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This thread is gonna open a can of worms, most/some of you will think I'm a total idiot. tHIS ISN'T RANT (well not totally) its just something i've noticed in my 30 years of exsitence

This topic is about the mainstream in general, and what it is now.

First off I love music from 50's till now, but something has gone bad here

There has been some awsome music this decade, problem is most of it has been from already established acts or artist, from the previous decade or from new bands few have heard of.

It was great to see Metallica come out with a really good record after so many years of getting shit on by there own fans. Mastonon and Isis are great new heavy bands. Perfect circle is/was just awesome.


BUt do you guys remember the 1990's? How many amazing bands came out of that decade or trailed in from the late 80's as nobodies and broke through? How many of them are considered extememly influential, and considered legends? How many of them blew peoples minds, became huge, and are still loved today as if they are recent new acts:

Pantera
Nirvana
Soundgarden
Pearl Jam
Stone Temple Pilots
Smashing Pumpkins
Tool
Rage Against the Machine
Primus
Red Hot chili peppers (might be late 80's)
Korn (like first two albums, hate the rest)
Nine Inch nails
RadioHead
Alice in Chains
Beck
311
sublime

and kind of the underground metal level at the time:
Type O negative
Machine head
Fear Factory

The list continues.............


Where has that been the last 10 years?

I'm talking like a band came out or rose from the underground and was like headlining arena, and red rocks (best venue ever)? The members being listed in guitar magazines as most influential ever, or that kind of crap.


What have we had in the last decade?


..............................Cold Play maybe?

..............................Death cab for Cutie maybe?


..............................King of leone.........maybe not



Here's where I stand on the soap box and say these people are genuine shit. Crap we have been forced fed to endure since 1999 or so (1996 was when maintream things started to go bad), and partiall the reaosn why the constant acces to your own music library at any given time becuase nobody want this shit anymore in there car, on there televison, or walking through a store:

Disturbed
Godsmack
Fall out boy
N'snync
Backstreet boys
Christina aquilera
Nickel back
five finger death punch
Ricky Martin
Limp bizkit
britney spears
Creed
saliva
Kid rock
spice girls
james blunt
Good charlotte
Slipknot (started off bad ass, then became A hole pleasure for radio)
Linkin Park (a lot potential in the beginnning, very talented, ditched what was unique about them and went lame by their third record)
Static-x (same reason as above)
Daniel Powter
power man 5000
Papa roach
three days grace
Bullet for my valentine
Puddle of mudd
avril Lavign
and the total absence of any decent hip hop



The most irritating, poser, generic, uninspired decade in history

Totally agreed...if it wasn't for Kathy Perry and Lady Gaga the decade could have been saved. Nope...not a chance...however, this decade won't be blamed on MTV and VH1...we can all agreed that Youtube is to be blamed this time...thanks a lot for promoting those female clowns.

CHOCOLATE RAIN!!!!

There's not much good music because they know they have people in the palm of their hand. They know that people will buy and listen to whatever the media tells them to.

18-35 males will listen to nu-metal, gangster rap, etc.

13-18 girls will listen to the Jonas Brothers, GaGa, Katy Perry, etc.

Everyone else will listen to their own specific "tailor made" music and fall in line...

To hell with creativity and effort. Let's just use the same 3 chords in every song and edit people's vocals to make them sound robotic and fake... that's cool, right?

Maybe you guys should a) stop living in the 80s and b) start searching for good music on your own, instead of looking at the picture painted by TV shows and assuming that they represent all music. If you can't see how dense of a viewpoint that is, , basing your opinion of modern music on such a small window of reference, it's really your own fault. There is lot's of good contemporary music out there. You just have to be willing to look for it.

I'm not saying there aren't a lot of TERRIBLE musicians (I use the term musicians very loosely) out there right now. There are, but they represent only a small fraction of the modern music scene, you can't write off a whole decade just because of a few bad apples. Your beloved 80's and 90's had their share of garbage too.

Originally posted by RedAlertv2
Maybe you guys should a) stop living in the 80s and b) start searching for good music on your own, instead of looking at the picture painted by TV shows and assuming that they represent all music. If you can't see how dense of a viewpoint that is, , basing your opinion of modern music on such a small window of reference, it's really your own fault. There is lot's of good contemporary music out there. You just have to be willing to look for it.

