Pages Menu
TwitterFacebooklogin
Categories Menu

Posted by on Jun 12, 2013 in Blog, Music and Concert Reviews, Rants and Raves | 769 comments

If You’re Under 25, Your Music is Fucking Garbage

 

 

You show me a machine or a computer program that can match the stellar majesty of Lauritz Melchior singing “Nessun Dorma,” and I’ll acknowledge it as music.  Until then, it’s fucking garbage.

 

If you’re under 25 years old — or an immature 30-plus — I’m about to set your ass straight.

So, listen up.

Your music is fucking garbage.

There, I said it.

Mindless crap.  Eardrum-bursting, dagger-in-the-eyes, ass-bagging, blow your fucking brains out — unadulterated dog shit.  That pretty much sums up the type of music that’s popular with today’s young people.

Listen, you stupid sons of bitches.  I’m talking at you.  I’m your elder.  My opinion demands respect.

Your music hasn’t got life.  It’s fucking dead.  Your music is void of humanity.  It’s as fake as a porn queen’s orgasm.  There’s no soul.  It’s tripe.  It’s a carp in the sea of music.  The stuff you listen to was created by fucking machines.

Today’s “artists” — there’s an oxymoron — don’t even need to know how to play musical instruments or sing.  In other words, no fucking talent whatsoever is needed to succeed today in music.  You heard me.  No.  Talent.  Whatsoever.

And, I’m fucking sick of it because the current generation is taking the gold we gave you and dragging it into a sewer.

Listen up, you little pricks.  I’m not stuck in some kind of classic rock time warp.  Fact is, I expose myself to many different kinds of music.  I give all music a chance.  Even the techno-trash littering the modern music scene is something I’ve tried to digest, which I found to be like choking down a plate of raw oysters laced with salmonella.

It would be nice to enjoy fresh musical acts.  I want to hear new songs.  I like some young people, especially when they get my order right.  But real music is written and performed by humans, not a fucking computer program linked up to a laser show.

Fact:  The more fancy gadgets and distractions you need, the most your music just flat out sucks.

Music should convey some sense of humanity — who we are, and what we feel.  I know that’s a hard concept to digest since your idea of a relationship is picking up a new Twitter follower.  Where’s the love and romance in the mind-numbing rubbish that’s played at most nightclubs?  Is there any conveyance pain and loss?  Or pride and joy?  How about playing a catchy tune that’s just fun to sing along with?

Is that too much to fucking ask?

I don’t expect to like everything that’s new.  As an amateur observer of the human condition, I freely acknowledge that successive generations are obliged to a continuation of the species which sometimes entails pushing boundaries and violating the preferences of their elders.  History shows the more radically different one generation is from one to the next, the greater degree of innovations are sparked from such permutations.  Music is just one by-product of inevitable cultural and technological shifts, sometimes mislabeled as advances.

Yes, yes, yes!  New music should piss off plenty of parents and leathery jokers like me.  At least I’ll accept “cultural evolution” as being inevitable, and necessary.

If you don’t believe this, take a look at the past century.  Nearly a hundred years ago, traditional musicians hated a new sound called jazz.  Later, jazz loyalists despised rock n’ roll and even the early sound of Motown.  After that, the rockers hated disco music.  Then, just about everyone hated New Wave and the 1980’s.  Next came rap music which irritated everyone over the age of 30.  Now, it’s hip hop and something called dubstep, which is essentially music made by computers and sound-making software.  This garbage makes rap sound like fucking Amadeus.

There’s a reason this “music” is used as a weapon on suspected terrorists, forcing them to wear earphones and being bombarded with such abuse for hours.  I’m not making this up.  This is the brain-frying shit they put on the headphones and strap to the ears of prisoners who are handcuffed behind their backs and sit naked in jail cells while they are forced to endure this madness.  I’d rather blow my fucking brains out, and if I ever did managed to get out, I’d be running off to join the nearest terrorist cell in order to extract my revenge.

Have a listen this rubbish (CLICK BELOW) if you can stand it for more than a few seconds:

.

 

I know what you’re thinking.  You want to go after my music.  You want to blast away at me.  Go ahead, fuckers.  See if you can top what I like at the conclusion of this article.  You’re drawing so fucking dead you should even be in my game.

So, what constitutes real music?  Here’s a list of things I believe to be essential.

REAL MUSIC DEFINED BY NOLAN DALLA:

(1)  Real music is created by humans, not by a machine or a computer.

(2)  Real music has structure and consistency.

(3)  Real music elicits real emotions — of love, loss, anger, fear, happiness, hope, inspiration, or anything related to the gambit of being human.

(4)  Real music requires talent.

(5)  Real music requires instruments and/or voices.

(6)  Real music should be cross generational.

(7)  Real music shouldn’t need gadgets or special effects to be enjoyed.

Here and now, I’ll leave you with a video clip of real music (CLICK BELOW).  When one of those fucking machines creates a sound that can somehow match this magical majesty, then give me a call.  Until then, don’t label what you listen to as “music.”  It’s not music.  It’s garbage.

 

Writer’s Note:  I wrote this over-the-top satirical outrage back in 2013, not expecting it to become the third-highest rated post on my website, with more than 100,000 page views.  Had I know that trolling could generate such high traffic, I probably would have utilized the tactic more often.  That said, I’ve come to modify my position somewhat on modern music.  There’s an astonishing array of excellent high-tech, computer-generated sound that’s as profoundly creative as anything ever written and recorded.  I continue to express some bewilderment at what masquerades as “popular music” today.  Much of it is garbage.  However, I wish to amend my previous remarks and withdraw the blanket condemnation of anything enjoyed by listeners under the age of 25.  Now, please continue to post the often hilariously hateful comments below.  Regards.

769 Comments

  1. According to this article, people who draw and design using technological mediums don’t have a single ounce of artistic vision and talent. Apparently computers do everything. I can just open MS Paint and BOOM I just drew Mona fucking Lisa. Alongside this, Electronic music comes in a multitude of varieties and requires use of music theory, proper arrangements, and can even feature vocals and live instrumentation. Electronic music is also perfectly capable of eliciting emotion and making a connection with the listener. I know this first hand. This article is incredibly close minded and this author seems to be under the assumption that even art is automated nowadays, news flash: humans USE the computer to create and produce the music. They don’t just open Ableton live or Logic and watch as it falls into place. I hate seeing hate filled products of ignorance such as this article. If anything, this new era of music offers more possibilities for creativity and human design than any time period before it. You just have to look in the right places.

    • where are some good right places. bored with evthing I know already~ with EDM or any form of electronic music I know the early greats of the ambient world etc… but nothing new to feed me. Thanks in advance.

  2. Im 21 and I listen to punk music, not hipster shit like Fun and Imagine Dragons. I like Screeching Weasel and my little brother likes Pink Floyd, he’s 18 but he’s been listening to them since he was 16 I think. Not everyone one young listens to the shit on the radio.

  3. Wow, you’re a very very angry person by the sounds of your blog here.. Maybe you’re just old? I’m not saying I like the music either but you spewing insults and shit all over young people isn’t going to change anything. If anything, you are the one who has some growing up to do…

  4. I wish I had come across this article when it was written. First, let me just clarify that I am under that age you described, and I cannot agree more that the drug-fuelled electronic music is complete and utter shit. I hate it more than political correctness, which is saying a lot. Second, your opinion means absolutely nothing to me. Take a step down off that high horse you ride around on, unplug your walkman, and re-read this article. Do the vast majority of young people listen to pathetic music? Yes, absolutely, but don’t group myself and others into that majority. Good music is still made. Ty Segall, Wavves, The Black Keys, Tame Impala, Bass Drum of Death, Sticky Fingers just to name a few. My point is, just because you’re old as fuck and need to vent does not mean you are above the rest of us and can distance yourself from the shit music and act as though you know better. We all have to deal with this garbage.

  5. REAL MUSIC DEFINED BY NOLAN DALLA:

    (1) R&B and Hip-Hop is created by humans, not by a machine or a computer.

    (2) R&B and Hip-Hop has structure and consistency.

    (3) R&B and Hip-Hop elicits real emotions — of love, loss, anger, fear, happiness, hope, inspiration, or anything related to the gambit of being human.

    (4) R&B and Hip-Hop requires talent.

    (5) R&B and Hip-Hop requires instruments and/or voices.

    (6) R&B and Hip-Hop are cross generational.

    (7) Shouldn’t need gadgets or special effects can be used to improve the music

    (8) You are uptight old man who always stuck in the past. have fun fuckin with your ancient music catalogue

    • (7) gadgets or special effects can be used to improve the music

    • From what I’ve seen, a lot of hip-hop and rap makes use of computers (DAWs). Not that it’s a bad thing, I’m just saying 😛

  6. No thanks I’ll keep with my dubstep and electronic music. I don’t care If It doesn’t require extraordinary talent. Music Is music no matter what It Is created by. And you will find that modern machines can accomplish feats almost impossible by man. Have fun you your 123AD music catalog that you will have to wait 200 century’s just to get a new song. My music is 10/10. Your music Is dreck. And you are an inferior piece of old trash.

