Worst Period In Rock/Pop Music History???

[A. Vivaldi]

<font color='#000000'>Some say that the years 1960/1963 were the worst, and yes there was some crap put out in these years (Annette Funicello, Ricky Nelson, Frankie Avalon etc.) Some say the worst were the disco years 1975/1980. There was a lot of awful crap put out in these years, by disco and rock bands alike, and by a bunch of guys &amp; gals who were labeled &quot;softrock&quot; but were just a bunch of schlocky, schmalzty cafe musicians who would consider the group Chicago heavy (ala James Taylor, Dan Fogelberg, Carole King etc.) The worst period in my opinion however (I have a lot of em') is right here and now. This Hip Hop/Rap/House whatever has been going on since the early 1990's, longer than any other period/genre in rock/pop history, good or bad, and it seems to keep getting more annoying and in your face as time goes by (just like me). Think of all the progress that was made and the masterpieces produced in the years between 1964/1972. What lasting and memorable works have been created since 1994/2004? I can't wait for the day when I walk into a Goodwill or Salvation Army during one of my Classical Lp hunts, when I see the Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Beyonces and the unidentifiable Hip Hop groups of today sharing their rightful place along with the Andy Gibb's, Barry Manilows, Kool &amp; The Gangs and forgotten unidentifiables of yesterday in the $1.00 bins, and I know that day will come, sooner or later.</font>

 

[Rob Babcock]

<font color='#8D38C9'>Yeah, this is sorta the New Dark Ages of music. &nbsp;But to make too many sweeping &quot;era generalizations&quot; would be to miss the boat; sure, we have Eminem &amp; Britney, but we also have Flaming Lips, Built To Spill &amp; Beck, among others. &nbsp;Whlie there's an awful lot of crap, there's also a lot of good stuff now.

But, if you're talking the music that dominates the charts, then yeah- this is about as bad a time as it gets. &nbsp;Rap/Crap music has had about 14.99 minutes of its 15 minutes of fame, as far as I'm concerned.</font>

 

[EdR]

<font color='#000000'>Great topic,

If memory serves, the 70's were the time that the record companies started to perfect the 'hype' machine, and it became the era of the big overpromoted supergroups. &nbsp;The small creative artists were all but frozen out of any real distribution, and I recall it as very musically uninteresting compared with the creativity we saw in the 60's. &nbsp;By the beginning of the 80's, there was a backlash, and the Alternative scene, along with 'garage grunge' and so forth emerged opening up venues for some very innovative work.

While I agree with Gene that there was a lot of garbage music done, they pried open the gates to allow some great stuff too, and I have to admit, I'd take a screaming honest 'grunger' over the hyper polish, pre-canned, lobodomised sound of band like...oh....say... Journey. &nbsp;

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[BroonsBane]

<font color='#000000'>I saw a bumper sticker on a truck the other day...&quot;You can't spell CRAP without using the letters RAP&quot; I couldn't agree more.</font>

 

[allengarman]

<font color='#000000'>I share your sentiments. &nbsp;Check out my recent review of the Bob Marley tribute DVD. &nbsp;The guest performers included a few Rap singers that almost ruined the overall event. &nbsp;Rap influences on Reggie have had a tremendous negative impact on Jamacian music as well.

I am absolutely amazed that the Rap craze and big clown pant faze have continued this long.

Apparently &quot;Blondie&quot; invented Rap music with her song &quot;Rapture&quot;.</font>

 

[BroonsBane]

<font color='#000000'>Similarily...you can't spell &quot;CRAP&quot; without using the letters &quot;BOSE&quot;
Sorry...couldn't resist! &nbsp;

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[jeffsg4mac]

<font color='#000000'>Sorry ED, but I would listen to Journey over some stupid untalented grunge band any day of the week. At least there is some talent in Journey, there is/was no talent in the grunge bands it was/is just as bad as rap. The 60's sucked for pop music, it was better in the 70's and early 80's but after about 85 it went down hill fast and has not come back up yet.</font>

 

[duff]

<font color='#000000'>I think pop music is coming around.  

But very very slowly, and it's nowhere near impacting the quality of the hit charts.  It may never get that far, as most of it could just as easily be &quot;indie&quot; or something other than &quot;pop.&quot;  Music labels (types of music, that is) are becoming increasingly useless as influences cross genres IMO.

I've discovered a bunch of decent bands in the past year or so most of which tend to have a greater pop sense than I'm used to.  So maybe my tastes are evolving, or maybe this is really where the action is.  

Maybe it's just my narrow focus that's helping me tune out the mainstream.  And I doubt many of these bands will stand the test of time, but at least for now they are an enjoyable alternative to the radio.</font>

 

[EdR]

<font color='#000000'><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>

jeffsg4mac : Sorry ED, but I would listen to Journey over some stupid untalented grunge band any day of the week. At least there is some talent in Journey, there is/was no talent in the grunge bands it was/is just as bad as rap. The 60's sucked for pop music, it was better in the 70's and early 80's but after about 85 it went down hill fast and has not come back up yet.

Oh...we're talking about Pop music.  Sorry, don't much listen to it myself, but, I'd agree- while the 60's and the early 80's were very exciting musical times, at least for me, almost none of it was 'pop', so I'd have to agree with you.

I guess one of the things I like in music is what I'd call authenticity- hard to describe, but I know it when I hear it.  Not to pick on Journey, except as an example, but that bland, overmixed, focus group tested, prepackaged sound doesnt' have it.  But perhaps, that's the essence of 'pop'- don't really know.  On the other hand, the Fug's 'Kill for Peace'... now that was the real deal.</font>

 

[zumbo]

<font color='#000000'>80's hair bands. F@G$!

