christina Aguilera etc started to become less relevant in the late 2000s, EDM rose to great prominence in the radio and the Internet. At some Point every Pop Song on the radio was so heavily influenced by EDM music with these huge choruses, massive synths and all electronically engineered instruments. Producers started to incorporate that into hip hop, which was one the Last breath of the Bling era at the time with artists Like Lil Wayne. With the merge of EDM and Hip Hop, Trap music evolved with some first Major Songs from Chief Keef or later Future. To say the Last 10 years werent the era of Trap music would Just because of a massive resentment towards the genre, because its obviously not sophisticated music, but this simple straight Forward formula definitely has been the Zeitgeist Up until now.
Now we have reached a point of oversaturation, because it has become so easy to make a Trap song, that its slowly starting to die off again, being replaced with pop music artists like taylor Swift, Olivia rodrigo or Sabrina Carpenter.
If you like music, you don’t need your music created by record labels and mass media. You can find great music on your own.
This. As if the "forced collective" experience of Britney Spears & Backstreet Boys was a high water mark of civilization.
There's more hidden gold to find than ever before. In addition to re-discovering old records.
...such serious things now, like everywhere.
But I'd been feeling this yet couldn't really organize this question, just felt it.
To feel 'i haven't liked the movement', feels too selfish.
But to finally understand an answer together is a sweet thing!
@ThAnk you for taking the time, @Rick!
This is actually a very interesting and profound idea. It encompasses more than just music but shared cultural identity and history. It needs to be discussed further.
I think we’re in the Sad-Girl-Pop Era. Think of Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Chappel Roan, Phoebe Bridgers, Laufy: one-woman acts with pop-y hits but also a moody, melancholic side.
There is definitely a splitting where lots of smaller genres also exist (see: Kendrick, or the Latin beat stuff), but by largest cultural/commercial impact (ticket sales, streams, etc.), the girl-pop dominates the market; probably because they have mass appeal to teenage girls (teens/early-20s being the primary consumers of new music), whereas there is no contemporary band with mass appeal to teenage boys.
"There are two kinds of music: Good music and the other kind."
-Duke Ellington
I'm a music student and covert influencer. I am a sixties child amongst a cohort 40 years younger. Yet, at the end of term karaoke I put on Mary's Boy Child, by Boney M, and across the divides between generations, cultures and occupations, with my aging voice and the sweet tones of students the dining hall was filled just for a moment with fun and singing and smiles. Music transcends . I've long stopped worrying what genre I'm in. If pressed I can dream up my own, such as grannyrap or folk fusion. Do your music ,do your best, up to God leave the rest . Merry Christmas to you, and your viewers , from UK xx
We are in any musical moment you want now.
Apparently I'm in the minority but I see it as a good thing. In order to stand out you need to have your own individual sound.
Rebels without a cause.
Jaron Lanier has a similar but slightly different take on this phenomenon - that we don't see such distinct and unique styles of (popular) music emerge anymore because they need time and isolation to develop, and that is almost impossible now. Basically there needs to be a small local scene with a limited set of influences and players that has the time to develop and grow organically into something unique to end up with a sound so different that eventually gets discovered and has a huge impact. Think Seattle and the grunge scene in the late 80s to early 90s. It's the isolation of a smaller group of musicians (and their fans) that provide the conditions for something new to develop, and once everybody has instantaneous access to everything everyone else is doing almost as soon as they do it those conditions are lost.
@@nilsnilsnilsify I don’t think it works like that. I argue trends usually have like a “trigger”, y’know like the artists that kick the trend off. Like, grunge didn’t become mainstream just because it had a scene. It got that way because Nirvana blew up, and then everyone started listening to stuff that sounded like that, and so then grunge blew up.
So it’s like A: an artist blows up. B: people start listening to other stuff in that same genre. C: that genre becomes a trend.
We're in the 'find a cool, old tune and rip it off' era. I can't barely listen to any new music. It's either plain bad or a copy or a sample.
Don’t forget Led Zeppelin and other big British rock bands ripped off a ton of music and riffs themselves! People trying to pretend otherwise are being disingenuous…
@@RB-oc7ti Ok vanilla ice. They might have reshaped a few things. But they were real musicians playing instruments. If you want that you have metal or country, which both kinda suck right now. Half of everything else is computerized b.s.
Spot on Rick. I miss the 70’s, music in general was great. And, being in my 60’s now, I just don’t get todays music. So, my long time band mate and I of 50+ years decided we’re writing and recording for the over 40 crowd. We don’t target youngsters, but some dig us. We live in different cities, so we zoom to write, then I record everything and it’s released. It’s unusual, but we’ve released 22 songs that way so far. Just stayin true to the music that moved us in the beginning 🙂 Love your show! Thank you.
Death Decay and Despair
When you missed the Spice Girls the first time...
Well, for me, even though I don't really like it, but I believe we can define this current moment as K-POP era.
Fem boys
who's we?
Unfortunately I don’t think there are anymore genres to discover, its all been done. Just glad I was alive for the great music of the 60’s 70’s and…90’s✌🏻😉
you must be my twin
@@TheAmateursOriginalMusic guys - there is a AN OLD ROCK REVOLUTION HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. The new bands coming out leading the charge are Dirty Honey, The Band Feel, The Retrograde, High Fade. Throwing back to the 70’s. New albums and touring. Give them a listen and enjoy! Let me know if you like any of them. Let’s kick county, pop and rap to the curb!
Hello Rick. I think that we have moved from one extreme to the other, where the desirable outcome is a healthy balance. As you said, in the past those huge artists were pushed, somewhat forced, by the few media that ruled the market, while nowadays we have way too much information everywhere which flows way too fast. Hopefully, people will begin to choose quality over quantity but with a decent amount of options so that they can be more free to choose.