Rick Beato: The Real Reason Why Music Is Getting Worse

[JSmith]

Getting worse... compared to what exactly?


JSmith

 

[krabapple]

I haven't listened to Rick's rant yet, but I would guess he's talking about the most popular music? The 'hits'? Not every obscure niche?

ISTR some historical analysis of chord changes or harmonic complexity or rhythmic variety or somesuch basic element of music that did show 'hits' have gotten simpler over the years. But I was never a person who mainly listened to the 'hits'.

The main trend I've noticed, like everyone with ears has noticed, is that rock music is itself just a 'niche' now, it certainly is no longer a dominant cultural genre.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

I stopped listening to mainstream pop music around 1970. I don't think music has gotten worse since I was in high school and college. There have been waves of factory produced music interrupted by indie stuff since long before I first heard pop music in the late '40s. I remember the Mitch Miller eminence grise period of the early '50s where his style of factory music was interrupted by rock and roll. I also remember how factory music responded with its own version. I worked in a pizza parlor in the mid '70s and learned to hate almost every song on the juke box--all factory produced rock and disco.

My theory is that the best music is always produced by people who "don't know what they're doing." It's not in the sense of ignorance or incompetence. It's in the sense of people playing what they like, the sounds in their head. They aren't concerned with a market. The factory produced pop music is all designed and assembled by people who know exactly what they're doing.

 

[Somafunk]

Sad state of affairs if that's the best of what is being produced today.

Sounds like Beato and yourself should share a beer together and bemoan the state of modern music as you sit on comfortably padded rocking chairs on the porch, you could have a wind up gramophone for that genuine old skool sound rather than stream from your phones to a Bluetooth speaker

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

Oh, from what I've heard on the radio when driving our granddaughters around, current factory music is a fusion of hip hop, Latin, Caribbean, and world music with all the juice sucked out of it. It's sad because the parent genres all had some great stuff.

 

[krabapple]

Sad state of affairs if that's the best of what is being produced today.

He's nominated within his genre, which is dance/electronica. What is your problem with that?

 

[krabapple]

I stopped listening to mainstream pop music around 1970.

Wow, you deprived yourself of some excellent stuff, then. (And plenty of hilarious cheese like 'Kung Fu Fighting' and 'Convoy')

I don't think music has gotten worse since I was in high school and college. There have been waves of factory produced music interrupted by indie stuff since long before I first heard pop music in the late '40s. I remember the Mitch Miller eminence grise period of the early '50s where his style of factory music was interrupted by rock and roll. I also remember how factory music responded with its own version. I worked in a pizza parlor in the mid '70s and learned to hate almost every song on the juke box--all factory produced rock and disco.

By the mid 70s we were hearing the rise of 'corporate rock' -- a bland amalgam of hard rock cliches. Actual DJ choices were being replaced by playlists . Blame a guy named Lee Abrams.

The late 60s and early 70s were really a golden age of musical diversity on radio though -- even on AM radio.

 

[Titurel]

Worse is, of course, a personal opinion, but it's pretty difficult to ignore that someone's been watering the beer.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

Wow, you deprived yourself of some excellent stuff, then. (And plenty of hilarious cheese like 'Kung Fu Fighting' and 'Convoy')



By the mid 70s we were hearing the rise of 'corporate rock' -- a bland amalgam of hard rock cliches. Actual DJ choices were being replaced by playlists . Blame a guy named Lee Abrams.

The late 60s and early 70s were really a golden age of musical diversity on radio though -- even on AM radio.

I remember "Convoy." I enjoyed the truck driving songs. "I'm going down to Feather River Canyon. Gotta go back Donner Summit is closed." I listened to a lot of country music in the early to mid '70s. Of course that's when the factory trend in country music started. There were still artists like Merle Haggard, George Jones, Loretta Lynn... Mainstream pop was indeed in one of it's factory music periods.

 

[DanielT]

Rick Beato…. Personal hero of mine.

Rick Beato is superb.

I now also have Andy Edwards as one of my favorites.

Here's a pedel to the metal full blown rant about modern crap music, starting at 7:00 into the video:...

 

[napfkuchen]

There are many really small bands (even 1 person projects) out there putting out amazing stuff. They can't afford all the necessary "traditional" instruments let alone afford the studio hours and will not be recognized by any big labels which support them. So they put their stuff on bandcamp and it's out there without any big players involved. Many artists of my favourite genres (post-rock, synthwave/retrowave, instrumental metal etc.) do it this way. For sure they won't make millions but at least they have an opportunity to make their music heard. 20 years ago most of them would just have given up on it early... Also many metal bands (e.g. Periphery) rely on guitar multi effects because it's very difficult to get the sound right every time for live performances.
I don't see anything bad about this. This video is just someone taking a trip down memory lane being sad that less people are paying him big bucks to spend time in his studio mansion.

 

[Timcognito]

 

[krabapple]

Rick Beato is superb.

I now also have Andy Edwards as one of my favorites.

Here's a pedel to the metal full blown rant about modern crap music, starting at 7:00 into the video:...

I can't bear to listen to that twat for more than a few minutes.

 

[GoDawgs]

or somesuch that did show 'hits' have gotten simpler over the years. But I was never a person who mainly listened to the 'hits'.

Methinks these folks tend to only remember their favorite hits of the aforementioned times. Here's a short list of some 'hits' in the Billboard top 100 of a few years (granted they are a little high-brow for today):

1976: (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty & Convoy
1977: Da Doo Ron Ron & Muskrat Love
1978: Boogie Oogie Oogie & Take a Chance on Me
1979: YMCA & Dancin’ Shoes
1980: Tusk & On The Radio

I can't do anymore, I feel sick ....and this span has my teen to 20 period, my "glory" music days. Probably Beato's too.

 

[Theta]

Getting worse... compared to what exactly?


JSmith

Musician who can play their instrument, singers who can sing without pro tools.

 

[DanielT]

I can't bear to listen to that twat for more than a few minutes.

That's just deliberate overblown rant. Andy says so himself. Whether you think it's fun or not is another matter.

There are obviously those who like newly produced music. Maybe there are subtleties, nuances in it that I miss, I admit, but I'm willing to learn to appreciate new music. If only someone could tell me how to do it.

Having said that. There is some new music I listen to, but I have to sift quite hard to find the gold nuggets. That regarding newly produced pop music created by new or young artists.

Edit:
It's been a few months since I listened to the new hits on Spotify. Maybe there are good songs, album gems that have come out now so I won't say too much about how it is. I will listen to newly produced music tonight.

 

[Titurel]

Come on. How can anything produced in the last year compare with...

 

[Timcognito]

Watched this last night - a rocket ship to the late 70's - going to watch part 2 and 3. I dare you to not sing along.

Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution

The surprising and overlooked history of disco: its origins, its fall and its legacy.

www.pbs.org

 

[Multicore]

Rick Beato is the Ignatius J. Reilly of YouTube.

I've seen at least one very funny yt parody of Beato. I'd love it if someone did one of him hate watching music on yt while muttering about theology and geometry.

 

[WillBrink]

Plenty of critics/people seem to like Fred Again:

Never heard of him until this thread. I find Tiny Desk concerts often offers the best of the artists and they always sound good production wise. I enjoyed it, very talented dude to be sure. Obviously a different sound from days of yore some long for, a very modern sound, but I dig it!