It seems to me that unequivocally claiming that the music of yesteryear, whichever decade that means to you, is a sort of chronological snobbery.
I do not mean to say indisputably that music is getting better, or worse, or that it’s best decade was that ____’s. I just mean that it seems very, very hard to prove; nigh impossible.
I recognize that time has brought the loudness race, which hurts Bob Dylan’s ears, or whatever, and is actually something interesting or troubling.
However, let me point out that the passing of time has allowed more and more people to record and thus release music, for several reasons…
1. The world population has grown significantly as our ability to stay healthy has improved. Thus, even if the same percentage of the population has made music over time, there is more music being made now than ever before.
2. As we grow more and more wealthy, especially in developed countries, fewer people are involved in agriculture and manufacturing, and more people are involved in service. I would guess this to also include the arts, thus music, thus there is even more music being made than the truth of point number one would lead us to believe.
3. Modern technology in recording and creating music (i.e. multi-track recording, software, etc.) makes it even easier for people to make and record music.
4. The internet has been something that has seriously injured the traditional structure of the music industry. It’s also allowed for bands like, for example, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Panic at the Disco, two very different bands with very different audiences, to find an audience they might not have otherwise. This encourages more people to make music in their basement or bedroom or whatever, and release it through MySpace or their outlet of choice.
While much of what constitutes traditional pop and rock sonic territory has been explored, that does not mean new music can’t flow from these structures. Some is released within such structures; others subvert it; others reinvent it; others harken to a time before it.
All this to say that even if there is a significantly lower percentage of good music being released today, and even if the modern media structure is not designed to market good music and/or art to the masses, it doesn’t mean there are fewer great songs or great albums being made today.
I might add in closing that I am in no way trying to say that today’s music is better than ever – that’s probably not the case, just given the sheer amount of time passed. It’s also very hard to prove that it’s true or not. I, like many from my generation, have favorite musicians and bands and songs and so on from all over the map of the past half century, just as a starting point.
Filed under: Music, Recommendations, college, media
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