    -Asperixo

    • Nolan Replies: Once again, I seem to have hit a nerve.

      Signed,

      — An Inferior Piece of Old Trash

      • Not like you were angry with writing your article or anything.

        • Holy fucking shit, I can’t believe I was that stupid just three years ago.

          Nothing much has changed, I’m still a moron.

          Can we forget this ever happened?

      • Keep it up you are destroying the arguments of these corporate youth drones. They think they are being original but are so mind controlled by an agenda that was started before they were even born. It is hard to be mad at them for their foolishness. I knew the young ones were in trouble, I was in the transitional generation that could still see clearly before the darkness came in the 90’s. I have tried to keep an open mind and listen to all the musical suggestions of the brain dead here. All of those bands sucked so bad they did not even get past 4 seconds!

        PUT YOUR HANDS UP IN THE AIR AND STEP AWAY FROM THE DJ TURTABLE AND ABELTON LIVE SIR!

        Yea you little abelton junkies im talking to you!. You know DAMN WELL that you are not content creators. You are taking someone elses creations and making a collage out of someone elses art. Cutting and pasting GRAPHICAL BLOCKS that represent other people’s music and then calling it your own. Back in the day me and my MUSICAN friends joked that something like this might happen in the future. TO OUR HOROR THE JOKES WE HAD BACK THEN ACTUALLY CAME TRUE!

  7. You are a fucking idiot, old man. Keepn on living in your dreamworld of absolute paranoia, you fucking failure. And keep forgetting that you’re the one to blame for the negative aspects of this generation. Your views, your voting, your desires, your choices. Eveyrthing. You have destryoed this generation and you’ve been unable to teach the young people of what is good music and what is not.

    Meanwhile, I’ll be listening to the smarter and more talented young musicians of my generation while you”ll be jerking off to a Beatles album.

  8. You’re suffering from a mental disorder. You’re not nostalgic, grumpy grandpa. That’s the most proper explaination I’ve found for your exceptionally narrow-minded views. By the way, this new generation has smarter and more talented people than the shipwrecks of your decade. The only difference is that they stay underground.

  9. You know what Nolan is? He’s the prototypical “the music of my generation is better than yours” arrogant jerk. I find that view incredibly elitist and closed minded. While I do agree that modern pop and dance music is mindless crap (it takes five people to write a 3 minute song with one 4 word verse and a 3 word chorus that repeats 100 times), there is plenty of enjoyable music from virtually every genre. From Jazz to Classical, to pop, to heavy metal, to blues and everything in between. Unfortunately, you will never experience that.

    • This is ridiculous. Seriously.
      I get it that you’re an elder, and I get it that you have seen much more than the younger generation, and that we should respect you. But I can’t respect a elder when he thinks it’s fucking cool to swear at a younger ‘immature’ audience and tell them straight up that everything they know of is garbage and they are stupid imbecile. Respect doesn’t go to someone like that.
      Let’s listen to the thoughts of a ignorant child.
      1) Technology did not ruin music. You’re an idiot if you really think music can be ruined that easy.
      2) While we’re on the point of technology and gadgets, be aware that that is what allows you to be complaining right now. That’s what you’re using to type your website. Technology can amplify music for more to enjoy. Technology did not ruin music, you ass. People did. They only used technology in the process, fucker.
      3) From your list of extremely ignorant reasons to hate on modern music, I’m going to calculatedly assume that you only heard of the top 10s. The top 10s are crap, shithead, I’ll give it you straight. They only get popular from commercial success.
      4) There are still good music and talented musicians nowadays. You just have a dig a little deeper. Even artists like Taylor Swift or Miley Cyrus are given bad names because of what they do, and how the media portrays them. If you bother searching, you can learn that every artist, even younger ones, can be pretty talented.
      A stereotypical arrogant jerk who seems very indulgent in the whole ‘my generation is better than yours because I’m older and therefore more wise.’ If you were really wise you wouldn’t resort to using pathetic insults the younger generation are infatuated with. If you were really wise, you’ll get your head out of your ‘I’m the best in the world’ megalomaniac tendencies. Fuck you, Sir.

    • You’re generalizing “modern pop and dance music” wayyyyyyy too much and exaggerating and also being a little off topic with that lol. Thx for the rest of what you said though, which is like good

  10. Agreed, agreed, agreed.

    I am 24 years old and I agree to all the pointers made by this Nolan Character. The kids these days don’t have what it takes.

    Music should either excite, sooth, or calm your senses in a sense that has that “familiar” feeling to it.

    This Dubstep, Hip Hop and “Rap” rubbish is entirely under productive. Any idiot can imitate these pieces of junk. And not one of them will be memorable after their death.

    They’re no Behotoven that’s for sure. They don’t even dress properly. That “Skrillex” looks like a Meth-addict.

  11. you have got to be the dumbest piece of shit on the planet. who the fuck are you to say what music is good or bad? music is 100% subjective. you have no idea how much science and audio production knowledge and TALENT goes into creating electronic music. please kill yourself, it would make the world such a better place so we can continue to evolve and revolutionize sound and music.

  12. Now if you’ll just stop trying to down the happiness and relief of the world which sucks that people get when listening to deep house etc. and listen to this I’d appreciate it. EDM doesn’t suck, it is not fucking garbage as you call it. If there is no talent whatsoever (quoting you again) needed to make EDM, TRY IT YOURSELF. YOU WILL MOST PROBABLY FAIL. To even think you can call a genre trash because you yourself don’t like it, is plain ignorant. Thank you for your time.

  13. Music is music, just because you dont like a certain type of music and prefer one type doesn’t mean all other types or genres if you like are bad. I consider the stuff you listen to shit but I dont go around posting it around the net.

    Look at art, there are many types of artists out there that are recognized for artistry that a 2 year old could do with their fingers but sells for millions of dollars. Simply put stfu keep you’re opinions to yourself.

  14. 1.Plenty of music is created by machines and computers. The human creativity that runs the machines and computers is what really matters.By the way is a pianoforte a machine? Why yes it is.

    2.Some music is purposefully atonal, dissonant, or chaotic.

    3.The music that you hate must be real becasue it has elicited an emotion. In your case the emotion is hatred.

    4.Even the beginner musician or non musician has some talent or a potential for talent. It’s matters of degree like anything else, bub.

    5. Real music requires no instruments or voices; clapping hands and stomping feet are quite capable of producing music.

    6.Even what call fake music will be like by generations in the future.Isn’t it nice to know that when you’re dead someone will still be listening to that awful stuff.

    7.To a certain degree, all instruments are gadgets and special effects. Without the “gadgets” (aka instruments) all you have is the voice.

    8. Nobody cares if you dislike their music anyway. Get over yourself.

    7.

    • You’re a stupid, non-musical fuck head.

      • Great arguments there m8 10/10

  15. ALL MUSIC is good. Some JOURNALISM is really fucking bad.

    • iloveu and ur completely correct <333

  16. What a bunch of butthurt dubstep faggots in the comments. I’m 24, listen to classical, jazz, blues, classic rock, and heavy metal. Dubstep is a shit. It is a cancer to true honorable musicians everywhere. It took me 10 years to learn a guitar. It took me 1 year to learn Fruity Loops.

    • you still gave a shit tho. so dont be a hypocrite.

  17. youre garbage aswell. your dumb mind only appreciates one genre. shut your fucking ass up music is diverse and complex you cant say that dubstep aint music because it simply fucking is. dont try to be a smart ass here fuckboy.youre whats wrong with the society fuck you.

  18. Holy crap.. I actually can’t tell if this whole blog is sarcastic or not. Is this guy autistic?

  19. I agree, This modern age music is shitty, but why do I have to live with it I wish I was not born as a mellenial feeling that My generation could create such horendous music is a discrase to what our parents listened to, Sadly I am only 17 but I find that I am the only young person that thinks this, Whenever I hear this shitty music I want to rip my ears out.

  20. Is this bait? Literally everyone who is under 25’s music is garbage? What?

  21. This is hilariously ignorant.

  22. It’s not too late, you can still catch up with the world. I know it’s terrifying when you’re out of touch and nothing makes sense, but there’s always hope.

    If you just open your mind and your heart and let go of your hateful, ignorant way of looking at music, you can enjoy what the rest of us are enjoying. It’s not hard, I promise.

  23. Technically, instruments are machines as well as computers. Also, I don’t think age defines music taste.

    This is coming from a kid who listens to listens to Queen. I don’t like new songs. Pop music went bad after 1998, rap went bad after 2001, country went bad [insert year first country song was created], and classical music isn’t exactly terrible, but it’s… bland. There’s a difference between liking a genre of music and disliking change as a whole. Instead of directing this at an entire age group, how about just the people that like that shit.

    lol

    • No, technically things like violins, oboes, and drums are “instruments'” and not “machines.” Look up the definitions. Electronic keyboards, computers, and synthesizers stretch the definition and may be considered machines.

