Has the best music already been played?

[Ron Whitfield]

Things have changed so much maybe cream no longer rises to the top.

[Theresa Galbraith]

No !!!!!!!!!

[Mike Neer]

I don't think it is such a stretch to say the greatest music has been written in the past, based on what I'm seeing now. Things may look different 50 or 100 years down the road if and when there is an actual renaissance and people begin to really care about and patronize the arts again, but right now it is a bleak reality for any young aspiring musicians to pursue it as a career. Many programs are being closed down, many orchestras disbanding, etc. Which music written this very day or tomorrow will endure for hundreds of years like the music of the great composers? I don't believe Bach, Debussy, Mozart or Beethoven will ever be forgotten, and for good reason.

[Carson Leighton]

Mike,,you have made some great points here...As far as rock and country,,I like the stuff from the 60's and 70's and even some from the 80's..I think that was sort of a "golden era" for this type of music.

There doesn't seem to be a whole lot that sticks to your ribs in today's music..However,, I don't think we should all just give up and quit trying to come up with something new..If we do that,,the industry will die for sure,,but where do we go from here?...Regards,,,Carson

[Ron Whitfield]

The whole national music focus today stretches from Am. Idol to Ms. GaGa. About half an inch, and that's being generous.

[Mike Neer]

.....However,, I don't think we should all just give up and quit trying to come up with something new..If we do that,,the industry will die for sure,,but where do we go from here?...Regards,,,Carson

Where I go from here is just to continue to make the best music I can and be happy. I also want to share what I've learned with those who are interested. I can only control my own path--whatever else happens, happens.

I think musical virtuosity is still reaching new heights on almost all of the instruments. Here's hoping that young people will continue to be stung by the music bug and continue to push forward.

[b0b]

The whole national music focus today stretches from Am. Idol to Ms. GaGa. About half an inch, and that's being generous.

I think that maybe you place too much stock in your radio station. I just looked at Amazon.com, and they show this week's newest hot CD releases as:

• Mylo Xyloto (Special Edition) by Coldplay
• Soul 2 by Seal
• Voyageur by Kathleen Edwards
• 2012 GRAMMY Nominees by Various Artists
• French Impressions by Joshua Bell
• Give Us Rest by David Crowder*Band
• Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan by Various Artists
• Believe by Celtic Woman
• Emotional Traffic by Tim McGraw
• For the Good Times by The Little Willies

I'm not saying that I like everything there, but there's no denying that this list contains a lot of really good music. Something for everyone.

[Pete Burak]

On my daughters radio station Lady Gaga rules, but to me it sounds like they use the same chords and chord-progressions over and over, and just come up with a slightly different hook.
Sound familiar??? Bluegrass, Country, Rock, Jazz, all do the same thing.

I liked a song by Foster The Children that was huge this year.
The entire song is: F#m > A > E > B.
I love the reverb on the chorus.
The newest thing in Pop is to "Whistle" the hook.
Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpovqmmRChI

[J Fletcher]

Probably safe to say that the best Dixieland jazz has already been done, same with the best Chicago blues, and rockabilly (Elvis' Sun sessions won't be topped). Same for big band jazz and doo wop, I would venture. Swamp pop likely peaked in the early 60's. Golden age of country ended about 1972. And so on. Always something new coming along though..Jerry

[b0b]

I just got the weekly spam from our local record store. Here's their list of new releases:

NEW RELEASES OUT NOW:
The Little Willies : For The Good Times
Six years since the release of their self-titled debut album, The Little Willies return with another collection of easy-breezy interpretaions of classic country tunes (Jolene, Remember Me, Fist City). Fronted by Norah Jones, and featuring the marvelous guitar work of Jim Campilongo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alex Chilton : Free Again The 1970's Sessions
The late Alex Chilton was the soulful lead singer of The Box Tops (my baby she wrote me a letter) but he never had the opportunity to perform his original songs with the band. Although he was under contract with American Studios, he snuck into Ardent Studios to record his own music. This album is sort of the bridge from the Box Tops to his critically acclaimed group Big Star. The music is inventive and played with lots of spirit, some R&B, a little country flavor, and a wacked out version of "Jumping Jack Flash".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charlie Haden & Hank Jones : Come Sunday
16 years ago, Charlie Haden and Hank Jones released an album called "Steal Away". It is a 5 star, must-own, collection of spirituals, hymns and folk songs; duets for piano and bass. Come Sunday was recorded in 2010, just 3 months before pianist Hank Jones passed away. Ironically, there are a couple of Christmas songs (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and It Came Upon A Midnight Clear) which might be cool, but Christmas just ended! This album actually has superior sound to "Steal Away", and you can always skip the Christmas songs until next December.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Snow Patrol : Fallen Empires
Snow Patrol formed in 1994 in Scotland by Northern Irish students. Their music has been described as epic, melancholic rock , and might appeal to fans of Coldplay. Fallen Empire is the group's sixth studio album.
Snow Patrol Fun Fact: Before they were Snow Patrol, their name was Polar Bear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rebelution : Peace of Mind
The 4th studio album from the popular Reggae band from Santa Barbara.
The Kids Love 'Em!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Louis Armstong : 'Satchmo' Ambassador of Jazz (Limited Edition)
2012 is the 110th anniversary year of Armstrong's birth. Satchmo is a 4-CD box featuring a 164-page book that tells his long, fascinating story in words and pictures, and the CDs come housed in a mini replica of Louis's travel trunk . You'll hear all the best from his early pioneering days to his prime and later pop years, traversing 1923-67 and including Just Gone; Shanghai Shuffle; Copenhagen; St. Louis Blues; Heebie Jeebies; Muskrat Ramble; West End Blues; Struttin' with Some Barbecue; Jeepers Creepers; When the Saints Go Marching In; When It's Sleepy Time down South; Rockin' Chair; Blueberry Hill; La Vie En Rose; That Lucky Old Sun; A Kiss to Build a Dream On; Cabaret; Mame; Hello, Dolly!; What a Wonderful World; I Still Get Jealous; Stompin' at the Savoy ; live versions of That's My Desire; Ole Miss Blues; Gone Fishin'; Mack the Knife , and more!

