Art affects everyone differently so please be respectful of others opinions if you disagree 😊 Modern artists I’d recommend and why you might enjoy them: Marina - Indie/Alt/Pop Primadonna - Most popular Ancient Dreams in a modern land - Unique song/lyrics Savages - storytelling Teen Idle - Mood/pop Happy - Relatable lyrics Immortal - Lyrics Kaleo - Blue rock/folk Way down we go - Most popular Can’t go on without you - Builds nicely Save yourself - Lyrics/melody Skinny - mood No good - up beat Pretty girls - acoustic vibes The 1975 - Alt pop/rock Somebody else - My favourite I'd love it if we made it - Mood The sound - Fun pop Robbers - I just like it Ava Max - Pop Maybe you’re the problem - Fun pop OMG what’s happening - pop Salt - Good pop Sweet but a psycho - catchy I’ll leave it as that for now! Also here's a link to one of my songs: kzread.info/dash/bejne/kaSTq8yFg7HOXco.html&ab_channel=CAZZA

@IsaacWale2004

Жыл бұрын

Cool video! Can you tell me what software you were using in your last video?

@CallMeCaroline

Жыл бұрын

@@IsaacWale2004 Thanks! I used studio one 4

@IsaacWale2004

Жыл бұрын

@@CallMeCaroline Okay thank you :) Also, I like these modern rock bands called 'Until you disappear' and 'Little triggers' They both make rock (and other rock subgenres) and I think they're both pretty good :)

@FleagleSangria

Жыл бұрын

After having heard so much modern/pop music through the years, 60s,70s,80s etc I crave new sounds just out of sheer boredom. Even my dear Beatles get very little play. So yes, I do appreciate good new music. What constitutes that for me in a big way is finding new music that isnt derivative. A difficult task because almost all music borrows from the past. Takes work. Future Islands is a group I enjoy. Black Country, New Road are, well were sadly, very good. Love the most recent album. I do think that rock and pop music is not an endless sea of chord arrangements. There are only so many variations of the theme. What I do miss most though is a good hook. Hooks seem to be a lost art. Remember how much you loved Nirvana? One of the main reasons is because the catchy hook grabs one immediately. This just hasnt been achieved to that degree IMO in a long long while. Music is a fickle friend. I ignored many what I considered weird music such as Björk when she came to be. Now she is a favorite. My ears have matured as far as what I will now accept. And ABBA rules!

@kovie9162

Жыл бұрын

I just got up and am working on my morning coffee so I haven't watched the video yet, but thanks for the extensive and detailed list. Although I'm sure that I've overheard some of these songs in a store or cafe, I literally don't recognize any of these performers. Yes, I am officially old! 😂 And it only seems right that you'd offer such a list after the many suggestions we gave you over on your now defunct Patreon. Have you had a chance to listen to any of them and decide if you're like to cover them in a future video? Some really good stuff there! Despite the rumors, older music actually isn't bad! 🤣

the thing is the beatles knew they couldnt keep doing she loves you over and over and remain popular. I think too many artists today are afraid to take chances because music is so specified into one category

@slw59

Жыл бұрын

I think the reason The Beatles didn't keep doing :She Loves You" was that they felt "we've been there, done that". They were into growing, as musicians and artists. That was more important to them than popularity.

@TakahikoSugimura

Жыл бұрын

i respectfully disagree with your view of music being specified in one category being the reason artists today afraid to take risk. the thing is, there are so many sounds being explored from the 60s to present time that it’s hard to make music that’s unique from the rest these days. sometimes i wonder if the availability of music degrades the value of music. at the end of the day, making music that sells has been the golden rule since people starting to make money from music, so i guess if we want to hear music that’s different then the industry has to shift and encourage different voices in the music conversation which I highly doubt they’re gonna do that if it doesn’t gives them money. sorry for my random rant but just something i feel about the state of music industry.

@kovie9162

Жыл бұрын

And yet, had the Beatles broken up or stopped innovating after She Loves You, they would still have gone down as one of the more important groups of not only that era but in all of rock, only less so, kind of like how the Yardbirds or Shadows are seen today. But they did stay together and innovate, and we're so grateful for that.

@Jonni1027

Жыл бұрын

@@slw59 Exactly!

@hw2508

Жыл бұрын

@@TakahikoSugimura "at the end of the day, making music that sells has been the golden rule since people starting to make money from music" And more simple songs is the only way to do that? Or is it just the easiest way to do that. This is the discussion independent artist have with record companies for decades. One says: "This was a hit. Do it like that again." Others say: "Yes, this was a hit. Now, lets try to present something new to the customer. Maybe she/he likes that as well."

It’s hard to compare the Beatles to anybody after them, because they were the pioneers of rock and roll. They only had Elvis, Cochran, Berry, Holly, etc, to use as a blueprint. If it weren’t for the Beatles, music today would be so completely different than what it is today.

@sebastiano728

Жыл бұрын

The meaning behind your comment is totally true, but just a fact check, The Beatles weren't the pioneers of rock n' roll. Their popularity in fact signalled the death of rock and roll as a genre, one that reached its peak in the '50s with Chuck Berry and Little Richard, as well as early Presley stuff. The Beatles were moreso pioneers of what we consider today as the pop and rock music genres. The song "American Pie" is actually all about the death of rock and roll, and actually name-drops the Beatles as one of the big acts to rise from its ashes.

Good music is hard to find these days because most of it is in the indie world, and it takes work on listener's end to find it. All the while, the bad is shoved down our throats.

The Beatle's music is universally loved and has been popular for near on sixty years! The majority of the band's music still sounds fresh and contemporary. Probably the reason why they remain the world's top-selling recording artists!

@yesi2117

Жыл бұрын

People who says The Beatles is overrated. Is the people who just listen to 1-2 songs of theirs.

@danielolson5378

Жыл бұрын

@@yesi2117 Those people have basicially no idea what they're talking about. Few artist developed as much as both songwriters and musicians in such short time as Beatles did. They were ahead of their time in so many ways. Also if they're so overrated according to some how come so many different artists from so many different genre have done covers of their songs.

@nealfig

Жыл бұрын

@@danielolson5378 Indeed. And the album commonly known as the white album is a great showcase for the range of genres they themselves could do. And their covers of the songs of other artists are some of the best covers there are.

@kovie9162

Жыл бұрын

@@yesi2117 One doesn't have to actually like the Beatles or really any musical artist to appreciate their talent and importance. I'm not crazy about say AC/DC or atonal classical music but I understand and respect their importance in their respective genres and the influence they had on other artists. The Beatles are like the Mozart or Miles Davis of rock and pop, only more so, because unlike these geniuses there's no one before or since as important and talented. Interestingly, the most critical comments I've heard about the Beatles were from Jimmy Page, who's thrown some shade on them over the years, complimenting them on their popularity and how they changed the industry but not on their actual music. No one doubts that he was a more talented player but it always came across as professional jealousy and spite to me, that the Beatles were more critically acclaimed than Led Zeppelin during their heyday.

@davidrowe7967

Жыл бұрын

@@kovie9162 Jimmy Page might be a great virtuoso guitarist, but a person like Paul McCartney is a far greater all-round artist.

"Good Music" is music that stands the test of time. If people are still widely listening to it 50--100 years and longer...that by definition is "good music".

