I do not mind the polyphonic spree even if they do look like the cast offs of a suicide cult.

 

I heard that one day, the music died... And they were singing...

 

My, My.....

 

I'm personally more into chill beats and new-age/ambient by bands such as Triplexity or The Orb, but I also listen to stuff such as Massive Attack. These artists aren't for everyone, but they suit my audio needs.

 

I don't think that's strictly true. Personally I think we're fortunate to have so much music from the past to listen to, but additionally there are lots of new artists turning out good material all the time.

I enjoy all sorts of music, stuff stretching back to the 18th Century (Mozart's Horn Concertos, for instance), as well as a variety of pop, rock & roll, soul, folk etc.

With the advent of the internet, as well as software such as Protools, it is possible for amateur musicians to record and distribute their works cheaply, which means there are literally thousands of songs released every week, consequently it is harder to find things that are to your personal taste, but it's there if you search for it.

My personal new favourite at the moment is an album called 'Diary Of A Soul Fiend' by 'Saint Jude'. They're definately in the Classic Rock genre, think Black Crowes (or possibly The Faces) fronted by Janis Joplin, and you have a good idea of their sound.
Not exactly original or ground breaking, but simply very very good rock music.

 

Up until the 1990's, a lot of music followed the "classical" format. The Beatles, who really forefronted the music of the "classic rock" era were students of teachers who taught the classical format, established five hundred years ago.

Intro
first verse
second verse
musical bridge
third verse
Coda

From 1973-1991-every band out there wanted to be like Led Zeppelin. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, like McCartney, Harrison, Lennon, and Starr, were students of the classical era.

Since 1991, every band has tried to be like Metallica or Nirvana. Both bands weren't followers of the clasical format.

There is hope to the lovers of classical rock. Christian rock groups are followers of the classical format. The best in this respect is Superchick. Not only is she easy on the eyes, but her band has an early 80's Night Ranger/Loverboy thing going on (speaking instrumentally). Her videos can be found on JCTV, intermixed with other artists. If you sit through the occasional country or hip-hop video, the payoff is seeing bands that rock out like thirty years ago.

 

Popular music has always been bad. What you need to do is look for the underground stuff.
Good music is still being made dude.

 

I said it merely as a generalization, I do believe there are some good groups rising, But as you said they are not exactly original. Most groups seem to fall into a genre and stay there, That is why I am a fan of the Bare naked ladies. They stretch across many formats from the classical rock power ballads, Slow haunting everyman tales right up to pop. The issue is not the inability to find good music it is general gradient most music follows now. I shall definitely have to check out Saint Jude.

I most definitely agree although I do not think sitting out side the scaffold to be a death sentence. Although I have always thought of Metallica as nothing more than the suckling cow of metal/hard rock.

I do not mind the sound of some christian rock but I struggle to listen to it, after being forced to sit through 26 hours of Soiteria through high school.

I do listen to the occasional country or folk, more for the story inherit the the music, but I will not give "hip hop" the time of day. I can say in all honesty I think I have heard to songs of the hip-hop genre that I thought have been of true value.

I have spent abit of time in the underground scene, even going as far as to frequent fetish bars, but I find the longer people try to be different the more they become the same. I have listened to a bit of industrial but again I find it all just becomes the same droll undertone.

 

It pains me, the fashion in which you misuse verbosity...

But no matter. Let us talk of originality.

You say that you feel no bands are being 'original' enough, because they follow tried and tested song formats or genres. What would have instead, then?

Avante-garde? Unusual instruments or formats? Perhaps Karlheinz Stockhausen would be to your taste, or perhaps his complete eschewing of 'recognisable' forms and formats of music would turn you off because what you really want is familiarity.

As to calling Metallica the 'sucking cow' of metal/hard rock - well, all that does is indicate an incredible lack of knowledge of cultural context and history in general, but this doesn't surprise me.

Putting hip-hop in inverted commas merely makes you look like a snob. I, too, am not a huge fan, but nonetheless a group called dälek are worth investigating: specifically, the album Abandoned Language, released in 2007. You seem to spend far to much time bemoaning and not enough time genuinely searching. It can take me weeks of solid search to find new, interesting music, but I have never failed in the end. It's all out there.

A final point - why on Earth do you term industrial 'droll'? Do you know what droll means? It means witty, faintly deadpan humour, quite unlike the industrial genre. But the industrial genre is being as experimental as you claim to want: exploring what melody means, exploring the use of distortion and electronic components to the music, and exploring song formats and repetition. All these are a step apart from the 'general gradient' music seems to follow.

 

Try this

http://www.myspace.com/saintjudemusic

Have a listen to the lead track/single 'Soul On Fire' which has picked up some heavy airplay on the rock radio station here.

 

Soul on fire is very nice.

 

It is, yes. But it conforms to absolutely nothing you claim to be searching for. it's the pleasing amalgamation between G'n'R and AC/DC.

