| The Problem with Music Today |
| In my opinion, today the quality of music available to the mainstream public is very low. What I define as mainstream music includes most of the songs you hear on the radio, the albums that are put out by major record labels. That means most of the stuff you find at Wal Mart or Sam Goodie's. One of the things that I feel is the basis for music going downhill is the absence of live shows. Sure there are more "festivals" than ever before. Few of them are actually music festivals anymore though. Nearly all of them are just tours with multiple bands. Ozzfest, for example, travels to 26 cities in the US this year. This was the ninth year for Ozzfest. The most famous music and art festival of all time was Woodstock, a one-time, one-place event. Big concerts, usually part of tours, are almost the only way to see live bands now. There isn't anything particularly special about seeing a band or several bands and knowing that they are doing 25 nearly identical performances in the same year. I have a video with footage of Black Sabbath playing with several other bands in front of over 300,000 people. They didn't then go on to tour with those bands for two months. That was it. I am not saying that bands getting out there and letting more people see them is bad. I just feel that the 400,000 or so people who made it to Woodstock appreciated it a lot more for it's uniqueness than anyone today could appreciate what they see. Big concerts aren't the only performances lacking. Nobody wants to play small venues anymore either. The same video with Black Sabbath has them playing in front of much smaller audiences. Jimmi Hendrix, whose best known performances were huge shows, also has a video out showing him perform for audiences in the hundreds. The only way a band today will play for such a small crowd is if they play the late show or something where they're going to get publicity out of it. My point is that live music is entertaining. I thoroughly enjoy watching a band play. When I listen to music, I often think "how did the guitarist (or bassist, or drummer, or a combination of the three) make that sound." Watching them live is such a thrill because you get to see just exactly how they did it. The most entertaining thing about most of todays music, even live performances, is watching the dancers. Because of this, more and more singers go without bands, relying only on their dancers to stimulate the audience. Then you get the likes of N*Sync...a band that doesn't play instruments. You get more singers who go solo and instead of a band, they have dancers. Compare Ozzy to Britney. Even as a "solo artis" Ozzy has always had a band. He collaborated with a drummer, bassist and guitarist to make music. Not just write lyrics and let somebody else make the music. I feel that with Black Sabbath and on his own, when you listen to his music, the music compliments the lyrics as well as his singing. His voice is almost just another instrument. At the same time, the guitar and bass are right there. Sometimes, it's easier to imagine his songs as a duet with Ozzy and a guitar or bass. Just like a duet with two vocalists, sometimes one fades out somewhat and backs up, then they switch roles, then they both belt out in harmony. This leads me into my next point. The flipside of the singers without a band...When you listen to heavy metal or rock, you often hear the wailing guitar. It's almost as if they're not playing anything in particular...just playing to be loud. Then, suddenly, they'll play actual music. Sometimes beautiful things come out of songs that start out with nothing but screeching. Of course, then the lead singer starts yelling. Like the musicians of the band he's not in tune or trying to hit any certain pitch...just screaming as loud as possible. Listen to some Led Zepplin, one of the bands that typified the rock and roll generation, or Black Sabbath, often credited as the band from whom heavy metal was born. Both bands play incredible music and they could sing. Both bands had a primary singer. More current, Nirvana whose singer was also the lead guitarist could actually both play good music and sing well. There are a lot of other bands with such talent, but lack the skills to mesh the music with the singing. I feel that some of the greatest songs of all time are those that can control your emotions. The right songs can take you on a journey from the top of your emotional spectrum to the bottom and back up. The truth is that people would rather listen to a trendy repetitive beat and simple lyrics than music that actually moves them or lyrics that actually have a prolific meaning. The music industry knows that and takes advantage of it, making it harder for people who do appreciate quality music to find it. |