Great music today. As a 71 year old who still loves music and finding new innovative sounds. It has to be Nightwish

At my age, 64, I've finally come to the sad realization that pop, country and certainly rock from 1955 to about 1985 was an anomaly. This period relied mostly on the MELODY. This has always been the most important to me. People nowadays care more about beat, lyrics and emotion. People on KZread channels and social media tell me to look harder and they give me lots of examples that they recommend. I do check them out, but 95% of post of these suggestions, like most post 80s music is still either boring or annoying

@JackF99

10 ай бұрын

I would agree with you except for the lyrics part. Seems lyrics especially messages have gotten simpler and cruder over the years

@dawarrior95

8 ай бұрын

Check out Jungle, Khruangbin, Skinshape and Tame Impala. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

I think you presented my own thoughts better than I could. I don't like Pet Sounds even though it's named alongside Revolver and Sgt Pepper. That's when I realised it wasn't bad, it was just not to my taste. I listened to a Billie Eilish album - there was a track I really liked and there was nothing wrong with the others, it's just that to my ear they all had the same style and production. This seemed true for a number of albums I listened to by Adele, Lorde, Taylor Swift. This was also true for the first few Beatles albums but later the variety and experimentation is there - the white album bing an extreme example - name a popular genre and there's song in that style - blues, metal, folk, pop, rock, 30s, avant-garde. Instruments from guitars to harpsicord, sitar, cello and so on. The same's true for Kate Bush. It's just what I'm used to, not necessarily better. Do singers who can't play have any value? All I need to say in response is: Judith Durham AO (RIP).

My mom was great at playing records, then cd's for us in the home. I was not much of a music fan, probably because my dad was not (a bit uptight), but The Beatles struck me. "Wait... They can have fun and be goofy, but then change their style? I'm in", said 8 year old me. We still listen to the records together now and then. Cheers.

I think of the scene in Mr Holland’s Opus where Mr Holland played “Louie Louie” as played by The Kingsmen to a student. He asked if she liked the song. She said yes. He noted that objectively speaking, there’s nothing good about that song: it’s the same three chords repeated as nauseum, no variety, the lyrics are nonsense, and those guys could not sing. So he asked the student why she likes the song. She answered “because it’s fun.” And that was exactly Mr Holland’s point. Many times, when it comes to music, that’s all a song needs to be a good song. One could extend the same thing to “She Loves You” by The Beatles (except John, Paul, and George could sing, and there was a bit more tonal variation). It’s good because it’s fun.

I say open your minds folks. There is much to enjoy in all forms of music through the ages. You will soon find yourself enjoying music from the Renaissance and Baroque eras to 1920s/30s/40s jazz to Afro-Cuban to Beatles to prog-rock to thrash/death metal to 70s/80s r&b to 2000s electronica. I'll add, I believe outside of rock, the female artists (or who are leads in a duo or band) are/have been creating the best music since the late 1990s and earlier - Aimee Mann, Happy Rhodes, Portishead, Morcheeba, Bjork, Emiliana Torrini, Moloko, Imogen Heap, Goldfrapp, Tina Dico, St Vincent, My Brightest Diamond, Jane As Police Woman, Bat For Lashes, Emika, Ladytron, Esperanza Spalding, et al.

@richardpluck6658

Жыл бұрын

This is something I've noticed (and you've cited a lot of my favourites, there); my tastes have become increasingly female dominated since the 90s - there just don't seem to be that many solo male artists doing interesting work - have they all fallen into genre traps? Who's the male equivalent of Bjork or St Vincent? Who is to Bowie as Bat for Lashes is to Kate Bush?

They Might Be Giants is an alternative rock group that's been around since the Eighties and is still going. They aren't spectacular singers or virtuoso musicians and they've never had a mainstream hit, but they have a loyal fan base because their work is consistently creative, quirky, and intelligent. Whether that makes them "good" or "bad" is up to your definition.

@babylonian.captivity

Жыл бұрын

I was just thinking about them yesterday! I loved them. Man, they take me back. (I think I was listening to the B-52's and they made me think of TMGB).

@gibiscus

Жыл бұрын

I know them thanks to Tiny Toons & Malcolm in the Middle!

@richardpluck6658

Жыл бұрын

They had one mainstream hit - "Birdhouse in Your Soul" from Flood. Top 10 in the UK.

@Fool3SufferingFools

Жыл бұрын

@@richardpluck6658 Good to know they made a dent over there.

@richardpluck6658

Жыл бұрын

@@Fool3SufferingFools Discovered them through that single. Their lyrics are always just so smart and witty.

Band-Maid is a rock band of five Japanese women who write and perform at a very high level. Their song are catchy enough to hook you with a melody and riff, and complex enough so you can listen to their them over and over again. They're not for everyone, but I can't get enough! When I'm not listening to them, I'm usually listening to classical or jazz on the radio.

Hey Caroline, Yes Psychologically, our FIRST NIEVE exposure to music we "Like" tends to have a MORE Lasting IMPACT on our young minds. This helps to explain one reason why many people have a life long love affair with the music of THEIR TEENAGE Years above all others - a time of great emotion & and independence. Similar to the lasting Psychological IMPACT of other 'firsts" - first Love, First Heartbreak, First Major loss, etc. -Cheers

It's more than the things you mention - there's also the use of drum machines, on a continual repeat loop. There's the use of continual electronic noises played in a kind of melody - once maybe, but all the time? The use of auto tune when recording (and things like audacity) have removed the little glitches that made music 'real' and gave it warmth.

Great music is timeless. Country music is full of good new songwriters.....there will always be good new music.....music meant more to people in the 50's and 60's...it influenced the world and events...

Regarding the Beatles, even when they did something very simple lyrically, they added something to it to make it interesting. Take a very drab lyric like, "Baby said she's mine, she's happy all the time," and turn out into: Baby said she's mine, you know She's happy all the time, you know She Said So! Now it has some rhythm and spark to it!

@babylonian.captivity

Жыл бұрын

And the further spark in the integration of the voice and instrumentation. "She Said So!" punctuated by the riff, call-and-response like.

Really good video. When I met my husband in 1975, he was into country and western. So, I ended loving many of those artists. Taylor Swift is great. I loved Whitney Houston. Of course, she and Michael Jackson are no longer modern. I'm 66 now. I grew up with The Beatles. Watching them performing She Loves You, a song John and Paul wrote in Paul's house, still makes me smile. It puts me right back in time to the playfulness when they sang and the joy they brought.

The Marvin Gaye "Blurred Lines" case really threw a monkey wrench into all of this.

As I understood the study, they basically said: less variety, less changes, less complexity, not only in one song but in the whole catalogue of songs of a decade etc. means less differences and therefore you today get not this broad menu presented in popular music. But maybe this is only restricted to the charts and not the whole industry. Pop music became more simple. Me, I today also think that much of the popular music today is not good. But I am pretty sure my parents thought the same about the music 20 or 30 years ago. If you are a person who is very interested in music, you will find good music today too. But the overall general listener often just consumes music. Like in the past just listening to the radio. And what this people listen to, is maybe really not that good. Maybe it was easier for a really good musician to become publicly known 50 years ago than today. With music out of some computer, there is no need for one decade of daily mastering an instrument. With auto tune there is no need to be a very good singer. And lyrics is another topic. Yes, there was not good music in the past as well. But most of this people had to learn an instrument, had to sing, had to jump over a certain bar to be recognized. Today it seems, the dumber the better. At least sometimes. On Saturday, I had to listen for over an hour to some electronic music that had the same beat in every song (maybe slight changes in the bpm, but not in the rhythm). No variety. Is it not boring for the producers to produce such stuff? or for people to listen to such stuff?

