Stumbled on my own blog entry... (cont.)

“Music nowadays is so bad! I don’t understand how people took the wonderful sound of Pink Floyd and turned into Skrillex!” said the caveman when the first flute was invented.

Evolution, in a more scientific sense, is a form of natural selection. A lot of things appear, but those that are found to be beneficial stick and become part of the next generation and those that aren’t, eventually abandoned. It’s a continuous process. But obviously this is not science, it is art. Then again music, like every art, is constantly evolving as well. If it didn’t, we would be listening to knocking rocks (not a band name…yet?) rather than Joy Division. If music did not evolve, all those songs we love would have never existed. If art did not evolve, being blind, deaf etc. would not be that big a deal.

And say there was this magic button, that whenever you are satisfied with the stage of the genre, you could press “stop” and nothing would ever change. As magical as that sounds, it would be oh, so dull. We would have ten “Hey Jude”s and ten “Macarena”s! Also, once again, crappy music is a necessary parasite to masterpieces. It existed then, but in this scenario it would be crappy and identical, so double the crap!

All these are quite literal and practical arguments, something which in no way corresponds to music. Music corresponds to imagination, feelings and depiction of current reality. So, if our reality is changing, our feelings given closer examination and our imagination wild and roaring, how can music still be about “the way you sip your tea” and “the way you comb your hair”? We have Starbucks and curling irons; you sip you tea though a paper cup trying not to spill it over your white shirt and you are using ten different stinking sprays to minimise the damage from the curling iron. Life is high paced, 12 minute songs bore you. Music is, luckily, relevant.

This has been bugging me since the very first word I typed. I hate Skrillex, I really do. I find that his songs pinch that one particular part of the brain, right at the front. But I do love Muse and I do love the Horrors and White Lies and a thousand bands post Pink Floyd. None of those just emerged out of nowhere, not even Pink Floyd themselves! They evolved, they transformed, they handpicked the best parts of past music and made wonderful additions. And I know loads of people that like Skrillex and at least one song I like which was inspired by that hipster with the terrible haircut.

So my personal conclusion is Viva la Evolution! It has worked out quite well in many areas (my ecological alter ego has some objections here); I have no reason to doubt it. And I am curious to see where it is going and hell, if I don’t like the end results, I will just whine about how my children’s generation wrecked music. Looking forward to it.

Stumbled on a Retro Fanatic

Having established in my previous blog entry that mainstream music is not the devil, I think it is time to discuss another nostalgic topic; how terrible music is nowadays, not like old times… The times I have heard or said this are probably making this whole text completely irrelevant and unreliable. But as “words are spoken to be broken”, I have to stand up for my true and debatable belief; music today is just fine!

To begin with, it is only a bit weird hearing 20-year olds saying that referring to the 90’s. Well, they weren't in much of a state of judgement then were they? When they grew up a bit they got acquainted with Nirvana, Offspring and all those 90’s jewels. But I have an idea about why that music is… “music to your ears”; it is because it is the tip of the iceberg! The base consisted of Wet Wet Wet and Right Said Freddy. In 2050, when the same whiny teenagers talk of 2010’s, they will not likely talk about “Anacoda”- Nicki Minaj, but maybe “Lonely Boy”- Black Keys. And yes, there has been an exponential increase in song production therefore maybe more stupid songs are trending now but I’m pretty sure there were thousands songs then that were and are inaudible.

The other thing I find weird is having two different sorts of people say this; my father and my friend. Why is that weird? ‘Cause when my father says “music used to be much better than this concentrated noise”, he means Beethoven (that is 1880) and Bach (three to four centuries ago)! That makes both the Beatles and Jimmy Hendricks seem like yesterday, doesn't it? What I mean is that we technically are in the same era with the 60’s chronologically and conceptually. If my generation merges Bach and Beethoven into one genre, classical music, then only one genre corresponds to The Stone Roses and Fall Out Boy (love and hate them respectively). Now, I am obviously not talking for that small (unfortunately) percentage that can differentiate between Bach’s more baroque era and Beethoven’s romantic. Bottom line is, music has not changed that drastically within its genres (yes, there are more than one genres to choose from!).

All this probably doesn't change the fact that past music sounds better than current to most, but once again, I just feel it has to do with nostalgia and exposure. As far as nostalgia is concerned, Backstreet Boys – “Get Down” is just as cheesy as One Direction – “Live while we’re young”. But one of them is connected to kids’ parties and more carefree times and personally, that one I love. As far as exposure is concerned, Eagles – “Hotel California” is the one song I expect every living soul to know. It’s on the radio, it is in movies, it is everywhere. And it has been for so long! But the world is not ending tomorrow, so songs of today may be the next generation’s or the generation after “Hotel California”. Personally I’m rooting for Psy – “Gangham Style” just for the hell of it!

Whenever you feel gloomy, listening to a past tune,

Put on Macarena and puke from night till noon.

Whenever current music fills you up with holes,

Worry not, my friends, there’s “Holy Fire”-Foals.