[Other Sport] Brit Awards 2023

[jackalbion]

If that’s your immediate thought then you haven’t explored new music and given it a chance. Personally I can’t stand Bowie or Queen just don’t get what all the fuss is about. Is it music you were meant to like in that era because other people did?

Glad there’s someone else who thinks Queen are rubbish, never got the hype and I usually get flamed for it.

 

[jcdenton08]

If that’s your immediate thought then you haven’t explored new music and given it a chance. Personally I can’t stand Bowie or Queen just don’t get what all the fuss is about. Is it music you were meant to like in that era because other people did?

I like them both because with music, movies, video games - everything except news really - I look backwards.

Hundreds of years of masterpieces. The odds of brilliance being around present day, with new songs/movies/games released every single week is comparatively very small indeed.

Add to this marketing budgets making average content seem popular/successful means what is popular now, 99% of the time, will be forgotten in the tides of mediocrity in a few months or a year, let alone a decade’s time.

For this reason, I let the cream float to the top and rarely watch/listen to anything when it’s current, hype has died down and it can be judged on its own merits without the noise surrounding it.

However, some artists (Sam Smith, Billie Eilish, Ed Sheering) I’ve heard enough through sheer chance to know they are really just not my cup of tea.

 

[BadFish]

Glad there’s someone else who thinks Queen are rubbish, never got the hype and I usually get flamed for it.

I am in the can't stand queen club. Terrible!

 

[BadFish]

I like them both because with music, movies, video games - everything except news really - I look backwards.

Hundreds of years of masterpieces. The odds of brilliance being around present day, with new songs/movies/games released every single week is comparatively very small indeed.

Add to this marketing budgets making average content seem popular/successful means what is popular now, 99% of the time, will be forgotten in the tides of mediocrity in a few months or a year, let alone a decade’s time.

For this reason, I let the cream float to the top and rarely watch/listen to anything when it’s current, hype has died down and it can be judged on its own merits without the noise surrounding it.

However, some artists (Sam Smith, Billie Eilish, Ed Sheering) I’ve heard enough through sheer chance to know they are really just not my cup of tea.

Each to their own and all that but I find this a bit strange.

Music is totally there to be experienced in its time. The times it is around is the context of the music itself. One without the other is for me at least incomplete.

Many sons I love are because they soundtracked some important times in my life. Without the context and connections I certainly wouldn't love them as much.

Music is too subjective and too surrounded by life, love, times and experiences to worry about what is considered the cream.

I am very interested to know what your method of consuming music has come up with though, would you share your top 5 pieces?

 

[jcdenton08]

Each to their own and all that but I find this a bit strange.

Music is totally there to be experienced in its time. The times it is around is the context of the music itself. One without the other is for me at least incomplete.

Many sons I love are because they soundtracked some important times in my life. Without the context and connections I certainly wouldn't love them as much.

Music is too subjective and too surrounded by life, love, times and experiences to worry about what is considered the cream.

I am very interested to know what your method of consuming music has come up with though, would you share your top 5 pieces?

I can do top ten artists at a push?

Lene Marlin
Kraftwerk
Meatloaf
Oasis
Madonna
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Elton John
Barenaked Ladies
Nat King Cole
John Denver

But there’s another couple of hundred different artists I could sub in on a different day…

 

[BadFish]

I can do top ten artists at a push?

Lene Marlin
Kraftwerk
Meatloaf
Oasis
Madonna
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Elton John
Barenaked Ladies
Nat King Cole
John Denver

But there’s another couple of hundred different artists I could sub in on a different day…

Cool thank you. FWIW here are mine (although constantly changing).

The Cure
Ride
Stone Roses
The Charlatans
The Jam
The Beatles
Beastie Boys
De La Soul
The Specials
Talking Heads

 

[Half Time Pies]

There’s no one in the last 20 years I can think of , that’s remotely in the league of Bowie , Prince , Whitney & yes Duran Duran . I’m not looking to start an argument, I’m just saying the standard is lower because people seek generally happy to accept less talent nowadays as long as there on TikTok !
Back in the 80’s the likes of Sam Smith & Justin Bieder wouldn’t have even been offered a recording contract ,

Have you forgotten about the absolute rubbish released by the likes of Stock Aitken and Waterman? The 80s was the era when Jason Donovan was given a record contract!