Hey Caroline, good to see you again! That track at the end sounded like your best yet! Beautiful voice - keep pushing it and expand youe comfort zone. :) x

Thanks for this video, and thanks for the rest of your KZread content, Caroline. Your thoughtful contributions to discussions on music, be they reaction videos or "essays" like this, always provide both deep observations to ponder and funny comments to make us smile. I apologize if somebody already asked this, but I'd love to know why a young Australian woman has a hoodie giving a shoutout to a smallish city in the heartland of the US. I wouldn't think that Des Moines, Iowa gets much attention on the other side of the world.

Hey Caroline, I really enjoyed the video! I agree with you for the most part😌 btw that reminds me that I must recommend you to listen to Klaatu, isn't a modern band but they have pretty good music, they have a very "beatle" sound, so much so that in the 70's there was a rumor that their first album was actually The Beatles anonymously. I would like to hear your opinion about them :) To start I recommend you listen to "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft" (which was covered by Carpenters), or "Sub-Rosa Subway"

@danielparada941

Жыл бұрын

California Jam and We're Off You Know are great too!

I love Marina too. Artful pop with real, lyrical depth.

Such a great video! I'm glad that you were able to make this PSA, especially for the older folks in your audience who may open up to your argument.

Caroline, given that you've done quite a few reaction videos on older music (which clearly even Nirvana qualifies as now) and no doubt read through the comments, realize that when people who are much older than you say that they don't care much for modern music, it's not that they're necessarily saying that it's bad. It's just that it doesn't speak to them, because their musical tastes and preferences are already mostly set and have been for quite some time. This is probably true of every generation as it starts to age and music takes a backseat to work, family and other things. I know it was of my parents' generation, who came of age in the 50's and never quite took to much of the music of the 60's. It'll be true of your generation, someday, just not for a while--although not necessarily for you, as I'm generalizing and each person reacts differently to new music. But when you grew up on the Beatles, Doors, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, and then U2, REM, Talking Heads and the Cure, you're not necessarily going to warm up to or even seek out much later music, no matter how good it is, and it's not a reflection of its quality, but of the listener's preferences and "first loves", if you will. You'll get this someday. Nearly everyone does. That said, it's always good to try new things and keep an open mind no matter how old you are or set in your ways. It's how one stays young, at heart at least. 😊

@deoppressoli-bear2600

10 ай бұрын

Today’s music sucks. That is all, carry on.

@kovie9162

10 ай бұрын

@@deoppressoli-bear2600 Except for that which doesn't suck, 100% agreed.

I've been listening to the Beatles since I was three or four and have enjoyed your Beatles series immensely. So thank you so much. The album I've listened to the most in the last 6 or so years has been by the band Car Seat Headrest. Teens of Denial. Also their previous album Teens of Style - more of a lofi, basement tape experience. Both albums are classified as indie rock with a mix of layered vocal melodies and crescendoing choruses. Many of Will Toledo's lyrics are inspired by his journey through depression and young adulthood making it a introspective sonic experience.

I think She Loves You has very clever lyrics! It's a total inversion of a normal pop song, instead of addressing the love interest, it is addressing another man telling him to shape up and realise how lucky he is to have love in his life. The joyful cry "she loves you yeah! yeah! yeah!" is actually quite moving imo. You've also got to remember that Britain in the 1960s was very repressed and not a place where people (especially men) could express their feelings easily, so The Beatles were very radical for their time even in their early manifestation. This seems to be the problem with today: we live in a very conformist society with social media and everything, and we need artists who will shake us up again.

@rubbercilla

3 ай бұрын

brilliant

In terms of the lyrical argument. We have to understand the songwriting of the 50s and 60s was different than the 70s and 80s and even the early 90s. In those eras for pop music there was songwriting in every aspect. We had a narrative that would tell stories, and the music had to marry with the lyrics and the way the songs were sung so that it was there to trigger an emotion. It was genius. Modern music today however, the computerized beat is just accompaniment. The argument you make in terms of the use of instruments. Think on this, we have people analyzing Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughan even today. How often do you see people mentioning Billy Eyelash’s guitarist? How often is Taylor Swift’s guitar playing analyzed? You don’t because it is just seen as accompaniment. It really contributes nothing. But still people are still covering older musicians and the greatness they did. Why? Because they were innovated. You hear SRV you know it is him, you hear EVH you know it is him. You listen to any modern guitarist there is no innovation (aside from maybe Tim Henson) and you are not gonna be able to tell one from the other. In terms of how people sing today, why do they all slur their words? Why is that a popular thing? It makes me think they have limited mental capability

this was a real Crackin video Thank You always always find your ways of reviewing and explaning Spot on

Thanks Caroline, this needed to be said. Been thinking this for a while.

By the way, I am very much looking forward to Caroline discovering old Genesis, from the 1971-1976 period. Brilliant work! Very different from the pop stuff from the 1980’s.

@LanceRED58

Жыл бұрын

Yes that would be very interesting , my particular favourite era is from the beginning of Genesis , up to when Steve left the band !

You mentioned Marina - she's an interesting demonstration of what is wrong at the moment a tendency to homogenisation - she comes along (as Marina and the Diamonds), releases a really great debut album with good lyrics and the promise of interesting things to come in a song like the wonderfully quirky 'Hermit the Frog'. By 'Electra Heart' she'd been reduced to generic pop (soundwise; lyrics still interesting in places); 'Froot' was an improvement, but I never listened beyond that (probably should find out what the newer albums sound like). Let's Eat Grandma have followed a similar trajectory - really interesting quirky debut; the 2nd upped the production values and still allowed some of their uniqueness to shine through, but now on 'Two Ribbons' it's very much constrained into a dull and safe little box. But enough of the negative - I've just discovered Spellling 'The Turning Wheel' which is one the best things I've heard from a current artist in a good few years. As to where my tastes come from - I was a teenager in the UK for the wonderful explosion of new bands that came through in the wake of punk - all the new wave, new romantic and electronic bands that defined the early 80s. Along with the incomparable Kate Bush, who I'm very happy to see working her magic on a new generation thanks to Stranger Things.

@richardpluck6658

Жыл бұрын

OK went and listened to the first couple of tracks from Marina's 'Ancient Dreams ...' - sounds like she may have her mojo back. Happy me!

I like the point you made about hearing more than one song from an artist. I remember going to music stores and buying albums, cassettes and cds. When I'd buy a physical copy of an artist's work I'd listen front to back. I feel that with digital online purchasing it's easy to pick one or two songs that you are familiar with, and the rest falls by the wayside. There are good and bad things about having music on your phone or in the cloud. Some of the subtle parts of the mix can get lost in digital format. There is still something to be said for putting a record on and hearing music that way. In the end it's just good for the soul to be able to listen to however you can.

