Does Modern Music Really Suck?

[@Krustenkaese92]

There's great modern music everywhere. People just never bother to look beyond a Top 40 list.

[@christopherb.2658]

Exactly! People have no idea how much great music there is out there!

[@RhettShull]

This…judging on the comments here, lots of people stopped listening to anything made after 1995

[@unity__3829]

One of these is polyphia, check them out if you like math rock, or guitar music

[@zambonidriver42]

I agree. You have to go out and find it. It’s not in your face, it’s not given much respect by the big music companies. And that’s the sad part.

[@gavinw5469]

The top 40 is a representation of what people are listening to.

[@jordanl7685]

This topic reminds me of a cooking class I took in high school. Chef would never let us get away with saying we “don’t like” something. He would always ask us to elaborate. “Too bitter”, “too salty”, “unappealing texture” and so on. I apply his strategy these days when I’m discussing music with people. A lot of times, people don’t have solid reasoning for why they dislike an artist/song. I live for that moment when I make someone really consider WHY they dislike something. I’m not out to change minds, I just think it’d be a lot more productive if people were honest with themselves.

[@jordanl7685]

@@jsullivan2112 I agree! And I certainly don’t do this for the “gotcha” moment, or to talk down to people personal tastes. However, I do really believe that there’s always a reason for the dislike of a certain artist/song, and getting to that answer is always interesting. Doesn’t matter if it’s a shallow or nitpicky reason either. If it’s valid to them, it’s legit. Understanding why you DON’T like something can be just as beneficial as knowing what you DO like.

[@gcvrsa]

Unfortunately, music literacy is so low in our society, that most people don't have developed enough vocabularies to understand and articulate what it is that they don't like, so the animalistic response is, "this sucks".

[@gantmj]

Reason has nothing to do with taste.

[@HOLYEVOL]

I am the redeemer of music. You may call me HE. : )

[@lrvogt1257]

I think what you suggest is a valuable skill and I can do that and yet... I don't care because, fortunately, I don't have to explain what I like to anyone. There are plenty of songs that are perfectly well done and yet they just don't resonate with me and conversely, total crap in genres I don't particularly care for that just make me smile. That's not the norm but it happens enough.

[@Daniel-rg9sl]

Today’s Gregorian chants just aren’t what they used to be.

[@juliachild9377]

Mos def.

[@MrmelodyUs]

LOL!

[@277southtombob]

I think most musicians, including myself, don’t care for the over processed sound of most modern music and prefer a more live feel. Honestly musicians are the minority and the music industry is a business so playing towards the majority is to be expected. The great thing about this era is the fact there’s outlets for those who want to put out “music for musicians” that has that live, organic feel so if you look it’s out there.

[@RobertVeasquez]

Agree. I’ve tried listening to Rick Beato’s top ten videos. I can never get past a few. I don’t hate the music, there just there is nothing harmonically interesting for me. Oh, I could listen to their production quality as I am always chasing that tail. But I lost interest fast. What you say here rings true for many, not all, but a lot.

[@eltigre8978]

@@RobertVeasquez Totally agree. Let's face it, today's really does suck and that's why the kids today listen to 70's rock. They know today's music really does suck.

[@amylaw3416]

Most of the music savvy kids I know have learned to used KZbin music as their preferred music app and they all gravitate towards the live performances of their most modern artists. A great example is AltJ. They sound soooo real in their live recordings. A bit too sterile on their studio recordings.

[@faethe000]

Yah, there was nothing overprocessed about 60s-90s guitar with 15 pedals and whatnot... Amazes me how guys like you never realize how silly that sounds.

[@RobertVeasquez]

@@faethe000 Absolutely Correcto Munro! Just look at David Gilmours Arsenal, and I like him.

[@francisvaughan7460]

A few observations: Alternative music isn't alternative anymore. It is just a name. It hasn't been an alternative to mainstream in decades. In one of the last CD shops in my city, the alternative section is larger than any other genre. Indeed larger than most of the other genres put together. "Alternate" is for many actually mainstream pop music. Almost by definition a real alternative music won't have a top 40 list. The new sounds and musics won't appear on any top 40 list. Top 40 music has been rubbish every since we had a top 40 list. Go back and list the groundbreaking giants of music. Absent the Beatles, many of the bands we name as giants had almost no impact on the top 40 in their time. Rick particularly likes some music for production values. This is praising the producer, not the music. Valid praise, but sometimes a perfectly polished turn is still a turd. Maybe he should do a top 40 best production irrespective of the quality of the music. Perhaps "Hit music that was saved by production". There is fabulous new music being created all the time. Some of it never gets outside the performance venue. Musicians playing together live. Can't be beaten. A top 40 list is not the place to find the great new music. Indeed, given the modern commercialism involved, it is possibly one of the worst. Many of us hate the sort of music that makes any top 40. Since the 70's none of the music I liked tended to do well on top 40 lists, yet I see many favourite bands and songs in Rick's What makes this song great videos. We often forget that the great songs of the past were not always smash hits, and were drowned out in their time by forgettable crap designed to appeal to teenagers with teenager problems and teenager desires.

[@t.r.backenbaum7325]

The "alternative" label has been used like this since the mid-late 90s though, after Grunge broke into the maistream. Alternative rock basically means contemporary rock music that doesn't fit any particular subgenre and doesn't try to replicate the exact sound of a past era of rock. A better term would be "modern rock"

[@tonyh9970]

I think another problem with identifying "alternative" is that there are so many genres of music and most of it is "mainstream". If everything is mainstream then nothing is alternative. For example, R&B/Hip-hop would be "pop" since it's seems to be the most popular style of music. So what is "pop" music now? I just prefer to stick with the "music I like" genre. It's a huge variety and the actual genres are irrelevant.

[@gcvrsa]

"Alternative" was a specific genre of music, and I personally refuse to categorise any act that debuted after 1994 as "Alternative". That's a hard line. In reality, by 1993, "Alternative" as a genre was already dying out, so even a lot of the bands that debuted post-1991 aren't really "Alternative".