 

[Live by the sea]

Whitney and Duran Duran were crap lol. Wet Leg and Fontaines D.C. are two winners last night who are far better.

Don’t embarrass yourself , you are talking about 2 legends that had careers over a long period of time , no one will remember wet fish or DC even in 5 years . I’ve couldn’t tell you any of there songs cos their crap !

 

[Live by the sea]

Have you forgotten about the absolute rubbish released by the likes of Stock Aitken and Waterman? The 80s was the era when Jason Donovan was given a record contract!

True but way more original artists ,

 

[Half Time Pies]

True but way more original artists ,

Yes however I suspect most of the originality during 60s, 70s and 80s was due to advances in music technology. Electrification of instruments and distortion saw the birth of rock and roll, improvements in recording techniques and instruments like synthesisers saw the development of rock through the 60s and in to the 70s. The late 70s and early 80s was punctuated by advances in digital recording and the introduction of MIDI and sequencing which many of the dance, hip-hop and pop records of the 80s used. They sound that bands of that era produced was original because it was the first time the technology was used widely.

Nowadays it's mostly all been done before so originality is difficult. The move to streaming hasn't helped either in my opinion because theres very little money in recorded music and many consumers don't listen to whole albums just individual songs.

 

[BadFish]

Yes however I suspect most of the originality during 60s, 70s and 80s was due to advances in music technology. Electrification of instruments and distortion saw the birth of rock and roll, improvements in recording techniques and instruments like synthesisers saw the development of rock through the 60s and in to the 70s. The late 70s and early 80s was punctuated by advances in digital recording and the introduction of MIDI and sequencing which many of the dance, hip-hop and pop records of the 80s used. They sound that bands of that era produced was original because it was the first time the technology was used widely.

Nowadays it's mostly all been done before so originality is difficult. The move to streaming hasn't helped either in my opinion because theres very little money in recorded music and many consumers don't listen to whole albums just individual songs.

I disagree here. As I said my boy is into drum and bass and other electronic music. The advances in electronic recording technology have made for some quite mind blowing music that simply wasn't available 10 or 20 years ago.

I would also argue that the fact that music can be easily recorded on home computers and released through band camp etc means that more people are producing more music. It's not packaged and played on too of the pops in the same way as before for mass consumption but it's still around.

 

[BadFish]

Don’t embarrass yourself , you are talking about 2 legends that had careers over a long period of time , no one will remember wet fish or DC even in 5 years . I’ve couldn’t tell you any of there songs cos their crap !

I would take Wet Leg and Fontaines over Whitney every and any day of the week (and I don't really like Fontaines that much). See also Dry Cleaning, DMAs, The Bug Club, the list goes on. Most of them I would take over Duran Duran although I am a sucker from some of their tunes. Of we are taking about legends then many modern artists will fall into that category, Sheeran, Swift etc (not my taste but then nor are the majority of music legends). Fontaines will be legends in indie circles as they have been going and producing good music for a while now. Wet Leg may do but it remains to be seen what they do from here, I think this one is their first album.

What you've done here is you've mistakenly written off bands because you don't like them. And you don't like them because you have left you desire and ability to enjoy new music at the back end of the 1980's. It's easy done and it seems not uncommon but try not to confuse the idea that all music since 19** is crap with the fact that you've moved on.

 

[jackalbion]

Don’t embarrass yourself , you are talking about 2 legends that had careers over a long period of time , no one will remember wet fish or DC even in 5 years . I’ve couldn’t tell you any of there songs cos their crap !

How do you know their crap if you don’t know any of their songs? Maybe you should expand your horizons a bit and check them out. Whitney’s best song isn’t even the best version of that song.

 

[jackalbion]

True but way more original artists ,

How are they original? They just follow the same 4 chord pattern, listen to experimental stuff like SOPHIE, Charlii XCX, Black Midi, there’s plenty out there.

 

[Half Time Pies]

I disagree here. As I said my boy is into drum and bass and other electronic music. The advances in electronic recording technology have made for some quite mind blowing music that simply wasn't available 10 or 20 years ago.