 

Not to the extremes no, but you can hear the open melody sit through on its on level, I could take or leave her singing at the moment, She holds a few too many notes, but until I listen to more I couldn't truly comment on her singing. Orion if you like this you should have a look at Cage the elephant, They sound young but they have a nice sound and a good rhythm.

 

By the nighties most forms of music had been done so now we have the bands influenced by others but hasn't popular music always been influenced by others.

The major issue with modern music is the "Simon Cowell" affect. Find or manufacture an artist, band or group then milk them for as much as you can, usually over two years, then ditch them and move on to the next project. The reason is the people and their joy of watching "xfactor" and "American Idol".

The solution is to look deeper than the artificial charts, go to pub gigs see groups who are just learning and are very raw, or ready and polished and waiting for their chance. UB40 one of the worlds biggest mainstream reggae bands played their first gig in one of my local pubs to an audience of less than 100.

Music hasn't died, it is just hiding from Simon Cowell.

 

:laughing: That's brilliant, Rich!

 

Standing ovations are in order? There is little in the way of local acts where I live, besides a Red hot chilli peppers cover band (who are quite good mind you) I tend not to watch charts as I feel so much of it is forced, I much prefer word of mouth.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr-BYVeCv6U&feature=related

The Day the Music Died !!

A long, long time ago...
I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And, maybe, they’d be happy for a while.

But february made me shiver
With every paper I’d deliver.
Bad news on the doorstep;
I couldn’t take one more step.

I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride,
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died.

So bye-bye, miss american pie.
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Did you write the book of love,
And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?
Do you believe in rock ’n roll,
Can music save your mortal soul,
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you’re in love with him
`cause I saw you dancin’ in the gym.
You both kicked off your shoes.
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.

I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck,
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died.

I started singin’,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Now for ten years we’ve been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin’ stone,
But that’s not how it used to be.
When the jester sang for the king and queen,
In a coat he borrowed from james dean
And a voice that came from you and me,

Oh, and while the king was looking down,
The jester stole his thorny crown.
The courtroom was adjourned;
No verdict was returned.
And while lennon read a book of marx,
The quartet practiced in the park,
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died.

We were singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Helter skelter in a summer swelter.
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter,
Eight miles high and falling fast.
It landed foul on the grass.
The players tried for a forward pass,
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast.

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While the sergeants played a marching tune.
We all got up to dance,
Oh, but we never got the chance!
`cause the players tried to take the field;
The marching band refused to yield.
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?

We started singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Oh, and there we were all in one place,
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again.
So come on: jack be nimble, jack be quick!
Jack flash sat on a candlestick
Cause fire is the devil’s only friend.

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage.
No angel born in hell
Could break that satan’s spell.
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite,
I saw satan laughing with delight
The day the music died

He was singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news,
But she just smiled and turned away.
I went down to the sacred store
Where I’d heard the music years before,
But the man there said the music wouldn’t play.

And in the streets: the children screamed,
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died.

And they were singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

They were singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die."

 

You are unlucky then, the pub venues near me are great, from blues to rock; also there are major venues in Brum that attract good bands, sadly the dross also appear but I don't have to go and listen.

Edit. Take a chance and come over we have room for another Aussie barman.

 

the meaning of the song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsZFiMo8TIc&feature=related

 

I did not say bands are not original enough, Bands come through and rather than create there own place in a genre recycle lyrics and melody's form other bands I frequent http://www.rockbandlounge.com/recently-added-bands.asp from time to time to see who is new, some I like, some I don't but some of it just seems like if you were to strip vocals you would already know the song and same in reverse.

I had not heard of Karlheinz Stockhausen, so I went and had a look and stumbled across this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNt6a5xFOnE&feature=list_related It is almost eerie,it could easily have been pulled from a thriller or horror track, Certainly interesting but something I doubt that could be listened to with much regularity.

The Metallica reference was not to do with the basis nor the band themselves but to do with the fact that any metal band can crawl out and play music that resembles their music and be welcomed, not for bringing something more to the genre or being unique but for being what people already like.

I think of hip hop as the early variety and consider what is produced today of little similarity, Perhaps it was snobbish of me but it is little worse than the sentiment, I listened to Abandoned language (the song) and I just don't get it, perhaps there is some higher order thinking but once the music picked up I scarcely heard every fifth word.

Adjective: Curious or unusual in a way that provokes dry amusement.
I find industrial droll in the way that "mainstream industrial" is little more than techno or electro. People move away from all these genres claiming a need to be different, just to move in to a genre that every basement setup can spew the same sound that only sounds different to those who have never heard it before. I know a few blokes how make their own industrial and harsh electro and when I ask them why the make stuff like Diorama http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOYX5vrbnhE (I don't mind some of his work) It is just because they make what they like and that is the issue when everyone likes someone else and writes what they like how are we moving forward.

I am not saying industrial is exploring need methods and sound but it truly seems it is just a wave cause by an explosion behind them forcing them forward.

Perhaps I am just being a cynical bastard but regardless.