Is it Just Me? The Music Sucks in America...Music

[YSSMAN]

Everywhere you go, everything you do, you are often going to come across some type of music in America. And indeed rightfully so, we have reason to like the music in its various incarnations, particularly those that we had managed to "invent" or "improve" years and years ago. But every time I turn on the radio, you are blasted by the crap-tastic "MTV generation" music that does so little to improve the way in which music should be played or listened to.

Now I'm not going to go on a tirade and condemn nearly every band here in America, as there are a lot of acts that have done their fair share to do "good" in the market today. Bands such as The Killers, My Chemical Romance, Panic! At the Disco, The Raconteurs, Incubus, etc continue to reshape the way that at least rock music is done in America, but even as the show just gets good, they are panned by MTV, and thus left to the die-hard fans (which is probably better anyway).

What I'm getting at is that this rap/hip-hop, pseudo-pop crap that is driven out year after year is wearing my patience just a bit thin. Now I'm sure that you guys across the Atlantic are going to think I'm crazy, but you guys have it far better than we do here when it comes to music. Almost every day, I turn on the BBC1 and BBC2 usually around 7-10 PM in the UK (about 2-5 PM in America), and I'm blown away by the differences between radio there and radio here. My God! Good music? Thank God for the tubes of the online interweb!

Bands like The Automatic, MUSE (they do receive some play in America, not much), Razorlight, Kaiser Chiefs, Take That, and several others receive practically no attention in America. Do they not deserve the attention that they receive in the UK? Why should Americans be deprived of their music?

...If the future of American music is left to the rap/hip-hop future that it already appears to be heading for, I do fear for the American music industry. This MTV-driven music drives me absolutely nuts, as nearly 99% of it is diluted crap-tastic stuff that is there just to entertain the 13 year olds watching TRL. Red Jumpsuit Apparatus? Green Day? Fall Out Boy? Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!!!

Please tell me there are some people out there who share the same feelings?

 

[TheCracker]

Now I'm sure that you guys across the Atlantic are going to think I'm crazy, but you guys have it far better than we do here when it comes to music. Almost every day, I turn on the BBC1 and BBC2 usually around 7-10 PM in the UK (about 2-5 PM in America), and I'm blown away by the differences between radio there and radio here. My God! Good music? Thank God for the tubes of the online interweb!

It's '(BBC) Radio One' and '(BBC) Radio Two' - if you really want to be accurate (BBC1 & BBC2 being TV channels)

But yes, they are pretty good 👍 , mostly since they are non-commercial and therefore commercial advert free. You will get some mainstream US pop, but you'll also hear a good selection of proper rock, pop and R'n'B from real bands/artists who haven't just been cherry picked from a reality TV show or formed from a group of 'performing arts' students by a money grabbing record producer or A&R man.

I strongly recommend the 'Zane Lowe' show, Mon-Fri 7pm-9pm GMT if you like bands like the ones YSSMAN mentioned.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/zanelowe/?focuswin

I think you can get it via Sirius too.

http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=Channel&cid=1121444083985

 

[Specialized]

For quite a diverse listening, along with the Zane Lowe Show TheCracker mentioned, i would recommend the Annie Mac, Gilles Peterson and Hue Stephens shows on BBC Radio 1. Or maybe even check out the Phil Jupitus show on BBC Radio 6. All can be found on the BBC website.

Spec....

 

[Mark T]

I like music from all genres so I'm quite happy at the moment. There is a good mixture of music around. the moment. Hip Hop, R&b, dance, electro, rock have all had there fair share of hits this year.

There are plenty of online radio stations for every genre so finding something that keeps you happy shouldn't be a problem. I listen to Radio 1 most of the time but I try to avoid the peak hours where every tune is repeated 4-5 times a day.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

I also find myself not enjoying anything on the radio at all. I pretty much only have it on at work (just for noise) and when I ride in my car. If I go on long trips I just listen to CD's. I dont care for rap and I dont listen to country unless I have to. I grew up on heavier music and thats just something that is never played on the radio. So with that said I am almost always playing old CDs because I dont want to buy any new ones. I feel your pain.

 

[ceiling_fan]

I agree with YSSMAN 100%. My music listening goes from unknown bands to quasi-popular bands. I don't avoid popular music because it's popular, I avoid it because, frankly, it sucks. It's hard for me to imagine (being 17) that bands like Zeppelin once ruled the airwaves.

 

[Diego440]

Before I left to live in the States I was all ecstatic about being able to live there and I swore I'd have MTV on all day long... that lasted about two days. I can't believe how much R&B they played in it, and the amount of variations R&B has.