The problems I perceive with modern music is largely down to the production values: Click Tracks - recordings tend to be on the beat - whereas artists of old used to often be behind the beat or introduce subtle slowing downs & speeding up within a phrase to provide emphasis and light and shade. Autotune: no singer in history perfectly pitches every note every time - this adds character to the music; with autotune you are not hearing the artist - you are hearing a computer generated voice. Loudness - this comes and goes - but the louder the production pushes the music down the listener's throat! Finally - the way we listen means that a song has to grab you within a few seconds otherwise the average listener will click to the next track - so the long into/slow build-up is rarely a thing. This all goes to homogenise the sounds of today's artists. I agree with your point about the music you first loved being the comparator for all future music - I am a boring old fart who is not down with the kids - but my original criticisms above still stand for the very few artists still standing, and still recording, from my youth.

I cannot say how much I appreciate you doing this video. The biggest part of the problem is actually not the music itself but us and our perception of it. Many here already mentioned that personal taste and being used to certain sounds or genres is a thing, I myself didn't listen to many artists that I listen to today up until some years ago because of that and I think it's pretty normal and the way that most people perceive music if they don't dive deeper into it. A common mistake that people make is that they 'love' certain artists and 'hate' others. So let's say you love Metallica and then you're listening to ALL of their catalogue because of that and that for years and years. This will affect you in a way that you're liking their songs in general because they're done by them and they sound like this, not particularly because all of the songs are great. You somehow lose the ability to differentiate between songs with different qualities and tend to like it not because it's good, but because it's a Metallica song. I apologize to all Metallica fans for chosing them as the example (I like a lot of their stuff myself), I could have chosen any other band, it was just to make my point clear. Now with the bands people 'hate' it's the other way around. Let's say you 'hate' Taylor Swift. That 'hatred' is probably based on her songs that are played on the radio or tv all the time and also on the fact that they get repeated over and over again ("We are doing this until you finally love it... haha"). This will affect you in a way that you will not listen to any of her songs if you're free to chose which music you want to listen to, assuming that the rest of her catalogue sounds like the stuff you dislike. Needless to say that that's actually what keeps you from experiencing the artist in your own way and not the way that the media wants you to. And with the examples of Metaliica and Taylor Swift that I chose there are for sure also people out there who are the opposite and love everything by TS because it's her, hate everything by Metallica because of the few songs they know through the media. All I can say is: free your mind, get rid off prejudices and prefabricated opinions based on a combination of hearing habits and media presentation. I achieved that and widened my horizons by research on the net and mostly surfing on meta music sites who gather opinions and ratings on songs, albums and artists contributed by many different people (who all have different tastes), sites such as besteveralbums or rateyourmusic (I'm leaving out the domain since youtube doesn't allow my comment otherwise, but it's .com), making playlists for myself with all the songs by any artist that got good ratings through the years, no matter what genre or decade or whether it's artists that I wouldn't chose myself normally. Seriously, this is the best I ever did and it changed my perception of music forever. But that's just my way, there are certainly also other ways to find access to music in general, other than what you're used to. The key to all of this is to be open for it.

My measure is: a musical piece either moves me, or it doesn’t.

You chose a very thorny, ambitious topic this time; and you covered it well. I'd like to suggest some of my favorite current artist (not all are "new", but they all have recent music of high quality); Cory Wong- a prolific jazz/funk/etc guitarist Toro y Moi- newish singer/songwriter that is lacking the typical modern sub- mediocrity Angelique Kidjo - one of the most stellar but accessable African artists today Rufus Wainwright - still making beautiful music that stands out among his peers Flaming Lips - though they go back to the 80s and made some of their most heralded works 20 to 30 years ago, their 2020 album is among their best Beck - can't help but make a new masterpiece every couple years Michael Kiwanuka, New Pornographers, TV on the Radio, Old 97s, Thundercat, Willie Nelson, Trombone Shorty, Indigo Girls, Rhiannon Giddens, Los Lobos, Son Little, The Jayhawks, Brandi Carlile, Robert Randolph, Sloan, Esperanza Spalding, Phantom Planet, Jenny Lewis, etc.

Well done Caroline, great points. I think finding the music which turns you on takes a bit more work these days because the market is so diverse and we are not as exposed to 'high rotation' airplay of new songs. I enjoy finding new music through KZread and Bandcamp. Snarky Puppy was a revelation when I found their live studio recordings on KZread and I have since seen them live. I really enjoy Pokey Lafarge for rootsy music and Cat Empire are a great Australian band who have just finished after 20 years playing amazing cross-over popular/world music. Nice idea for a video and discussion, thanks Caroline. 🌻

Great music will always be out there; it's just harder to find at the moment. Venture outside of the top 40, and you're bound to find something you like.

@scottski51

Жыл бұрын

Couldn't agree more. There's ALWAYS been chaff everywhere in popular music (I'm talking back 80 years), but by searching just a bit, you can find the wheat.

You hit the nail on the head ..... red . Love ya thoughts . Get over to Perth WA 😁

Also, great music doesn’t need to be complicated. Three chords and the truth!

She loves you has a simple lyrics, but the music had so much energy at the time. A lot of music these days is recorded on a computer and quantized and stripped of lots of human emotion. There are great artists these days but unfortunately their popular music isn't really in the culture like it used to be. I don't think people experience their lives though music like they used to do , and music serves a different purpose these days.

"What was the first piece of music that you remember falling in love with?" there was so much music everywhere around me. But, the song I heard that made me first think "I want to create something like that" was "Rag Doll" by the Four Seasons. It was the early '70s, The song was already 10 years old at the time, but it was played, regularly, on the local radio station. As an 8-year-old 3rd Grade music lover, it made me want to create THAT. I've been writing songs ever since.

I can relate to your experience with Genesis although for it was foremost Earth, Wind & Fire. My older brother began listening to EWF and played those albums at home when we were growing up. At that time i really wasn't into that kind of music i think i was more into what we, in Sweden, called Synth like electronic music the way Depeche Mode sounded in the '80s or Kraftwerk or Pet Shop Boys to name a few. Anyway as i got older i began listening to Gospel music and from there to Soul/Funk it's a small step. So one day i decided to play my brothers old lp's with EWF and heard them with "new ears" so to speak. This time i could really dig into their music and i loved it! I guess i wasn't "ready" for that type of music when i first heard it.

There's always good parts of bad music and bad parts of good music... music is a very complicated art form and it's hard to explain... You explained it well though :) Good video :)

Caroline is experiencing music from her perspective and is choosing from what her generation is offering. I experienced music from a period of much more creativity. I'm not being arrogant, I'm just acknowledging all the great music surrounding my generation. We were spoiled and took it for granted. But now I realize it just couldn't continue at that level forever. Today is proof of that. Just like in the past, there has been periods of doldrum and we are currently in one. All we can do is wait for a new, exciting musical energy to burst through. But it hasn't yet. Eventually it should. Trust me, when it's born, I will acknowledge, praise and enjoy listening to it.

If you're diving into Genesis, you might find it worthwhile exploring their work in the 1970's. Albums like "Foxtrot", "Selling England by the Pound", and "The Lamb lies down on Broadway" are considered some of the greatest Progressive Rock albums of that genre. Peter Gabriel was the lead singer with Steve Hackett on guitar. They both went on to very successful solo careers after leaving the band.

