Where do you see popular music heading from here? - Music

paladisiac
= music

Gender: Male
Location: Denver

Jasonconfused wrote:

I can see where you're coming from with this, but I just don't see it happening. People need their pop/rock icon to worship.

they can still have the pop/rock-type of icons to worship. they can be found on american idol (or some other reality show) or some cross-promoted website where JLo puts out a new song and new fingernail polish or the big song people like is the soundtrack to World of Warcraft 15..

Radio itself and approximations of it will be too fragmented for any one artist to generate too big of a following without scoring the "iWatch login" or Star Wars 10 credits soundtrack.

There will still be celebrity, it's just the entity known as "popular music" that's going away.
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Kiki

lethalnezzle's done such a great job with writing this thread that I don't really deserve to give my opinion as it is no where near as good.

I can't answer the questions either so... well down I guess Neil. Very well thought out topic here.

paladisiac
= music

Gender: Male
Location: Denver

Quote:

Where do you see popular music heading from here, as a whole?
Where do you see your preferred genres heading from here?
Which genres could benefit from a sonic shakeup, and what influences would you like to see make their way into those genres?
Which artists do you think will stand out from the crowd in terms of quality and innovation?
What new ideas would you like to see within popular music?

an_outlaw wrote:

lethalnezzle's done such a great job with writing this thread that I don't really deserve to give my opinion as it is no where near as good.

I can't answer the questions either so... well down I guess Neil. Very well thought out topic here.

Yeah, i guess my answer didn't fully address lethal's initial post. While i do think "popular music" will be gone within a generation (say 80 years at most), while it's still around it's going to be driven by technology. More auto-tune, maybe completely-computer-generated vocals and instrumentation. (Software programs already give us the artificial instrumentation.) Pop stars won't have to sing anymore at all either -- they can be auto-tuned into saccharine oblivion -- just as long as they have a pretty face. That's sort of the case now, but soon they'll be more like an actress than a singer.

That's in regards to popular music.

In regards to music in general, technology will continue to wind its way into all other music, and there will always be a segment that rebels against that technology.
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Guest

an_outlaw wrote:

lethalnezzle's done such a great job with writing this thread that I don't really deserve to give my opinion as it is no where near as good.

I hope nobody feels like they don't deserve to give their opinion, and I'd certainly value yours Outlaw.

Also, @paladisiac I mean "popular music" in the wider sense, not just whatever is being called "pop music". So rock, metal, electronic, hip-hop, reggae, shoegaze, whatever, whatever, et cetera, et cetera. Basically, music made for popular consumption via single/album format (not jazz or classical; not to say those can't apply to my very basic definition).

Guest

purple wrote:

"[not] the process of composition but rather pieces of music that are, literally, processes. The distinctive thing about musical processes is that they determine all the note-to-note (sound-to-sound) details and the overall form simultaneously. (Think of a round or infinite canon.)" - Steve Reich

Much of Steve Reich's music, much of John Cage's music, all (to my knowledge) of Oval's music, and a significant portion of William Basinski's music, among others, would be considered process music.

Rather than necessarily having explicit control over the sounds being made, the composer inflicts a process on a (usually pre-existing) sound. For example Basinski's Disintegration Loops is simply music he made previously that he sent through a recorder to melt the magnetic tape, or Oval's 94 Diskont is simply some audio CDs scratched up and colored on and then sent through a machine/program called "Wohnton."

It's a very interesting genre philosophically, and has the power to output some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard as well as the most cacophonous.

EDIT: And Ovalprocess is referring to a computer program that apparently Markus Popp put out where you can upload any music into it and it subjects it to some similar processes he uses, so you can make similar music to his. I haven't found it yet, but I've heard it mentioned a few times.

Nice definition. Cheers. There was clearly an element of satire in your initial response, but it did raise a valid point regarding the potential popularity and widespread usage of process music, even if that initial response (just as with ButterThumbz' response) did point out the possible futility of such a discussion. Personally, I think it's one worth having, even if there's no way of correctly predicting the future.

revolver94 wrote:

I agree with a lot of what lethal said, especially about music being "rehashed" today. While I still think that the caliber of music being released is very high, (2012 is also one of my favorite years in music), I am somewhat bothered by this rehashing. A mixed with B is fine, but what I really want to hear is C, and it seems like the level of innovation in terms of "purer" creation seems to have slowed down. Maybe it just seems this way because I've only been paying attention to music for about 2-3 years now, but that's my impression, and it frustrates me.

In terms of short-term trends, it's clear that dubstep is becoming VERY popular, even on mainstream radio. Although I'm usually not a fan of dubstep (most of it is tastelessly bombastic and relies completely on "shock factor"), there are definitely great dubstep artists out there (Burial rushes to mind), who are pushing music forward. Long-term, I think your description regarding the melding of genres is pretty accurate.