To be honest what I ca't stand is the rap. I like Run DMC, a bit of Sir Mix-a-lot, anI actually followed very much the way rap was leaning in the early-to-mid 90s, with the jazz/rap fusion (Us3, Arrested Deveolpment, Digable Planets, etc.). But after the birth of gangsta rap and all its variations, and the fusion of it with R&B I just couldn't handle the monotone anymore.

I went on listening to more rock, but after a while it all turned very similar too: Limp Bizkit, Godsmack, Breaking Benjamin, etc. It seems eveyr time a good band surfaces, it gets overexposure by the media and over playing on the radio.

I read the other day that that last Shakira song was themost played song ever... the cause is no mystery. There's nothing else to play! Since about the mid-90s I decided to stop listening to commercial music. I just couldn't take the fact that even if something good did appear, it would be disgusting by the end of the month thanks to the overexposure everything gets mainly on MTV, but also on the radio and fads people follow.

Since I've started going for non-commercial music I've discovered new styles I didn't even know existed and gotten hooked to really different styled bands with different fusions of other styles.

Yssman, I recommend you check out Progressive Rock, if you're tired of the norm. There's also the Prog thread (created by yours truly)... you're sure to find new and older bands there which would certainly be different from the commercial overexposure that exists in the pop/rock world.

EDIT: Behold, the Prog Thread

 

[Keichi Tsuchiya]

The Jazz is awesome though - as in, real jazz, not that smooth jazz crap on the radio.

 

[TopHat]

My sister lives on the new Disney and MTV pop crap. It is so freakin annoying. They take 45 seconds of lyrics and repeat it for 3 or 4 minutes.

 

[Evolution.]

I'm open to many kinds of music. Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock, Metal, (some) Country.

But, www.pandora.com is where it's at.

 

[sar593]

I agree with YSSMAN. I suck when is time to talk about music, but having a look at the "Guess the band" forum, I realized that there are a lot of bands out there...oh pandora.com is just great.

 

[JosX]

I like allot of music, mainly punk/rock, my least favourite being hip-hop but even some of that is ok. About the only genre I really don't like is classical, I simply don't like. Most pop/chart music is crap aswell, every now & then you'll get a decent song, but even when really good bands get in, the popular song is rubbish, a great example of this being Green Day - Wake me up when september ends. I go to allot of gigs & I can't remember a single one I've disliked. I was never into music much until I found everything that existed apart from pop, it completely changed my life! I'm now a big fan of it, I'm in a band, own a drum kit, a acoustic guitar, a bass guitar & an electric guitar.

 

[ExigeEvan]

What I'm getting at is that this rap/hip-hop, pseudo-pop crap that is driven out year after year is wearing my patience just a bit thin. Now I'm sure that you guys across the Atlantic are going to think I'm crazy, but you guys have it far better than we do here when it comes to music. Almost every day, I turn on the BBC1 and BBC2 usually around 7-10 PM in the UK (about 2-5 PM in America), and I'm blown away by the differences between radio there and radio here. My God! Good music? Thank God for the tubes of the online interweb!

It's not that our music tastes are good generally, it's that you're listening to the best. If you heard half the rubbish my local radio station (The Wave) pumped out you'd destroy your internet connection. It really is just the same pop dribble repeated. And I mean actually repeated! If you listen for an entire school day (say a last day of term and radio is on in every classroom) you will hear the same song atleast 3 times!

Bands like The Automatic, MUSE (they do receive some play in America, not much), Razorlight, Kaiser Chiefs, Take That, and several others receive practically no attention in America. Do they not deserve the attention that they receive in the UK? Why should Americans be deprived of their music?

Bare in mind that I only saw the Automatic in a smokey club without air-conditioning and surrounded by underage drinkers (guilty) about 6 months ago it would be remarkable that they'd get air time in the US. Hell alot of people still think they've only released Monster.

Otherwise, all the rest fully deserve air time.

I strongly recommend the 'Zane Lowe' show, Mon-Fri 7pm-9pm GMT if you like bands like the ones YSSMAN mentioned.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/zanelowe/?focuswin

I think you can get it via Sirius too.

http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=Channel&cid=1121444083985

Oh and there's Jo Whiley's "In live music we trust". Which features live lounge music

 

[ceiling_fan]

I'm in a band, own a drum kit, a acoustic guitar, a bass guitar & an electric guitar.

Sounds like you are a band.

 

[JosX]

Sounds like you are a band.

I like to play different things, the downside of being in the middle of nowhere.

