Who will be the new savior of music?

I'm wondering who will be the next influential figure(s) or what will be the next influential genre in music? It seems most of what we have is either boring hipster indie music that is dreary, or releases by veterans which are good for longtime fans but aren't really contributing anything new. What's currently on the Billboard charts is pretty embarrassing and shameful, save for Adele and John Legend who are among the only popular artists doing good songs.

I know indie is supposed to be the forefront of modern music for creativity but as I said, it seems to be a lot of dreadful, self-important slop in that there are almost no figures who know how to have fun or really entertain. I would've tried to do music but right now I'm skeptical if I would even bother as there are some things holding me back from trying to write anything worth publishing. It doesn't seem that there would be any hope for it to make an impact anyway. In fact, given the reality that schools are failing to gather support to keep instruments a part of their teaching and the fact that most people who are writing only use soft-synths and sequencers, I don't how anyone will reinvigorate the music world. It also seems that 99% of Amazon's best selling albums are reissues of classic pop and rock music. People are getting bored of what's on the radio, I take it. Yet, it would be boring to hear a clone or rehash of something old. I'd like to know what everyone thinks will be the one thing that will reinvent the music world?

None. Music is dead.

Witchfinder wrote:

None.  Music is dead.  

Thread done. Someone start up another pole, since Muckie loves those.

I don't even know what was the previous thing that saved music?

Dunno. I'd like to think that somewhere in this big wide world there are a couple of kids jamming in their garage right now, coming up with a new sound that will become the biggest thing since canned beer.

Whether or not an old, out-of-it, un-hip guy like me will actually LIKE said sound is another matter entirely, of course.

It's only dead as an industry, not as a form of artistic expression. You may not be able to buy private jets and keep an army of groupies permanently coked up any longer...but you can still create art.

If you want the groupies or the plane then maybe consider becoming a DJ or a video game designer or an internet celebrity.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Dunno. I'd like to think that somewhere in this big wide world there are a couple of kids jamming in their garage right now, coming up with a new sound that will become the biggest thing since canned beer.

Whether or not an old, out-of-it, un-hip guy like me will actually LIKE said sound is another matter entirely, of course.

Ditto. However, I am more interested in people, myself included, making trends rather than following them. Their ethos would probably resonate too much with the millenial generation. However, I don't believe in the idea that if something is older that it has totally lost its merit. I love books, movies, music, games, etc. that is often before my era. There are some things relevant to all eras and stand the test of time. Considering almost all the stuff I listen to is either foreign or older than myself.

It'd be cool though if the mainstream industry disappeared almost entirely though and some independent labels with a lot of backing and influence got control of the music culture. There wouldn't be one big corporation with a lot of power but a lot of small to medium sized labels with moderate but strong and loyal followings.

There used to be a lot of independent labels and they were all swallowed up (along with the major labels) by huge corporate conglomerates that know more about spreadsheets than guitars.

Nothing. Just a continuation of people doing really great really creative things and being enjoyed by those that like it. Most people I know either make the effort to search out the music they like or are disinterested enough to just listen to Katy Perry on the radio. 

As heartbroken as I am that the world might not ever see another U2   I'm pretty okay with it.

S.D. wrote:

It's only dead as an industry, not as a form of artistic expression.  You may not be able to buy private jets and keep an army of groupies permanently coked up any longer...but you can still create art.  

I think this rings true. In a way, the homogenization of popular music has been good for those who enjoy music as a form for expression. I feel it propels people to make art that is more endearing, perhaps in response to how shallow the mainstream has become. Without the mainstream, the idea of a "hungry & envisioned" underground wouldn't be a necessity, of course.
This spirit is carried out in experimental and progressive music, and in artists who forge their own identities. People (and groups) not unlike David Bowie or Frank Zappa, minus the mainstream success; Joanna Newsom, Toby Driver, Plini, Michael Gira (Swans), and Boris.

Just my two cents.

I was serious when I said none and that music was dead. It is. What I mean by that is music that has mass cultural appeal is dead. You will never see another Beatles or Elvis or U2 or Madonna or Michael Jackson or Metallica. Mass culture is virtually gone and everything has become splintered into niches - music, movies, etc... and it won't be coming back. The average person has unlimited entertainment choices and music is just one of thousands. While we value it greatly, the vast majority of people don't and therefore an artist/movement with mass appeal won't ever exist.