When was the last truly original music released anyway? I think there are fairly pure ideas being formed as we speak (even if they have some remnant of a previous vibe or sound instilled in them), and we just haven't found them yet. It's fairly easy to say that nothing truly original has happened in music for decades, and saying so wouldn't necessarily be untrue.

With regards dubstep, I'd refer you to my dubstep chart. I'm now convinced that the vast majority of people are utterly confused as to what dubstep actually is. It's a far wider-ranging genre than most people seem to think, and I'd argue that it's the most important UK dance music genre since jungle (although garage and grime both deserve a shout, given dubstep essentially arose from those. In fact, dubstep and grime are both offshoots of garage anyway).

ButterThumbz wrote:

As with anything that's constantly evolving, I'd regard any attempt to guess where it was heading would be a fruitless endeavour, even if the next "innovation" was just a matter of combining or re-purposing old aesthetics.

I think it's quite telling that when I encounter something new and exciting, I always feel like it was just what I had been waiting for despite having no prior knowledge of it's existence.

You make a good point, and one I'd considered whilst making this thread. But that doesn't mean that there aren't signifiers in terms of where we may be heading within certain genres (the weirdo hip-hop thing was sort of inevitable given the impact that the music of MF Doom and Madlib, amongst others, and the personality of Lil Wayne have had, for better or worse).

Anyways, more thoughts would be greatly appreciated. There are no right or wrong answers, and I think it's an interesting topic for discussion. At least, more interesting than just naming your favourite seventh track on an album or whatever it is we're doing these days on the forum.

RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad

Location: Ground Control

purple wrote:

Kranky records musicians will soon begin focusing on process ambient music rather than "natural" ambient music. This will quickly spread across such veritable rosters as Constellation and Warp, eventually making it's way into "indie music" acts like Grizzly Bear and Tame Impala. Soon after, only process music will be able to get "Best New Music" on Pitchfork. Process will quickly become adopted by discerning pop artists such as Katy Perry and Robyn, and Ovalprocess will become the new autotune. In the year 2020, Kanye West will make a 70 minute long magnum opus called "Runaway 2.0," in which he parodies Ovalprocess to hide his "emotions" and clunky raps.

hahaha.... I don't know if this was meant to be sarcastic, but it made me laugh.

RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad

Location: Ground Control

For me the problem I feel in this era of music is that it often feels a bit stagnant. Bands that were newer that I liked broke up (Thrice[Alchemy Index and later] or As Tall As Lions) and although I like some newer music, I just don't get a "music stiffy" when I listen to it like I do bands, like I did with them, but now they have gone the way of the grave.

Sadly my favorite "newer" bands aren't new at all and are all mainstream: Muse and Coldplay.... yes you can hate me and laugh at me, but I just don't dig anything else right now. I went through the top albums of 2011 and some of it was interesting, but it was like this one off album... I don't know no artist to really stand behind that I know will be a solid artist to bring me musical joy for years to come. I geek with bands who can produce full discographies worth listening to... and well, I don't know if it is the way music is released these days, but I don't feel like I have found an artist that is "new" that makes albums I like anymore. Coldplay and Muse do...

Sure Minus the Bear is pretty cool but... well just not as solid as I'd like. Maybe I'll enjoy older music until I "catch-up" with those that thrive on "finding" the next band or whatever. Until that amazing band is found, enjoy listening to a bunch of shit suckas... hehe.

revolver94
professional dilettante

Gender: Male
Age: 29
Location: DC suburb

lethalnezzle wrote:

When was the last truly original music released anyway? I think there are fairly pure ideas being formed as we speak (even if they have some remnant of a previous vibe or sound instilled in them), and we just haven't found them yet. It's fairly easy to say that nothing truly original has happened in music for decades, and saying so wouldn't necessarily be untrue.

With regards dubstep, I'd refer you to my dubstep chart. I'm now convinced that the vast majority of people are utterly confused as to what dubstep actually is. It's a far wider-ranging genre than most people seem to think, and I'd argue that it's the most important UK dance music genre since jungle (although garage and grime both deserve a shout, given dubstep essentially arose from those. In fact, dubstep and grime are both offshoots of garage anyway).

Yeah, it is kind of paradoxical concept, hence my use of quotes around purer. Using the term "creation" more loosely, though, I stand by what I said.

Yeah, I was definitely one of those people at that point, but discovering the breadth of the genre made me realize there was a lot more to it than Skrillex and whatnot. I'll definitely give your chart a glance!
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