I have noticed that music has changed greatly over the years, not just in styles and types of music, but in the quality of the music and the skill required to make said music. I am talking about music from the 60s, 70s and early 80s compared to music in the 90s up to now.
"You can't compare music from then to now! They are way different!" you say?
I agree 100% that music is way different now then back then, but that doesn't mean you can't compare them in other ways. And this brings me to my point (or opinion): classic music is
way better then today's music.
"Well that is just your opinion!"You are right. It is my opinion. There is, although, a few things that I think make music good. Here is a list of them:
>amount of skill required to make and perform the music
>the meaning of the music
>the reason why people like the music
Now to apply these^ things to today's music and classic music. Let's begin with classic music because it came first.
Classic Music
SkillBack then, there were no computers or other systems that let you make all sorts of sounds and beats. That means that the band members had to
actually make the music.
"What! They made it themselves?!"Yes, that is right. The guitarist played guitar, the drummer drummed, the singer sang, the bassist strummed, and the keyboard was played. All of this done without the help of any beat system or crap like that. They actually did it themselves. This also means that they had to be good at playing these instruments.
"Well, I can do the drumming and singing. That's easy!"Maybe you can sing, but can you make good lyrics? Maybe you can drum, but can you make good beats and fills that are actually noticed? The same goes for the guitar and the bass. Before you go and say "Oh, well, I bet playing guitar is easy if you just practice a lot!" I'd like you to take a guitar lesson yourself. That way you can find out that it is not easy and maybe you will gain more respect for the really good guitar players. I have taken a guitar class and I know from first-hand experience that not just anyone can pick up a guitar and start playing.
Another huge part of a good song is its lyrics. Listen to the lyrics from 4:00 to about 8:00 in this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51oPKLSuyQY"What is he talking about? These lyrics make no sense! 'Passed around a moment clothed in mornings faster than we see'? Huh?"Yes, when you first listen to this the lyrics may seem to have no meaning, but these lyrics have so many hidden meanings, it's not even funny. You don't have to read this, but here is an article about the meaning behind these lyrics:
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/88484/ (Scroll down until you get to under the lyrics)There are many more examples of songs like this where the lyrics actually have a meaning and/or a purpose. And nobody can just make these lyrics up off the spot. It requires skill, experience, and creativeness. Just listen to
Imagine by John Lennon. Even if you hate how the song sounds, you still have to respect the purpose of its lyrics, which leads me to my next point.
MeaningThese classic music artists didn't just make their music for the money and/or to be famous and rich. They made their music to make a point or send a message. Even if they were not trying to send a message, they still weren't interested in the money or fame. They just wanted to do what they loved to do: make music.
People didn't listen to their music just because it sounded good, they listened to them because of it's meaning. For example:
All Those Years Ago by George Harrison. I am not a big fan of they way it sounds, but the meaning of it is what makes me want to listen to it more and more. The song is about John Lennon after he died and it mentions how George looked up to him and remembering when the Beatles were together.
As you can see, the meaning of a song can sometimes be more important than how it sounds. This is a key reason why I think classic music is better than today's music.
"Well today's songs have meanings behind them!"Well, of course, but the meanings aren't as deep as those from classic songs. For example: rap music. Almost every song has a meaning behind it, like drugs. But seriously, who cares about how you smoke drugs "all day 'erry day"? The same goes for country music. The majority of country songs are about depression and depressants. They sing about how they get drunk, depressed and have boring experiences. Again, who cares? Pop music (Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and other artists like this) rarely has meanings, though. They may be trying to get a message across, but they either do a terrible job of it or the message gets ignored by fans just listening to how it sounds or how the artist looks.
"Yeah, but classic songs talk about drugs, too! Like Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds!"You're completely right, but
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds wasn't about drugs. Nice try, though! But there were songs that were about drugs. I bet you can't find that many very easily. Why you ask? Because the meanings of classic songs aren't right in front of your face. You have to actually
listen to the song and research what it is about. Such as
Got to Get You Into My Life by The Beatles. You may think this song is just about how some guy wants to be with someone, but you would be very wrong. This song is actually about how the band members want to get a new drug into their life. Even listening to the song makes you think otherwise. This brings me to my point: today's songs' meanings are so obvious (mainly rap and country), sometimes they are in the name of the song.
"Well they are still singing about drugs!"
Oh sure, but not
every single song is about it. It's difficult to find a rap artist who hasn't made a song about drugs. And having a song about drugs is just one example. There are many more that have dumb meanings behind them.
Why People Listen to ItI'd like you to take a look at pictures of band members from the 60s and 70s. It's difficult to find one that is 'good looking'. They are almost all just mediocre or ugly. I mean look at Ringo, you can put 5 rings on his nose.