@floepiejane

Жыл бұрын

I was gonna say this. Thank you. I mean Mama and Domino obscure?! Hooo boy, now there's a rabbit hole.

@Bipbop66

Жыл бұрын

Genesis is a great example. True progressive music that was not radio friendly until the 80's came around. But there was a market for this in the 70's with Peter Gabriel lead the charge. I guess there has to be a segment of fandom that have hard core fans and fans of mass appeal to push and sustain these type of music styles. For example, you may not like this type of music "progressive rock" and this applies as well to other types of music as well, Doo-wop, R&B, Reggae, Rock, Jazz, Blues, Southern Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Funk, Punk, Alternative, New Wave, Disco, Hi-energy, EBM, Rap, Hip Hop, Folk, Easy listening, Country, Grunge, even the all inclusive Pop genre. These genres have to have some type of mass appeal that will sustain them for a period of time (with shelf life) or maybe if its lucky, it becomes timeless and stays for future generations to look back and enjoy. Good music will always be good, regardless.

One of the issues, in my opinion, is that music can be both a solitary experience and a shared one. However, sharing is challenging when you're dealing with an obscure track and don't have a great way to find more. Services that recommend songs based on your listening history help in some regard, but they also tend to create an echo chamber in which there's little new.

@joebloggs396

Жыл бұрын

The shared experience may actually narrow some people's experience, going on forums where some styles are thought heretical for instance.

And as to "She Loves You," I think the thing is that it's deceptive. It *sounds* simple and shallow but it's incredibly musical. There's a tremendous amount of music going on in those two minutes and the craftsmanship is impeccable. And yet, the impeccable craftsmanship doesn't undermine the rawness of the thing, the primal exuberance. (I just had to say that because I'm a fierce defender of this song against any suggestion that the band somehow had to "grow out of it" or that it's somehow inferior to "A Day in the Life." Not that you're suggesting that, Caroline, I know. :)

@kovie9162

Жыл бұрын

I'm not a musician let alone musicologist, but one of the things that struck me about the Beatles, even their earliest and less complex and mature works, is how much more interesting and even sophisticated they were than most of the pop music of that time or prior to it. They may have sounded and in some ways even been simplistic, but there were usually at least a few aspects that set them apart from most pop music. If I knew music theory I could point out examples in some detail, but I don't. But there's a certain musical honesty and playfulness that shows that they put some effort and even heart into it, and weren't just trying to make cookie cutter pop hits that would sell records. The best way I can put it is that their music rocked, and you could connect with it on some gut level that wasn't possible with other performers' music.

@babylonian.captivity

Жыл бұрын

@@kovie9162 It totally rocked. Yes, playfulness, exactly. They were just incredibly musical. They fucking loved music and you can feel them getting their hands dirty with it, reveling in it, breathlessly exploring and discovering it. They sound like they're having fun because they were indeed having fun.

@kovie9162

Жыл бұрын

@@babylonian.captivity Yep, musically gifted kids in a music candy store, going wild with the possibilities and coming up with their own unique and wonderful concoctions. Not a false note or hint of just dialing it in anywhere, even in their lesser songs (and no, I'm not justifying the lyrics of songs like Run For Your Life of course). I think that basically all great artists have a passion for their art that simply can't be forced or faked, and they had it in droves.

@babylonian.captivity

Жыл бұрын

@@kovie9162 I was just today hanging with a close friend of mine and she said, "You know which Beatles song is one of my top ten favorites that no one would ever think was special? "Savoy Truffle." She then proceeded to rave about the playful glory of that song. The lyrics slay her and we both broke down blurting out lines and laughing.

@kovie9162

Жыл бұрын

@@babylonian.captivity It's certainly an inventive, playful (that word again) and catchy tune that to me hints of something deeper and even slightly darker, with a certain "swampy" Bayou/New Orleans vibe to it. One of the things that I most liked about Caroline's Beatles series was how she got me to hear new things in their music that I'd never really noticed or cared about before. She'd make an excellent teacher if she ever wanted to be one.

Thank you for suggesting some modern artists. One of the problems I have is finding new music. Back when I was growing up (1960’s-80’s) we simply turned on the radio and heard the new artists or in the 1980’s watched MTV. It seems tougher to keep up with the new artists today…but that may simply be because I am older. 😮 My personal opinion is that there’s good music today but only 20% is good compared to 70-80% when I was young. One of the things that hurts today’s music is a lack of censorship. In the 1960’s-80’s writers had to be more creative in finding ways to talk about sex. Today they just come out with profanity in their songs, usually using profanity just to use it.

Thanks for the pep talk, Caroline. I admit that I'm guilty, as an older man, of living in the past and preferring the greats of yesteryear. I don't listen to modern music at all because I haven't heard much that I like. But you're right, I'm sure there's great stuff out there if you're willing to jump in and dig for it. With that new outlook I'll give it another shot.

All popular music is disliked by (most of) the previous generations. A few current generation people feel the same. This has always been the way. People didn't like the Beatles they preferred Bill Haley. People didn't like Bill Haley they preferred Frank Sinatra. And so forth back in time. People didn't like Beethoven they preferred Mozart. In 20 years people will be saying "remember Justin Bieber, Ke$ha, Lady Gaga and BTS? Man, they were great. Why does today's music suck so much?

I was so happy to hear you mention Hans Zimmer. I love film music, and Zimmer is one of my favorites. But fllm scores don’t get a lot of love from the first time listening KZreadrs. Film music is phenomenal, and it’s the only type of music that includes all the other types. If you want a recommendation of someone I think you might appreciate check out Alex North, one of the greats. He wrote Unchained Melody, one of the most famous songs ever written, for the film Unchained. He also did some great epic scores like Spartacus and Cleopatra, but could do more intimate and low key scores like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? His work is heavily jazz influenced and his first major film score for A Streetcar Named Desire modernized film music forever.

I am one of the worlds biggest Beatles fans, but there`s a lot of great young artists outthere today too, i support a few of them when possible, in my opinion, today you usually have to find them on KZread, instead of on the charts though🙂

There are a lot of fine musicians making great music, as ever it has been. As ever, the puzzle is finding the music that suits your taste, and also, music that challenges you in the right ways, so it continues to be vibrant and engaging and nourishing to you. That is both easier and more difficult today; you now have access to your "contemporaries" of whatever eras, genres and players please you, when you know what you're looking for, but if you want to explore, it's best to have some trustworthy guidance, or else you can get lost in the universe of possibilities, or stuck in an untrustworthy algorithm's biased decisions of what's next. Radio and record companies used to act as curators, which limited and simplified things, but now with the diversity of styles and the struggle for remuneration for the time and energy artists and companies put into it, the "business" can overwhelm the "music". Music can be defined most simply as 'organized sound'. So this encompasses rap, drumming, dancing clapping and singing, as well as orchestral, jazz, pop, r&b, etc. And now, with the readily available tech to get a beat and loop & record and publish, the universe of available music expands dramatically every day. Couple observations about this: Rhythm has taken center stage as the most potent element of much of pop music. Many 'creators' get a 'sick' beat, and then create lyrics and/or music around it, more as decoration than an integral part. For all its undeniable artistic viability and worldwide popularity, rap, for example, is not known for its melodic or harmonic invention; it is primarily rhythmic and literary communication, rather than sensual and emotional. And, because the tech is so relatively easy to get and use, many people with no or little training or understanding of musical theory or traditions can put out organized sounds into the commons. This is both good and bad: you can discover brilliant fresh takes but you can waste a lot of time wandering wastelands, because the truth is, there is a lot more derivative, uninteresting, strictly-commercially-motivated, stupidly simplistic, offensive, etc music, than the truly artistic, creative, inspiring kinds. So, combine all this with the scientific fact that most people's musical horizons don't continue expanding much once they're in their late 20's, and the fact that the boomer generation, in particular, was party to some great waves of change and creativity in music, is it any wonder that many folks comment that "today's music sucks"? It's a challenge/too much work to get out of your comfort zone for something that's primarily about fun & relaxation anyway for most people.