[@gaywoman420]

@@gcvrsa No it wasn't, alternative was never a specific style of music. Alternative came from underground musicians when punk was in it's mainstream and represented musicians who had independent DIY aspects in their music. It was a term used for musicians who didn't fit into the industry so even by the late 80's the term didn't mean anything anymore. So even 90s "alternative" acts weren't alternative because at that point indie became the term that replaced it.

[@finnsiegers7692]

I Think CD and Vinyl are way more popular among people who listen to Alternative music, there's loads of online communities that are obsessed with vinyl, and I haven't seen one that is obsessed with rock music.

[@GeraldBelton]

On Penn Jillette's podcast last week, he was talking about albums. He said, and I agree, that back in the day we bought an album and it would have two songs we knew, two we hated, and a bunch we didn't care about. But we liked the band, we bought the album, and we listened to it until we liked all the songs. He bemoaned the fact that our kids won't have that experience, because they don't buy albums.

[@bouzoukiman5000]

Mr. Jillette obviously wasn't as selective as many of us when he made an album purchase

[@TrentonF505]

Well people aren’t buying albums because they can stream albums

[@lostindixie764]

True. You bought the album or cd and just put it in, not knowing what you would get. You read through the jacket while you listened. Much more intimate. Young people don't have the attention span for that these days.

[@IL2TXGunslinger]

I’ve been thinking about this for years. Consider this twist - in the 60’s and 70’s not all of us had access to even the same albums. I grew up in a small town. There were exactly 3 LP bins that weren’t very large - each held perhaps 20 LP’s. There were only 2 or 3 AM radio stations. This was also when rural populations made up a significantly greater percentage of the overall population. I can remember that I didn’t really like many if not most of the songs on albums I bought - though over time came to like a greater percentage of each album.

[@beatmasterbossy]

The good bands had albums that were good. The whole album. The singles were just a marketing thing that manufactured popularity through repetition. And the singles were sometimes the worst songs on the album, or at least, not very interesting. If you're a musician, and you can write songs, you should focus on building a good album. Regardless of the market. The record label hated 2112 The record label didn't want to release bohemian rhapsody. The record executives won't take risks and don't know what they're talking about. When record execs steer creative output, this is what we get.

[@kylevandeusen]

Tribalism is real - and it's not just KZbin and it's not just music. I work in the web development industry, and people have the same, completely irrational hateful reaction if you say you like a different software than them. It's nuts man.

[@TheAbsolyte]

Same for home improvement.... One brand over the other or you're not good at your job. Crazy world we live in.

[@ec8107]

Obviously, tribalism has always existed. However, the internet/social media has made it so easy. We humans are having a hard time adjusting to it.

[@hotglassbottles]

Remember, the right framework/language to use is the one you weren't using last week. Repeat ad nauseum ;)

[@heyjarrod]

Yeah, especially during this pandemic. I’m finding so many people that lack useful critical thinking skills-even what some might consider “common sense.” It’s mine boggling, to me, people that can’t pause for a second and look at both (or all) sides of something. Instead, they go from zero to conspiracy theory, ha ha. Or in the arts (as in politics), people try to explain how objective their opinion might be, when they don’t realize they’re actually providing subjective information. Which is fine, but I find so many people can’t delineate between the two. So many people are so easily influenced, without giving themselves a chance to develop a sound or logical conclusion on their own. 🤘🏻🇺🇸🎸

[@HeavyListeningMusic]

But, really, everybody hates PHP.

[@jordanmiles106]

I’m not a big fan of the “great music outside of the top 40” argument, I want the top 40 to be the great artists and songs that we all see and love together

[@strategery101]

Exactly

[@maplesyrup4881]

Kendrick Lamar went #1, there’s some good artists in the mainstream.

[@Tom_McMurtry]

@@maplesyrup4881 some of the time!

[@pokejoao]

Well, there so much music out there, that what sounds good to you might not be on the top 40, because you're taste is not what rules, sorry

[@Tom_McMurtry]

@@pokejoao Generally the top 40 is far more poor than selections outside of the top 40 however, which was not the case in the past.

[@CyberattackWorld]

hey man, what you did in this video, i understand what you were trying to do, but this is how it came across

[@80sOGRE]

The biggest disconnect here is young people are just unaware how significant the top 40 charts use to be ( back before everything internet ). So when any old persons says today's music sucks, they are really only referring to the top 40 charts. Old people make the mistake of assuming those same charts matters anymore and it doesn't. So yeah, it's just a misunderstanding by both parties.

[@goodboid]

I'm 48yrs old. I grew up listening to Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, etc. I started listening to techno 4 years ago. I absolutely love the music being released nowadays. It's exciting, inventive, and gets your blood pumping. I don't do drugs, I dislike partying, but I love techno and progressive house. Because I'm old enough to afford great gear, listening to techno has gotten me to buy some high end headphones and DACs, in fact I ended up buying a whole bunch of electronic music gear and set up a fairly elaborate home studio.

[@hotglassbottles]

I'm about the same age as you and was raised a Beatles fan, but was widely ridiculed for loving Orbital and The Orb during my 'rave phase'. My friends couldn't understand how I loved both so much lol

[@myhomeonthenet3120]

I’m not into Techno but as being the same age as you I agree totally with your point. My choice is more on the acoustic vibe and there are so many phenomenal singer songwriters out there today. Enjoy your music. Much love, abbo. Ch’O

[@unclemick-synths]

Same here. After decades in the multitrack recording paradigm (tape then digital) I bought an MPC and the scope for creativity is liberating even though you couldn't guess my recent music was recorded on an MPC!

[@AllegoryofPatrick]

New music is great for dancing. My relationship with music shifted dramatically a few years ago on that account

[@bipbipletucha]

Love to see it

[@aaronreeves8376]

It’s identification, what we individually identify with. The times and surroundings that we lived in/through, that our roots are steeped in. As time goes by we naturally become more melancholy and therefore we go back to our roots, like comfort food.