I'm not saying there aren't a lot of TERRIBLE musicians (I use the term musicians very loosely) out there right now. There are, but they represent only a small fraction of the modern music scene, you can't write off a whole decade just because of a few bad apples. Your beloved 80's and 90's had their share of garbage too.


Shut up and get out.

You clearly missed the point I was making.

I clearly said that there is great music out there today, but it is unfortunate how it is from bands that have already been around for while or stuff that is totally underground.

My point about the 90's is how it was the last decade that great, new, groundbreaking, influential, original was shit at the forefront a bieng show cased for everyone to hear. Like mainstream music was actually GOOD music, and good muscians. And there was good reason why they are popular.

Stuff now is just what is marketable, slap a sticker on it, sell it.

10 current bands on rock radio that sound EXACTLY the same.

Nobody sticks out, nobody will last, 2000-2009 wil be remembered as stale, bought & sold, image music.

We Got nothing new

the last decade HAS been nothing but picture painted garbage.

great music out there that few get to hear

Its a terrible thing

All those complaints you have about this current decade can be applied to the 90's as well.

People still listen to the radio?

A lot of my favorite artists/bands have been formed within this past decade.

I would argue that, with the advent of the Internet and sites like last.fm, Pandora, Amazon, even Myspace and Wikipedia, not to mention things like iTunes, legal and illegal downloading, etc; it's even EASIER now to find/listen to quality music than ever before.

The majority of what's popular on the radio is garbage despite the decade - but like I said, who gives a shit about the radio anymore anyway?

This has actually been one of my favourite musical decades along with to the 60's and 90's. The fact that you're too lazy to search for music yourselves doesn't mean it has been a bad decade musically.

Also, there was some good ''mainstream'' music in the 90's as you mentioned but it also had The Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, Ace of Bass etc. Just like the eighties had Madonna, Ultavox and Nick Kershaw etc.

The 00's had great bands like The White Stripes and Queens of the Stone Age breaking through to a mainstream audience and having plenty of air-time but also had Nickelback and Soulja' Boy. A musical decade like any other.

Besides, you added a lot of 90's bands to your list of bad 00' bands and a lot of the bands you added to your list of great 90's band haven't actually known any 'mainstream' succes such as Tool, or Soundgarden and Alice in Chains except for one hit single.

You're extremely exaggerating your point.

Originally posted by SnakeEyes
People still listen to the radio?

A lot of my favorite artists/bands have been formed within this past decade.

I would argue that, with the advent of the Internet and sites like last.fm, Pandora, Amazon, even Myspace and Wikipedia, not to mention things like iTunes, legal and illegal downloading, etc; it's even EASIER now to find/listen to quality music than ever before.

The majority of what's popular on the radio is garbage despite the decade - but like I said, who gives a shit about the radio anymore anyway?

I would never suggest illegal downloading to anyone.

As for the rest of your post, well, it's more than that. I think it tells you a lot about our culture when you turn on the radio and that garbage is playing (mostly on modern rap, pop, and rock stations) There's a lot of good stations left, like classic rock and AOR stations, but even those are fading away.

A few great acts tend to at least find some sort of mainstream success anyway, but this decade, we really haven't seen much of that. And again, I think that tells you a lot about the way our culture is nowadays. I'm not saying you can't find good music from today, I'm just saying that the good music is hidden really well, when in every other decade before this one, you could at least see it from a mainstream perspective. Metallica was not a mainstream band yet they were on the Billboard Top selling albums in 1984. It wasn't completely unknown to the mainstream public, it was a tiny little blip on the radar. Now you don't see the blip if you don't hunt for it. While it wasn't necessarily easier to FIND back then (we have Pandora and the internet in general, etc.), t was easier to SEE, imo (Metallica, Faith No More, etc. selling lots of albums before they actually became mainstream).

It tells you a lot about our culture... and I don't like what it's telling me.

Well, at least everyone awesome reunited. Except the Dead Kennedys-that was some weak shit. You suck, East Bay Ray.

Originally posted by Bat Dude
I would never suggest illegal downloading to anyone.

