Current music vs 'old'?

[GregB]

Possibly just echoing my 'old man' gut feel, but this is from a much younger guy who steadily covers several creative and technical aspects of music worth considering ... and this is from almost a decade ago!

 

 

 

Greg

 

[starise]

All depending on one's age I suppose old and new could be different. I still refuse to call myself old.

 

I have little interest in new music, or at least the promoted music. Why? Because most of it is a packacged product only intended to sell.

There are some really creative talented people who are not promoted. 

 

 

[john]

There is one easy solution (easy huh?). Create awesome music. If it really bothers you, also learn how to promote your music and any other awesome music you hear!

 

[starise]

I guess I still need to do that.

[john]

9 hours ago, starise said:

I guess I still need to do that.

 

It was a general comment to us old timers. If we don’t like it, we can change it by at least giving chart music a run for it’s money.

 

Personally, I find quite a lot of great music around, although most of the modern stuff I like is in the alt categories, which is has a lot of independent made music.

[Glammerocity]

I think what he's done, or what he's interpreted the study's findings as, is that timbre defines quality, in which case Herman's Hermits had more validity than Prince, who was right in the middle of the 80s tech revolution largely responsible for levelling timbre.

 

It's certainly true that it was easier in The Beatles' day to sound less Roland A1 patch, but then they had the luxury of a budget for an orchestra. Now everybody has access to orchestral sounds, albeit they're produced in a factory. It's still all about your song, not your sounds.

 

So, science, who gets the most joy from music: old rock fans or young popsters? In an article called The Joy of Music, Psychology Today notes, "An unexpected change in intensity and tempo is one of the primary means by which music provokes a strong emotional response in listeners." Yay for kpop, which I found was rather like prog rock in the way it'll often go into a drumless quieter section. I've also heard a few songs which have suddenly gone from 4/4 into a 12/8 section.

 

There are a number of reasons we listen to music - nostalgia, self-identity, empathy, a sense of community - but timbre doesn't seem to be rated.

 

The article says nostalgia "is the most frequent emotion evoked by music." We like famliarity and being reminded of the good times we had. That doesn't make it any more valid or creative than current music, it just has the advantage of time. And we can sometimes remember things through rose-tinted ears. I was a Deep Purple fan in my teens but now when I hear them I think Ian Gillan is simply shouting in tune. I much prefer their post-split era, when they all started writing and recording proper riffless songs. Because it's all about your song, a skill which didn't die in 1979.

 

Ref: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-of-choice/202403/the-joy-of-music

Edited April 1 by Glammerocity