"Remember when rock was popular and actually good?"
"Who do we have nowadays that are anything near as good as The Rolling Stones and The Beatles?"
"Music is dead."
All three of these statements have their faults: they are the words of the ignorant. The kind of people that wish that they grew up in 1960s.
Except there are no iPods, the internet is the webbing in swimming shorts and you wouldn't be able to read this blog - you lucky bastards. Adding to that is the lack of civil rights back then. Oh, so you are gay and you want to live in the 60s just to grow up listening to the Stones? You are an ethnic minority likely to grow up in a world of hate and segregation, but you want to be part of Beatlemania?
Grow up guys. The 21st century isn't all bad.
So getting back to my main point, the opening statements are complete bull and I'll tell you why.
Tackling the first sentence, yes rock music was popular and was incredible back in the day, however, why is this statement wrong? It may not be a popular genre - in terms of charts - however, the quality has not dropped.
You still have so many artists who are fantastic, yet they are ignored by many; thrown onto the scrapheap because they simply can't make a living. Take London band Tribes who recently split. Fair enough, their second album was disappointing, but their debut was a great listen, yet, only two people I know, know of the band. First lesson is to give all sorts of music a chance before labelling it "crap". Arguably, the best music you hear these days involves a little searching.
The second sentence, how can we compare The Rolling Stones and The Beatles to say, Arctic Monkeys or Muse? It's ridiculous.
The Rolling Stones and The Beatles were pioneers. They were the first to do something very obvious and since the 2000s I can only think of one genre of music that has emerged as new and that is dubstep. Everyone always thinks first is best, but sometimes the progress of music is better. I honestly think that The Clash were a million times better than The Sex Pistols, yet the Pistols were the first to really popularise punk music. Arctic Monkeys and Muse have both pushed the barriers moving into hip-hop and dubstep-influenced rock.
In saying that, Kanye West has the potential (if not already is) the greatest hip-hop artist of all time. Before I get smacked in the face with Biggie Smalls' lyrics or threatened with a Tupac chorus, think about it. Did Biggie or Tupac completely change hip-hop multiple times the way Yeezy is today?
Of course not.
Artists such as Frank Ocean, Drake, Chance the Rapper and The Weeknd all owe so much to Kanye due to his change in hip-hop in his album "808's and Heartbreaks". This popularised slow hip-hop and has only grown since Ocean's debut "channel ORANGE". Recently West has also been the first to mix heavy electro beats and tribal music into his album "Yeezus" which is a confusing album, yet it's a work of art.
So again, don't think that everything is rubbish just because it is modern. Music is ever-growing and we have to give everyone a chance.
And finally "Music Is Dead". No it is not.
People became very familiar with this phrase from the day that crap music dominated the charts (see 80s onwards). However, is it really?
You would have to be an idiot to say yes.
Although, the critically acclaimed are usually kept underground and anonymous to most, doesn't mean that you can't still see them live; buy their albums; or sing their songs. Only when these artists no longer exist, will there be an argument that music is dead. The newgen are hugely exciting.
In the past few years we have had many bands and artists breaking through: Miles Kane, Haim, Peace, Palma Violets, Django Django, The Vaccines, Two Door Cinema Club, Merchandise, Earl Sweatshirt, Parquet Courts, Swim Deep, Chvrches, Iceage, Disclosure, Jagwar Ma, Drenge, Chance the Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, ASAP Rocky, Radkey, Baby Strange, The Orwells, King Krule, Lorde, Jake Bugg, Spector...to name a few.
He have already seen the likes of Haim, Lorde and The Vaccines becoming big on the radio and around the UK and the other bands mentioned have great potential. I would say that music is, if anything, stronger these days because you can find it anywhere and you can become noticed easy. So, yes I would say that the newgen are indeed, a good gen. There's nothing better than finding as many influences in music as you can, and these new kids can use that to their advantage.
Have I missed any new bands/artists that you feel have done well in the last few years? Do you agree with me on the three statements? Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts.
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