OK. This issue has been bothering me for a long time. It's an issue that probably affects every single person I know, hell, probably most people in the world. I'm talking about the decline of music.
Lately I've realized that it's getting harder and harder to find decent music to listen to. Even though there is an abundance of rap, hip-hop and an atrocious techno/pop mixture flooding the radio waves, it seems that the presence of quality music is declining faster than LeBron James' hairline.
I know a lot of you are going to say, “Rap is music, too, man. It takes talent.” Sure, maybe some poetic talent, but only a minuscule number of rappers bring any thought to their flows. The majority of rap is about having sex with women (in much more graphic and demeaning terms), or it talks about how “gangsta” the rappers are, or it's about getting high. Talking about that kind of inane crap takes no talent, whatsoever. I mean, I've seen junior high kids make up raps about this stuff.
And to make matters worse, these stupid lyrics are played behind an electronic drum beat. It's not even played by actual people, or made by actual people. It's made by COMPUTERS. I mean, come on!
Now don't even get me started on pop music. It barely fits the definition of music. Where the did all the instruments go? What happened to actual people playing actual instruments? Synthesizers, once again, do not count as instruments.
And what happened to singers who could actually sing without the help of a computer? As far as I'm concerned, synthesizers and electronic drums drowned out by averaged vocals so auto-tuned they sound like Stephen Hawking's computer is NOT music.
I'm only 17. I obviously haven't personally experienced every era of music. But I was lucky. As a singer/songwriter, I have strong opinions, partially formed by the wide variety of genres and styles I was exposed to in my very musical family. I think I know what is music and what isn't.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not totally against rap and pop. If you take a look at my iPod, you'll find music ranging from Sinatra to Tupac. I'm pretty open to every type of music.
Now, I'm not trying to totally bash this new music, it just seems that the days of making music with actual instruments are fading. With computers dominating the music industry, people with almost no musical talent are pushing artists with actual musical skills out the door.
To be real music, here's the test: If the power goes out and you can still play and sing your songs as good or better than with the power on, you're making music. Is there much argument with that?
The fact that you have to search pretty hard to find some quality music is scary. Even though there are a few actual musicians who are popular, like Adele, Bruno Mars and Taylor Swift, there are nowhere near as many bands or musicians around as there were even 10 or 20 years ago. To find some talent, you have to dive into the indie scene where people with musical talent find refuge from the almost corporate music world.
Maybe one day, real, quality music will take back the radios and the music industry. Or maybe it will fall into the dark abyss of shattered LPs, broken guitars and burnt sheet music. Only time will tell.
Tell me what you think in the comments section.