[@morozilnik]

I’ve never felt compelled to write or post a comment on a KZbin video before, but this one struck a chord with me. I saw Beato’s video when it came out and had a similar internal reaction to the ones that people made publicly in the comments section. I didn’t necessarily have a visceral reaction of hatred toward what I heard, but more of an indifference. If Prozac had a sound, it would sound like that. Rhett mentions “…there’s some really cool production on here, there’s some great guitar sounds, there’s some cool hooks, there’s some really great songwriting…”, which is true. What’s missing in most (not all) of those examples are the intangibles…attitude, guts, spirit, energy, sincerity etc… Those are elements that can’t be quantified, but the listener knows when they hear it because they can FEEL it. It hits them in the chest and sucks the air out of them. What is being offered across almost all of the modern music genres is slickly produced, but mundane and neutral. I believe much of the hatred that people expressed in the comments could have been expressed more eloquently, but I understood from where many of them were coming. It isn’t necessarily “hatred”, but instead frustration and boredom. I admire the work that both of you do.

[@fallenshallrise]

You kind of hit it there. We hear less and less about great emotion, grit, energy, attitude, sceams, wails, or believable, heartfelt, sincere, vulnerable. The compliments are all about the mix or how great the snare sample is or how good the plugin sounds and the results are great for other producers but pretty boring for the rest of us.

[@HiHello-ku1fl]

Nailed it!

[@michelvilleneuve358]

My next t-shirt: “if Prozac had a sound, it would sound like that”. ;)

[@juanziegler1471]

well said

[@HOLYEVOL]

I am the redeemer of music. You may call me HE. : )

[@darrellstyner0001]

It's always been this way. I remember the whole "disco sucks" movement in junior high, followed by "punk sucks" and "new wave sucks," etc. We're simple creatures. We pick a team and stick with it--until we change our minds. The only difference these days is that we share our extremism in real time 24/7, so there seems to be a lot more of it. Same as it ever was.

[@rstuartcpa]

I loved disco in the seventies but publicly denied, I loved puck and let everyone know it, and loved "new wave" even more and dressed like an idiot because of it. Gary Numan, The Cars, Talking Heads, New Order, B-52s, Alison Moyet, Tom Tom Club, APB, Ministry, Grace Jones, Aztec Camera, I could go on an on. I do love some contempory music, but the music of my youth, seems to be, the paragon generation of music. Music is human kind's greatest accomplishment.

[@dmultiplxr]

Same as it ever was.. same as it ever was..

[@johnmirabile3535]

That a generational thing like the yankees of my day wouldve beat the yankees of your day. this is wayyyy bigger then that...music doesnt convey the same human emotion that it once did, bc the human element is erased from it by technology..

[@Lieutenant_MAGATTA_Crypto]

Spot on👌

[@bndncn]

I think the disco example is really interesting as it relates to modern music. After that big record burning in Chicago and everyone declared disco was dead, turns out, it never died. Maybe it went underground for a while, but the influence is crystal clear if you listen to modern dance music.

[@dulla8469]

im gonna say it, most people who hate on modern music just want to be that type person who listen to real recorded music like in the 70s and 80s, "oh my god autotune, oh my god programmed drums, its gotta be the same as every other song" i have friends who only listen to pink floyd, jimi hendrix, the beatles, earth wind and fire, and any modern song that comes with a clean sound, they call it trash from the first 10 seconds, and when we start discussing it, they keep saying the same thing every one else says as if they're just reading a paragraph thats been fed to them "music back then used to be recorded live, it had emotion, not just click and play like these days, and you had to appreciate the singer cause he wasnt using anything to make them sound good". i guess my point is that SOME people just want to be the outcasts who are not following trends and not being sheep yet being sheeps by acting this way

[@RC32Smiths01]

As I have gotten older, I have simply learned to be a lot more opening to all kinds of music. Being stuck in one place in terms of music is really exhausting after a while in my humble opinion.

[@petebrown3715]

Agreed.

[@davids7573]

Interesting. I see it exactly in reverse: pretending to like everything new and current is exhausting. I do agree that being open to all kinds of music is a good thing, as long as that doesn't mean one must automatically appreciate what is current. I like many, many different types of music and bands and genres. Enough to keep me busy for the rest of my life. But none of it is younger than about 40 years old :)

[@fredstevens799]

@@davids7573 LOL! right with you bro'

[@HOLYEVOL]

I am the redeemer of music. You may call me HE. : )

[@HOLYEVOL]

I am the redeemer of music. You may call me HE. ; }

[@rome8180]

The reason people were complaining about a lot of that music was the PRODUCTION. It sounds so lifeless and robotic. Everything is perfect and inhuman. Instead of focusing on writing songs with interesting structures, hooks, and progressions, the focus is on having your music sound as slick as possible. This is not just a problem in mainstream music either. Listen to some modern metal. All the drums are samples, everything is to a grid, and all the vocals are processed within an inch of their life. There is a TON of great music still out there, however. If anything, there's more variety than there ever has been. Rhett himself plays some of it. I like Rhett's music because, although it's polished, it sounds like it was performed by humans.

[@mathewbrown9371]

Yeah you’re onto something with the point on production for sure. Then you also get this sense of it being very corporate sanctioned, produced to appeal to the most people possible and hence never to offend or stray from the line. I might be speaking to broadly there, since there are some authentic artists out there but I just don’t think authenticity is as important to people as it once was.

[@amylaw3416]

Exactly. Dave Matthew's last published album was a very raw album drop and the critics were BRUTAL because he recorded one song in one take and had zero voice processing on it. It's a BEAUTIFUL song. The album was buried because of it though.

[@kens32052]

How many songs today actually have an intro.

[@mattgilbert7347]

Agreed

[@t.r.backenbaum7325]

As a fan of 80s alternative (and pop) music I don't mind sampled drums or the song being tied to a grid. They already did it back then with drum machines and sequencers. Just not a fan of a lot of the sounds/guitar tones hey use in these playlists and how it's mixed, especially the vocals.

[@logicgenius5229]

I’ll go on record saying I don’t like most modern music, but if you’re trashing a guy like Rick for liking it then you’re an idiot. This man is an incredible, experienced musician and he knows what he’s talking about; great video from Rhett and him!

[@brentnoury7626]

Rick had a video last week which said why modern music stinks. And now after a few incompetent music critics on KZbin bashed his video, here he is on the flipside argument. Yes Rick is awesome but arguing FOR Billie Eilish is ridiculous. She's not the NEW Eminem or Kurt Cobain, as she is being relentlessly promoted as being. These youtubers such as Rick and Rhett should take their beef to the corporations that push for Beyonce and Billie and Bieber and Ed Shareen. Not post videos attacking our tastes in music considering they are literally defending MUZAK!