As for the rest of your post, well, it's more than that. I think it tells you a lot about our culture when you turn on the radio and that garbage is playing (mostly on modern rap, pop, and rock stations) There's a lot of good stations left, like classic rock and AOR stations, but even those are fading away.

A few great acts tend to at least find some sort of mainstream success anyway, but this decade, we really haven't seen much of that. And again, I think that tells you a lot about the way our culture is nowadays. I'm not saying you can't find good music from today, I'm just saying that the good music is hidden really well, when in every other decade before this one, you could at least see it from a mainstream perspective. Metallica was not a mainstream band yet they were on the Billboard Top selling albums in 1984. It wasn't completely unknown to the mainstream public, it was a tiny little blip on the radar. Now you don't see the blip if you don't hunt for it. While it wasn't necessarily easier to FIND back then (we have Pandora and the internet in general, etc.), t was easier to SEE, imo (Metallica, Faith No More, etc. selling lots of albums before they actually became mainstream).

It tells you a lot about our culture... and I don't like what it's telling me. No good bands have had mainstream success? What do you say about Radiohead, Muse, the White Stripes, Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, the Foo Fighters, Weezer, and so on? Lot's of what I would consider to be highly talented bands have enjoyed commercial success in this decade. And I'm not sure what you mean when you say Metallica aren't a mainstream band, they're a household name, and certainly not a "tiny blip."

Good music isn't "hidden." Good bands didn't start crawling under rocks at the turn of the millenium. They're still out there, trying to get noticed, and no amount of oversaturation of shitty mainstream acts changes that.

I think it says a lot more about our culture that you could sit there, in an age when music is far more accessible and available than ever before, and actually complain about the way things are.

Seems I forgot some other person in my earlier post.

2000-2009 WORSE Decade in music. One name:

Miley Cyrus.

Spot on bro. Spot on.

Miley Cyrus, Ester Dean, Lady GaGa, Katy Perry... these hoes are ruining the entire music industry.

Not to mention 90% of the (c)rap music scene and 100% of the emofag scene.

Emofag bands have influenced just about everyone in the Western world...
Everyone's got that Justin Bieber-looking hairstyle and tight jeans, which prove that most men nowadays don't have any ballz.

Originally posted by AsbestosFlaygon

Emofag bands have influenced just about everyone in the Western world...
Everyone's got that Justin Bieber-looking hairstyle and tight jeans, which prove that most men nowadays don't have any ballz.

^ This.

Originally posted by RedAlertv2
No good bands have had mainstream success? What do you say about Radiohead, Muse, the White Stripes, Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, the Foo Fighters, Weezer, and so on? Lot's of what I would consider to be highly talented bands have enjoyed commercial success in this decade.

90's dude, Tool, Foo fighters and Radiohead those bands came out in the 90's.

96 aenima came out, and like 97 everyone was all about Ok computer.

Again you don't understand the point thats being made here.

As for Bat Dude, Thank YOU! You understand it very well.

Originally posted by RedAlertv2
No good bands have had mainstream success? What do you say about Radiohead, Muse, the White Stripes, Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, the Foo Fighters, Weezer, and so on? Lot's of what I would consider to be highly talented bands have enjoyed commercial success in this decade. And I'm not sure what you mean when you say Metallica aren't a mainstream band, they're a household name, and certainly not a "tiny blip."

Good music isn't "hidden." Good bands didn't start crawling under rocks at the turn of the millenium. They're still out there, trying to get noticed, and no amount of oversaturation of shitty mainstream acts changes that.

I think it says a lot more about our culture that you could sit there, in an age when music is far more accessible and available than ever before, and actually complain about the way things are.

Wow, way to go and NOT read my post at all...

I said that, and I quote, "A few great acts tend to at least find some sort of mainstream success anyway, but this decade, we really haven't seen much of that." Obviously, I'm saying that the great acts are still there, they just don't get as much recognition NOW as they did back then. Again, I bring up the example of Faith No More and Metallica, who were not "mainstream" acts until really the early 90s, yet they got tons of recognition on the radio beforehand. You're not seeing that much these days.