Some oldies in their but, like I said, there's still a lot of good music coming out every week.

[James Mayer]

Have you guys ever listened to Fleet Foxes? If their debut album was recorded in the 60's, we would be referencing it as a classic now. It even sounds like it was recorded 45 years ago.

[Ron Whitfield]

I think that maybe you place too much stock in your radio station.
I just looked at Amazon.com, and they show this week's newest hot CD releases as:

But the major focus is on the flavor the moment, Beiber and GaGa are the limelite hogs, nobody in media mentions anybody else. I mean, can't the Banana Splits get any love these days?

I havn't really listened to radio for music in decades. Tho I happened upon about a 1/2 hr. of Japanese rock that was incredible, so there is good current stuff, but that was a freak moment and I've never found out who it was.

My music collection comes from live bootlegs I've recorded, our forum and similar surprises, blogspots and the unlimited amounts of free/public domain dloads available from all eras (google - mediafire, and whatever interest). As I do these I discover new stuff, and some are real keepers, but it's usually things from pre '80s that make's my big toe shoot up in my boot... Thank you, Little Richard!

[James Mayer]

But the major focus is on the flavor the moment, Beiber and GaGa are the limelite hogs, nobody in media mentions anybody else. I mean, can't the Banana Splits get any love these days?

That is NOT the flavor of the moment unless you are listening to the radio or watching television.

I feel like I'm repeating myself here, but you are in control of your reality. The time when you were forcefed content is coming to a close. I'm not exposed to Beiber. I don't think I've ever heard him, though I know what he looks like from the grocery store checkout line. If you are listening to radio or watching television, you are simply not in control. Things have changed dramatically in the last decade. Radio is already NOT the mainstream in my neck of the woods. It was monopolized by the giants a long time ago and people have been making other choices ever since. Satellite radio came first and now it's all about internet radio where you have thousands and thousands of choices. Seriously, I can't tell you the last time that I've been in a car when someone listened to anything other than NPR on the radio. Everyone plugs in their smartphone and streams.

FM will be the new AM in less than 10 years. Maybe 5. It's happening much faster than the transition from rabbit ears to cable.

[Ron Whitfield]

Calm down.
I'm Charles In Charge, and this is one of the sites I get good (mostly rock) stuff from that isn't a blog http://www.guitars101.com/forums/f145/

[James Mayer]

Calm down.
I'm Charles In Charge, and this is one of the sites I get good (mostly rock) stuff from that isn't a blog http://www.guitars101.com/forums/f145/

Hey, just because I used a couple of words in all-caps doesn't mean I'm not calm.

EDIT:

[David Mason]

It seems to me that some people go out of their way to find stuff to dislike, particularly the mind-numbing repetition of complaints against "new country" you see here. I have no way of hearing Kenny Chesney, Justin Bieber, "Friday" or any of this other stuff unless I put my finger on a button and seek it out. There is way, way too much great music out there that I won't ever even have time to hear and study long enough to assimilate it - you don't go to the grocery store and buy a bunch of food you hate, just so you can bitch about it? At least I hope not.

Now, in my lifetime (54), television has never been about promoting quality, though occasionally something half-decent would slip through. The big change has been that FM radio has devolved to lowest-common denominator content too. 50% of the people in the "civilized" world have an IQ of 100 or less, and there will always be entertainment put out there for them. To turn on your radio expecting something new, breath-taking, mood-evoking - how many more years you gonna keep trying?

(Example: just as a result of reading for a few seconds, I have a new list to check into) -

John Hollenbeck
Morten Qvenild
Denman Marony
Butch Morris
Henry Threadgil
David First (Drone composer stuff)
Phillip Johnston ( Microscopic septet guy)
Elivind Opsvik

David Binney
Steve Lehman

Thanks guys!

[b0b]

I was surprised to learn, a couple of months ago, that Katy Perry is a singer. I just assumed she was a reality TV star or something. All of the media bits about her that I saw never mentioned her music. It's like secondary to her fame.

Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga - pretty much the same. These people would not be considered major artists if judged by their music alone. Their looks, youthful energy and (slightly) above-average talent have turned them into media darlings.

But here we are, a bunch of old musicians looking for good music. Our standards are pretty high, but I hear something new that's great almost every day. There's a lot of good music being created.

[Ron Whitfield]

It's always been a matter of sifting thru the mountain to discover the little pile of gold.
We are however living in the best of times for music, if only for the internet to provide the largest mountain ever to sift thru.

[Bryan Daste]

Going back to the original question, "Has the best music already been played?"

I sure hope not - otherwise what are we all doing playing music? Wouldn't it be kind of pointless to either only re-hash the songs of the past or play new music you consider to be inferior?

Every generation has its disposable pop stars. That part isn't new.

[Clete Ritta]

This certainly has been an interesting debate. Best is subjective to an individual of course, but to consider a democratic choice is relevant I suppose to what best is to the collective. Can the meter of what is most popular be used to determine what is best? Can the best song ever written or played by an isolated person with no witness still be the best? (Like the tree in the forest analogy). Is the number one song on the charts the best song of its time? Is the song that remains at the top of the charts longest considered the best ever? Is Brown Eyed Girl Van Morrison's best tune? He doesnt think so, but does it matter? Most popular and best aren't interchangeable, especially to the individual. The rhetorical debate continues...

Clete