  24. Nobody cares about your condescending shitty opinions.

  25. Schoenberg, Webern, Berg and Cage would like to have a word.
    As an actual music scholar (At a conservatorium and everything) and under 25 it seems to me that your views on music are very narrow and uninformed indeed.
    Furthermore, if you really truly were informed even on the narrow slice that you ordain to be music, you would probably not have chosen “Nessun Dorma” as your example.
    In fact, allow me to one-up your elitism and go ahead and say Pavarotti isn’t even really that good. His interpretations so often lack subtlety, instead relying on the pure power that his voice can produce. In my mind, I place him well behind the work of Carouso and Florez, two true masters.

    As with all things, there is a variety of quality. Some modern music is utter trash, true, but every genre has its geniuses. I suspect many of the things you take issue with in Technologically produced music is common with such long-standing classical and orchestral genres as minimalism and expressionism.
    I highly recommend listening to the work of Florez on “Ah mes amis” as some semblance of the sheer difference between the craft of these musicians, in the meantime however, I would suggest leaving the elitism to the informed.

    • Even scholars can be ill-informed, stodgy in their opinions, and guilty of poor taste. Just look at all the great artists who were rejected by the conservatories of their times.

      Pavarotti was fantastic. I prefer him to Caruso and other great tenors of the past who’ve left recordings — and yes, I have listened to a number of them. I also understand phrasing and nuanced singing, which is conspicuously absent in the pop music of 2015.

      You, by flaunting your credentials as proof of your correctness, are acting as the elitist here. Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern are mostly musical curiosities whose music is despised outside the academies. By inventing a rigid set of 12 tone rules, they created music that is largely unlistenable. There’s a reason why they’re underrepresented in the classical repertory.

  26. You sire,
    Are a god and just made my day I’m a teen and all my friends listen to electronic music which sucks ass hopefully I can talk some sense into them.
    Thank you

  27. How do you feel about this type of machine-generated garbage?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaUpbCdEQYQ

    I can’t help what I like, and I can’t help feeling that this is pretty artistic. It doesn’t have any humanization, but I listen to that sort of stuff and appreciate it too.

  28. so…. a lot of anger on here. I’m searching for anything good to put into my ears. Anything that will blow my mind and open up the ceiling when I put my headphones on? Hungry for something new to inspire me as someone who has been composing for film and television for a long while and played in touring bands all the way until a few years ago. I have managed to avoid connecting with EDM in anyway other than partying and getting off my head and not really being amazed by much more than the lights and the moving bodies. I want something for my heart and brain that’s of this genre. something that travels the soul and the brain. With much gratitude~

  29. Nah Man, Fuck Music Today, Fuck The Rolling Stones, Fuck The Beatles, Fuck Elvis Presley, Fuck Mozart, Fuck Beethoven.

    IT’S ALL ABOUT CAVEMAN MUSIC.
    When neanderthals were making music with their mouths and hitting sticks and stones.
    NOW THAT’S IS CALL REAL MUSIC.
    Not That Bullshit Classical, Baroque, Medieval, and Renaissance Shit. That’s Right…

    Fuckem All!!!!
    NEANDERTHAL MUSIC FOR LIFE!!! BITCHES!!!!!!!!!!!

  30. This is pure ignorance. You say music needs to stir emotion and meaning. Try listening to Crossroad by Au5. This is a perfect example. Also, you say music requires talent to produce. It’s not a fucking button that says “PRESS HERE TO MAKE MUSIC”. It requires music theory knowledge, originality, structure, knowledge of the program used, and much more. I think you’ve been blinded by the “party and get drunk” theme of most pop music today. Another good example is Frame Of Mind by Tristam. The vocals in this song are absolutely beautiful, and as far as I can tell, completely natural. If you think making this “garbage” is so easy, I’d like to see you do it. I’m over 25, and I listen to and enjoy electronic music. You must be fun to be around.

  31. A) All people have their own opinions.
    Example
    John: I like cheese.
    Dan: I don’t like cheese.

    B) Just because someone has an opinion doesn’t make it any more viable than anyone else’s.
    Example
    John: I respect your opinion.
    Dan: I respect your opinion as well.

    C) Music can not be defined as one particular set of rules, otherwise it is even more robotic than robots themselves.
    Example
    Jack: Only classical music is worth listening to…the rest is just a bunch of loud noises…not even music, really.

    D) Only awful people push their opinions onto others with insults, thoughts of superiority, and fighting.
    Example
    Various dictators, slavers, murderers…etc.

    E) Everything above is just my opinion. *wink*

  32. Im about to set you straight, u old ass people say we dont have any skills and what so ever, making music on a computer can take up to 50 hours and is alot harder than you think, harder than guitar playing and everything, have u ever even tried making it digitally, like professional? No i didnt guess so, see i play both piano and guitar and i can truly say that making music digitally is alot more harder, ive been doing it for 4 years and it takes up to 50 hours for me to finnish a track, so shut ur mouth before u talk cause u dont even have any progress in that era, and btw i do listen to music from the 50’s and all kinds, jesus

  33. I completely agree that I’m not fond of the music that is constantly playing on the radio.

    However, entertainment is just that. It’s not an important part of life. Instead of ANY of these artists making all of this money, it should be going to medical research and education. And YET, people find time to rant about MUSIC. I find that to be more ironic than how music has changed to be shit.

    Yea, artists can be famous for just anything, but entertainment is so unimportant to humanity, I don’t understand how anyone got FAMOUS for doing something I can do at home for myself. Why spend money to hear someone sing? I can sing to my damn self and no one else has to like it.

    So, again, music is just entertainment, just a distracting and a way to pass time. So who cares if it’s shitty now if it’s entertaining a few folks?

  34. Hello there raging traveler!

    My name is Alex, but my I go by the DJ name of Qua-Z. The funny thing for me is that I started out listening to 80’s hair metal, then more metal, then I got into heavy metal, then into dubstep because of the metal like sound, and now am into chillstep and other softer types of electronic music. Sure I may like the few EDM or Hardstyle tracks that are out there, (not the greatest fan of Trap). But my favorite sound is Glitch Hop, which is basically a funky version of dubstep, with more emphasis on the drums. If you think that making electronic music requires no talent at all, then there are a few things you should know:

    1.) Though I agree dance music is relatively easy, it is insanely fucking hard to make dubstep (though a lot of people take it waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to far with the complexity in a lot of songs now).

    2.) Some artists actually do all of their tracks live, with launchpads and disk jockey setups. For example, there’s this guy who incorporates his musical instruments and engineering into what he does, Jack Conte: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfDfdyBldz0 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAJBc7gW-Vc
    If you are interested in other artists that do this I recommend:
    Haywyre:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLXS0EGwCZg and Ronald Jenkees (more bluesy, jazzy/funky electronic) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0YiWsAM0O8

    3.) Just because people make electronic music doesn’t mean that all of them only make generic Electronic Dance Music. There are a lot of people out there that have learned to incorporate their own styles into their sound. I used to be one of the generic musicians that used loops that you could by online. Now I try not to becuase I feel that that is a cheap way of doing things. I’ve made about 200 songs total, 50 or more of which don’t incorporate loops into the song. I was taught that by my music teacher.

    Using loops though is really just the first step, as you can find out so much about the music by just using the loops, like what would be the best time to add this, or shift the track to that, etc. It helps you become proficient and experience several different types of electronic music so that you may be able to narrow your focus a bit more. I don’t want to make something like other people. Sure it would be easier to go the generic route, but I feel that that is not really me being me, but instead me selling myself out. I want to find my own style and develope it. Maybe even add a band to it later. Maybe I’ll make background tracks that I can sing too. I want to make music that people can groove to, but I still like making beautiful chillstep and rockin’ drumstep.

    In fact, if I were to ever use loops again, it would be to incorporate some sound that I couldn’t figure out how to make yet. I would use it in tandem with my original sounds.

  35. This is hysterical man. Did you ever even study music before the 2000’s? Ever heard of the Brill Building? It basically turned musicians into powerless pawns for producers to throw about. Music was pumped out like machine and thrown at mindless teenagers for their enjoyment. Most singers had to lip-sync because they were pulled off the street to preform if they had a “nice face”. This was in the early 60’s. Sound familiar?

    Don’t try to act like we’re the first generation to have horrible, non-emotionally stimulating, talentless popular music.

  36. Emo stands for emotional. So all this bullshit about music having no emotion makes my ears bleed. If you don’t like what you hear. STOP LISTENING. I will admit I’m not the biggest fan of rap, but I don’t go around telling people what to think about it. People don’t just play or listen to music because they can they do it because they connect to it. Dubstep takes almost as much skill as anything else. With EDM you control the intire song, not just one part. Modern music is amazing! And it is getting better. If you want to be respected stop telling people their music is fucking bullshit because all you’re doing is pissing people off and giving you even less respect. Oh, btw what you said about real music not needing fancy gadgets, try telling that to the guy who was singing into a fucking microphone (second clip).