That has nothing to do with the quality of music today, it has more to do with the state of the music industry itself. And again, I didn't say it wasn't easy to FIND good bands in this decade, I said it wasn't easy to SEE good bands in this decade. What I mean by that is that you don't see them from a "non-underground" perspective. You have to be into that music to "see" its presence, if that makes any sense, when before you knew who Metallica and Faith No More (in the early-to-late 80s) and the British punk bands (in the early 70s), etc. were before they were "cool" (mainstream) even if you didn't even like them (again, that goes back to not getting proper recognition)

Does that make my post clearer?

wow, you know, same thing goes for rap. 00-09 has been the worst decade for the genre ever.

it's all about making money now. nowadays the majority of the time a label will sign someone that looks cool and or cute or bad girl or bad boy lookin', regardless of skill or talent, over someone truley talented because the former will sell more. all they have to do is manufacture the product to the bases liking and you got a grand slam while laughing all the way to the bank.

that's why i mostly stay listening to 90's rap (and sometimes 80's pop) (i sometimes even listen to 50's 60's 70's music of all types, as well -except for country-

but i 100% agree. (and i thought i was the only one whom thought this) but this decade has failed with music. some music like some r&b songs and some of kanye west's stuff was aight in this decade, but other than that, stuff like lil wayne, drake, 50 cent, all these diva videos and mid-west/southern crunk music are all sh*t.

but damn, i hadn't known it spread across the board, though.

Originally posted by Darth Jello
Well, at least everyone awesome reunited. Except the Dead Kennedys-that was some weak shit. You suck, East Bay Ray.

Yeah, that has been a huge trend for the '00s. Glad I'm not the only one that noticed it.

I think the general consensus is that it hasn't been a bad decade of music, but a bad decade FOR music. The radio is spewing less and less of the good stuff, that I'll agree with. You just need to find good stations but most are going to want to play what is popular, and what is popular is not always great.

But there has been a great deal of good stuff in the last decade, so I don't know what you're talking about, Ob1. I can tell you're into metal and grunge and along those lines... maybe you mean specifically for that genre? Coldplay and Death Cab, which you mentioned, were primarily the last decade, having started in '99 both. Linkin Park, VAST, White Stripes, The Shins, The Strokes, Belle & Sebastian, Brendan Benson, Incubus, Modest Mouse... all from the last decade, and of course there is much more.

I guess it just depends on your preferences.

Anyway, I'd brace myself for the next decade if I were you, as it's only going to get worse. Maybe just don't listen to the radio or watch MTV anymore and you'll experience it as a great decade for music like I did with the last one.

Yeah, I used to watch MTV more back in the 90's.

With the start of the new millenium, I gradually stopped watching MTV and listening to the radio altogether.

Garbage, The Adolescents, TSOL, Sonic Youth, Frances McKee, and Jello Biafra have released some of the best, original music of their careers in the last decade.

Originally posted by Darth Jello
Garbage, The Adolescents, TSOL, Sonic Youth, Frances McKee, and Jello Biafra have released some of the best, original music of their careers in the last decade.

Again, missed the point

So, then, what is your point?

There has been amazing music this decade. Accept that, and accept that there was a lot of shit in the 90s and 80s.



Bullshit.

I don't think he has a point... to everyone who's posted opposing thoughts here his response is some variation of how so and so didn't get the point.

Nonsense.

Originally posted by OB1-adobe
Again, missed the point no u

It's nothing more than this generations dislike of the advance of music.
Our great-grandparents disliked Elvis for the gospel music; my parents dislike today's music for the 80's music. The cycle keeps going.

Yeah, I admit most of my favorite songs were from my generation (90's).

I think to appreciate this generation's music, we should be the ones to adjust to their preference.

If we can't, it means we're just growing old.

Originally posted by AsbestosFlaygon
Yeah, I admit most of my favorite songs were from my generation (90's).

I think to appreciate this generation's music, we should be the ones to adjust to their preference.

If we can't, it means we're just growing old. Prepare to be told you're missing the point.

I feel like the people making the point are missing the point.

Originally posted by Peach

Bullshit.
Please explain how. I've never heard a Tool song on the radio, and I've never seen a Tool video on TV. Might be that they are more popular in the US than in Europe. Either way, they certainly weren't as popular as Led Zep or whatever during the 70's, and AiC and Soundgarden's succes is comparable to that of the White Stripes and QotSA.