As someone who came of age in the seventies, I strongly feel that the advent of MTV started the decline in quality of music and the reason appeared pretty obvious to me. Musicians became more focused on how they looked rather than the music they played. This didn't apply only to up and coming bands but even season rock bands, most of them anyhow, not all of them. This combined with the mentality that using synths and all things electronic was cheaper than real instruments. Then someone decided that everyone should have the chance to be a superstar regardless of whether they could actually sing or not so along comes autotune, once only a gimmick but now used throughout some entire songs. Yes, MTV declared that they were here to change music forever and unfortunately they did.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or the ear of the listener. Objectively, music is not nearly as complex or full of variety as it once was. That doesn't mean people don't love the new stuff. It also doesn't mean younger people will not enjoy older music. Many younger people today are really falling in love with a lot of the music from the 60's, 70's and 80's.

Hi Caroline. First let me thank and congratulate you on your 'Beatles Journey' which was fascinating to watch as someone who grew up with their music. Your ear for musical detail is astonishing. On the topic of modern music. I have a foot in both camps. Not much of mainstream pop I hear on the radio excites or surprises me and hasn't for years because it seems reduced to the same four chord progressions over a choice of half a dozen established rhythms. (You often noted how Beatles changed rhythm a number of times within the same song). Instrumentation is often limited and soundscapes compressed to a single level of loudness, style etc. etc. Also it's true that Record Companies now cling to 'safe' formula rather than trusting to the artists own musical growth as happened (wonderfully) in the 60's / 70's. But I fully agree with you that there are some marvellous artists and music out there in the 'Streaming World' if we explore or get led to it. I too discovered the Icelandic rock band, Kaleo and that amazing vocalist who would be comfortable and impressive in any era since 1920' blues honky-tonk bars. But my prime 'modern' delight is another Scandinavian singer from Norway, 'Sigrid' who is usually classed in the up-tempo Synth-pop genre. (Not exactly my thing). She's a rising star here in UK, Europe & USA with 2 solid albums and some classic singles under her belt and she and her band really 'rock' when on stage. But earlier this year we saw her in a promotional 'record-store', small-scale, stripped-back acoustic rendition of the album which was exceptional. You need to give her a listen. It's surprising to me at my age quite why she connects with me and stands out above her contemporaries . There is her charm and youthful exuberance as she performs but I was first attracted to her 'by ear'. The nearest I can come up with is the 'musicality' of her melodies and unusual spanning of musical intervals across octaves. She also switches or doubles up on vocal rhythm in some songs to great effect. She co-writes with professional song-writers but usually starts from her own piano composition and stamps her own mark on each song. I hope you'll give her a listen if you haven't yet and gain the same enjoyment we do from her records and the many cool 'acoustic' versions available on KZread. I'd love your opinion on what makes her a bit special. You could say there's only two types of music - Good and Bad. But my son once corrected me on that by pointing out that the two types are 'Music I Like' and 'Music I Don't Like'. When we find the stuff we like, it makes life wonderful doesn't it? Keep on with your interesting broadcasts Caroline, always entertaining.

@babylonian.captivity

Жыл бұрын

"Your ear for musical detail is astonishing." 100% From the very first video. It was such a blessing to get to hear the Beatles not only with fresh ears, but with, as you observe, exquisitely sensitive fresh ears. I learned so much listening through her ear (and I have a pretty exquisite ear myself so that's no small thing! :)

@babylonian.captivity

Жыл бұрын

" But earlier this year we saw her in a promotional 'record-store', small-scale, stripped-back acoustic rendition of the album which was exceptional." I think is a big deal. So many songs are actually killed by bad production. So many artists or their producers or whoever are afraid to expose anything, be it the human voice, a simple instrument being played, whatever. Like they're doing everything in their power to bury the actual song and the artist performing it. It's the antithesis of an album like "Blue" because it makes it all but impossible to actually *feel* anything. It's really, really unfortunate.

@babylonian.captivity

Жыл бұрын

(Also, I'm listening to Kaleo now--they're pretty great! And I'll check out Sigrid too. Thanks for the tips!)

Beatles took many chances once their popularity afforded their ability to do so. On the White album, McCartney swings wildly through many styles. You're right about the industry not willing to take chances. These days, I'm not sure that Punk or Grunge would be given a chance if they were new genres.

I wonder what music being made recently will still be played 30, 40, 50+ years from today? I honestly don't know who might stand the test of time.

Sweet Caroline, so good to see back At It!! You describe this topic well, However, as an old Timer, who tries to stay "open minded" to new Music , I will say, this is a difficult issue. IMHO, Music is a HUGE part of yourself , your well being, your Life so to speak. As a Baby Boomer, The Music and Cultural Explosion of my Generation can never and will Never be Repeated. Yes, there are a multitude of newer artists, some to my liking and some not, (too "gooey" , too much Bubble Gum). Arena Rock and the associated artists with BlockBuster Stage Shows, although spectacular to see, started this trend, I think. (I'm sure I'll get blasted for that). But Taylor Swift, Adele, and Brittney Spears and the rest... are all about Bombs Blasting In Mid Air, Scantily Clad bodies (which don't get me wrong - even at 71 YO - can still be Appreciated), studio Bands, etc. I have stumbled on some new artists which are definitely appreciated - their talent is obvious. Lady GAGA is tremendously talented Lady, a beautiful voice and should be listened to in that light. And many more, even Andrea Bocelli singing with Bono and other Pop Stars. Great listening. BUT, it just doesn't meet the "feelings" of the Rock and Roll Explosion of the previous decades. You cite The Beatles (saw all of your reviews of first time album listenings), and you could include many other British Invaders in that category. Like Paul McCartney says on the Let It Be Album (and portrayed in Get Back Documentary...."I gotta a Feeling". That Feeling is very Hard to duplicate. I'll end my comment by saying that, I give new artists some listening, I pick and choice what I like, but my GOTO sounds usually are from the past ....including MOTOWN. Don't Forget that !! It was a marvelous time to grow up in Music and in many other things - Unlike Today Unfortunately. Stay Well Caroline and Keep the Video coming. And Carry that Big Stick with you, so you can eat back your Suitors who may be chasing You !!

