This has been argued since before we were all born. I study German literature, and basically what I have learned is that there are really like 10 stories, and all of those stories have just been retold in different ways. Does that stop us from making good literature? No. I think the same can be applied to all forms of art. I think Dave Grohl nailed it on the head... good art comes from the Human Element, or as Kant argued in his Kritik der Urteilskraft, the source of all things aesthetically pleasing comes from Nature. Has Nature changed... well some could argue it is more scarce, but a tree is still a tree and a rock is still a rock, but they are still beautiful and evoke feelings inside of us still.
My absolute favorite song on the subject is a song by Piebald, "Where Have All the Classics Gone":
Of course we will survive this golden age
Where ideas are just old ideas rehashed.
Quality, style and function aren't applied.
Where have all the classics gone.
I've heard it said there will never be a classic again.
Art repeats itself.
I cannot tell but it pays to be a skeptic.
Cause there is nothing new.
Where do we go from here?
I've waited all my life to find the newest craze.
And it does not impress me.
What we need right now is a cultural revolution.
Art destroys itself.
I mean I agree with this line of frustration, especially when I see all these re-releases of the exact same movie, but now in 3D (tricks on kids to make money). Or remakes of the same movie, which at times can be amazing and at times just bore the hell out of me, or ruin said "classic".
Another issue is when are you making crap to be different so that you can make something that hasn't been done before? I remember reading this article from Bono when he was like 18, and I loved what he said about creative honesty vs trying to be different: He said, look at us all, we all are different, there isn't a single person in this room that is exactly the same. No one has a nose out to here (journalist says he stops at this point to make sure he is following him) to make us different, we just are different, and that is how music should be, nothing so radical that you can tell you are TRYING too hard to be different.
Just be who you are, and if Kant was right, your natural internal creativity should just shine and connect with other people's natural ability to appreciate it.
On this note, would you really suggest Jack White and The Black Keys shouldn't exist because blues rock has been done before... hell no.
Well this was a complete disastor. I put so much effort into something and then completely ruined by trying to crack a joke as well. I thought it would lighten the mood but not only did it mislead but I suspect it drove away quite a few members from even clicking on it.
Thinking about deleting it and putting it up again. I think such an idea might be abusing mod powers though. Perhaps a title change will suffice?
Let's see what we've got anyway:
sethmadsen - I like what you wrote about U2. That is an attitude you don't see often these days. Something I didn't mention that I really should of was the rarity of people who just wanted to start a rock band. A lot of people get too picky these days and there is so much emphasis on influences. It's hard to find people who just want to play and see what happens.
MrBrown - I see what your saying. I can't say I want to "explore" myself, more stroll around and see what happens. I agree with a lot of what you said about the emotions though. It is important.
Also this has probably been posted on these forums before but if you have seen it before here's a video sort of on the topic about if we will ever run out of music
I have spoken to several musicians in my time. Most seem to have a consensus that there is no truly original music left to record. "Everything has already been done" is a mantra I have heard more twice. While this doesn't stop them from recording and playing, it is something I have heard a great deal. However... the majority of musicians I have met are actually quite elitist. I have brought people in for jams and rehearsals while trying to form a band who throw around the words "derivative" and "formulaic" in a manner that suggests both things are negative. I even got told with a completely straight face that a song I wrote was "overrated". I think we both had two very different contexts for when such a word is appropriate. I could only laugh it off at the time. Still, from experience I have found many musicians, when meeting, talking or playing in person, to be stubborn and pompous.
There is a sentiment that the ones holding the instruments are the smart people. The ones who only use their lungs, unless they are on their side, are usually dismissed as unnecessary or talentless. Females bear the brunt of this. The idea of an intelligent and attractive female singer is bewildering. Nevermind that, an intelligent pop/rnb singer full stop is almost unheard of. They're just "bimbos" who sing about sex and parties. I mean if Kesha was intelligent, she'd be playing an instrument! Imagine if you met Kesha in real life, what are the chances you will get an intelligent discussion out of her? ... zero?... right...? Not at all. The type of music one makes does not reflect on ones intelligence. Also, it is quite telling of something when these musicians deride these popular artists as puppets who only push units because of sex appeal but when faced with a female who is playing the correct music, see the intelligent music, a considerable amount of these musicians sexualize and fetishize them to the nth degree!
And what of popular music? These smart musicians are quick to call shows like The X-Factor, American Idol and Britain's Got Talent horrible and full of talentless wannabees. While some of the shows mentioned have taken questionable actions regarding the well being and treatment of their contestants, there are people who go onto them because they are good singers. Because they can play pythagorean scale and what ever else with there eyes closed, these people are somehow more worthy than the contestants who go on these shows. They're to happy to say "Well if I went on the show, they would send me home because they're not looking for real talent". Really? Talent isn't a word I like to dwell on. If you think you are more "talented" than the majority of The X-Factor singers perhaps you should have a go? Have a try. Let's see how you perform in front of a huge crowd before you start bad mouthing the people who just go up there and do it.