Either The White Stripes and QotSA should be counted as ''great mainstream bands'' or Tool, AiC and Soundgarden shouldn't be.

Dude, no matter what decade you live in, 90% of mainstream music and 70% of underground music is going to be total shit. The difference, is that every once in awhile, the music industry's sphincter gets a spasm and accidentally let's in a whole bunch of cool music into the mainstream before it realizes that they're accidentally marketing art instead of a product and clenches up again.

Originally posted by Darth Jello
Dude, no matter what decade you live in, 90% of mainstream music and 70% of underground music is going to be total shit. The difference, is that every once in awhile, the music industry's sphincter gets a spasm and accidentally let's in a whole bunch of cool music into the mainstream before it realizes that they're accidentally marketing art instead of a product and clenches up again.

Now that was creatively spoken.

Originally posted by Darth Jello
Dude, no matter what decade you live in, 90% of mainstream music and 70% of underground music is going to be total shit. The difference, is that every once in awhile, the music industry's sphincter gets a spasm and accidentally let's in a whole bunch of cool music into the mainstream before it realizes that they're accidentally marketing art instead of a product and clenches up again.

That definitely happened with the Melvins during the early 90's when they were with Atlantic. I'm surprised no one's mentioned them here yet. Stoner Witch changed my life and even The Bride Screamed Murder did the same for me again. I actually traded in all the so-called "extreme metal" stuff I used to enjoy for more stuff like the Melvins.

Even the shit from the 80s and 90s seems like it was better shit than the shit about these days.

Sure. we had to put up with Madonna, and the Spice girls, but that shit was way better than the Fast Food Rockers and Crazy frog.

I'll never forgive the noughties for that shite.... ever.

Everything got uncreative, grey feeling and sterile.
What happened to our souls...
How did we go from Soundgarden's "Badmotorfinger" to Nickleback..?
From anarchic warm feeling joy of Jane's Addiction's "Been caught stealing" to Coldplay? ...greyed down spiritless dross.
And from the truly agressive Big Four of the eighties to that ineffectual pap that passes as rock and metal today..?

Originally posted by Sadako of Girth
Even the shit from the 80s and 90s seems like it was better shit than the shit about these days.

Sure. we had to put up with Madonna, and the Spice girls, but that shit was way better than the Fast Food Rockers and Crazy frog.
Even if you're right, you're still only saying that the bad music from those days was better than the bad music from these days. Either way, its bad music, so what does that prove? It doesnt mean that there is any less good music being made.

Originally posted by Slay
Please explain how. I've never heard a Tool song on the radio, and I've never seen a Tool video on TV. Might be that they are more popular in the US than in Europe. Either way, they certainly weren't as popular as Led Zep or whatever during the 70's, and AiC and Soundgarden's succes is comparable to that of the White Stripes and QotSA.

Either The White Stripes and QotSA should be counted as ''great mainstream bands'' or Tool, AiC and Soundgarden shouldn't be.

I don't listen to the radio very often - only when in my car and only if it's a drive that's less than like half an hour (more than that and I plug in my iPod). And I still hear Tool, AiC, Soundgarden, and QoTSA and White Stripes played a ton. AiC and Soundgarden in particular are getting a lot of airplay right now, with AiC having released a new album recently and Soundgarden having gotten back together.

All five of those bands have had great commercial success. And yes, I would definitely classify QoTSA and White Stripes as being great mainstream bands.

I argee the sixtys to the Nintys for me was the best time of music ever and now it is all just downhill.

Originally posted by RedAlertv2
Even if you're right, you're still only saying that the bad music from those days was better than the bad music from these days. Either way, its bad music, so what does that prove? It doesnt mean that there is any less good music being made.

Just attempting to highlight that today's "good" music against the old good music, loses.

As does the poo music, when compared to the poo music of yesteryear.

So old music for me at least, dominates new on all levels.
There was shit music...but due to more freeodom of individualism/ different recording standards/techiques back then, personality shone through....things felt like they had soul. Music was allowed to be weirder back then...to let the idiosyncrises shine through... Now its all 'moody but sterile' stuff.

Originally posted by Sadako of Girth
Music was allowed to be weirder back then...to let the idiosyncrises shine through... Now its all 'moody but sterile' stuff.