[@nickguzman1734]

I think that categorizing anybody that's critical of something you enjoy as a "hater" is the problem here. There was nothing incorrect in those comments.

[@mrkdemeritt]

@@brentnoury7626 😂😂

[@saethddu1375]

Agreed, but even if he was a neophyte, people shouldn’t get mad if he or whoever likes something or not

[@donwoodward7944]

Rick has spent a fair amount of time criticizing modern music. It's constructive critisism, but criticism all the same. The difference is he's far more polite than most of us. 😆

[@johnwalter9943]

I have found that as I matured as a musician (and a person) , I have become less critical of bands, genres, etc. I have my own taste, no doubt, but I hate a lot less now AND I see how hating on bands and genres was a disservice to my guitar playing.

[@toploadtele]

Being a Alabama boy a little older than Rick, I cut my teeth selling audio gear in Nashville from 1975 - 2000. I can tell you that this exact same issue arises every year or so as "New" music is released. The big difference I see is today's killer tech which has made high quality "Home Studio" recordings possible. The record labels seem to be struggling with how to deal with the home grown success and competition that is a real threat to their out dated business model of controlling artists and the material they record. A few good examples are some of the newer cover bands like Scary Pockets, Lexington Lab Band, HSCC and Leonid & Friends which have captured the hearts and souls of millions of fans worldwide without a suit from some record label calling the shots. Waylon would be proud!

[@TokyoBalletReprise]

Or if you look at how many independent artists go super famous after using their songs on TikTok.

[@Javier-qk7ms]

Classics are curated so you listen best of the past. You need to listen and filter out a lot of new music to get what you like the most. Being that said, lots of us are simply stuck in the past, for bad.

[@nickn2794]

Absolutely true. My professor at university said the same about contemporary art and that's the same thing, we don't have a filter. When we look at the past we see Leonardo, Raffaello, there were other 100 painters but they were worse. Same with Mozart and Beethoven. God, if you listen to the composers in Mozart's time, they were mediocrity made music and some even more famous than him (at the time) while he was incredible compared.

[@brentnoury7626]

What songs from Today's music will be played in the future?? Lol none.

[@brentnoury7626]

@@nickn2794 Contemporary art sucks. That's why Contemporary art isn't popular among the masses. It's popular amongst the pretentious.It's lazy and for amateurs. If you dumb everything down to the dumbest something can be, you can sell it to stupid people and intellectuals just have to deal with it or breakthrough with something new. Sadly you aren't allowed to say anything in this corporate world built around selling out.

[@Javier-qk7ms]

@@brentnoury7626 I think he meant contemprary like nowadays, not the style.

[@renoutlaw8371]

@@brentnoury7626 Guarantee you there were assholes saying this in the 80's and 90's

[@mykhedelic6471]

It is interesting though, that Rick will have a video lamenting live rooms, key changes, actual takes (assembled or otherwise) etc. The "message" can be a little muddled. He shows respect and interest but in another video, it at least can "seem" as though he'll vent exasperation over the absence of certain qualities and approaches. But, that's the fickleness of our feelings. I mean, really, when it's good it's good-- 20 chords or two, tube amp or sim, etc. But our frustrations are our frustrations.

[@PR-fo5mj]

At 60, I'm still finding newly made music I like, but it's newly made music that leans toward the styles I grew up with. These styles are so engrained that it takes some effort for someone like me to absorb at 60.

[@lucasgoncalvesdefaria7121]

No hate for Rick but I'm sorry he kinda cultivated this crowd in his community. He constantly posts videos with titles like "The Era of Low Information Music" or "Why today's music is so BORING(...)" or how in the last Pop Top 10 video he says only Bille Eilish "sounds like a song" (note, on a list with Silk Sonic Skate for reference) and many instances of that. I appreciate his knowledge and opinions but the reason there's so much hate for new music on the comment section of his videos is because Rick does it all the time and these folk are there for it.

[@TokyoBalletReprise]

Exactly lol

[@fathuman]

Yeah, his forays into Spotify are always titled with hate-baity titles that are inviting the baying crowd to come and pour their disdain together collectively. One of his recent videos had something nihilistic in the title like 'Music is Doomed', but then I was surprised to hear that Rick was more charitable towards the music than I would've been! And I was like, is music doomed or not?

[@wondervalleyexperimental]

I think it was very generous of you to not state the obvious...Some of the viewers may be extremely high. If they had any filters before, they shut the filters off with drugs, alcohol or caffeine. Or all of the above. Don't dwell on it. Just produce content. This is the part of your job that is like working in a bar.

[@joshuaburke9516]

Some people just have to remember, everything is not meant for them. There are some things that you just don’t like. When I watched Rick’s videos, I said to myself this music is not for me. And moved on. Keep on rockin’ Rhett and Rick! Love the work you guys do!

[@brentnoury7626]

The problem is...that apathetic attitude is pervasive and everywhere and corporate elites prey on you to do that. It opens so much more ground for them to steal if you don't even show up to the discussion.

[@donwoodward7944]

I agree Brent. @Joshua Burke it is AOK to state (constructively) why it is not for you. Just moving on doesn't add to the discussion. These are forums - and I love Rick and Rhett's content as well - but they are putting their opinion out there. It's perfectly fine to challenge those opinions, as long as you're not a dick about it. Let's talk about music!

[@xdoctorblindx]

@@brentnoury7626 Wow - so taking to social media and adamantly voicing every vitriolic thought that comes to your mind regarding modern/popular music is the key to dismantling the power structures that exist to seve the corporate elites? Who knew toxic KZbin comments about Billie Eilish could be so powerful... Thanks for the life-altering advice!

[@brentnoury7626]

@@xdoctorblindx yes. You're welcome. That is how it is done. You voice your opinions. That's how people know if something sucks or is good. That's how it works in the real world not just social media. But go ahead with always Sunshine and Rainbows. I guess you don't know how we get rainbows though...here's a clue, it's in the word. Also try listening to the Beatles sometime.