"What's your point?"My point is that these bands didn't get famous for looking good. People actually
liked their music and didn't care what they looked like.
Back when the classic music was being made, tons of kids bought The Who albums and Pink Floyd albums. Their parents loved the music too. Today, tons of kids buy rap, pop, country, and heavy rock. But their parents hate it. They still love classic music and listen to it all the time.
"So what? They were kids when that music came out, of course they will still want to listen to it!"
You are correct, but what about
their parents. They were born during the 20s, 30s and 40s and they listened to music when they were young. But they still liked the music of the 60s and 70s, if not, more than the music they listened to as kids.
Another point I would like to make is that younger people, including me, are beginning to listen to classic music because the music of today is just not cutting it for us. There are very few songs that I like that were made after the late 80s. The music became less skill required and more about how people looked. It's also easier to make it big now because of technology. Anyone can post a video on youtube and get famous and move up from there. Back then, people had to get together and practice their songs and then be good at performing in front of crowds because there was no way to make a video of your performance and put it on youtube simply because there was no such things as a computer.
Today's Mainstream Music
These will be short because many of the points have already been made in sections above.
SkillAll of the above artists and many more from today's music can do two things: make lyrics and sing. Everything else it done by either someone else or a computer. Beats are made for rap, sound effects, also made by computers and the performances are almost always fake. Fake meaning that they aren't actually singing and the sounds effects aren't live. Classic bands actually have to get up on stage and
play the song live.
"I don't care how the performance is done, I just care about how it sounds!"
That's exactly why concerts now are fake. For classic bands, people flocked to concerts because instead of hearing it through their record player, they could actually go and see the people who made the song and have them do it live for them. It's just not the same when the only thing that is actually going on live is them dancing or moving around. Back in the 60s and 70s, you could actually
see the guitarist playing the amazing guitar solo, like in
Free Bird. You could actually see Pete Townshend doing the windmill and Roger Daltry swinging the microphone on stage. One time, the microphone flew into the stage and knocked a guy out. Even if it did hurt, I would be honored to be the guy nailed in the head with the mic or to have helped another band member crowd surf.
Rap is my most hated genre of music. Why you ask? Because it is someone just talking in a rhythm, rhyming every so often. All you need to know how to do is make decent lyrics, make a good beat on a computer and then memorize the lyrics. It's very easy to do. A lot of people throw the "Do you hear how fast this guy is rapping? You have to be good!" at me. I agree they have to be good....at talking fast. That's about it.
"Well there are very few rappers that ever make it big!"I agree, but what if instead of just being good at making lyrics and singing them, you had to find a good guitarist, a good bassist, and a good drummer? What if those members didn't like what type of songs you wanted to make? It's a lot easier to make songs without other band members critiquing every move you make. This is why the Beatles broke up; they couldn't agree on anything (there were other reasons, too, though).
MeaningEither the meaning of a song isn't interesting, it is about something stupid, like drugs or alcohol all the time, or it doesn't have a meaning at all. I like how some of today's songs sound. I listen to them once or twice and that's it. I get bored of it and move on. This is because the meaning behind the song is either stupid or nonexistent.
Why People Listen to ItLook at pictures of music artists of today. Very few are ugly or just mediocre. If you are good looking, you will be famous (you need just decent music). Look at Justin Bieber. His songs are terrible. So why do people listen to his music and go to his concerts? Because he is good looking. This is basically the only reason people listen to his music, if you can call it music.
"Well, I like lots of other musicians and I don't really care how they look."That's probably because your friends or peers listen to them. I know tons of people that just listen to music with their friends because their friends like it. These people rarely like the music, they are just trying to fit in most of the time. Or they are interested with what the artist's music is about. If you listen to rap, you probably are interested in drugs. Not everyone is, but there is a good amount. I have multiple friends that listen to rap often. Lets say there are 8 of them. I know for a fact that 5 of them do drugs. Another 2 most likely do drugs. Again, I am just using drugs as an example (mainly because I hate rap and rap songs about drugs the most).
Of course, this is all just my opinion. I'd love to hear your opinions and arguments. I really encourage those of you who think classic music is bad to listen to more of it. Many people who tell me that older music is bad have told me that they have only heard of a few bands.
IF YOU DIDN'T READ THE WALL OF TEXT:
Classic music is good because it takes more skill and experience, unlike today's music which requires the ability to sing and use a beat generator. Classic music is good because there are actual meanings behind the songs that are interesting, unlike today's songs which either don't have a meaning at all or the meaning of the song is something stupid, like a song about doing drugs every day. Classic music is good because people don't listen to it because everyone else does or because the band members look good. This is a really rushed and condensed summary and I suggest you read the whole thing if you have time.
Again, I would love to hear your opinions and arguments.