 

[YSSMAN]

It isn't that everything sucks, but I think the issue is that the overwhelming majority of things suck that are on the radio today. Watching MTV is almost unbearable on their countdown shows, as they are so littered with crap that these bands manage to stumble over themselves time and time again. Added to that, bands that shouldn't receive recognition often do, and those that do often receive too much. Take for example Panic! At the Disco winning Video of the Year from MTV, and while don't get me wrong, Panic! is one of my favorite bands, but they certainly didn't deserve video of the year.

...Yes, I realize that MTV is programmed for a combination of 12-30 year olds with the collective IQ of a potato, but that isn't any excuse for a company that basically built modern music as we know it...

I've spent a lot of time watching the FUSE network over here in America. You find a lot of great bands on there, particularly those that aren't "popular" but have a good reputation with true fans of music. I know that FUSE certainly helped me discover MUSE and Panic! At the Disco (however I had known about them since the summer of 2004, but I never acted upon the deal).

...As for the radio around here, they all play the same crap. Considering that it is either Garnett or ClearChannel that runs stations around here, you are going to hear the same stuff from Detroit to Chicago. And even then, most of the music is crap-tastic there as well. Normally I just play CDs or the iPod in the car, as I just can't stand over-the-air radio.

However it is interesting that you can get the BBC on the radio with the satellite stuff. That may be worth looking into...

 

[Omnis]

The only thing worse than crap american pop rock is crap american pop rap.

You'll find that the bands who are more into commercialism than music are the ones that suck. Unfortunately, they are the ones who are featured.

 

[McLaren]

As I see it YSSMAN, you seem to hate Punk Rock of this age.









No worries, so do I. Most of my favorite bands were pre-90's. Guns N' Roses, Motley Crue, Iron Maiden, hell, even Michael Jackson was more worth listening to that M.C.R.

My problem with today's rock is the bands have no style, nothing to make them different. Black makeup, black suits, singers sounding the same, music sounding the same, and worst of all, producing 2-3 records, 3 if they're actually lucky, and then die off. Their names suck as well.

Bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Metallica, those names were awesome. The words were either new, or unique. But bands today, jesus christ, are they bland.

Green Day? Fall Out Boy? Seriously, Fall Out Boy? Talk about taking the first thing that comes to your mind. The Used? Dumb. My Chemical Romance? What the hell is a chemical romance?

In real conclusion, everything about them sucks. They're fans pretty much can't respect old rock because they're too used to this crap called rock.

This crap today is rock (bad rock). Back then, it was rock n' roll.


[/end rant]

 

[Solid Lifters]

TV On The Radio are probably the only new band that I like in the past 10 years. I've yet to buy their album "Return To Cookie Mountain" though. Oh, and I'm not crazy for them, but I like a few of their songs, and love one of them. The one I love is "Wolf Like Me." FANTASTIC song.

 

[Sakiale]

I like Green Day...
I agree about the rap, for the most part, most of it is just some song about bling bling, drugs, sex and booty (lol) but they are catchy and get top charted. But the real classics that people remember are generally not like that. Listen to Dreams by the Game. Compton, by the game. Hate it or Love it, by the Game ft 50 cent. Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A. Express yourself by NWA. **** the police by nwa. Listen to Lose yourself by Eminem. Mosh, Like toy soldiers... 99 problems, H.O.V.A.

There are some rap songs that are really not crap.

 

[a6m5]

As far as marketed artists go, most of my favorite artists are from one country...... you know, the one that oasis is from. Seriously, it was pretty unbelievable when I started checking one day and all the artists were from U.K.

U.S. has plenty of good music, but if you are looking for them on (most)TVs, radio, then you are looking in the wrong places. I really like what "Austin City Limits" has been doing recently though. Brad, do check out couple of Austin City Limits shows. They've been featuring some amazing artists. KT Tunstall, Jamie Cullum... wait, they are Brits, too. Train was pretty good.

Some American artists I've been listening to, off the top of my head: Violent Femmes, Cake, They Might Be Giants, Chris Isaak, Decemberists. Oh, they are so good. 👍

 

[YSSMAN]

I like Green Day...

In no way to pick on only you, but I'm going to do a slight Green Day rant here...

When was the last time that politics was relevant in music? The last time I came up with that was the era in which my Mother and Father were children, and we as a nation were in the middle of Vietnam. If anything, Green Day hopes to play off the idea that Iraq is our generation's Vietnam, and chooses to jump about on stages around the world thinking that they hold the key to the political future of America and the world.

By the way, did anyone notice how Green Day was somehow resurrected just in time for the Iraq war? From what I recall, they were a semi-washed-up band that had lost favor with the young kids, as they were more the crap that their older siblings and next-of-kin listened to in the '90s. Certainly they were a force to be reckoned with in 1994, but not in 2004.