Any music made with a machine and an id10t with a mic! ALL YEARS &amp; STYLES!!

I have some form of respect for any musician or group of musicians that PLAY musical instruments as long as they don't wear make-up &amp; look like drag-queens!

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[zipper]

<font color='#000000'>Once again,great topic. I've somehow managed to survive all the eras &amp; trends of crappy music since the 60's. There have been enough bands come along &amp; enough bands stay together through the dark times to allow me to quench my thirst for ripping guitars &amp; ,well,generally the kind of sound that makes old people scowl at you.Unfortunately,I looked in the mirror the other day &amp; discovered I have become an &quot;old people&quot;. That doesn't stop me from driving past high school kids blaring JP's live cut of &quot;The green manalishi&quot;.
&nbsp; I remember in the later 70's I was dying for the new Zeppelin album to come out,expecting some more kick-butt stuff like &quot;Physical Graffiti&quot;. My jaw almost hit the floor when I heard what was on it. I thought &quot;what the hell is THAT? My worst nightmare had come true. Zeppelin was mellowing. Oh well. I just sucked it up,bought tickets to see someone I'd never heard of(Pat Travers) &amp; I was off &amp; running again.
&nbsp; A special thanks to Ozzy,the Scorpions,Judas Priest,Queensryche,Alice in Chains,&amp;, what the hell, Metallica &amp; Def Leppard for keeping my head banging through the years &amp; giving me reason enough NOT to buy Simon &amp; Garfunkels' greatest hits until after I turned 40.</font>

 

[jeffsg4mac]

<font color='#000000'>Zipper, LOL

 I won't buy simon and garfagle when I turn 80. I will still be listening to the Scorpions.

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[zipper]

<font color='#000000'>Jeff
&nbsp;

Hahaha

&nbsp;God bless ya,we'll see. We rockers have survived no matter what they've thrown at us.

&nbsp;The onslaught of &quot;crap music&quot; with all of the silly names these &quot;crappers&quot; give themselves is just a fad,like disco,&amp; will pass. But I have to agree with Rob that this is as bad as it gets. I think I prefer the Bee Gees over this crap(he said,gritting his teeth).</font>

 

[zipper]

<font color='#000000'>AV ,this time I whole-heartedly agree with you. Great post.</font>

 

[Rob Babcock]

<font color='#8D38C9'>I'm creeping up on &quot;old&quot; at almost 34 (old in the sense of your average Britney/Eminem fan- you know, the ones all music seems marketed to), but I beat you to the Simon &amp; Garfunkel! &nbsp;They were a great band. &nbsp;I also like Neil Young and lotsa other Dino-Rockers. &nbsp;My classical collection numbers in the hundreds and I've been listening to a lot of jazz lately. &nbsp;BUT....

I still gotta rock out! &nbsp;Gimme Metal or give me Death!

&nbsp; Priest, Maiden, Slayer, Queensryche- god help me, I do love it so!

I assembled a metal sampler for my comrades at AudioCircle.com, sort of an intro to the wonderful world of metal and a refresher for lapsed metalheads. &nbsp;It was a lot of work but a lot of fun (I'm mailing the next batch tomorrow). &nbsp;You'd be amazed how many of us there are out there &quot;keeping the faith&quot; for the old metal bands.</font>

 

[zipper]

<font color='#000000'>Attaboy Rob. There's nothing wrong with having music for every mood. But when I head out to the highway,I gotta rock. I would be remiss if I didn't mention RJ Dio &amp; The Stone Temple Pilots. I also just found the CD &quot;Hang on for your life&quot; by Shooting Star. Don't know if you remember them but the title track is a great driving tune.</font>

 

[jeffsg4mac]

<font color='#000000'>Zip, Actually I have always liked the Bee Bee's. They have some pretty good albums. Main Course is a classic, but what do I know I like ManoWar too

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[Rob Babcock]

<font color='#8D38C9'>Just don't tell me you've got Savatage records in your collection...

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[jeffsg4mac]

<font color='#000000'>Rob Who's Savatage? a metal band, I never heard of them. I'm not a big metal fan, but I like some stuff. Have you heard Manowar's warriors of the world CD, I like a lot of the songs on that. Some metal I have heard I detest, It has to be melodic, non satanic, and non screaming before I will like it.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>Great topic. It is also a sure sign of age as we are less in touch with much of what is out there than when we were younger. My take is that in any period- particularly those mentioned above- when ever the big rtecord companies have tight control of the situation and control the radio the music sucks. When a new thing happens be it Elvis, the Beatles, late 60s, punk/new wave the stuff is creatrive and exciting. Sadly the record companies and radio stations are in cahoots like never before and make no pretense about creating stars instead of discovering them. Most radio is a wasteland. The satellite stuffis good for now but will be bought out if it becomes sufficiently successful. A handful of college radio stations are still good. There is some good music being made if you can find it but the small labels which have historically introduced the new big things are few and far between. I personally like mapleshade (mapleshaderecords.com) for very high quallity jazz and roots music with superb recording quality. Anybody else know a good one?
The big companies put out weak music, poorly recorded and overpriced and wonder why sales are down. Downloading ain't the problem. While I might feel bad for small artists from a copyright point of view, the small guys are usually happy for the exposure and I don't care if a million teenage girls download Britney and deprive her and her label of a fraction of their obscene profits.</font>