McRae: Music's state of the union
Matt McRae
Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: Opinion
Music is timeless. It is hard to find a person who is not influenced by the music their parents once listened to. I can still remember listening to The Beach Boys, The Temptations, Creedence Clearwater Revival and learning about "The Tears of a Clown" from Smokey Robinson & The Miracles on Oldies 106.9 FM.
These artists are legends because they truly meant something to their generation and because their music is still enjoyed by people today.
Our parents' generation left us with some classic music, but what are we leaving behind for our children? Where did things begin to change?
Each genre of music started out with its own early legends. Rock music had The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and Elvis.
Hip-hop, the most successful genre in music today, also had its legends-The Sugarhill Gang, Run D.M.C., Tupac, Notorious B.I.G. and Snoop Dogg. The reason these artists were able to reach this status is because their music had meaning or because they were original.
Unfortunately, music has lost such originality.
The leveling point for rock music hit during the hair-metal era of the 1980's. It was all about the sex and the drugs--not about the rock n' roll.
The effect was an opiate for the masses complete with unoriginal sounds, bad hair and a lot of bands with nearly the same name.
The formula that the record executives created--to be successful, sound the same as whatever is popular-is still in effect today.
How much longer can we allow Nickelback to make the same song, change up just a few riffs here and there, give it a new title and try to package it as their new single?
It's time to stop the insanity.
People keep buying the same thing--just by a different artist--and the record execs know that this is what sells.
And now, they are doing it to hip-hop music.
If the bass rattles the car and you can party to it, it is a hit. Lyrics about the booty + lyrics about alcohol + a lot of bass = sales.
It is the same leveling off that occurred with rock music some 20-odd years ago.
Rock and hip-hop aren't so different after all.
A prefabricated sound has taken over the airwaves, and we as consumers are helping to support it.
This is not to say that there hasn't been any legends to arise from the ashes that lay in the wake of the industry.
U2 arose out of one of the leveling-off phases in rock. Outkast was able to bring a new and innovative sound to the hip-hop genre with the release of Stankonia. These two artists will go down as timeless, but is that enough?
What will our generation of music listeners leave behind? Who else will be our musical legacies?
If we keep buying and downloading the same music all the time, further generations will be left with a void.
An avid music and game enthusiast, Matt McRae is the photography editor of The Chanticleer. He can be reached at (256) 782-8521 or at chantyphoto@gmail.com. You can read his weekly music blog at mattonanisland.blogspot.com.
These artists are legends because they truly meant something to their generation and because their music is still enjoyed by people today.
Our parents' generation left us with some classic music, but what are we leaving behind for our children? Where did things begin to change?
Each genre of music started out with its own early legends. Rock music had The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and Elvis.
Hip-hop, the most successful genre in music today, also had its legends-The Sugarhill Gang, Run D.M.C., Tupac, Notorious B.I.G. and Snoop Dogg. The reason these artists were able to reach this status is because their music had meaning or because they were original.
Unfortunately, music has lost such originality.
The leveling point for rock music hit during the hair-metal era of the 1980's. It was all about the sex and the drugs--not about the rock n' roll.
The effect was an opiate for the masses complete with unoriginal sounds, bad hair and a lot of bands with nearly the same name.
The formula that the record executives created--to be successful, sound the same as whatever is popular-is still in effect today.
How much longer can we allow Nickelback to make the same song, change up just a few riffs here and there, give it a new title and try to package it as their new single?
It's time to stop the insanity.
People keep buying the same thing--just by a different artist--and the record execs know that this is what sells.
And now, they are doing it to hip-hop music.
If the bass rattles the car and you can party to it, it is a hit. Lyrics about the booty + lyrics about alcohol + a lot of bass = sales.
It is the same leveling off that occurred with rock music some 20-odd years ago.
Rock and hip-hop aren't so different after all.
A prefabricated sound has taken over the airwaves, and we as consumers are helping to support it.
This is not to say that there hasn't been any legends to arise from the ashes that lay in the wake of the industry.
U2 arose out of one of the leveling-off phases in rock. Outkast was able to bring a new and innovative sound to the hip-hop genre with the release of Stankonia. These two artists will go down as timeless, but is that enough?
What will our generation of music listeners leave behind? Who else will be our musical legacies?
If we keep buying and downloading the same music all the time, further generations will be left with a void.
An avid music and game enthusiast, Matt McRae is the photography editor of The Chanticleer. He can be reached at (256) 782-8521 or at chantyphoto@gmail.com. You can read his weekly music blog at mattonanisland.blogspot.com.
Be the first to comment on this story