I doubt we'll ever have another "Bryan Adams" at no.1 in the charts thanks to download sales which just make the charts so unpredictable and 'up and down' Take this week for example, The Goo Goo Dolls released "Iris" in 1998 and it made it to 50 in the UK charts, the re-release in 1999 made it to 26, but its highest chart position was this week, where 12 years after it was released it made it to No.3 - and why? Because two guys sang it on X-factor last week.... Next week it probably wont be in the chart at all...
Don McLean announced that 'music died' in 1959, but, for me, it has since been re-born and died again when pop stars/pop idol/x-factor or whatever the hell came first, appeared on our screens.
Don't let nostalgia get in the way of finding good music. There has always been bad pop (SAW coneyor pop, Kadgagoogoo, to name a few). There has also been a lot of good music out there as well over the years. No one forces you to listen to any of the pap.
The music industry is more about making money than making music these days
Was it ever thus? When they were making 78s of rural folk music is the US in the 1930s, they weren't doing it for fun.
Today we have a much greater choice of music being produce than any time I can think of. We have more stations, catering for different tastes, and if you hate pop, there are many places to avoid it.
We do certain festivals most years (Beautiful Days, Bearded Theory), and find out about a whole range of music thats out there. I also listen to 6Music, which is fantastic.
I would have loved a station like 6Music when I was a teen, but we had R1 playing pop rubbish, and the decent music only played late at night.
We even have access to internet radio, giving you an even wider range of specialisations.
For me, mid to late 90s was a dry peiod for good music. Then the 00s kicked in, and we suddenly new acts coming in that were fab. Today, I often find it difficult to find new stuff I enjoy, but that's me not having the time to look for it like I used to.
This idea that they are in it for the money is true, but what we have to ask our selves is: Do they offer value for money?, are they doing it for the right reasons?
The X-Factors of this world fall down here of course. What many rock/ folk/ emo acts offer is value, and they are doing it because they love it. We know this, as they don't exactly get a lot of fame or glory from it. The pop acts generally do it for fame and money, and it usually shows. The people behind the scenes of the pop acts are marketers rather than artisically based in creating these acts.
Ultimately, we get the music we deserve. And we get the music we look out for and find. If you don't like what you come acroos, look else where, and you'll eventually find something different that you might like, as there is so much choice these days.