  37. God forbid people under 25 listening to classical music.

  38. There’s one part here I definitely don’t agree with. “The major elements that go into music: pitch, timbre, key, harmony, loudness, rhythm, meter, and tempo” (Daniel J. Levitin). As long as it has this, it can be music. SO YES a machine CAN make music.

    Here let me educate you. Me, an 18-year-old girl. Clearly I have no taste in music because I believe MACHINES CAN MAKE MUSIC. Let me tell you this, music from my generation can be enjoyed. Yes. You know what modern artists are doing? They’re finding new sounds. And you know what I guess it’s eliciting emotions if it’s pissing you off so much. A musician has failed if they’re not making you feel something. Music is like a painting, the artist wants you to feel something. It doesn’t even matter if you like it. It’s still causing you to have some sort of emotion, some sort of opinion. It’s making you think, it’s making you feel.

    And I’ll tell you this. I’m not really a huge fan of all recent music. Some of it is trash in my opinion. And hey, you know, I consider myself to have GOOD TASTE in music. After all, I’ve been studying classical piano for ten years. I played the violin for five years. I play the French horn too– for six years now. I absolutely love jamming out to some Chopin, Holst, Maslanka, or Balmages. I also love Jason Mraz, Justin Timberlake, Jack Johnson, Charlie Puth, and George Erza. You probably don’t have a problem with the people I just mentioned. But you have a problem with machines? MACHINES? We literally use them for everything. Why can’t you convey your emotion through machines? It’s like conveying my emotion through the very text I’m writing– and I’m writing it on a godforsaken machine oh no. I’m sure you can tell I’m irked by your claims.

    And here this is how machines imitate noise. Taken straight out of Daniel J. Levitin’s “This is Your Brain on Music”:

    “If I line up a bunch of generators, I could set each one of them to play a specific frequency corresponding to the overtone series for a particular instrument playing a particular tone. I could have a bank of these generators making sounds at 110, 220, 330, 440, 550, and 660 Hz, which would give the listener the impression of a 110 Hz tone played by a musical instrument. Furthermore, I could control the amplitude of each of my generators and make each of the tones play at a particular loudness, corresponding to the overtone profile of a natural musical instrument. If I did that, the resulting bank of generators would approximate the sound of a clarinet, or flute, or any other instrument I was trying to emulate” (Daniel J. Levitin)

    Look at that! A machine can exactly imitate the sound of any natural instrument. I bet you wouldn’t even be able to tell the difference if the overtone profile is matched exactly.

    “A clever organ player could simulate the sound of a clarinet by manipulating drawbars in such a way as to re-create the overtone series of that instrument. A little bit off 220 Hz here, a dash of 330 Hz, a dollop of 440 Hz, a heaping helping of 550 Hz, and viola!- you’ve cooked yourself up a reasonable facsimile of an instrument” (Daniel J. Levitin).

    Hell even an instrument can imitate the sound of other instruments!

    If you’re unclear what a machine is, let Google tell you.

    Machine 1. (noun) “an apparatus using or applying mechanical power and having several parts, each with a definite function and together performing a particular task.”

    And if you aren’t sure what “Mechanical” means:

    “working or produced by machines or machinery.” Well look at that, this definition is leading me in a loop. Let’s try defining machinery.

    machines collectively. Thanks for nothing Google.

    Oh and look at what Yahoo gives me:

    “Are humans just incredibly sophisticated machines?
    Arthur C. Clark said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. If the human brain is just an incredibly sophisticated computer, wouldn’t it naturally perceive its own existence as “magic?” Stated another way, if humans were actually just high-functioning machines and not special beings with an immortal soul, is there any scientific way for us to find that out?”

    “IF THE HUMAN BRAIN IS JUST AN INCREDIBLY SOPHISTICATED COMPUTER” Wow look at that. Our brains can be considered a computer. You CAN consider humans a machine.

    If you wanted to.
    But I guess you want to draw a distinction between music made by living thing and nonliving things.

    But it’s still undeniable that generators can exactly imitate the sound of a natural musical instrument. That is fact. That is science. Your brain can’t tell the difference.

    Now I can’t speak for the video you posted, providing an example of this “trash”. According to youtube, it doesn’t exist. But you’re still wrong that machines can’t make music. I’m sure you could groove to the Rhapsody in Blue solo played clarinet even if it was generated by machines. Unless you simply don’t like Rhapsody in Blue. And if you didn’t I would question your taste in music.

    It is okay for you to have opinions, but it’s BS that machines can’t make music. You couldn’t tell the difference.

    Not all of us teenagers are trash. Not all of the music we listen to is trash. I may be one in a hundred, but don’t deny facts and science. You could learn something from youth, “wise guy”. And fine, crap talk me after I post this comment. I have a brain. I used it. I supported my claims with pure science, pure fact. My claims aren’t just opinions. They’re the truth.

    Now go pop some headphones in your ears and try listening to music generated by machines again. These sounds make you feel something. They’re fresh. They’re new. You might now like it. That’s fine. You may think anything made in the 2000’s is complete garbage.

    Why do some people think some genres are crap and some genres are gold? I’m conducting research to find the answer to that question, and eventually, I’ll dig it up. When I get into college next year on neuroscience and music majors, I’m going to prove it for myself and recreate the research I found. I’ll shake my head from your ignorance just as I shake my head as I write this.

    YOU CAN HAVE YOUR OPINIONS, BUT HERE TAKE MY FACTS.

    _______________________________________________________________________________

    PS. Please keep in mind I wrote this in 20 minutes. Feel free to find holes. I’ll play your game. I didn’t even read you’re whole article because one thing bothered me SO much. And look at that, I argued against your one thing.

    _______________________________________________________________________________

    “(7) Real music shouldn’t need gadgets or special effects to be enjoyed.”
    And what the heck. A hearing aid is a gadget, a lot of people need “gadgets” to enjoy music.

    Open your ears, open your eyes, and open your heart old man and give a little respect to the younger generation and look at who taught us.

    • Uh dude don’t need to make a book about this.

  39. What are your opinions on rap and hip hop?.

    • Nolan Replies:

      Dog shit and pig shit.

      — ND

  40. i haven’t read anything that ignorant and stupid for a long time.

  41. I see that your insecurities are showing.

  42. So if I’m under 25 but I like music that my dad likes such as: Rush,Metallica,Rainbow,etc then those bands are shitty?

  43. …said every generation of crotchety old people ever

    best troll post on the internet.

  44. I can see you have tried to gte a result by being abusive. Sahme this is your style. On music you are wrong. There is more live music now than in the last 20 years. Keep your eyes open. Many super clubs have gone!

  45. I agree with everything you said. Only when I clicked that last link, it was Opera. Dude, Opera? You play that driving down the strip? Play it in the morning to get psyched? It’s kind of like the National Anthem to get the blood pumping. LOL!

    Instead of saying oh I don’t know… Pink Floyd, The Doors, Marvin Gaye.

    I’ll say this real quick. When I first heard of 2 Chainz I thought he was a fictional character for a TV show. Turned out to be a real person. Also Jay Z is totally overrated.
    And Kanye West is garbage. Everything he does is SHIT! Pre Pig. Post Pig. Pig = Kardashian.

    As for hip hop, I’ll stick to Tech N9ne & Eminem.

    • BITCH, FUCK YOUR feminem! He’s just as fucking overrated too, if not more!

  46. I once asked my paternal grandfather what sorts of music he enjoyed and he mentioned Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael, Kurt Weill and Rodgers and Hart. When I asked what tunes he liked, he said everything they wrote. I then asked him what he thought of some of the jazz music my father liked, including Bebop Jazz and he said it was just noise.

    My dad was a tenor sax player, he was in the final incarnation of Benny Goodman’s orchestra, among other things, he knew more about music than most people will ever forget, and while he cheerfully embraced The Beatles, Blood, Sweat & Tears, etc. he certainly didn’t get Jimi Hendrix or the 1970’s progressive rock my brother and I listened to endlessly in his home.

    I’ll end with this quote: “All music is valid.” – Chick Corea

    • “All music is valid” is not the same as all music is equal or even good. You could make the same argument that all poetry is valid, and that doggerel verse has the same artistic merit as the poetry of the great romantics.

      Whether or not you like Bebop, you at least have to recognize that it was often performed by brilliant musicians. It would be a stretch to even recognize many of today’s pop icons as musicians. They’re canned, auto tuned, corporate-polished “entertainers” at best, and studies of the million song dataset shows that they’re lacking in variety and imagination as well.

  47. So I am 23 and I listen to classical music exclusively… good one on generalising an entire demographic based on the charts.