What bothers me most about Green Day is that they have the audacity to run around thinking that they know the answer, and that anyone who disagrees with them is indeed stupid, and thus doesn't deserve the right to their own opinion. Take for example their Bullet in a Bible DVD, filmed in mostly anti-American Europe, completely misrepresented feels for or against the current administration and the current situation our nation faces on the whole. But of course, teenagers being the political puppets, they believed what they heard, and chose to follow blindly without considering that Green Day hoped only to play off controversy, no matter how "right" or "wrong" they may have been.

This is why I like guys like Brandon Flowers (front man for The Killers) who are brave enough to call out Green Day for the BS they were attempting to pull...

...but I digress...

---

To comment further on the a6m5 nominations:

I've been following Jamie Cullam on and off for about a year or so, and it is disappointing that his popularity hasn't spiked in America. His music is pretty darn good, a good mix of different styles, and indeed isn't one of those cocky Americans.

One of my favorite underground hits is indeed the man from Norway, Sondre Lerche. Check him out if your into the whole alternative/jazz/good music thing. We played some of his music at work a few years ago, and I've been hooked ever since.

 

[JosX]

Green Day's music is brilliant. It has a point, it sounds good, that's what good music is, so quit ranting!

 

[TheCracker]

I've been following Jamie Cullam on and off for about a year or so, and it is disappointing that his popularity hasn't spiked in America. His music is pretty darn good, a good mix of different styles, and indeed isn't one of those cocky Americans.

No he's one of those cocky (i class him as 'smarmy' personally) Brits

I hope he does make it big in America - then he can leave my poor ears alone.

 

[Touring Mars]

By the way, did anyone notice how Green Day was somehow resurrected just in time for the Iraq war? From what I recall, they were a semi-washed-up band that had lost favor with the young kids, as they were more the crap that their older siblings and next-of-kin listened to in the '90s. Certainly they were a force to be reckoned with in 1994, but not in 2004.

I'm not a big fan of Green Day or their fans, especially since I read someone commenting on a video of 'The Only Ones' on YouTube, which suggested that they were ripping off Green Day... no mean feat, especially in 1980!

However, I think you raise an interesting point. Green Day are just a band, and sometimes bands write songs with a 'political' message or edge, and whether one likes it musically or not, you can't help but acknowledge that their song 'American Idiot' captured the zeitgeist perfectly, which above all else is what propelled them back into the big time. You could argue that they are merely money-making musicians who cynically timed the release of that song simply to exploit anti-war sentiment among American youth - but nothing forced anyone to buy that single or the album, yet it was huge nevertheless... the fact that it was tremendously popular on both sides of the coalition (sorry, Atlantic) speaks for itself.

Still, I'd agree with TheCracker about BBC radio... some great stuff, esp. on Radio 2 these days...

 

[ExigeEvan]

Green Day's music is brilliant. It has a point, it sounds good, that's what good music is, so quit ranting!

I bought American Idiot. And I'm kind of bugged I did because I haven't touched it in the last 6 months, atleast.

My problem with today's rock is the bands have no style, nothing to make them different. Black makeup, black suits, singers sounding the same, music sounding the same, and worst of all, producing 2-3 records, 3 if they're actually lucky, and then die off. Their names suck as well.

Bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Metallica, those names were awesome. The words were either new, or unique. But bands today, jesus christ, are they bland.

Green Day? Fall Out Boy? Seriously, Fall Out Boy? Talk about taking the first thing that comes to your mind. The Used? Dumb. My Chemical Romance? What the hell is a chemical romance?

The American rock scene must really be struggling if you call Fall Out Boy, MCR and Green Day rock. FOB are almost pop, MCR are Emo (That's a defined genre honest!) and Green Day are pop punk (Part of rock, but distinctly different in fan base).

 

[xXSilencerXx]

Yea I'm dissapointed in radio lately. I have about 4 radio stations I can listen to around here, but I can't listen to one for more than 10 min and then have to switch because they'll start playing crap.

Ever since I got my car I have never listened to the radio in it at all. I have a 12 disc CD changer so I just load it up with a mixture of my favorite bands ( Iron Maiden, Metallica, Queens Rÿche, Dream Theater ) and go. The only bands I like alot that are not so old are Disturbed, Godsmack, and Static-X. And yet I'll take the old stuff over those any day.

 

[YSSMAN]

Green Day's music is brilliant. It has a point, it sounds good, that's what good music is, so quit ranting!

