Topic: MP3s are destroying music.

[RABicle]

Once upon a time music meant something to me. I'ld hear a song and it would remind me of some moment, some activity my brain associated with that song. Celion Dion's song "My Heart Will Go On" reminds me not of Titanic but all the way back in 1999 and my end of Primary School dance and the girl I danced with. "Don't Say You Love Me" by M2M reminds me of the Pokemon craze (also in 1999) in general. "Born Slippy" by Underworld reminds me of Rottenest island, where we stayed and it received regular airplay on Triple J at the time. Music was the soundtrack to your life and hearing a song would spark reminicence.

No more.

You may've noticed that the songs I mentioned are rather old and (with the exception of Born Slippy) poppy songs. That's because not long after that songs no longer seemed to hold a place and time to me.

iTunes keeps track of your most played songs. "Special Needs" by Placebo has been played 163 times since it was added in January last year. I love the song but I feel as though that number is ridiculous. I'm sure that if I'm lucky enough to hear it on the radio sometime soon, regardless of where I am, I'm sure a mental image of being at my computer will slip into my mind. Frankly most memories associated with the computer aren't memorable at all. I'm only on it to wile away boredom and avoid the rest of the family. It almost seems a waste of such a good song to not have it linked with something cooler.

This is of course made worse by the fact that lots and lots of songs now remind me of the computer. And even songs that used to have some meaning now seem to be losing it after they get added to my iTunes playlist.

I don't know if I'm selfish expecting more from music or that I'm the only one I can truely blame but either way it saddens me. Anyone else feel the same way?

[KDR_11k]

For me that stuff no longer works because my mind has changed, back when I played Diablo 1 or Link's Awakening I associated songs with the games but no more. Besides, radio stations seem to repeat their songs every 60 minutes so the only thing radio music will do is make you hate the songs. And the ingame music is superior, anyway. Nowadays I remember game music more than radio music. Hell, when I hear radio I should be reminded of work (picking up trash in public parks), I'm happy that's not the case. Radio plays only crap, anyway. Internet radio is the only way of hearing some good music that's not stored on your comp already (and with StreamRipper it is afterwards).

[Ian Sane]

I in general have not really liked music since 1996 with the exception of a few odd songs and albums here and there.  This is around that time that crap like the Spice Girls and all the boy bands started making it and really blatantly manufactured pop started toping the charts.  Now pop has always been popular but at least in the past it was kind of catchy.  I can't even hum this new stuff.  It's like the "music" is merely background noise for the music video.  I've also noticed that rap has become really big since then and since I don't relate to rap there a huge chunk of mainstream music that doesn't appeal to me at all.

The worst thing however was American Idol.  Here was music that actually admitted it was manufactured and phony.  Kelly Clarkson won a f*cking CONTEST to get a record deal.  I was REALLY surprised that the American Idol stars actually started selling records.  What sort of total idiot buys into a con that admits publicly that it's a con?

So I don't think the MP3 movement has hurt music that much.  I think it's just the music being made today is so crappy.  We need a new movement of bands with some real talent to come in and shake things up.  We need something on par with the British Invasion or 70s punk or grunge.  Something that just makes music real again for a few years.

I suggest that if you don't relate to today's music to, if possible, form a band and write the music that YOU want to listen to.  That's what my friends and I have done.  We may never amount to more than playing in my friend's shed using a drum machine because we lack a percussionist and recording very rough demos but at least I've got some songs now that I relate to.  

[Bill Aurion]

I agree with Ian about the condition of the music industry...Back in the day there were LOTS of musicians that were fantastic: Aerosmith, Rolling Stones, Beatles, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, ELP, Kansas, Led Zeppelin, Billy Joel, REO Speedwagon, The Doors, Jethro Tull, and geez I've only listed a fraction of them all...Today I can list what?  I can count the number of bands I like (more than one song) on one hand...That's absolutely pathetic...I'm hoping for a music revolution sometime down the line, but I'm afraid it'll never come...

And yes, videogame music easily surpasses mainstream...  