This topic gets brought up a fair bit, and what I've sort of concluded is that music today isn't necessarily worse than music from the past, but mainstream radio no longer seems to play a more diverse range of songs and genres, and has felt a lot more homogenised in the past 10 or so years (at least for me). 30 years ago, heck, even 20, I remember hearing so many different musical genres on the radio, that even if you didn't like some of the songs, you were bound to hear your jam many times throughout. Now, I've found that I have to dig deeper to find the stuff I like, but thankfully it's now easier than ever in this expanding, streaming, internet age. Maybe that's part of the "things aren't the same anymore" argument as well? lol.

You are absolutely right. There are a lot of great modern bands and musicians. However, what I like is organic music, without a keyboard or auto-tune. Also... There has always been popular vocalist who would ONLY sing. And, sometimes the song you'd hear on the radio. Was the best song on the album. I personally think that, about 20%, was great. And the rest was just filler. Also, I think that the contracts that musician signed, stunted the growth of music. Yep.... The business side of any industry, can destroy it. The reason that the The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Ray Charles produced masterpiece music. Is because they were protected and left alone.

I remember the billboard wasteland in the late 80's preceding Grunge. Others may remember the disco over saturation and the easy-listening schmaltz back in the 1970's. I listen again to old pop classics from my childhood often through reactions - the hooks are often still as good as I remember them but they often get stuck there after a few lyrical stanzas. My old music sometimes isn't as great as I remember and new stuff thankfully keeps making it into my rotation.

Modern artists I love (i.e., stuff that makes me feel something): The Wild Reeds (I can't get enough of them; craftsmanship, harmony, feeling...they're perfect). The Submarines (beautiful melodic sound). Yeah Yeah Yeahs Joanna Newsom Marissa Nadler Jolie Holland S.G. Goodman Liturgy Sufjan Stevens Mansions Sigur Ros Ok! Sorry! That's enough! Stopping now. Enjoy! :)

Very well done.

I am 58, I used to think that The Spice Girls sucked, but, these days, I am nostalgic for them.

Funnily enough I’ve gone down the same track, thinking all the negative comments about millennials’ music cannot be right. I even posed the question on Twitter… “Is there a young band these days who use their creativity like we used to back in the day?” (Or something) That’s when several suggestions were made that I’ve now delved into. And yes there are great bands now that don’t pop up on my algorithms. Greta Van Fleet, Robocobra, Wet Leg, Yard Act, to name but a few. Thanks for this vid, Caroline. X

I think it's about creativity. If something isn't as creative, feels totally unoriginal or has little interesting musicality to the performance or arrangement, then it won't be as stimulating to as many people. And styles create a problem, because many don't have the time or won't try to understand the creativity in different styles. The good news is there's so much music that it's possible for most to find something they like. Venturing outside of that isn't obligatory but if someone's really interested in music I'd say it's recommended to stretch yourself. The narrowing down of genres could create some problems too. Pop now is defined in a more narrow way than previously. And other perceived genres are sometimes like that, but cross-over between styles often fosters creativity.

You've summed it up as good as possible. I've listened to a lot of Courtney Barnett and Camp Cope (I really got into Australian "alternative" music a few years back). Margaret Glaspy has a really unique voice. Her Tiny Desk Concert is fantastic. PUP is pretty decent Post/Pop Punk. Brandi Carlisle is amazing. Watch her SNL performance of "Right On Time". It'll blow you away. There's a looper grrrl that I like. Julianne Baker. Good stuff. Also there's an artist that goes by Cazza. I caught her release party you tube thingy. She's pretty good. Is it pandering if it's the truth? LOL.

The smartest statement here is that music tastes might be formed when a person is 8 years old. Even so, there are many of the youth today that when they get presented 60,70, 80, 90's music like it very much. Imo in2022 there is slim pickin's these days of good music to listen to. AND of course the best music is from my generation. Lol

Thanks for the interesting and thought-provoking opinion piece! I think that one of the things that has changed music into what it is today is the rise of singing while dancing and performing. Back in the 60's and 70's most artists did not have to do this. Maybe this is why more modern artists use autotune (some of them) or other techniques, because they need to focus on breathing on stage. My opinion is there have been great singers and musicians all along up until today, and some that are not so great all along. Overall the earlier groups definitely experimented and pushed the boundaries more than today's artists.

Agreed, So much good new music around...try Lucius, Adrianne Lenker, Phoebe Bridgers, Waxahatchee, First Aid Kit to name a few...

The problem is that "vocalists" aren't being allowed to use their instrument. "producers" take their vocals and process the shit out of them. It's really hard to even know what a vocalist sounds like these days. There is the odd exception, but it's a rarity. Producers also won't allow the music to breathe, every space must be crammed in their world.

The issue with Modern Music is it’s been harmed by the collapse of the music industry. We no longer have the same “curators” of quality music and artists that we used to. The people who loved and dedicated their lives to music, who worked for record companies and signed artists that they believed were good or would be good with the proper help. Then you had A&R people who worked with artists to help them develop. You also had record producers who helped artists sound their best and develop their talents. Then after the music was made, you have Radio and TV DJ’s & VJ’s who would recognize something was really good and share it with the public. You also have music critics & “taste makers” sharing who they thought people should check out. The problem is, if you let average people choose what’s successful, they’ll pick something that sounds like something they already like. The music never progresses, it becomes worse version of something you already heard in a death spiral and there’s no one around to cultivate new talent and no one to recognize new talent and convince people to try something different, that becomes the next big thing, gets copied and the cycle continually repeats. That cycle has been broken. Also, the listener, when you have a monetary investment or emotional investment in something, it has more value to you.

Not only in music, in all art genres there is a decline since 1983 :)

The thing about music, like about everything else, is that it depends on what you are as a person - mentally, intellectually, educationally, etc. What you lived, what you have experienced, etc. So, for some it will take The Beatles to be satisfied. Others will be quite pleased, absolutly "nourished" with Milli Vanilli or Modern Talking... That´s why "Man is the measure of all things"!...

The Beths. New Zealand band. Incredible songwriting. Future Me Hates Me is their best album, and they’ve got a new one coming out.

When you made the point about singers who don't play instruments I was reminded of how cool it is when a singer who usually doesn't play an instrument in public decides to bring it into their show. Aretha Franklin's Kennedy Centre performance of "Natural Woman" and Elvis's late-in-life performance of "Unchained Melody" are both breathtaking.

Motown and music of that time frame is the best genre. The musicians had to really know how to read music and play their instruments flawlessly. There was no computers and programs like Auto Tune. You had to have talent as both a musician or a singer.

@rubbercilla

3 ай бұрын

exactly!

I tend to take the view that all modern music suffers in comparison to the past because it hasn't yet been sorted into the stuff that will disappear and the music that will stand the test of time. I remember hating most of the chart music in the 2010s, having been a teenager in the late 90/early 2000s, but looking back there were some absolute classics. Similarly, my Mum didn't like a lot of the music in the 90s compared to her era in the 70s and 80s but since then she's totally changed her stance and regularly listens to 90s music and beyond. It's not fair to compare what's currently in the charts to the classics from a previous era because the charts will always fall short by comparison because a majority of "pop" music isn't very good and it's only with time that the truly great stuff will emerge.

Well, I liked the chords you played at the beginning. Sounded like an old jazz tune.