I would also argue that the fact that music can be easily recorded on home computers and released through band camp etc means that more people are producing more music. It's not packaged and played on too of the pops in the same way as before for mass consumption but it's still around.

But drum and bass has been around since the mid 90's, there will be improvements, but its hardly as ground breaking as the birth of electronic music! As you say the main developments in more recent years have been around the amount of equipment needed to produce music, you only need a midi keyboard and a computer, people in different parts of the world can easily collaborate and its much easier to get your music out there.

The problem as I see it is making that music commercially viable and making a career out of it! I have a couple of professional musicians in my family and it seems really tough, people need to supplement their income with second jobs or get support from their families. A lot are doing music lessons, performing at weddings in function bands and working in bars to make ends meet and many seem to get fed up and give up. I knew someone who's band had a record contract, a song on the A-playlist of a major radio station, toured extensively, released 2 albums and when he eventually gave up told me that he didn't make a single penny from any of it!

 

[Greg Bobkin]

But drum and bass has been around since the mid 90's, there will be improvements, but its hardly as ground breaking as the birth of electronic music! As you say the main developments in more recent years have been around the amount of equipment needed to produce music, you only need a midi keyboard and a computer, people in different parts of the world can easily collaborate and its much easier to get your music out there.

The problem as I see it is making that music commercially viable and making a career out of it! I have a couple of professional musicians in my family and it seems really tough, people need to supplement their income with second jobs or get support from their families. A lot are doing music lessons, performing at weddings in function bands and working in bars to make ends meet and many seem to get fed up and give up. I knew someone who's band had a record contract, a song on the A-playlist of a major radio station, toured extensively, released 2 albums and when he eventually gave up told me that he didn't make a single penny from any of it!

It's all about the Merch these days!

We were up at the O2 in the summer in the daytime and Travis Scott was performing later in the evening. As we were leaving (about 4pm) the place was HEAVING and the queue for the merchandise stalls was unbelievable. Bobkin Jnr went a couple of days later to watch the show and he said it was the same. Artists clearly don't make as much money from the actual music these days, so they have to explore other avenues.

 

[Wozza]

The problem as I see it is making that music commercially viable and making a career out of it! I have a couple of professional musicians in my family and it seems really tough, people need to supplement their income with second jobs or get support from their families.

Wonder if there are figures about showing how many folk consider themselves professional (or semi-pro) musicians in 2023 compared to, say, the 70s and 80s. I suspect it's a lot, lot more now.

Clearly there are many more producers, given the dramatic shift in tech/resources required.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Most of the artists on this years Brit awards , I’d never heard of . Can’t get excited anymore , the quality of pop music went downhill for me from mid 90’s and hasn’t recovered .

Pop stars in the 80’s were mainly exciting, individual & talented nowdays they are not .

What was it you were saying about the age demographic of Worthing? Maybe you need to move?

 

[Half Time Pies]

It's all about the Merch these days!

We were up at the O2 in the summer in the daytime and Travis Scott was performing later in the evening. As we were leaving (about 4pm) the place was HEAVING and the queue for the merchandise stalls was unbelievable. Bobkin Jnr went a couple of days later to watch the show and he said it was the same. Artists clearly don't make as much money from the actual music these days, so they have to explore other avenues.

I actually read an article recently about Travis Scott breaking the UK record for merchandise sales. Something like $1 million in a weekend!

This is true but probably only really for a small proportion of artists playing large venues and with the benefit of a huge promotional and marketing budget and the ability to charge extortionate prices!

 

[jcdenton08]

Even at “grass roots” level many acts rely solely on merchandise to pay the bills.

Independent pro wrestlers (those not signed to WWE/AEW etc) are often not even paid to wrestle. Instead they make their money selling t-shirts, posing for photos in the ring with fans and signing 8x10’s.

Same with bands at smaller venues; I remember seeing the lead singer from Idlewild at the De La Warr a few years back and he was constantly plugging his CD’s and merch which he was selling personally after the show.

It can feel very carnie as they try and upsell you and guilt you into buying their stuff.