[Hostile Creation]

You can always find good music if you look hard enough.  They may not be huge, epic bands like The Rolling Stones or The Beatles, but I think those bands are over-rated anyway.  You just can't expect good music to flock to you.  Most mainstream music is a pain, though, definitely.

As for mp3s, I do sometimes lose that connection, but I don't download many mp3s.  I buy CDs and listen to them with my friends and whatnot, so for the most part some memories are made and I can reminisce.  I only download mp3s if I'm really craving a song I don't have (for example, I own a Butthole Surfers CD but it doesn't have Pepper on it, so I got that song when I wanted to listen to it).

[matt oz]

I find that songs from my pre-high school days still hold meaning for me, because they're no longer played on the radio, and I don't listen to the old CD's in my collection that much.  So when I do hear them, they still have some meaning.

When Napster came around, I was one of the first to discover it (seriously).  I used it primarily to find rare b-sides or live performances of my favorite bands.  For me, it wasn't until I got an iPod and iTunes that I constantly listen to music.  And like rabicle said, there are some songs that don't mean anything to me, because I can easily buy an album on iTunes and listen to it instantaneously.

I think what it comes down to is finding music that you really like and that you can relate to.  As you can see by my avatar and signature, my favorite band is Garbage.  If someone were to ask me why though, I'd have no idea.  It's something about the music.  One of my other favorites is U2.  After seeing them live, they are undoubtedly the best modern rock band.  And now, I hear their songs in a new way after seeing them live, and it has meaning for me.  I saw them in New York City in October of 2001.  When I got off the train at Penn station, everything seemed so different.  There were posters of people who had died in the World Trade Center everywhere, and the whole mood of the city seemed different.  I'm getting goose bumps just thinking about it now.  So whenever I hear U2 now, it brings me back to New York, and how it's the greatest city in the world.

When it comes to relating to music, I find that there's always a couple songs I can relate to when I turn on the radio.  And recently, there's been a resurgence of rock music with new bands like The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, and Modest Mouse, to name a few.  Green Day put out the best album of 2004 (fluck Ray Charles and the Grammys.  He only got it because he's dead).  U2 just put out a new album, as did PJ Harvey and Wilco.  And Garbage's new album is coming out in April, and it's a return to the rock sound of their debut.  I'm LOVING the music scene right now, because it seems that the pop craze has died down, and there's been a return to real rock music.  (And I'm not talking about that nu-metal crap either)

I had something I was gonna say at this point, but I went back to change something at the top, and now I forget.  Oh well.

[KnowsNothing]

Bill has the best taste in music

Unfortunatley, I don't realte any memories with non-game music.  I really hope something as sweet as Rab's "My Heart Will Go On" story will happen to me (I'm a sucker, I know =\ ), but with so much terrible music out there, it would almost seem like a BAD thing.  I mean, I don't want a nice memory like my first dance girls have cooties ruined by some horrible mainstream trash-fest.

But like Hostile said, if you look hard enough there really is alot of good music around (Saint Dragon, for instance.  Not many people know wbout them because they're still pretty much a garage band, but they're awesome.  They also took their music off of the site >=o).  Just don't go surfing the radio waves expectinganything that requires any amount of talent, save for the oldies.  And Bill, a music revolution will never come =P

I relate videogame music to memories the most, but even that's limited.  Any Link's Awakening song can spur memories of just being a happy kid.  When I recently replayed Pokemon Red, I remembered going to first buy the game the excitment of first trading a pokemon and STUFF.  Same with Super Mario Land and Super Mario 64.  Nothing major; it's just everything was so.....happy.  

I'd like to form my own band.  Unfortunatley, I have no real talent in ANYTHING.  I'm mediocre at trombone.  I'm mediocre at the drums.  I'm mediocre on the harmonica.  I obviously know what I'm doing on these instruments, I just can't use them to produce anything worth listening to (in my eyes).  And I'll have a hard time relating to CRAP, even if the lyrics are good.  I had the idea of forming an internet band, where I would share tracks with other people who would add to it with an instrument they were pretty good at, but it never formulated and it never will =p.  I still think it's a pretty nifty idea (each member of the band lives hundreds of miles away from each other and have never met), especially if the songs turn out good because it's an interesting catch and you could start a following both online and offline.  But unless anyone else has an interest and a good program to use oh noes, suprnova is down, whatever will i do it'll never happpen.

