is music weakening/stagnating as much as movies have in the past 20 years

[goatschool]

i'm not a musician, and would like to hear real musicians' give opinions on this admittedly broad/vague/and maybe redundant question.

yesterday i read a poignant opinion on the current state of horror movies (nothing new, but stated in a snappy enough way as to reopen all wounds), and that got me to thinking about all culture.

a follow-up to that opinion (on film) had another good thought, which is: "... we don't demand that today's stars be good; it's enough that they are paid to show up onscreen. There are some real craftsmen still working... but it's no longer about matching the right actor to the right role; it's about getting somebody we KNOW on the screen."

addressing just, say, metal or alterna stuff: this kind of music seems to be held in a higher (critical AND consumer) standard than movies, lately, right? but has anyone noticed any degradation in "quality" or talent and/or ability (as opposed to studio technique)?

i don't think i'm conveying what i want to ask well, but

 

[avi]

I think there's a ton of crap that gets incorrectly lauded, but overall I believe the quality is going up in both music AND movies recently. sure, there's always the middle-of-the-road garbage, but if you want good stuff, there's plenty to be found. I don't even think you have to try very hard either.

technology has levelled the playing field- that means more people can get in the game. sometimes it's good, sometimes not.

but really - I do honestly believe that music and film has been pretty great recently.

 

[Baliset]

i agree with avi. i think there are instances where certain scens are definitely stagnant because they allow very little to mess with the traditional norms in that particular scene BUT with more and more people getting in the game like avi said, i like to think that good music is getting an outlet again.

 

[avi]

there was a great article in the village voice recently about the current state of hip-hop. I can't say I agree with all the points it made since I'm woefully ignorant of the genre for the most part, but I think a lot of the problems raised are more universal to art movements in general.

 

[minxnim]

no

 

[lizard]

technology has levelled the playing field- that means more people can get in the game. sometimes it's good, sometimes not.

soooooo true. we're not locked into what we hear strictly on the radio or read in Rolling Stone.

 

[mindspell]

The main problem I have, and that I have been known to do, is ask for something really original. With so much people making music you are always be able to find something new to you, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been done before. My point is that it really doesn't matter if such and such has done it before, all that matters is that you find it good and it appeals to you. When you have the attitude of "I've heard that 12 times before" then you feel cheated and say that a certain music scene is rehashing the same old stuff, hence saying that music is crap at the moment.

 

[goatschool]

how about artists that have a body of work - overall, do the majority of new release s progress/build on the last?

 

[The Idea Professor]

Idiots.

- T.I.P.

 

[TheNewChupe]

- Dr. Fun + T.I.P.

 

[avi]

how about artists that have a body of work - overall, do the majority of new release s progress/build on the last?

I don't think there's a rule that applies - some artists do this, some don't. I've been kinda disappointed by how little progression I hear from a lot of people though (like Isis). there is progression, just not too much.

 

[goatschool]

yeah i think i'm asking for an overall scope but for an ocean-sized body. scratch this whole fucking thread.

ps: i hate all movies and am throwing out all movie apparatus from my living space

 

[Josh Seipp]

I think movie stagnation is far worse

 

[lizard]

I think you're right, because the rise of a credible indie cinema has not kept pace with the rise of the capability of musicians to create and disseminate their art outside the conventional channels.

 

[avi]

I thought 2004 was a pretty great year for movies actually

 

[Josh Seipp]

then maybe it's the distribution and marketing of good films that is the problem here? there isn't really any equivalent to the whole mp3/filesharing explosion yet (granted, you can download movies but I don't think it compares to an onscreen theater experience, whereas getting an album on mp3 is nearly as good as owning the thing on CD). I also had some theory about music existing as an art form for much longer and through periods where the corporate machine wasn't even a factor, whereas movies are relatively new and have existed pretty much only as a product with revenue as a major focus point...also perhaps the sheer number of people involved in putting together a film as opposed to writing and recording music is a factor? I'm having articulation problems today though.

 

[avi]

no, that makes total sense - the bar is definitely lower for making film, but its nowhere near as low as it is for music. the main thing I see with the technology advances are that foreign films made in small countries no longer need huge budgets to accomplish decent special effects. it's not the same as being able to release CDR albums or whatever, but it's a start.
not that special effects are needed for good movies, but y'know.

 

[goatschool]

avi, when you say 2004 was a good movie year, do you mean that across the board, or as far as indie films go... or, in terms of outside-of-american-soil output?

 

[TheNewChupe]

i'd bet in those three categories the number of acceptably good movies is highest in the outside-of-american-soil area.

 

[avi]

I'm saying across the board - I'd have to troll through the rolling movie thread, but I really enjoyed a lot of stuff like Spiderman 2, Hero and some other "big" movies.