The music review format is predictable by now: the album, song or artist is broken down, and then debated on the merits of the effort before attaching a number of stars, letters, points or flaming CDs.
The problem becomes that this is on too small of a scale and it doesn’t look at the big picture. Who is looking at the music industry as a whole? Who is passing out the flaming CDs for that? Well, it seems like it’s about time someone did.
It would be a waste of time to spend this entire review critiquing all the individual bands. So instead, I will review the latest music trends that are changing the music scene.
The Good.
“Vaguely folkish Alternarock” — While folk music conjures up images of old men, banjos and the ‘30s dust bowl, these antiquated images are not what should come to mind from modern folk music. Artists like Mumford and Sons, Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes have set forth a revitalization of this old standard. The upgrade in lyrical content and music style is something other genres could take a few notes from.
“Dubstep” — While dubstep might not be for everyone and has certain negative connotations it is about how lazy and unoriginal by just copying off other people’s work, the spirit behind it is a good one. The barriers to entry are relatively low (some might call this a bad thing). It has the same do-it-yourself spirit that helped birth punk rock so many years ago.
“Technology” — While technology might not be a genre, it is an increasingly prevalent trend. Audiophiles can rejoice as speakers are getting better, cheaper and smaller. Those $400 Beats by Dre headphones that seem to be little more than a fashion accessory are also technologically superior to most headphones on the market. Technology isn’t only limited to the hardware, as websites such as Pandora, Grooveshark and Spotify have made sharing and discovering new music easier than ever thought possible.
The Bad.
“Dance, Pop, Rock, R&B and Musical Vomit” — This is really a mash-up put forth by Justin Bieber, One Direction and the Jonas Brothers. Their popularly was unfortunately brought on by teenage girls and older fans who were obsessed with these men 10-20 years younger than them. While it might seem like the stereotypical male college student’s response to hate these bands sight-unseen, this dislike goes further than that.
Lyrical content, music video production and simple creativity are all null and void when talking about these groups.
“The Paparazzi Whores” — With varying degrees of success, talent and popularity, this is a broad genre, but those in it seem to be increasingly known for their actions off stage. Who remembers Britney Spears’ latest tour versus the time she shaved her head and attacked a paparazzi SUV with her umbrella?
Kanye West’s albums have sold fewer copies with each new release. However, he is better known for knocking up a Kardashian and attacking a photographer in an airport.
While a lot of child stars fizzle out after their shows go off the air, Miley Cyrus has had a moderately successful career after “Hannah Montana,” but has been in the news more for risqué pictures than her latest single.
“The Band that Wouldn’t Die” — While some bands will put out a handful of albums, break apart and then sink into relative obscurity until a reality TV show is made about them, there is a darker side of music. Aerosmith falls in to the dark side.
For 38 years the band has been putting out the same crap, across 15 albums. It simply will not die.
The Rolling Stones ended last year with 50th anniversary tour. Who would have thought even 25 years ago the Rolling Stones would still be on stage into their late 60s?
“Nickelback” — Everyone hates Nickelback, end of story.
Based on this breakdown, music as a whole right now deserves three flaming CDs out of a possible five. While things have been on an upward trend, some of the disasters of the past, boy bands, song-specific dances and hair metal keep the music industry from reaching its full potential.
http://www.westerncourier.com/the_edge/state-of-the-music-industry/article_02f90abe-7087-11e2-a5fd-0019bb30f31a.html
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