Also, I need to find out more about Modest Mouse.  I've only heard one of their songs and it was....interesting.  I liked it, in a weird way.

[King of Twitch]

I kinda know what you mean, but for me it's a way to hear all kinds of music that you otherwise wouldn't be exposed to through the radio or the music store. Getting a new album's worth of songs a little bit at a time helps me relate a certain time in my life with that music. I remember downloading Abbey Road and The Who at Woodstock before going on vacation last summer; I remember getting Dark Side of the Moon and Who's Next for my 18th birthday. I guess if you have a good rotation of songs at a good interval, you can still capture that moment of your life if you do it correctly. Just don't a bunch of super sweet music if you're just going to be at your computer when you first hear it.


I disagree slightly with Ian though about American Idol. Even though it's one big advertisement for the judges' egos, Coca-Cola, and Fox network, I still think that giving someone with a good voice an album is good in the long run. It helps to even out all the garbage music, even though it is pop. And I hope your band, and anyone else's out there contributes to that evening out; today's music needs to be crowded out and replaced by real musicians.

[Ian Sane]

"I'd like to form my own band. Unfortunatley, I have no real talent in ANYTHING. I'm mediocre at trombone. I'm mediocre at the drums. I'm mediocre on the harmonica."

Well not too many bands have regular trombone or harmonica players.  Maybe you should find a different instrument.  How about bass?  I don't know anyone with any slight grasp of music that can't play bass to some extent.

[KnowsNothing]

I was trying to make myself look better

Heh, I've actually started to play the bass.  I started, like, two days ago.  What's great is tabs are easy to read (although accurate ones are sometimes hard to find), and I already know the bass clef from trombone, so I've got a head-start.

Also, I love ska which features horn sections, and I love pretty much anything with a harmonica in it (BluesTraveller :rock: ), so it's natural for me to have tried them.  To me, regular bands DO feature those intruments =P

[Caillan]

I sort of went through this, then I realised everything I was listening to was crap and got some good music. If you experiment with lots of styles and look around you'll find something suits you, even if you don't appreciate it at first. I didn't like a Keith Jarrett album the first three times I had to listen to it, but I went on to play one of its songs at least six times every day for about three months. I'm still not sick of it.

If you're playing the bass guitar KnowsNothing, I highly recommend looking for some light double bass tuition as well. They're tuned the same, just you need to get used to moving your hands about differently. I only play the double bass and I'm suffering for it right now. This is true especially if you like ska and blues.  

[kennyb27]

You guys aren't looking in the right place.  Country music is the new "thing."

[Caillan]

Heh, country is actually the 'heaviest' stuff I can listen to right now. There's some pretty bloody 'heavy' country; heavier than the generic music with guitars, drums and a bass people often consider to be rock. I'd listen to it more if it didn't make me feel so sad.

[Dasmos]

Quote
Originally posted by: matt oz
I find that songs from my pre-high school days still hold meaning for me, because they're no longer played on the radio, and I don't listen to the old CD's in my collection that much.  So when I do hear them, they still have some meaning.

When Napster came around, I was one of the first to discover it (seriously).  I used it primarily to find rare b-sides or live performances of my favorite bands.  For me, it wasn't until I got an iPod and iTunes that I constantly listen to music.  And like rabicle said, there are some songs that don't mean anything to me, because I can easily buy an album on iTunes and listen to it instantaneously.

I think what it comes down to is finding music that you really like and that you can relate to.  As you can see by my avatar and signature, my favorite band is Garbage.  If someone were to ask me why though, I'd have no idea.  It's something about the music.   One of my other favorites is U2.  After seeing them live, they are undoubtedly the best modern rock band.  And now, I hear their songs in a new way after seeing them live, and it has meaning for me.  I saw them in New York City in October of 2001.  When I got off the train at Penn station, everything seemed so different.  There were posters of people who had died in the World Trade Center everywhere, and the whole mood of the city seemed different.  I'm getting goose bumps just thinking about it now.  So whenever I hear U2 now, it brings me back to New York, and how it's the greatest city in the world.