Witchfinder wrote:

I was serious when I said none and that music was dead.  It is.  What I mean by that is music that has mass cultural appeal is dead.  You will never see another Beatles or Elvis or U2 or Madonna or Michael Jackson or Metallica.  Mass culture is virtually gone and everything has become splintered into niches - music, movies, etc... and it won't be coming back.  The average person has unlimited entertainment choices and music is just one of thousands.  While we value it greatly, the vast majority of people don't and therefore an artist/movement with mass appeal won't ever exist.  

Correct.

Not that I care what appeals to "the masses", I'm much happier in niche land.

S.D. wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

I was serious when I said none and that music was dead.  It is.  What I mean by that is music that has mass cultural appeal is dead.  You will never see another Beatles or Elvis or U2 or Madonna or Michael Jackson or Metallica.  Mass culture is virtually gone and everything has become splintered into niches - music, movies, etc... and it won't be coming back.  The average person has unlimited entertainment choices and music is just one of thousands.  While we value it greatly, the vast majority of people don't and therefore an artist/movement with mass appeal won't ever exist.  

Correct.

Not that I care what appeals to "the masses", I'm much happier in niche land.  

Agreed 100%.

S.D. wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

I was serious when I said none and that music was dead.  It is.  What I mean by that is music that has mass cultural appeal is dead.  You will never see another Beatles or Elvis or U2 or Madonna or Michael Jackson or Metallica.  Mass culture is virtually gone and everything has become splintered into niches - music, movies, etc... and it won't be coming back.  The average person has unlimited entertainment choices and music is just one of thousands.  While we value it greatly, the vast majority of people don't and therefore an artist/movement with mass appeal won't ever exist.  

Correct.

Not that I care what appeals to "the masses", I'm much happier in niche land.  

Suffer the masses

KMFDM (Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid = No Pity for the Majority)

Witchfinder wrote:

I was serious when I said none and that music was dead.  It is.  What I mean by that is music that has mass cultural appeal is dead.  You will never see another Beatles or Elvis or U2 or Madonna or Michael Jackson or Metallica.  Mass culture is virtually gone and everything has become splintered into niches - music, movies, etc... and it won't be coming back.  The average person has unlimited entertainment choices and music is just one of thousands.  While we value it greatly, the vast majority of people don't and therefore an artist/movement with mass appeal won't ever exist.  

Yea, I'd have to agree with you there. I don't see anyone gaining mass appeal anymore. And although he took allot of heat for it, I think Gene Simmons was correct in his assessment that rock is dead, from a business stand-point that is. Folks will never stop making music, rock or otherwise. You just can't make it profitable anymore.

I don't necessarily think there won't be artists with mass appeal, it just depends on what you'd consider mass appeal. Honestly, I think it could be done but this artist would need to be able to balance innovation with commercial appeal. Also, they'd need to be fueled by doing their own YouTube videos, and backed by a strong, loyal following rather than told how to go by labels who don't have much to offer the world of music anymore. But it's possible.

What about Adele?

I admit I'm not too into her music but I'll also admit I love her voice and she sure is selling a ton of albums in a supposedly "dead" industry.

Good point, Toho, but that's only one out of a thousand or so artists. Well, two if you put Taylor Swift in there that has really sold a shit ton of albums to the masses. Also, b/c someone has to be. We live in a society that unfortunately has to rank and weigh everything.
As for Muckie's original question, I also feel that music is pretty much dead. I don't deny that all the X Factor and Voice people have talent to sing, but can they actually be pop stars like the two mentioned earlier? You know as well as I that there is more to being a great QB than just being tall and having a strong arm. Likewise, in music, having a great voice and some people to write songs for you is only going to propel you so far. Who knows why a Bieber or One Direction gets over with the fans? Is it one major factor contributing or many? Is it right place at right time? We have all said in conversation with a like minded person at a record store or show or posted here on the board as to "why wasn't Band X bigger? They were just as good or better than Band Y who sold gajillions of albums."
Boris touched on it that we should seek out the music we enjoy and not be so disinterested that we listen to and purchase whatever is put out there by corporate conglomerates. Aren't all these shows just a talent pool (single or double A ball if you will) for the corporations who own the TV studio and the Record company? Of course it is. Just watch "That Thing You Do" and see that the "hit makers" have been around for 60 plus years now.
I know that people in the mainstream don't want to admit that Hard Rock, Hair Metal, Heavy Metal, and Thrash Metal are forms of art and in the 1990's I remember a lot of the mainstream critics and DJ's acting as though Grunge was so much more legitimate and on a higher level. One guy on a local radio station out of Boston was talking of how the big names of that genre were the next Stones and DP and Zep. I don't really see any bands or pop artists from this point on having enough staying power to last 25 plus years and have a dozen great albums.