Listen to more current music.

Originally posted by Peach
I don't listen to the radio very often - only when in my car and only if it's a drive that's less than like half an hour (more than that and I plug in my iPod). And I still hear Tool, AiC, Soundgarden, and QoTSA and White Stripes played a ton. AiC and Soundgarden in particular are getting a lot of airplay right now, with AiC having released a new album recently and Soundgarden having gotten back together.

All five of those bands have had great commercial success. And yes, I would definitely classify QoTSA and White Stripes as being great mainstream bands.
You're actually right, but that's because I misphrased what I meant to say. Their commercial succes has probably been great, as in they have sold loads of records. That's not what I meant though, what I meant to say is that Soundgarden, AiC or Tool weren't popular amongst a 'mainstream' crowd, which Led Zep or the Beatles etc. were. Also, I know about Alice In Chains just having released an album, and has gotten good reviews I believe, that doesn't really have anything to do with the topic at hand though.

Either way, my original point was that the OP should either not count Tool, AiC or Soundgarden as great 'mainstream' bands of the 90's, or should count The White Stripes and QotSA as great mainstream bands of the 00's. Which of the two you prefer is up to you...

Originally posted by Sadako of Girth
As does the poo music, when compared to the poo music of yesteryear.

I would rather listen to Coldplay or Lil Wayne than Boney M or 10CC. It all comes down to opinion and what not though.

Originally posted by Sadako of Girth
Even the shit from the 80s and 90s seems like it was better shit than the shit about these days.

Sure. we had to put up with Madonna, and the Spice girls, but that shit was way better than the Fast Food Rockers and Crazy frog.

I'll never forgive the noughties for that shite.... ever.

Everything got uncreative, grey feeling and sterile.
What happened to our souls...
How did we go from Soundgarden's "Badmotorfinger" to Nickleback..?
From anarchic warm feeling joy of Jane's Addiction's "Been caught stealing" to Coldplay? ...greyed down spiritless dross.
And from the truly agressive Big Four of the eighties to that ineffectual pap that passes as rock and metal today..?

This is true. Mainstream to me has sucked, but I'd rather listen to the crap in the 90's compared to today. Like a thousand times over.

The problem with saying that sucky music today is worse than sucky music of the past is that your opinion is always gonna be colored by nostalgia. MC Hammer and New Kids On The Block were garbage but when you associate the music with memories of watching Saturday morning cartoons, the nostalgia factor is going to work. You probably have fond memories of Ace Of Base playing on your mom's car radio when she bought you a Super Nintendo or Chumbawumba or some other crap on the clock radio or CD shuffler when you lost your virginity which colors it as better than when your college dorm mate wakes you up with a cover of Mad World for the hundredth time at 7 in the morning or when little kids drag you to see The Jonas Brothers movie or Hannah Montana or some other crap.
Trust me, music was just as bad then as it was now. The only difference is slight shifts in genre and worse recording techniques.

Obviously there was great music made in the last decade, but the point raised in the OP was that new, legitimately talented bands aren't really getting the same level of exposure as new "break out" bands did in the last decade, is a legitimate and accurate concern. I don't think the OP is suggesting that there aren't great and talent bands that deserve to be successful... just that those bands aren't getting the same level of recognition as they would have in the 90s. If you ask 10 people off the street if they've heard of The Smashing Pumpkins, and then ask them same question about Arcade Fire, I think the difference in the answers would be pretty drastic. It's about public awareness, not a lack of good bands.

I honestly think it might be a North American thing, because I'm aware of a lot of great bands and talented musicians from UK (Ireland primarily for some reason), and the Australia, and I'm not even really looking for them... so whats up with that? They must have better agents and PR or something.

I find it difficult to take such sentiments seriously when the likes of...Opeth, Mastodon, Tool, The Mars Volta, Devin Townsend, Panic Cell, Akercocke, Iron Maiden, Emperor, Megadeth, Dark Tranquility et. all continued to release excellent albums in that decade.

Music gets worse due to the numerous Indie bands/artists mixing random sounds and calling the finished product "music".
Scene music like Nintendocore, the new Screamo bands... they are products of Indie music.

The growth of the Indie music scene is the cancer of the music industry.