When it comes to relating to music, I find that there's always a couple songs I can relate to when I turn on the radio.  And recently, there's been a resurgence of rock music with new bands like The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, and Modest Mouse, to name a few.  Green Day put out the best album of 2004 (fluck Ray Charles and the Grammys.  He only got it because he's dead).  U2 just put out a new album, as did PJ Harvey and Wilco.  And Garbage's new album is coming out in April, and it's a return to the rock sound of their debut.  I'm LOVING the music scene right now, because it seems that the pop craze has died down, and there's been a return to real rock music.  (And I'm not talking about that nu-metal crap either)

I had something I was gonna say at this point, but I went back to change something at the top, and now I forget.  Oh well.

I cannot say i agree....I was soo pissed they made the hottest 100 with vertigo!!! It makes me think that on the radio one of the presenters asked everyone to vote for it....Just like in 2003 Salmonhater made 19 i think because of Adam and Will.....

Enough of that....I can't really say Mp3's have ruined music for me..maybe it has made those "special" songs feel less special....but it has made music so much more accessible. Although i know it is an offense but i have quite a few burnt Cd's...not that i wouldn't buy the Cd's it's just i cannot find them in the stoopid shops anywhere.

I must say at the moment my favourite band is Butterfingers. They are an independent band so i have the Cd burnt bacuse it is a rarity to find it in the regular retailers!

[couchmonkey]

Yeah, I've been through this too, somewhat.  I don't know what to say except burn iTunes!  Don't listen to music at the computer and take it with you elsewhere.  Go to concerts, buy CDs, and get taken away by bands you really care about, as opposed to cramming a playlist of 500 mixed songs on your computer.

One thing that has really gotten me in the past year or two is that the state of the music industry seems to have improved ever so slightly, but the state of the music video channels has gotten a lot worse.  Music videos used to be the way I found new music because I didn't like radio very much.  Today, though, I can turn Much Music on at any random time during the day and odds are very good that I'll wind up with some stupid reality or makeover show...Pimp My Ride, Newlyweds, Fandemonium...they don't play any bloody music videos anymore!  The rest of the time they're playing current top 40 stuff, which is what they always did, but I feel like there used to be a little more diversity.  Basically, there's only one hour of the week that I can watch, when they have the alternative show.

[Ian Sane]

"Today, though, I can turn Much Music on at any random time during the day and odds are very good that I'll wind up with some stupid reality or makeover show...Pimp My Ride, Newlyweds, Fandemonium...they don't play any bloody music videos anymore! The rest of the time they're playing current top 40 stuff, which is what they always did, but I feel like there used to be a little more diversity. Basically, there's only one hour of the week that I can watch, when they have the alternative show."

I know.  Muchmusic has turned into what Americans complained MTV turned into several years ago.  Why the hell can't there be a music video station that just plays music the whole time?  The alternative show is the Wedge isn't it?  I watch that quite a lot.

[matt oz]

Back in 2000 or 2001, my family got digital cable, and with that we had 3 additional MTV channels: MTV2, MTV Spanish, and MTVX.  All 3 of these stations played music videos exclusively at the time.  MTV2 played everything except pop and country, MTV Spanish played Spanish music, and MTVX played hard rock and metal.

A few months later, they changed MTVX to MTV Jams, and now they play hip hop videos exclusively.

Now, in 2005, MTV2 has turned into another MTV.  All they have on during the day is Pimp My Ride and Jackass and High School Stories.  They've stopped playing videos just like MTV.  But now there's a new digital MTV channel called MTV Hits, which plays top 40 stuff.  It has a good variety, but I'm not gonna discover any new artists on a top 40 station.  But recently, MTV Hits has started to air TRL during the day.  I'm fearing that they're going to turn this video-only channel into another MTV.

In conclusion, I hate MTV.  The only place to see music videos is either on the Internet, or if you're up early enough in the morning, MTV has a few hours of videos.