  48. I’m about to set your fucking arse straight dickhead

    Don’t judge people on there age because it has nothing to do with music tastes oh wait your over 25 so that makes you so superior

  49. And guess what cunt head your deffintly not my elder I’m 21 I’m an adult to and your only 4 years older then me
    Want to argue so I can disrespect you some more let me know because you treat me like shit you get it back like I said your no different to any other legal adult I’m still physically in my 20s just like you are so learn in your thick head that respect is earned not just given

  50. Oh and BTW you think you know what your talking about will don’t you dare stereotype everyone under 25 and say they listen to pop because I listen to metal

  51. I am 77 years old and i still like to listen to all kinds of music including Pavarotti and Christina Novelli and disco. Rap and dubstep is garbage and offensive rants

  52. I totally agree.

    At least you have a brain in this pop loving world.

    POP SUCKS!!!!!!!
    METAL AND ROCK RULES THE WORLD!!!!

  53. Hey im under 25!!

    Im 11 years old so you stop disrespecting kids.
    But in a way i kinda agree with you about the music.

  54. I’m fourteen years old, and I believe that classic rock and pop-rock from the years 1970-2010 is the very best genre of music. I have only heard two or three good songs that came out in the past two years, and all that hip-hop crap that’s popular now absolutely sucks. Please, don’t generalize us all.

  55. all those thick as pigshit types that flock to the european clubs to indulge in nights of synthesised pap with its turgid mindless thud, thud beat. Accompanied inevitably by some dull as ditchwater light show, christ !!! Inane dj’s, always without exception total fuckin nonentities.
    Its a pathetic culture of wealthy club owners and their thugs, exploiting the sappy brained tattooed halfwits and their desire to soak up loud noise.

  56. only really stupid people label things in such a vastly blind way. what you are ‘trying’ to state is this: we all get older and see the pop dross in the same way after a while.. (unless we are just terminally stupid commercial minded fuckin idiots) yes! pop music is shit.. always has been.. and NO! electronic music isnt unreal..
    lastly. youre a prick.

    • Actually, no — pop music hasn’t always been “shit.” There was some fantastic pop music in the 60s and 70s. Jazz was the pop music of the 20s. And in his day, Beethoven represented the closest thing to pop music in Viennese society. But there is something stale and empty about electronic drumbeats, amplified sounds without tonal variety, and the bland sameness of pop music today. This has been scientifically validated by studies of the Million Song dataset. Look it up.

  57. I just read this and agree 100 percent apart from not all electronic music is bad since pretty much all music we listen too is created by machines, yes a musical instrument is indeed a machine and of course the microphone artists record through and the medium we use to record and listen to music is also machines this isnt really a good point. However it isnt really a case of the music making medium that is the problem it is a case of the artist and in this case the artists making todays music are str8 trash. I am under 25 but love to listen to oldschool reggae funk soul Rnb and oldschool hip hop I do not fuck with the autotune trash that is polluting music today and the rappers that all seem to have the same style and flow. I also listen to electronic music but only if its good but todays music is mostly garbage. I think it is a case of the comercialisation of music too for instance dubsteb originally sounded very interesting and was none of this wahhhg wbwbwbwbw shit that it is on now. A lot of it had reggae basslines and interesting ideas but it got comercialised and went to the shitter same thing happened with hip hop the mainstream shit ruined it and the real stuff went to the underground. The same has also happened with Rnb and Reggae plus pretty much every genre you could imagine. On the machine thing though autotune is making it easier for shit artists to cover the fact that they cant sing and I also think ridiculous over mastering and over production is playing a part in taking the soul out of a record. All in all music is a reflection of society and we all know how fake most of the artists are today so its no surprise the music is a reflection of them.

  58. @Nolan

    Go fall down your stairs, break almost every bone in your frail pathetic body. Have a sudden heart attack from your inept control of your anger and stress. Since you’re an old intolerant fuck, who thinks he’s a badass on the Internet, prove to me that your shriveled testicles can do better than that by proclaiming your so called “facts” to the people who happen to enjoy the genres you deemed unworthy of being music in real life. Get your saggy ass beaten to shit by said people. Suffer a concussive blow to the head that renders you vegetative. While you’re in on your death bed, with nothing but a machine (yes, a machine, somewhat like the ones you ignorantly despised) keeping your waste of oxygen self alive, until a rave glow stick flies through your window, smacks your power cord, and turns off your life support. Then, any remnants of your family who will have never missed you, sell this website domain name to a random creep on the Internet who will use it to post pictures of his two conjoined dicks.

    • Nolan Replies:

      I give this post a solid “9.” Thanks for contributing.

      — ND

      • It’s good to see that you still read these comment as they are hilarious!! I’m a electronic producer/Dj with multiply song on beatport and vinyl

    • Well said, Well said.

  59. Okay I’m 14 and happen to believe i have an excellent taste in music. I don’t listen to any of the crap they put on the radio because it is in fact, shit. You’re right that todays music or at least the kind that is popular is all made on a computer and most of the time the “artist” is talentless. But you can’t say every person under 25 has shit taste. you’re just another person who thinks they know everything about music and stereotypes against kids. You must be so proud. If anyone is ignorant here, its you.

    • Amy, I don’t believe Mr. Nolan is denigrating the musical tastes of all teens and Millennials. His point is that the last generation of pop music is garbage, which it is. My nieces and nephews for the most part listen to classic bands like Led Zeppelin and the Who, while plenty of older adults are swept up in the hype of contemporary dancing, singing models — that is, if they’re actually singing. That doesn’t change the fact that pop music today is historically dull, unimaginative, talentless, loud, and just plain awful.

  60. Hahaha man you need a life, like desperately…. I hope you find one soon and I wish you well, attention whore

  61. “I’m your elder. My opinion demands respect.”
    Oh my, how arrogant. That is not how it works. If you treat me like shit, then I will treat you like shit. If you are respectful to my taste, I’d be respectful towards yours. However, since you aren’t. Operas are sort of boring. Classical music like Mozart or Beethoven are overrated shit (I personally prefer Bartok or Chopin when it comes to classical music). I also like Jazz (Joe Pass and Ella Fitzgerald specifically). I also regularly listen to electronic music. By the way, fuck your definition of real music. Music is a form of expression. A form of creativity. A sampler, a drum machine and a computer are the instruments. To make simplistic crap most dimwits in my generation like takes some skill, but not a lot of it. I prefer, more sophisticated electronic music. Music that isn’t about getting drunk or high. Music that provokes emotion, that expresses emotion. Music is a passion among musicians who take it seriously. Those who truly love it will also make the most moving music. Those who only want profit might make catchy tunes but ultimately make soulless music. Now have a look at electronic music. There is not just one genre of it. There are actually dozens of them.

  62. Nobody gives a fuck about your opinion grandpa. The generation of today can like whatever they want and you can sit in your rocker and listen to classical or whatever the hell you want. I personally am younger than 25 and I listen to all types of music including hip hop and rap. You say the word “fact” all throughout your post yet most of what you said isn’t actually fact. Most of your post was opinion based. Our generation has the right to listen to and enjoy whatever we want. So, before you go spitting obscenities at the generation of today for simply liking music that is different than what you like, listen to some Bach or Mozart and try to relax before you give yourself a heart attack:).

    -Thanks

    • Apparently you care about grandpa’s opinion or you wouldn’t have some to the trouble of posting a response.

      • Hey Peter, I guess you were right I do care about his opinion because it upsets me to know that there is someone so arrogant and high on himself to think that what he believes has to be shared with the rest of the world in such a derogatory manner towards my generation. He could have posted a blog in a way that didn’t make the generation of today sound like assholes, but instead he posted this which portrays the young people of the 21st century as brainless idiots that cannot appreciate music. Like Mr. Dalla believes my generation cannot appreciate music, I do not appreciate your response. Nor did I ask for it or need it. I am not here to debate whether I care about your opinion or not. My soul purpose for this response is to tell you how I so sincerely wish that thunder-cunts like you did not exist and that you were merely a stain on the bed sheets.

    • The purpose of some music isn’t to “match the stellar majesty of Luciano Pavarotti’s singing “Nessun Dorma”

      And that includes Frank Sinatra singing Harold Arlen’s World on a String or Rodgers and Hart’s The Lady is a Tramp.

      Music isn’t a temple, even if some of it belongs in one.

  63. It is true, music today doesn’t amount to a rat’s behind. No meaning, no spirit, no inspiration just bubble gum wannabes.
    I guess internet and technology instead of improving humanity is destroying it.

    • no just the best thing on earth.

  64. I completely agree with you but if you want people’s taste in music and therefore music itself to become better you have to invite youngsters to learn music not insulting them cause if you do they will call you close-minded and you’re just beating your head against the wall.
    because anyone who knows even a little about playing an instrument agrees with you no matter if they’re 10 or 60 yo ,I’m 17 and completely understand what you’re saying thanks to my mother who forced me to learn guitar. I was mad at her but now I understand why she did it.
    I think if each mom and dad does that in a couple of years we will be able to see improvements.
    sorry for my eng.