[@brentnoury7626]

@@donwoodward7944 you nailed it.

[@SugarcatPlays]

Over used auto tuners, un-original ideas, resampled music, the list is endless. It's just so fucking bland

[@gavinw5469]

Yup

[@nickguzman1734]

But... but... but... the production though!

[@cmg1819]

Feels like people trying to sound cool by ignoring the fact 90% of billboard top 40 is trash and would be considered so in any era.

[@PianoDentist]

When I was a kid in the 80's in the UK, music, fashion and art aesthetic was intertwined. You had visibly identifiable groups of people and you knew what they listened to, just by looking at them. There were Punks, Rude boys, Goths, Metalheads, rockers, skins, mods, new wave, romantics, hip hopers, soul boys and girls, jazz funksters/casuals... the list goes on. Music was word of mouth and pirate radio back then for the bleeding edge stuff. Today, music is everywhere. In some ways it's a good thing. The irony is that it is so ubiquitous, I don't have the time to wade through the millions of bands out there, to discover a diamond in the rough and it's more difficult to find novelty, the more music one hears. So, it's gone full circle - it's back to recommendations from friends I trust! It's also true that from a neurological perspective our "formative years" are named so for good reason. I still return to listening to the same bands from my youth that I have known for 40 years'.

[@randy_jams]

Sad fact of the matter, is that a lot of people just plain suck and need to grow up. Hating on someone because of their taste in music is one of the most pathetic things I've ever heard.

[@charlesbalter3470]

Most modern music is missing TRULY GOOD SONGWRITING - good music, interesting lyrics - and is missing the sound of human voices and good musicians interacting and that being recorded and that being the basis of the song. That was so important to people, and it just doesn’t exist anywhere in the mainstream.

[@WarDimensionOfficial]

First of all, I'm not making an argument here, I just like to share my personal thoughts/perspectives on this... Personally, I don't really think lyrics is that important... Like 99% (maybe even 99.9%) of the stuff that I listen to is not in my native language (mostly English and Japanese, a little bit of Korean, and a few others), so I don't really care that much about the lyrics (besides, in certain genres like metal for example (especially death and black metal), you just can't understand what they're saying anyway)... Also because I like instrumental music too, I just basically see vocals as another instrument in the music (although most of the time it's the one thing that makes you can't stand the music (this is why I like to release the instrumental version of my music, because if people don't like my vocals, they can just listen to the instrumental version))... About the good music, I don't think it's that much different, I personally enjoy as much new music as the old one... A lot of the time I don't even know if the stuff that I'm listening to is modern or old music, I mean sometimes I was like "Wait... This is from the 90s...? It sounds so modern..." (or vice versa)... And about the human voice (I believe you're referring to pitch correction/autotune)... If autotune is used for an effect like what a lot of hip-hop do nowadays, I don't like it (it's just my personal taste... but I do like a similar effect, like what the band "Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas" used in their vocals, but I think it's vocoder rather than pitch correction software? (maybe? Idk))... But if pitch correction is used to make the pitch more perfect, I literally can't hear the difference... (besides, I like Vocaloid, which is literally not human)...

[@MysticRhythmsLive]

Bingo.

[@kieranholland8235]

Try out First Aid Kit, judging by your comment, you may like them. The best harmony's in music. KH🇮🇪🇪🇺

[@dp110]

I'm 61, I grew up with the music of the 60's, 70's, and 80's. To me it seems that bands of those times didn't all sound the same. Example, on the radio in between the commercials you could hear ZZ Top, Steely Dan, The Stones, Pink Floyd, Allman Bros. I don't think any of those bands sound like each other. Does the The Cure, X, REM Pet shop Boys all sound the same ? I don't think so, but they would all be on the same radio station. To me when Rick does one of these list videos, regardless of genre at least 8 out of the 10 songs sound pretty much like one that came before it. I think the Quest for being original has gone the way of the Dodo, in favor of dream of being rich and famous. It ain't "all about the music" anymore. It's all about "the Brand". Now get off my lawn, I got some clouds to yell at !!

[@Viper-dz2kw]

You’re actually pretty close to what I’ve experienced as a modern artist. I don’t think everyone does it “to be famous” because production is so absurdly complicated at this point with attempting to manage 40-60 tracks per song. if that was the only driving factor they would never finish a song. But you are spot on in branding, most labels, bloggers, and playlisters will not place someone unless they have a very distinct brand that can be placed into a category, a number of my early tracks were denied on the notion they were “too alternative” but the alternative publications denied them because they were “too mainstream”. Musicians now either have to commit to being a mainstream genre or so alternative/progressive that it can be alienating to listeners. At least that’s been my experience

[@scrimmerman]

I'm 58 (Ricks age!) and I stand with you to yell at those damn clouds and get punks off my lawn!

[@damonreynolds6775]

Yessiree Bob! The 'Popular music' charts back then ran the gamut. From vocals to arrangement, it was Grade A musicianship and nobody sounded like anybody else. Today all that stuff is spread throughout various genres OTHER than Pop. And even back then, in studio I always preferred the sound of a multiple musicians as opposed to even the best 'one man at a workstation plus maybe a guitar' producers I knew. Today the latter rules. I can't tell people today what should move their souls, but for damn sure they better keep that poop off my got!dang lawn!

[@AD1978leo]

I'll mow your lawn for $30 and a six pack lol! I agree 100%, 43 here. If I may throw in my two cents. Technically today anyone can make a song for cheap if not free and share it globally, so over saturation with no filter= shite

[@wolfgangwalk337]

I'm 60, and though I would have mostly agreed 2 years ago, the last 24 months showed some very promising developments, especially when people started to get rid of the eternal trap rhythms.

[@Sabres73]

Here's a hot take: When Smells like Teen Spirit shot up to number one, Nirvana ceased to be an alternative band. Or at least that's what my friends thought back in '92.

[@danielhoskins4690]

Yeah. It wasn’t actually cool to wear a nirvana tshirt. Sub-pop was as close as you could get without being too obvious…

[@aprilkurtz1589]

It's mystifying to me as a musician. First, you have write great songs. And that's still not enough. You have to tour in a van, go hungry a little, sleep on floors and work your behind off to get anywhere. Then, the minute you start getting noticed by the industry, and you can actually make a living off playing music, you are told you're a sell out.