Brillant maybe in 1996, but certainly not now. Infusing politics that is not only promoted by MTV and thereby Viacom on the whole indeed hopes to essentially brain-wash young kids into a particular train of thought without considering the other side of the political spectrum. I indeed congratulate you on your liking of Green Day, as they at least for me are sell-outs that hope to capitalize on tragedy and political opportunity in order to make a quick buck. Eminem did exactly the same thing, and so too do so many other music acts in America. Certainly they are entitled to their own versions of free speech, however I doubt that they ever consider the repercussions of their music on the minds of kids today, especially when they portray a skewed vision of America that may only be identifiable by those who subscribe to a particular political train of thought.

---

The American rock scene must really be struggling if you call Fall Out Boy, MCR and Green Day rock. FOB are almost pop, MCR are Emo (That's a defined genre honest!) and Green Day are pop punk (Part of rock, but distinctly different in fan base).

Make no mistake, I think the majority of serious music fans in America despise most of the bands there, as they have for the most part sold out as compared to previous works.

I personally would consider myself a fan of My Chemical Romance (notice however that I am in no way an EMO), but indeed prefer their origional album over the current Black Parade. I think that the marketplace had indeed shifted from the place in which in was in 2004/2005, and thus MCR adjusted themselves to better fit the "style" of music. Of note, some songs on the new CD would fit in well with its predecessor, however there are many that simply would not.

Overall, the EMO movement has been both a blessing and a curse to rock music in America. I'd say the best part about the music is that it indeed was a return to a bit more feeling in the lyrics, and indeed a decent fusion of more recent rock acts from the past 20 or so years. That said, I don't care much for this whole EMO attitude and EMO style that has erupted since then. I'll admit that I grew my hair out for some other facet of rock, but instead it has been mistaken for some kind of EMO-related thing... And I'll even admit that I've bought the tighter pants (within reason!) and the decisively old-school schools to quasi "fit in" with the kids, despite hating most EMO groups.

---

The evolution of Rock music in America has indeed left us with multiple paths that have pretty much managed to spin themselves into an odd mix of good and bad, and for the most part, it appears that the bad is what gets the recognition in America.

Deciding whats good and what isn't is largely going to depend on what kind of music you like. Me being the kind of kid that grew up listening to more of rock in the "classic" sense (Zepplin, The Who, Aerosmith, The Doors) with my father and decidedly "pop rock" (The Police, Def Leopard, Van Halen) with my mother, my tastes tend to lean towards bands with a decidedly "rock'n'roll" feeling mixed in with a few of the various genres that I managed to tap-into as a child (indecently of course).

My favorite "current" American rock bands?

- The Killers
- Panic! At the Disco
- The Raconteurs
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers (okay, they are "old" but they still rock!)
- Incubus
- Avenged Sevenfold
- Beck (again, old... Still counts...)

...and a few other bands that I can't remember the name of, but I know the song (and the video, thanks FUSE!)...

 

[Max Powers]

How can you complain about the state of current music when you're listening to all of the popular music that's being pushed at you anyway, Panic! At The Disco, My Chemical Romance, and the Killers are exactly what the record companies are pushing for everyone to listen, and honestly, it's garbage. There is plenty of good music out there today, you just have to sift through all of the crap to find it.

I hate it when people complain about the current state of music, every period will have its ups and downs, but there are plenty of spectacular albums coming out every year. I don't know where the post is, but Klos said it really well in an older thread with something to the effect that there is more music coming out today than there ever was before, and there's a lot more of the ****ty music out there, but there is also a lot more terrific albums being produced.

Just expand your horizons, if you're sick of the music on MTV and the radio, then turn it off, they're not making you listen to it, and you're probably better off without it anyway.

 

[YSSMAN]

...I would care to interject that The Killers aren't nearly as "popular" as they once were, nor were they really all that popular to begin with. I'd also care to interject that Panic! At the Disco has pretty much been hijacked by the record companies and MTV, which truely is unfortuante, as I had known about them long before this newfound popularity they are having now. As a matter of fact, it was way back in the spring of 2005 when I fist heard of them, and they were still pretty much a small-time band out in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. But thanks to G4 and Viacom, they are argueably at the top of the pop-rock heap, and for some people, that causes them to walk away quickly.

Either way, there are a lot of "popular" bands that gain it from conforming to the MTV mold, and it is indeed unfortunate. I'm happy to note that bands who have not are generally shunned by MTV and it's siblings, and go on to find better times over at FUSE and other more-credible music resources by which new fans can find them, and old ones can re-join the ranks as the poseurs leave the band wagon. I often hope for the best for bands like MCR and Panic!, however things often get worse before they get better, and I'm tankful that The Killers have managed to piss-off enough quasi-fans to drive them out of the ranks...