Josh Turner, not the country guy but the KZread guy, can play any style of music. Vocalist, songwriter, guitar player, arranger, producer. He collaborates with lots of folks but his most consistent is as a member of The Other Favorites. Another modern group I love is Billy Strings a group with bluegrass string instruments who dare to play any kind of music and the absolute best jam band in the world. Last I love the Monalisa Twins who are found on KZread and record and sell their own albums. They started out as a Beatles and 60's music cover band but have become very good songwriters and put out several albums of original songs.

I listen to mostly older music (60s and 70s) but I really like some contemporary artists like Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo.

First piece of music that moved me! What a great question. Well, I grew up going to church (Anglian, i.e., Episcopal Church (U.S.) so that must have been some of my earliest exposure to music and being moved by music, but one of my earliest specific memories (maybe I was around five or six?) is of Peter and the Wolf. I remember the terror of those French horns especially. And just so many unfamiliar emotions elicited by that music. Man, what a dark force to introduce into such a small child's world! hahahaha! But it taught me to feel and it taught me the cosmic scope of music. Expressiveness, sonic landscape, imagination...that pice of music was everything to me. Then I remember around that same age too listening to Revolver. "Good Day Sunshine" and "Yellow Submarine" really made an impression on me. And then the first music I remember loving independently of my parents' influence was Michael Jackson ("Off the Wall") and Olivia Newton-John ("Greatest Hits volume 2") (RIP).

I do a radio show with my brother called Sibling Rivalry, (side note, he is also a subscriber of yours & we subscribed independently without the other promoted) We both found you because of our love for the Beatles… We are both guilty of taking shots at chart music but not necessarily modern music. I do see a decline, popular music depends too much on samples and I can’t help but see a lack of musicianship.. A modern band I think you’d appreciate is a band called “Alt-J”.. 10 years, 4 albums and currently touring there latest album which only came out this year, heavily influenced by the Beatles (experimental stuff), Radiohead, Folk and with an incredible knack to write beautiful and intriguing lyrics. Keep up the good work

Why you're wrong about, " Why You're Wrong About Popular Music." I was ten years old when The Beatles became world famous, and I was sixteen when they broke up. In the intervening years I've seen pop act appear in shining glory and disappear into ignoble obscurity with alarming regularity. The sad truth is that wheras contemporary pop music, which may SEEM to be quite good, sometimes even brilliant, today, at least on a superficial level, after a number years it starts to sound dated, tired and old-fashioned. No matter how good today's pop music may sound today, I'm afraid it gives me no satisfaction to say that in a few years time it will suffer the same fate as all the pop music that has preceded it. And yes, in a few years time, or ten years time, or fifty years time, people will STILL be listening to The Beatles !

I'd recommend the British band Elbow. Very interesting but beautiful instrumentation and poetic lyricism. Not a mainstream chart band but massively popular all the same.

@babylonian.captivity

Жыл бұрын

Listening now, thanks for the tip! (I hear a little Brian Wilson in the timbre of his voice and even some of the melodic contours. "Is It a Bird," for example.)

I just turned sixty and I have heard my big share of good and bad music over those years, mostly good. I almost gave up on artists today as the music industry likes to do the cookie-cutter popular thing to sell records to the unaware consumer that there May be unique and creative artists out there. One that comes to mind that I find to be not only unique but also has a stunning voice and also writes her own music, and plays the piano, and her name is Aurora. Her compositions and lyrics are so emotionally charged and hits your soul as you listen and watch her perform. Nothing fancy and over produced, just real good music.

Luck helps too. I clicked on a Sia video last May by accident and I have been completely mind blown since. Her ability to use her voice as a second definition of the lyrics and translate the emotion of the song(like word painting) is astounding. She writes her own lyrics, which are usually based on her own personal experiences and her implementation of orchestral instruments is really beautiful. Plus, she is an incredible live performer, which I recommend to everyone to check out. Have an excellent day!!!

I totally agree with you. There is good music and talented artist. They just don’t get mass support. I’ve seen a few myself. My kids grew up listening to the Beatles. They loved them. I felt this helped them to discern more what quality music is. Now my kids recommend music to me. They like old music and new music. My daughter recently was excited to learn about Chet Baker. When my son was around 16 he was excited to show me a video he made in which he had used a Jimi Hendrix song as background music.

Vocalists that don't play instruments can still be backed by a great band.

I posted 3 months ago. As I review this video and the topic you discuss, it produces more thought. There is so Much Good Music out There!! I play Drums as a 71 YO, retiree, Man (yes, a Man), for enjoyment for about 1 hour a day. I returned to playing after 50 YEARS [1969]. I was born in the Greatest Music Revolution there ever was or will be. I play my drums daily to My Music Staples: Mellencamp, Petty, Beatles, The Byrds, Stones, Springsteen, CCR, Clapton, Winwood, Rascals (listen to them - very under appreciated Band), Cars, Talking Heads, CSN / and Neil Young, Zombies, and much more, including the True First DIVA , Linda Ronstadt and even Bonnie Rait. I play CDs, and also Stream Music as I Play along. During this venture, there are selections (singles or Albums) that Makes You Stand Up and Take Notice. A Few for the Books.....aside form The Beatles : Paul Simon's Graceland; Santana's Abraxis, Santana's Expressions, Cream's Wheels of Fire (Double Live Album), Dire Strait's Brother in Arms, Rare Earth Live, Springsteen's Born in the USA, and Neil Young's Harvest Moon, Tom Petty's Wildflowers, The Who's Who's Next, Toto IV LP, Sting's Field of Dreams, Neil Diamond's Rainbow, Nora Jones' LPs, Tom Wait, Arlo Gutherie, Joni Mitchell , only to name a few. I'm an old "fart" so to speak... I just can't wrap my arms around Arena Rock (actually I despise it), but remain OPEN to listening to all quality performers. If yu want to have real treat, listen to Linda Ronstadt's Live at the Hollywood Bowl (?) 1980. My God, what a Spectacular Record. Whatta a Spectacular Voice ! I'm very appreciative to have been part of this Music/Cultural Revolution ERA. It Fills The Spirit and the Soul.

thank you for your insight, and musical wisdom! I had watched all of your Beatles reviews. I'm 53 years old, and find only a few current musicians worth following. I agree that auto-tune, and music appearing to be processed, do prevent some of us older music Fns from getting out of listening to only those that we admire, from years past. I buy new music, if reviewed inMOJO -If I see 'live' on Austin City Limits, or SNL, or Colbert/tonight shows. I may know the name of a current person, from media, but not know their music. I don't listen to radio. I buy CD's and vinyl.

Grandaddy. Also, the lead singer Jason Lytle's solo stuff. Amazing artist.

Love this video. Music is individual choice and taste. I am 64 (almost) and the first music that grabbed me were the Beatles. So, I enjoyed the ride from She loves you to the Abbey Road medley and everything in between. Since their music was many styles and genres I have a wide variety of musical tastes. I am an album person but when I shuffle I love when my songs go from Hank Williams Sr. to Led Zeppelin to Tony Bennett the Ramones. But some people love just one genre. It is all personal choice.....nobody is right and nobody is wrong!!! P.S. I have no Abba in my large collection but I appreciate the love people have for their music.

The Beatles, ABBA, the BeeGees, Dire Straits all had one thing in common. They did not go crazy with the C, G, D and Em chords.

@geoffholmes8173

Жыл бұрын

Let it be is just those chords….

Yay! The first single I bought as a kid was Dancing Queen. xx