[@chiefobeef]

I never got into Nirvana at the time, but never dismissed it as "bad" music. I watched the video mentioned above and while most of it I wasn't crazy about, I still feel the same and would never consider it "bad." Clearly some artistic thought and passion has gone into producing it at the very least.

[@t.r.backenbaum7325]

it's also the moment alternative music stopped being an alternative and became a term for contemporary pop/rock

[@HOLYEVOL]

I am the redeemer of music. You may call me HE. ; }

[@Laurasiana]

I agree with the many comments saying that there’s loads of great modern music - it just isn’t high on the charts. And that has been true for decades. But I do think that musicians and producers of today’s big hits are more focused on what will sell quickly, what sounds good when streamed online. There’s less focus on on musical structure and development.

[@shawntomlinson8818]

Two things: 1) The 2nd Law: To every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism; 2) I have noticed over the years [I'm 59] that most non-musicians and even some musicians hit a certain song or album and subconsciously, that's their cut off. They don't notice it for quite a while, but then looking back, that was the last album/song/concert they bought/went to and largely lost the passion for or interest in music beyond that date. They tend to still love the music they always loved up to that break off point, but rarely anything beyond it. It's the moment we become old geezers and hate that "stuff the kids call music." This obviously is not from any kind of scientific study, only my observations over the years. At my 20th class reunion, for example, I turned to my former songwriting partner/bassist and asked him why the hell the DJ was playing such horrible music. He said, "This is what everybody in this room listened to back then, while we were listening to Tull, ELP, Genesis, Gabriel, King Crimson." And at least among my age-peers, I usually can tell within a few minutes what kind of music they listen to and roughly when their break off point was. I don't think it has much to do with the quality of the music; it has far more to do with where the person is in her/his life. It's almost as though we get to a certain point and shut down liking new things because, as Gary Larsen put it, "May I be excused? My brain is full."

[@jhglaze]

Yeah there’s a feeling in those day along with the music.

[@davecassady7468]

Correct. I'm 54 & the last new music I purchased was Alice In Chains, Dirt & Pearl Jam, Ten & Vs. Beyond that there has been no new music I felt compelled to go out & spend money on. There are some newer bands I really like, like the Foo Fighters, but in general music seems so soulless & artificial now. I spend my money on older vinyl at thrift shops & antique stores. I get real excited when I find albums by Leon Russell, Rita Coolidge, Dickey Betts & Great Southern, etc.

[@shawntomlinson8818]

@@stephenbrill3077 For me, it was Joy Division. When I heard 'Unknown Pleasures,' it changed the way I wrote music and sang; my whole vision of a band, really. My next band was even named after the posthumous Joy Division set, 'Still.' My former songwriting partner/band mate had his epiphany with REM, and while I certainly liked them ["I am/I am Superman/I can do anything…"] the two different influences probably prevented us from working together again. I still get the same chill when I hear Ian Curtis sing, "We were strangers…" and "People like you find it easy…" Joy Division opened up that whole punk/post-punk/new wave subgenré for me. Oddly, the last "new" music I bought was by Vincent Black Shadow because I love their "Metro" song, a theme written many years later for a failed horror movie with Henry Rollins!

[@shawntomlinson8818]

@@davecassady7468 I've read many of the comments on this video and I think that we've been forgetting something. In the 1960s, the common thought was, hey, if your parents or grandparents like the music, then it's not for young people. That's true. It's marketed to teens to 30s. And now we are the parents and grandparents, so of course we're not going to like that much of "the new stuff." I was thinking, hey, I like "No Time to Die" by Billie Eilish, but then, well, it sounds like most Bond film themes, just with her twist on it. It's a great piece, but it wasn't written for just younger people. Until the Internet really took hold, it was common for record companies to want to put every music that could sell into a category. "Alternative" just became another box to stuff certain types of music into. Pretty much, once a song went to radio play, it certainly wasn't "alternative" to anything, just another "Pop," "Light Rock" or "Heavy Metal," etc.

[@davecassady7468]

My mother listened to country music & hated Mick Jagger. I like country music AND the Stones. I never chose my music based on what others liked or disliked, including my mother. Genre makes no difference to me, nor does a music's age. The last great music I heard that I felt compelled to purchase was Pearl Jam & Alice In Chains. I'm not here to define "alternative."

[@FreakingOutWithBillyHume]

Having worked in Urban music for years I can say that in that genre 'Alternative' is anything with a guitar on it (besides the typical minor 7th guitar lick you always hear). Good video!

[@txa1265]

Rhett: “Has it always been this way” Rick: “No”. Sorry, have to disagree - and Rick you’re a few years older than me so I would think you’d remember how people looked down on U2, not to mention how they hated on ‘manufactured’ groups like Asia and utter disdain for Yes 90125. Grunge was dismissed as ‘punk wannabes’ Easy to forget, but every new movement was eyerolled and trivialized by adults of the time. The internet has allowed it to be broadcast to the world.

[@johncrafton8319]

Alternative, Mainstream, Indie, Pop, Rock, whatever. My only question is: Does this music appeal to me? If it does, then it does. Period. I don't need to over-analyze it. If it doesn't, so what? My tastes don't matter to anyone but me, and your tastes don't require anyone else's permission. One thing that does bug me is that some people just love to hate, and others just love to be contrary. Others love the bandwagon, for whatever reason. When someone comments on a song, sometimes it's because of how they actually feel about the song, but sometimes it's because of that other stuff. Welcome to human nature.

[@t.r.backenbaum7325]

tbh, a lot of the songs on the rock/metal/alternative playlists reminded me of the early/mid 2000s. Pop punk, nu-metal and post-grunge, post-hardcore, etc. Just with more modern production. Back then people were already upset about this music not being "real metal/punk/alternative", so not much has changed. However, there's plenty of bands around at the moment, making music in the spirit of 80s/90s indie/alternative. Probably even more bands than back in the day, since it's easier to record and publish stuff these days and quality gear is more affordable. People are just too lazy to dig a little deeper

[@vonalxao1]

The BEST era of music is right now, better than the 60s better than the 70s! More variety, more artists, more musicians doing more things. I recently picked up an album called Microtonal Banana by King Gizzard the Lizard Wizard. My mind was blown right out! I listened to Sault, a DJ collective of some sort that knocked me out! I picked up a jazz record from Julian Lage that makes me weep tears of joy. Who cares about the top 40? That’s almost always been shit anyway. If you LOVE music, today is the best era imaginable.