    • bitch shut up.

  65. YOU’RE A THUNDER CUNT YA HEARD?!?

  66. You need to stop listening to the radio. The truth is that most music is garbage. None of that stuff stands the test of time. All of the old stuff is good because the crappy old music has been filtered out through the mercy of cultural forgetfulness.

    • Very well said Tom, especially the bit about being filtered through the mercy of cultural forgetfulness. I’m sure there were plenty of other composers during the Baroque and Romantic eras whose sheet music isn’t missed. The likes of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven endured for a reason.

  67. This is pathetic. I’m very true to good music, and I understand the difference between more complex, more emotionally and dense, and sophisticated music and horribly organized patterns, but still, it’s all subjective. Check out Tool, Failure, Autolux, Nine Inch Nails (anything done by Trent Reznor, for that matter), Rush, Kodomo (who implemented the golden ration into one of his songs)…newer music does not imply bad music. You’ve overlooked the hidden gems of our age and generalized an entire generation of music based off of your limited exposure.

  68. Nice post. You are spot on my friend. Young people don’t even know what “music” is. Much less create original art.

    • Hello yes we do and you can’t say we don’t are music is the best ever mad so go some where with that shit.

  69. Wow…what a dick. Wrong on every front. Dick on man!

    • Shawn, you sound just like fans of Beethoven upon hearing Stravinski. Or fans of big band music, when confronted with “be bop” jazz. Hell, there were Elvis fans that hated the Beatles. And Beatles fans that couldn’t deal with 80’s and 90’s pop music.

  70. My thoughts? Oh, this is going to be a long one…

    This guy is preaching to the choir. He starts the article by alienating the very people he professes to speak to, meaning they won’t bother reading it. He also places some poorly researched and heavy opinions that seem to bait people into an obvious argument that he appears to be enjoying.

    Which makes him a troll…

    That aside though, the meat of the argument does have credibility. I won’t dismiss the concept because the writer is a twat about it. At its roots, it wants to shout at the conveyor belt the industry has become, simply churning out soulless music for the sake of meeting corporate breadlines.

    For those who may not know, my background includes recording, sequencing, songwriting, sound engineering (live and studio), other stage work, acting, videography, photography and writing. With a few exceptions, most of my experience is unpaid, placing me solidly in the amateur bracket. That’s fine, as I have used the opportunity to learn and develop my various crafts as a self-taught jack-of-all. Learning in this way has given some considerable insight, as I observe others making fresh mistakes as ‘professionals’ of things I privately figured out long ago. I can also make my own mistakes and learn from them, without being shamed by insecure ‘professionals’ breathing down my neck, needing to flex their elitist muscles to ensure their closed-shop industries are protected from my transgressions… but I digress.

    Many artists over the years have spoken out against the music industry, saying the demands it places on them are unreasonable to achieve their best. They say it smothers their creativity and rushes them away from the emotional journey (or whatever inspiration they wish to develop from) before they portray it. Instead, they must meet deadlines set contractually. This practice is not for the benefit of the musicians, nor the music, rest assured.

    The studio environment has become the ‘Photoshop’ of music; the real talent lays in editing, these days. Tools designed for absolute control, to support and improve an already great creation into the envisioned masterpiece, being abused to turn a ‘shot to nothing’ into ‘art’. A good engineer these days is expected to work damned fast. After all, studio time is expensive!

    It doesn’t work. As a photographer, I’ve met others who proudly show off some absolute shit next to the finished product, so you can see how ‘talented’ they are. Shadows that don’t make sense, poorly cloned skies and some works that make an entire room groan in frustration. This is exactly the problem with the music industry.

    Autotune, for example, is very much like the audio equivalent to Photoshop’s ‘clone’ tool. Use it to fix a small area and you won’t need to rerecord. Use it for effect to create the impression you intended and that’s fine too. Used everywhere and you’re no longer correcting – you’re creating. I could take the worst singer and make them sound listenable. It would take a long while and require some real talented editing to sound as natural as I’d like it to, but yes, it can be done. It’s far from the only tool in their arsenal, all the same story; created to give control to the engineer for tweaking, instead relied upon to ‘get it done’. The music industry never has time to craft or create anymore, so they just let an algorithm have its best guess. Oh dear… and as that technology gets better and better, the entry requirement to be a ‘musician’ drops lower and lower.

    I’m happy that the cost of such powerful studio equipment has plummeted to the point where most anyone can afford synths and effects. But in all the rush to embrace this new technology, nobody thought to actually learn it. I dispute the idea that these synths alone cannot create the emotional journey he seeks through music. The pioneer of such synth and laser wonderment is Jean Michel Jarre and, as a 2-time Guinness World Record holder (at current), one would be foolish to challenge his obvious talent as a composer just because his live shows were heavy on the computers, lighting, pyrotechnics, projections, lasers…

    Overcompensating? Nope. Entertaining! It’s possible to have the complete package, but I accept there are historically far more bad examples than good.

    Do not blame technology, but rather those who use it thinking making great music is easy now. No. Making that music is still just as challenging, but it’s never been easier or cheaper to turn those ideas into masterpieces. Might be tricky finding the diamonds under the growing pool of shit, but the real talent still exists in the same measure.

    Finally, a disclaimer: Music is subjective, as with any art. Liking something doesn’t make it technically ‘good’ and disliking it isn’t automatically saying it’s talentless. It’s a preference. However, critics will look past personal preference and analyse the material on a purely technical merit (ideally). Critics must therefore have a deeper understanding of what goes into the creative process and be able to listen for the tell-tale signs. I can still hate something, but give credit where it’s due. I’m also not perfect and not paid for my opinions. I am an amateur critic. wink emoticon

    TL:DR
    Don’t play pretend you’re a professional when all you have is pro equipment ‘skillz’ and no tangible talent; you might get offered an evil record contract and contribute further to the problem of over-saturated crap and low standards (see Steam Greenlight).

  71. You hit the nail on the head Sir…….these “new Artists” completely trashed R & B. It’s Crap!! They Can’t Read nor Write music and what kind of lyrics is that trash. I’m from the 70’s and I know bands and music. I play bass and yes, I can read music. The bands in the 70’s knew how to play…Today’s music is just awful. Either learn how to read and write music so you can write melodies.

    • That is were you are wrong. Your bands and stuff talked about the stuff new artist talk about. so don’t go there it is the best.

    • Sorry pal. It is arguments like yours making clowns of people falling for the same sentient. Frank Sinatra rings a bell. He never wrote a damn thing. But he could sing like a charm. I also bet you can read music? Cool if the answer is yes. I am waiting for your interpretation of Antonin Dvorak’s New World Symphony. Good luck.

  72. I must say that some of this is true but everyone has their own preferences and taste. I know plenty of people who like pop and dubstep and they are perfectly happy. Also, not all artists use computers for every little thing they do. Most artists acually have a story behind their songs like Melanie Martinez. I don’t usually defend pop like this but just because there are people out there that don’t like the music you like doesn’t mean that it’s ok to call it garbadge. For all you know there could be people calling your music the same thing.

    It’s ok to have an opinion but when you do so like this, it can completely destroy the other person’s opinion.

  73. Well, not even going to bother reading this since you’re so close minded. I was going to give it a shot, but about halfway through the second full paragraph, I realized that you’re just an immature drama queen. You really think only one type of music is good? You really think ALL of us listen to “boy bands” who don’t touch an instrument or even bother writing their own lyrics?

    • He is not talking about ONE type of music. He didn’t even mention one. Only left this Pavarotti as an example. But I would disagree on Pavarotti. Such an overrated Tenor. Just as overrated as Carmina Burana- Oh Fortuna. Hate this shit. Otherwise I love quite some exact notated music too.

    • I’m starting to think he’s a troll, or needs to be given the lethal injection. Yeah, I can’t disagree with you there. It sounds like he just hates anything which has synthesized instruments. Even synthesizers can produce sweet sounds, and carry emotion.

  74. I respect your opinion, but personally I believe our music is a lot better than old music because we are only talking about the same thing. We all talk about love, sex, drugs and lots more things. If you think that our music sucks that is just you but you can’t make us stop listening to it. And if you try you can go suck a dick. But I will continue to listen to it. And old people music is the worst and it eats shit. See some songs may not make since but that does not make them all shit.

    • How convenient to say that we all talk about love, sex and drugs. But do I as a listener have to be bombarded every time I want to hear some music? The answer is no!
      Also I only talk about certain things when I am around specific people I need or dearly want to address these things to. I would not want to hear people constantly talk about sex and how and why they prefer this and that. This is sad.
      Don’t people know privacy anymore? So why lose the shit in music?
      Who needs vulgar language in music? I don’t
      Why I do not care about teenager oriented music.

