Jind
Grrrr!!! (I'm a bear)
- Mar 7, 2009
- 2,542
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I've given a lot of though on this topic lately as my musical tastes have been drifting beyond my norms. It does seem that we have reached a point that todays bands and music are very much paint by numbers or cookie cutterish in nature. I'm sure that some may start with the intention of sounding "different", being "original" - quite frankly, don't all artist strive to find their own niche, but once they realize what sells, or they fall under the grasp of suits/management types, they go with the flow to take their shot at fame.
Sometimes, seems much more so these days, bands seem to be placed in the label machine, sent to the same studios depending on label, setup to work with the same engineer/producer as all the other bands sort of like a farm. What comes out the other end of the machine is more of the labels/engineer/producers vision of what sounds good, what constitutes a popular example of a particular genre. with this in mind it's no wonder so much of modern music lacks that spark, that magical feeling you get when you hear a band and you know exactly who they are.
Recently I've been listening to a lot of my back catalog of discs and music from long ago (I'm 42 so my library consists of quite a broad amount of older music - not only metal, but pop, rock, classic rock, ...) and I find many of the gems in my collection are ones that quite frankly I either don't know or can't remember the particular producer/engineer/label. I have to look it up to see who did the work - and in many cases they are pretty much unknowns, not the biggies of any particular genre. In many of these cases, I think these discs sound like a band recording their vision, not a particular non-band members vision. There is individuality, the sounds utilized are unique, not likely to be heard on 12 other discs that came out in a particular year. Sure, sample replacement, similar amps, and even the same engineer may have been used, but in the end, these discs have an individual flair, they sound like the individual band, the individual songs that breath and capture my interest.
Perhaps I am getting old, perhaps my tastes have changed (or perhaps they have reverted somewhat), but I'm honestly dismayed by the current slew of music being pushed out the ass end of the music industry today - the fact that I can't distinguish one band from another, one band member his replacement from disc to disc. Oh well, a few gems do come along - usually very early in a bands career, or near the end, but I can always go back through that large library I have and find a new gem while trudging through stuff I wonder why i bought in the first place.
Just my semi rant about today's musical environment. Oh yes, and I did walk up hill both ways to school in a blizzard.
Sometimes, seems much more so these days, bands seem to be placed in the label machine, sent to the same studios depending on label, setup to work with the same engineer/producer as all the other bands sort of like a farm. What comes out the other end of the machine is more of the labels/engineer/producers vision of what sounds good, what constitutes a popular example of a particular genre. with this in mind it's no wonder so much of modern music lacks that spark, that magical feeling you get when you hear a band and you know exactly who they are.
Recently I've been listening to a lot of my back catalog of discs and music from long ago (I'm 42 so my library consists of quite a broad amount of older music - not only metal, but pop, rock, classic rock, ...) and I find many of the gems in my collection are ones that quite frankly I either don't know or can't remember the particular producer/engineer/label. I have to look it up to see who did the work - and in many cases they are pretty much unknowns, not the biggies of any particular genre. In many of these cases, I think these discs sound like a band recording their vision, not a particular non-band members vision. There is individuality, the sounds utilized are unique, not likely to be heard on 12 other discs that came out in a particular year. Sure, sample replacement, similar amps, and even the same engineer may have been used, but in the end, these discs have an individual flair, they sound like the individual band, the individual songs that breath and capture my interest.
Perhaps I am getting old, perhaps my tastes have changed (or perhaps they have reverted somewhat), but I'm honestly dismayed by the current slew of music being pushed out the ass end of the music industry today - the fact that I can't distinguish one band from another, one band member his replacement from disc to disc. Oh well, a few gems do come along - usually very early in a bands career, or near the end, but I can always go back through that large library I have and find a new gem while trudging through stuff I wonder why i bought in the first place.
Just my semi rant about today's musical environment. Oh yes, and I did walk up hill both ways to school in a blizzard.