What I love about music is the entertainment. To me it is made to inspire. It is the friend. I'm not denying myself something to fit in. If I feel for a piece of music, it is part of me. I have had 'You Get What You Give' by New Radicals on repeat several times now as I write this line. Great song from the 90s isn't it? I love the chorus and the little piano bits. Do you? However you feel, it doesn't matter to anyone but you. No skin from my nose if you despise it. When I put my music to the masses one day, I want to inspire and entertain. I want to go onto stages and have people believe in themselves. People think the way they do. They can do it. It gets better. A growing trend in music, a continuing march in the realms of all which is "indie", is an idea of creating 'Art'...
Art is terrible word. It is horrid. I hate 'Art'. I hate it when people apply it to rock and pop music. Unless the person using it is saying an album or song is Art because everything made is Art, then it is loathsome. It carries things which are not seen or heard It carries an elitist air. It carries a foul stench. While it would seem hypocritical to say it implies some albums are better than others on a website which is all about rating albums over others, it is dispersonal nature which gets me. Every album is ranked better or worse than another based on how they feel to ME. An album rated at 30/100 is inferior to one rated 100/100 to ME. When it comes to others, they are all equal. I am wrong to decide the authenticity of an artist is off. I struggle with that at times. I can stumble. When they completely take the biscuit, I can become very inclined to dismiss the artists and sometimes listeners as hipsters or posuers. However, the truth is a lot more... awful.Oh, it is awful. People listen to artists like Dirty Projectors because... well they enjoy them! They get the same fulfillment I get from my favorite artists from them! What a wonderful world this is! Lovely! When art rears its ugly head in music, it sets albums on pedestals. They are great works of Art. If people don't like the album, it is not the album which is wrong but instead they are wrong. People feel they must listen to it over and over until they "understand it". "Understanding" music? What is there to "understand"!? It's music!
There is an emphasis on recording "Art". Some people don't want to create a unique song structure as a little experiment, they want a unique one because the popular ones are "derivative". Weird sounds are sought, a song can't be truly creative if it sticks to what has been done. Don't make the chorus too catchy either, I have seen a few souls consider such a thing to be bad in a song. They may be a tiny amount now but if they grow along with the many more who find creating "Art" more important than something true to themselves then the whole drums and guitar scene could be a sorry sight come 10-20 years.
I want to hear fun and adventure. I want to hear music with power to move mountains. I want to be reminded of the good and bad times. You might want to hear an album which is a piece of "Art". Something ethereal, boundary pushing and innotive. That is okay, you follow your heart. Do what you want. Personally, I think such pursuits are a waste of time. I have one life and I want to record music which will stay with people long after I am gone. I want to give the friends I had. I want to listen to what I enjoy. Not wasting my time trying to "understand" some profound statement I don't like the sound of.
While I won't bad mouth "Pop", RnB, Hip Hop etc and I respect what they do, my first and foremost love is Rock music. That is where my joys are and I would be lying If I said otherwise. It is my Forte. Currently, I am worrying about the direction it is taking. I don't like the divides(indie, alternative, classic etc etc). I don't like the sly underground is best attitude which is growing. I don't like the little smart kid club it is becoming. The one where people parrot the same things over and over. Where they think they are somehow more intelligent.
What more can I say? I am not confident in my ability to get my words across. Most of this might have made no sense. We will wait and find out.
I come back to the thread title now. There are some certain attitudes amongst certain musicians. Ones which imply a sense of elitism. So in regards to your Rock/Indie/What ever else you want to call it, shall we just give it up? Everything is derivative and borrowed and what have you. No one is going to top the heights of the greats. All the new listeners will be listening to them and parroting how no one has did it better since them. The beginning of the arc can start from the moment 'Rock Around The Clock' hit the top of the US Charts and end... erm... tomorrow. A new style will be stolen from some obscure culture and the whole of the western world can make it the new thing. Everyone will try again and this time we have the internet from the very start. A fresh slate for everyone!
What if we hit this new music thing on the head? Let it go. Do something else instead.
The idea of running out of music because everything's been done already sounds like a fantastic premise to a rock opera _________________ 51 Washington, D.C. albums!
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... zero?... right...? Not at all. The type of music one makes does not reflect on ones intelligence. Also, it is quite telling of something when these 
When art rears its ugly head in music, it sets albums on pedestals. They are great works of Art. If people don't like the album, it is not the album which is wrong but instead they are wrong. People feel they must listen to it over and over until they "understand it". "Understanding" music? What is there to "understand"!? It's music!
You've said them. The cursed words. He's coming. I can feel him.