  75. You sir, speak the truth. I’m only 23, and I agree that the vast majority of today’s music catalog is just fucking shit. Nearly every popular song nowadays is about sex and genitalia. I’m fucking sick and tired of it. That’s why I only listen to the classic stations now. At least the songs on those stations have some variety.

    • I couldn’t agree more. P.S. I hate both dubstep and emotionally barren music in general with a veritable passion. Lately I have had success in blocking out the sounds of the particular pop music of which you speak, to keep my rage in check. I live in my own musical bubble and am exposed to plenty of great artists online and through friends. However, I now experience similar emotions when bombarded with ads for horrible TV and movies I cannot imagine the value in watching (and yet these are often the most popular shows and movies of all). The music from “Frozen” I can think of no other way to describe as a gumball-dispenser full of mindlessly-assembled dramatic musical tropes for an end result of no one song I could remember after watching the film! (And this is coming from a person who has perfect relative pitch and a pretty close to photographic musical memory, to the point that I can’t sing songs or pieces to myself in my head without them being in their original key). The mindless gumball entertainment machine seems to be a metaphor for the overarching problem of saccharine, distracting, meaningless and easily-consumed art that is so rampant these days. The money machine which drives all the trends has no concept of sustainability or meaning when it comes to these manufactured arts. When the end goal of a culture is to earn the most money and entertain the loudest, biggest and fastest, everyone is bound to suffer.

    • You are only 23 years old and already agree on an old man’s statement? Cool. You are prepared to die young. You really think there is nothing to see anymore and nowhere to go. What an idiot.
      And listening to classical stations restricts your personal experience as does any other radio or internet radio channel.
      You have simply no taste why you listen to ‘classical’ radio. You know what you are talking about? No.
      You are one of these nerds buying a classical compilation and feeling so special about. “Look mommy, I like classical music now.”
      What exactly? Like Tchaikovsky’s nutcracker suite? Love some Chopin nocturnes? What about some ballet suites by Shostakovich? Ever heard of Carl Philip Emanuel Bach? Sure you have. You are into classical music right?
      And I bet the idea of listening to some jazz gives you the creeps.
      23 years old and already creeping up into this old man’s anus.
      Bozo.

    • Who gives a fuck if you’re ‘only 23’? You’re no better than those kids on YouTube who say the exact same thing
      “I’m twelve and I was born in the wrong generation-
      NO ONE GIVES A FUCK

      well, i kinda agree with the fact that 60-70% of modern music is pretty shitty, though.

  76. WOW looks like a lot of people butt-hurt over music. every generation loves their music plain and simple. I watched the music awards last Sunday and i have to say i saw crotch grabbing pussy slapping and booty popping.cant say that all that is necessary. people don’t like change either. music looks like it will continue to evolve into the noise that it has become. im 43 and i like what sounds good new or old. The 80’s was an awesome time for music. our parents hated it too but as teens we loved it. 50’s 60’s 70’s 80’s were in my opinion the golden ages of music. it took talent in those days and music was diverse. today i see artist with great voices but the multi talented singers who actually picked up and instrument seem few and far gone these days. Technology seems to made things too easy. you like what you like and makes you feel good with good memories in your life.
    but I have to agree with Nolan. allot is pretty much crap today. mostly top 40.

  77. Some are stuck in a time warp. Evolution is real, and technology revolution demands respect, not age. Reality is, there’s a lot of great songwriters and performers out there, however they’re harder to find than the 70s where the radio and record companies programmed the feeble masses of what to listen to. There’s also a lot of crap music out there that the mass media promotes. And to find the good music one needs to look deep underground to find it. Sure, if we all just accept what the corporations promote as music, we only see a small segment of what exists. That’s how it goes in a fascist society. Public domain for copyrights are fading, and the money grubs are trying their best to squeeze every penny out of what they can get.

  78. Every judgement about any music is an opinion. I am entirely sympathetic with Nolan’s opinion and believe he is right in general terms. There are however always exceptions. If you could measure quality of music I think it would be evident that the bar has dropped. Simply put, the clue is in the name EDM. A generalisation bracketing a wide variety of music called Electronic DANCE Music. Not designed for listening to, but dancing. In my opinion.

  79. Oh, angry bitter old man is angry because modern music is not made the way he does it so he doesn’t understand it, therefore it sucks.

    Remember, even the piano was once considered brand new technology helping people play more easily and there was probably some old windbag on a harp all butt-hurt because people had moved on.

    Get a life. If you’re garnering hits through insults and not your own art, than you are beyond irrelevant.

    • agreed. he needs to stop spreading his cancer

  80. Oceans Ate Alaska is a very talented metalcore group. They’ve been around for only 4 years. Their drummer, Chris Turner, actually got drummer of the year. If you listen to them, they are actually very technical in the art of music.

  81. why are you so salty? who hurt you? do you wanna talk about it?

  82. I do agree with you topic, but at the same time I don’t. I do agree with the fact that modern music is utter trash. However; I do doubt you’ve dug deep into the genres. Yes, most rap is about butts, boobs, ‘bitches’ and such n’ such, but there are some that have meaning. For example: Stay Out of School, it describes the stupidity behind how we learn and how why we can’t learn what we want to learn is stupid. I’m not a fan of rap, to be honest, I hate it with a burning passion, but this one speaks to me. I do listen to other pieces of music too, my favourite being chiptune/chipstep. If you like old styled video games, I recommend this nostalgic genre, 8-bit but with a twist. It may not be what you call real music, considering it doesn’t really fallow your guildlines, but just look it to it. Good examples are: How to Adventure, Commando Steve, and Pixie Trust. Many people don’t like it because they have a fixed mindset and if you don’t, I really do recommend it. ^-^

  83. The definition of mysic is vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion. If you ask me, listening to dubstep and electronica is what makes me happy and the weird unique sounds you can find in it are beautiful to me. And just because something is electronic doesn’t mean its not an instrument. There’s electric keyboards, electric guitars,a lot of other things. And its not your place to judge something like that. I acknowledge that you have your opinion as everyone else does. But your opinion is very ignorant, immature, and very know-it-all-to-the-point-i-seem-like-an-ass-about-it-ish. Best wishes, Bunnie

    • agreed. the author’s just some whiny little shit who can’t appreciate all types of music. You know what kind of person they are when they go on about how they listen to ‘real’ music. For fucks’ sake… music is music. Sure, I don’t like dubstep, trap, or rap music. But it’s still music – it doesn’t mean I have to call it ‘garbage’ and ‘trash’. This guy needs to stop spreading his cancer all over the internet.

      🙂

  84. By definition music is vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.To me the edgy loud antic nature of dubstep and electronica gives me happiness and is beautiful to me, in the way that a large fiery dragon is majestic. I acknowlege that you are entitled to your opinion and so is everyone else. However, you opinion is very ignorant, biased on the matter that you like classical music so you defend it and put down other kinds of music, and comes off as very Know-it-all-to-the-point-you-look-like-an-ass-online-ish.
    Best wishes, Bunnie

  85. Since it’s just music preference, I will respect your opinion.

    I do not respect someone’s opinion based on the fact that they simply haven’t died yet…

  86. I’m not sure how I got here but this article is fucking retarded. Music is music, even the “fucking garbage” today takes talent, so fuck off with the pretentious bullshit.

    • The expression comparing apples and oranges comes to mind. If a great Puccini composition performed by Luciano Pavarotti is the musical equivalent of a gourmet meal in a five star restaurant, then rock and roll at it’s best is a good burger and a beer.

      Both can be enjoyed, and should be, without guilt or judgement. That’s why I listen to classical, jazz, rock, country, electronic and international music all the time. In the words of The Moody Blues, it’s “A Question of Balance.”

  87. I see that morons the world over still think dubstep and the EDM played at dance clubs for sweaty people juiced up on MDMA to dance to still think comprises the entirety of the electronic music genre. I’m pretty sure dubstep’s heyday is long passed, yet idiots just can’t stop complaining about it, making it out to be face of modern music or something. At this point you people are inventing problems that no longer even exist.

  88. I’m a 20 year old millenial and you can ask me about the music that my age group listens to and I won’t know crap about it. I always prefered the oldies, from Joplin to Zeppelin.

  89. Well you are quite the pretentious little ball of sunshine, aren’t you. Look, Nolan, as a young black american adult at the ripe old age of 24 who has song on his play list from “Dido’s Lament” by Purcell to “I Get Around” by TuPac. “The Troll King” to various Video Game tracks, which are all electronic. Hip Hop, Jazz, Electronic, Dubstep, R&B, and any other genre I can sink my claws into … I have to say that music is … wait for it … SUBJECTIVE!

    For starters, for a man who wants us to look at him as someone who is respectable and prestigious … you overuse curse words like one of those “Darn Kids”. I have heard kids on CoD curse less than you in this article. That’s sad. Second, respect is earned. Not given.