[@TokyoBalletReprise]

King Gizzard are a wasted potential band. They’re good, but do to many albums every year. If they decided to concentrate on 1 album and make it over let’s say 3 years??? They could make one of the best albums ever.

[@monkmchorning]

Roger Daltrey sang "Hope I die before I get old" so he wouldn't have to listen to Coldplay. Actually, I think Rick is a lot more charitable to contemporary music than I am, probably because he's making a living in it and I'm just a hobbyist. I like sounds, too, but I need tension and release. I'm tired of predictability and repetition. Here's what I hate. Dorky variations on two-chord vamps with "clever" rhythm tracks. Big Wo-oh choruses with wide-interval in-key harmonies. Mumford & Sons banjo rolls. The 5-3 interval, repeated ad nauseum. Praise hymns. Here's what I like. Joe Pass. Ian Dury. Irma Thomas. Go figure.

[@eplecor]

My gripe to Rick when he criticizes modern music is that he literally has a platform big enough to break an artist. So why not focus on a positive and find something amazing to share and spread the word about? Then maybe that (something Rick thinks is great) will become more popular and mainstream.

[@joaoassumpcao3347]

My problem aswell. There are artists that would really benefit from a big youtuber like rick making a video about them. Even if it has 10% of rick's regular views, it would still help. In fact, Fantano (popular yt reviewer) has broken a handful of artists already this way. We need that positivity

[@gcvrsa]

*standing ovation* Rick Beato, like other hipsters of his disgusting ilk, gets off on trashing other people.

[@bipbipletucha]

Rick's recent chart review videos were pretty interesting. I found the Spotify Pop chart had more life in it and much better songs than either the Alternative or Metal charts

[@jwn333]

I'm becoming more and more convinced that people's experience of music is less about quality of song writing, performance or production, and more about the memories associated with it.

[@WhiteDove73-888]

Duh

[@aprilkurtz1589]

That is 100% fact. I read part of a study that was trying to figure out why most people quit listening to new music after college.

[@allosaurusfragilis7782]

Thats a great point. It actually applies to a lot of other things as well, beyond music....like visiting a seaside resort again, decades later.

[@joaoassumpcao3347]

And that's why the "music was better before" is such a classic boomer take. Of course you are going to prefer a song that you heavily associate with good memories as opposed to a song that has no emotional tie to you

[@facelessandnameless]

Look up the telecommunications act of 1996. Music really does suck today and that is one of the main reasons why.

[@guillermodelnoche]

My mother taught me to dislike specifically not collectively. This song/opinion may not be good but it doesn’t mean all of the songs/opinions are garbage. Don’t let people’s bad behavior sour your creative flow.

[@70ragtop]

Rhett, I think Aaron can dislike what's going on with modern music and still enjoy Pink Floyd, Hendrix, The Police. I'm a huge fan of both channels, but that comment caught me a little. I tried watching that Alternative video, only to make it half way through. I am a musician and have been for almost 40 years. I am a working musician. I think Arron is right. Even with exceptional production value there is just something off with some of the music on that list. I can't completely put my finger on it. It seems disingenuous, a lack of virtue. I don't know. Now I rarely comment on the videos on of either channel unless it's positive or constructive. But I had to throw my 2 cents in here. Love what you guys do. It's become a valuable part of my life week to week. Thank you, and remember, there's no plan B.

[@walfredswanson]

Agreed. Those were poorly reasoned comparisons, thinly veiled pokes at “boomers’. There are creative effects and production techniques, some of which enhance material through advanced technology but there are also lazy cliches. There were similar results among contemporaries of Hendrix, Pink Floyd, the Beatles, etc., and most of those artists are forgotten because they were derivative nonsense. So, let’s just call out that cheap shot for what it was.

[@TheEvolver311]

@@walfredswanson I'm sure the parents of the Boomers were just like "gotta admit that new fangled rock'n'roll is the bee's knees"

[@mikefromusa6902]

“I like Coldplay’s early stuff” most people’s summation of them, if any like.

[@mikefromusa6902]

@limelight81 exactly

[@mralgebro]

I love all Coldplay stuff. Martin’s voice is consistent throughout. What’s not to like there?

[@colinbox3637]

They never bettered their debut album!

[@t.r.backenbaum7325]

What's not to like? They cut back the atmospheric guitars, Chris started singing in a lower register and the overall mood became a little brighter with Viva la Vida. It's still pretty good for mainstream pop music. For anyone who loves their older stuff: check out what they recorded before Parachutes, like the Blue Room EP

[@arkram_68]

Well.....until they decided to ruin their career's

[@crosstownsound]

I keep an open mind. Also, I agree with the point you and Rick made about commenting. I comment when I have something good and/or constructive to add to the conversation. We already have enough naysayers in the world.

[@markowalski1]

As a music major, it's astounding how closed minded some of my peers are. There's a difference between having constructive criticism and hating something because it's unfamiliar. It's legitimately makes me laugh because back in the day people hated rock n roll and thought it was the devil's music

[@myrkflinn4331]

I navigate to certain music however, if you present me a song and don't say the artist or the time it's made, i literally jam to it regardless. And then after i know who it's from I'd look it up and listen to it some more

[@OfficialDJTasawennateken]

it's called an opinion you dummy it seems that you people who like the crappy music and other crap besides music out there today too love to bash people over their opinions if you don't like someone's opinion of something too bad move on people are allowed to have their own opinion of things.

[@wcgwcg9934]

Maybe more jazz and blues influence in modern music? Are there any venues where musicians and get together and jam for a audience? I recently watched some videos that featured alot of the session players from the 70's 80's and 90's in LA called The Baked Potato that just jammed and created some really interesting stuff, or has KZbin become The Baked Potato?

