Nothing annoys our generation more than hearing the cries of our elders as they moan and gnash their teeth over the loss of the “good ol’ days” of music.
Times when the songs were good, “the man” was bad and the statements musicians made actually meant something. It doesn’t take much to see where they are coming from.
If you were to take a poll of college students asking which radio station they tune into, most would say that they don’t listen to the radio but instead have a favorite CD or tape that they listen to. Inquire a little further and you will find that generally the CD is an old favorite, a compilation or a soundtrack.
Even more interestingly, some people say they just don’t listen to music anymore. Do people prefer silence or variety-pack music to what the radio tries to bombard us with everyday?
Are people tired of hearing the same songs over and over again between 10-minute commercial breaks, or is there something else going on?
The music industry seems to be void of creativity lately. Even casual listeners are noticing the trend. If you can tear yourself away from the CDs and MP3s for half an hour and turn on the radio, you’ll discover that the songs being played to death are the same songs we tolerated last summer.
With the exception of some new additions, annoying songs like Uncle Kracker’s “Follow Me” and Lenny Kravitz’s “Again” get radio play as if they were the number-one songs in the land.
In fact, the latest number-one album according to Billboard Music isn’t even from a band; it’s NOW 7, a compilation CD that repackages old hits. This product is actually a stroke of genius because all the tracks on the disk are great singles from artists like Nelly and Lifehouse-songs people would love to get all together on one disc.
What happened to N’Sync and The Backstreet Boys holding down the hallowed number-one spot for months? The new release from the Beatles’ collection beat the boy bands on the charts, and that was simply an assemblage of all their former greatest hits.
Rock `n’ roll and alternative music are struggling as well. No band has been able to carry the torch for longer then a few weeks. Instead, each band that shows promise is simply taken over by an up-and-coming chart topper who will eventually be replaced as well.
The new Dave Matthews Band album has seen some success, but it hasn’t been the hit factory that many predicted it would be.
U2 had a strong showing with “All That You Can’t Leave Behind,” but that song was soon dealt back into the radio single shuffle. R.E.M.’s new record had limited success and both Weezer and the Stone Temple Pilots have gotten good reviews, but haven’t experienced great sales.
If big-name bands cannot muster major success and boost album dollars, what does a small-name artist need to do to get noticed?
Well, Alien Ant Farm broke through with a great single-the cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal,” and Cake’s newest tune “Short Skirt and Long Jacket” has a great hook. All these contributions have been a welcome addition in this summer of reruns.
The R& B and hip-hop industries are the only shining light in these dark days. There does not appear to be any lack of talent from returning favorites like Nelly, Missy Misdemeanor, Destiny’s Child and even P. Diddy. Newcomers like Eve and Blu Cantrell have even introduced new styles like trip-hop to this soulful scene. Their recipe for success is to lay down strong beats with catchy lyrics and to make songs fun to dance to. Perhaps other genres should take a lesson from these artists.
Are the days of revolutionary music gone, or is the mainstream just skipping over the good music that is out there?
The problem is that besides the obvious categories like R&B, hip-hop, country and bubble-gum pop, most musical groups are finding it difficult to define themselves.
When top-40 radio plays everything from pop-country to hard rock, listeners’ senses are pulled in so many directions. You cannot just walk into one area of the music store and find all your favorite music.
Also, with the advent of Napster and its clones, finding all your favorite tunes on one album is near to impossible unless you like one-sided artists like Yanni, and no one likes Yanni.
Competition is fierce. Everybody is vying for your ear and wallet. This is a good time for alternative sounds to make waves in a world craving uniqueness.
This is no longer the Grunge age, or teeny-pop music’s heyday. Veterans need to go to battle or the garage band down the street needs to sign that record deal because we want to rock and roll!