    Now for the many who read this article and agree with him, I wonder how your parents brought you up. Probably didn’t like some of the music you listened to unless then forced whatever you liked down your throat. If that was the case: Sorry for the horrible upbrining. Music is something that is to be discovered and endeared on your own turns. I don’t like some of the Gospel tracks my parents listen to or the Trap music my younger sibs listen to. But, it’s still their right to enjoy it. Why? Because, unless Dubstep is gonna blow up a building or Trap is gonna rape children at night music is just music.

    You listen to it. You enjoy it. The end.

    Now by your logic, all music shouldn’t be played. Unless you are singing. Why? Because, computers are technology. And, guess what? Instruments are also technology. Just because it isn’t electronic and goes “Beep Boop” doesn’t mean it isn’t tech. That’s like saying swords and knives aren’t weapons because they aren’t guns. It’s ignorant and a blind way to look at things.

    I expected a composer such as yourself to view music as something that is expected to be a universal thing. But, no … you have to go out your way to spew your hatred of others youth in such an ignorant matter.

    I just hope one day you come to realize that music is too powerful to take on one form and one form alone. That many genres express many things. Sure, most of the mainstream stuff is “Party Party … love …drugs … money … girl power … party party!” But, those songs have different effects on people. Heck, I knew people who got out of depression from listening to Dubstep. Doesn’t mean it’s the spawn of Lucifer itself.

    I know you and the others who think the way you do are just gonna take this as “This young kid don’t know what he is talking about. Probably makes automatic music by coughing in an autotune mic and makes a whole album based off of it.”

    And, I don’t care. I am, however, not gonna sit by and read this without putting my two cents into it.

  90. Stay salty autist.

  91. It’s jingles to sell snacks to these days. Filler to play at Applebee’s. Selling tits and strobe lights. Cacophonous in every way.

  92. I disagree. First of all, you present your opinion as fact throughout the article, which just isn’t true. Everything is subjective, but especially music.
    Now to your main point about what is music and what isn’t. Again, I think this is really subjective, but here I go.
    REAL MUSIC DEFINED BY NOLAN DALLA:
    (1) Real music is created by humans, not by a machine or a computer.
    Here you sound like the people in the 80s and 90s who claimed that synth music wasn’t real cause it wasn’t your standard guitar-bass-drums kind of rock. I simply don’t think that music can be defined by how it’s played.
    (2) Real music has structure and consistency.
    Most modern music has structure and consistency. Unstructured music like atonal minimalism was really only popular for a hot minute in the early 20th century.
    (3) Real music elicits real emotions — of love, loss, anger, fear, happiness, hope, inspiration, or anything related to the gambit of being human.
    I think this is really subjective. For me, some electronic music or rap can definitely elicit emotion. For instance:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WQV_cULobA -a rap song that can make me quite sad
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fX4qoruQik -an electronic song that makes me feel both unsettled and wondrous. (make sure to listen to it all the way through, it’s really picks up)
    (4) Real music requires talent.
    Rap and electronic music definitely requires talent. Unless you can make a decent rap or electronic song without practicing at all, there’s no way you can say that they don’t.
    (5) Real music requires instruments and/or voices.
    Why? What constitutes and instrument?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qWPCoayhjY -are those instruments? They’re just plants.
    (6) Real music should be cross generational.
    Just because you don’t like some music doesn’t mean it isn’t.
    (7) Real music shouldn’t need gadgets or special effects to be enjoyed.
    Again, why not? You cant really play a synth without it being plugged in, so is it not music?

    Anyway, this is just my opinion. Hope you have a great day 🙂

    • Are you kidding? These are the examples you give? Rap with shallow lyrics, an electronically generated beat, and an electronically doubled voice to make it sound fuller?

      The electronic piece is slightly more interesting though derivative of 20th century classic and traditional ethnic. Not something I would point out as a shining example.

      I think you’ve only supported the argument that music is on the downside.

      • Well, first off, electronic beats aren’t generated, they’re made. You don’t just press a button and get a freshly made beat w/o any effort. Beats are often made by sampling an already published song or creating an original tune, and then remixing that with percussion, etc. This has a long history and partially originates from the fact that many rap artists couldn’t afford instruments or lessons or anything else then cheap equipment. It also takes a hell of a lot of effort.
        On to the lyrics. It’s a VERY long song so I’m just going to talk about the first bit.

        “When the lights shut off
        And it’s my turn to settle down
        My main concern
        Promise that you will sing about me
        Promise that you will sing about me” –this is just the hook, but it illustrates a desire to be remembered after death. That idea isn’t new, of course, but it is universal and important.

        “I woke up this morning and figured I’d call you
        In case I’m not here tomorrow, I’m hoping that I can borrow
        A peace of mind, I’m behind on what’s really important
        My mind is really distorted, I find nothing but trouble in my life” -this verse is from the perspective of Kendrick’s brother. He wakes up and calls Kendrick, in case he’s not here tomorrow, since they live in an area where death is a constant threat. This also relates to when Kendrick’s brother dies at the end of the verse. There’s a play on words with piece/peace of mind. Any way, these lyrics also illustrate hopelessness.
        “I’m fortunate you believe in a dream
        This orphanage we call a ghetto is quite a routine
        And last night was just another distraction or a reaction
        Of what we consider madness” — the brother is fortunate that Kendrick is going out to achieve his dream of making music. In the ghetto they live in, many people are orphans, and it has a double meaning, as many people who are adults have no guidance. The last line refers to the brother’s death, and how it was just a side effect of the area they live in.
        I’m not going to go on, this comment is essay-length already, but I feel like you can hardly say these are meaningless lyrics, and even if they were, lyrics back in the day were often kinda vapid. Like Cherry Pie by Warrant (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjyZKfdwlng)! It’s a song all about sex, came out in 1990, and even though it’s kinda meaningless it’s still a really fun song.

        Now, onto the Venetian Snares (the electronic piece.) I’ve never really felt that saying music is derivative is a valid complaint. Zeppelin probably straight-up ripped guitar rifts from other artists and honestly are quite “derivative” of blues and other bands at the time, but they’re still goddamn fantastic. Same with Snares. He makes a LOT of music, in a genre called breakcore, which basically involves sampling and remixing. It can be really cool sometimes. Here are some other breakcore songs:
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SIcZcc7kLQ – a creepy opening, the robotic voices introduce the song, then the glitchy sounds continue, eventually developing into a melody. Finally, the awesome percussion settles into a steady beat. The also add in a sample of t.A.t.u’s all the things she said. bizarre but cool track.
        If you want electronic stuff that’s entirely it’s own and not derivative, check out chiptune! Inspired by the 8/16-bit sounds of video games, chiptunes are a pretty popular on the internet. I absolutely love artist Waterflame, he makes catchy tunes with little to no vocals.
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jjGbErLbSk -a catchy chiptune, with a really cool balance between the bass-y parts and the other parts.

        I don’t want to make it seem like I think I’m objectively right, this is just my proverbial 2 cents, but it seems like you dismissed my argument without really considering.
        I hope you like these songs and analyses better! Have an amazing day!

  93. cool opinion i am loving this hot take on music

    you have set me straight fuck little waine fuck 2 chains that shit is gay garbave

  94. Well I suppose a lot of modern music is sterile, but I wouldn’t say the technology itself is the problem (though it may encourage sterility), and I wouldn’t say that it doesn’t require talent to make the sterile music. After all, you do have to know how to operate all of the equipment, which can be quite tricky. As a songwriter and music producer myself, I enjoy a lot of music, much of which is from the 1970s and 1980s, which employs computers and electronic equipment in its production. When it is used appropriately and in balance with a good singer and good instruments, it can sound fantastic. Listen to Phil Collins for example. In fact, when I produce music, I use electronic samples to replace many real instruments (such as piano), because it would be much too expensive or difficult in a home studio to record the instruments themselves. When it comes to electronic music devoid of vocals or any other instruments, or accompanied by heavily autotuned vocals, I tend to stay away. Not saying that type of music is bad or anything, and not saying that it doesn’t take talent to make (it takes lots of technical knowledge and talent), but I just prefer solid vocals and real instruments most of the time. But some people prefer electronic-sounding music, and sometimes I prefer electronic myself. It does have a way of drawing the listener in. Anyhow, don’t worry too much. Don’t fight over who likes what. After all, it’s just music.

  95. See now this is an opinion stated as a fact… Obviously this is an incorrect opinion, because it has been proven that opinions can in fact be wrong. Tell me, if a sound is produced… Why does it matter where it came from. It’s like saying today’s art is terrible… Any form of any art should be respected. Not liked, but respected. If u actually put yourself in the artists shoes, you would realize how wrong you are. I would love to hear you write a song over a beat and perform it, since you obviously have infinite musical knowledge. People this stubborn and ignorant, that make these bold claims irritate me. Broaden the spectrum of what you listen to, and stop living in a stubborn state of mind.

Post a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

css.php