I would've mentioned Adele as well. I've also written some notes to myself about the reality that no real longstanding significant individuals have every really come out of American Idol or other shows, because they buy into a lot of hype and manufactured delusions about what it takes to be a 'good' or even successful artist. My sister auditioned once and even though she's a great singer they rejected her song choice and let other F-rank singers through because they want bad singers to make fun of on the show. This is, of course, not the main judges, but the often unseen pre-judges that were never acknowledged on the show. That wasn't done until this (thankfully) final season of Idol, but many who auditioned could testify to their existence. For true artists, there's a combination of work ethic, affability among other musicians and producers, good taste in songs when given the choice on which to perform, as well as performing ability itself, both vocal and charisma, that all factor into what makes someone successful. You have many that have one or two, others who have several, but rarely does anyone ever have all.

However, I'm glad that my sister was rejected because, aside from the fact that she had no real will to invest in what Idol demands of its artists, she has a good life among her family and contributes too much to her friends and us that she doesn't need to be isolated in that kind of industry. She has too many other great things to do and look forward to in her personal endeavours that don't involve industry bullshit. She mostly just wanted to see how she would fare and she didn't even get that far.

Also, true artists just need a small to moderate but very loyal following to be happy. You'd be surprised how much influence the underground or independents can have on the music world, even if someone else who does breakthrough gets the credit for a certain style or trend that existed long before that. I dabble in writing and playing music from time to time but don't think I'd be fit for the kind of life that most professional musicians live. But I can understand and support the ones I find that are worth acknowledging and review hidden gems from past years that deserve to be acknowledged. I don't know how far that can go in influencing music's actual sounds, but it'd be nice to at least help someone get recognition, more or less.

muckie wrote:

I would've mentioned Adele as well. I've also written some notes to myself about the reality that no real longstanding significant individuals have every really come out of American Idol or other shows, because they buy into a lot of hype and manufactured delusions about what it takes to be a 'good' or even successful artist.

Kelly Clarkson has sold over 12 million albums and Carrie Underwood has sold almost 16 million. They are both huge stars in country music and well known in mainstream America. I mean Carrie Underwood sings the intro to Sunday Night Football which always dominates the ratings when it airs. After that, there's a pretty big dropoff in the success rate of Idol talent.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

You just can't make it profitable anymore.

That's a bit of an exagerration. You can make a profit, it's just not going to be private jet, mountains of cocaine profitable.

Adele scratches that same "women aged 30+ really dig overwrought pop tunes" itch that Celine Dion provided back in the 90s.  It's the modern equivalent of "adult contemporary", it's so painstakingly middle-of-the-road it can't help but be popular, it's the musical equivalent of vanilla ice cream.  

She's talented to be sure, don't get me wrong, but she's not going to be starting any cultural revolutions.

S.D. wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

You just can't make it profitable anymore.

That's a bit of an exagerration.  You can make a profit, it's just not going to be private jet, mountains of cocaine profitable.  

Then what's the point?

Quote :

Adele scratches that same "women aged 30+ really dig overwrought pop tunes" itch that Celine Dion provided back in the 90s. It's the modern equivalent of "adult contemporary", it's so painstakingly middle-of-the-road it can't help but be popular, it's the musical equivalent of vanilla ice cream.

She's talented to be sure, don't get me wrong, but she's not going to be starting any cultural revolutions.

And it's really too soon to tell what kind of lasting career, if any, she might have. Sure, she's popular now, but that's the problem with being a "pop star". There's an expiration date.

Noel Gallagher from Oasis said that he hated Adele because she did 'granny music'. Now, being a fan of music that is grossly innocuous and even outright puritanical, that is a compliment. I sure as hell, being somewhat of a laid-back (or lazy) introvert, would not want to attract a crowd of noisy kids if I was doing live music. But I know some people who would. That's not me. So really, being granny music is a good thing. With age comes wisdom, usually.