[@msmoniz]

It's a fact it's perception. Rhett you're 31. I'm 47, so 31 years ago I'm 16 and just about to catch the wave that was 90's alternative. Seattle sound, Halifax pop explosion, all the British stuff, it was a glorious time for alternative guitar music and even the electronic hard edge stuff like NIN and Ministry. So for many of us of my vintage, like Rick pointed out, our frame of reference for "alternative" is different than what you might say is alternative today. I's still a voracious consumer of new music, but yes, many of what's considered "alternative" today doesn't move me, but I'm mature enough to realize it's a function of my age and the current culture today. My niece's love of Billie Elish today is just as valid as my love of Soundgarden back in the 90's

[@vaportrails7943]

A large component of Rick’s audience are musicians. The stuff being put out by major labels today is written by the same handful of jingle writers, and produced by computer programmers. It all sounds exactly the same, you’ve heard it all before, and if they recorded any actual musicians on it, they edited and quantized it to the point where they’ve just turned it into a sample. Trying to write it off as “old people not liking what’s new” is ridiculous. There are plenty of mediocre people with poor taste. If there weren’t, this stuff wouldn’t exist. That doesn’t make it good. On the list from Rick’s video, the only songs that sounded like they weren’t written and produced by the same people were Modest Mouse and Weezer. Weezer has been turning out mediocre versions of the same thing for decades now. But at least you know it’s them. Go listen to those songs and note how many have that reversed cymbal/reverb “whoosh” going into the chorus. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so sad. Bottom line, the major labels are the worst impediment to music today. They need to cease to exist. You can go on Tik Tok and find 15 year old musicians, playing actual instruments, that are a million times better than that manufactured garbage. Independent music should be the only music in 2021. Anything put out by the corporate entertainment industry is, by definition, fake garbage. It didn’t used to be that way. It is now. In that sense, it’s people who still listen to major label music, instead of immediately skipping it, who are living in the past. But like I said, there are plenty of shallow, bandwagon jumping butt-kissers with poor taste who will just listen to whatever they’re told is “the new thing” because they think it makes them cool. Like thinking you’re having the best gourmet meal in the world by eating at McDonald’s. Those billions of marketing dollars the major labels horde is the only reason anybody listens to that crap. And then they forget about it five minutes later. The major label business is fame and celebrity, not music. The music is incidental, and interchangeable. Just like the movie business, where they regurgitate “franchises” and “IPs” like Marvel and Star Wars, with a bunch of CGI. That’s the business now. It’s not for anybody who has any interest in art. There are a handful of major label celebrities that have actual talent. But they are the exception. Bruno Mars for sure. John Mayer could be good if he wanted to. But most of his music is total garbage. Adele’s one big album (years ago now) was very good, even though it wasn’t for me. This is an objective fact to me. The changes in the business brought about by computers and the internet have enabled an explosion of real, good, independent music, while completely divorcing the major labels from anything resembling real music. That’s why I say, they just need to go away, and stop sucking up all the attention and money from real musicians. We’re still in a transitional period, but a lot of us are completely done with anything put out by a major label.

[@donkrause]

This is the problem with music today, not a "Boomer" issue. Old school was bands playing sons they'd written, and you could relate to the persons on stage. Todays junk is a "singer", going through auto tune, a bunch of dancers, and a host of no name bored band members (if they are visible at all) playing the same junk written by the same three guys, all though yet more auto tune. Not for me thanks.

[@HiHello-ku1fl]

Vapor Trails Thank you I couldn't have said it so well so thanks as I feel exactly the same as you.

[@HiHello-ku1fl]

@@donkrause thank you! It's overdone and needs to go away.

[@gcvrsa]

Nah, bruh. It really is just old farts not liking anything that was made after they turned 30.

[@HiHello-ku1fl]

@@gcvrsa no not really. I like music made after then but it's just not as plentyful in this generation. I think music did get less interesting overall because everything has peaks and valleys. But there is still good stuff out there. It's just not as popular as it once was. More commercial poppy music kind of took over where as before it would go back and forth sometimes a rock band knocking off the pop artists and taking the top spots. Before almost everyone listened to rock music where as now its kind of more fractured and divided up so there are less rock fans and new huge rock bands. I like all kinds of rock bands as long as they rock and are interesting. The "interesting character" is missing as I find more and more ordinary people or preppy/jock types playing music where as before we had more outcasts and people who were just different. I miss the roughness or rawness. Songs that aren't so commercial.

[@paulcoleman3081]

I watch my daughter listening to the modern alternative music that means something to her and I see my own face reflected back from when I was listening to the bands of my own era. How can you gainsay that? Music is one of the joys of life.

[@bernardhossmoto]

I am 52, play guitar and bass, and my daughter is 13. We both love great modern music. Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Ed Sheeran. Musicians who write their own songs and are able to perform them.

[@SimonJohnOwen]

I'm 51 and I love Ed and Billie too.

[@Tom_McMurtry]

Lorde's new album, Solar Power, I thought was really interesting too. As was Lana Del Reys's Chemtrails over the country club album.

[@mattgilbert7347]

Has Rick heard of Arcade Fire or Godspeed You! Black Emperor? Best "alternative" of recent years, if that means anything. As for the good stuff of today, of right now - I simply don't know. It doesn't really chart, never did. An alternative "chart" seems like an oxymoron. What happened with Grunge was an anomaly. Alt/Indie/Experimental/Whatever will probably never be popular again, or not for a long time and not in the form people expect. Brian Eno said that all the Indie Guitar bands are "just doing Talking Heads again". He's got a point. Add Radiohead and you've got the main touchstones. There is no Alternative per se. I'd like to hear Rick's thoughts on the 12Tone "Dear Rick Beato" video.

[@TokyoBalletReprise]

GY!BE is fantastic, but not even top 2 Post Rock.

[@xsm5525]

this concept isn't new really, I wasn't born this early but I know for a fact some people in the 1940s (mainly 30+ age) didn't like all the new Jazz stuff coming in, and by the 1960s, the younger lot who liked the 1940s Jazz hated all the psychedelic pop/bubblegum stuff.

[@TomMilleyMusic]

Rick: Makes multiple videos talking about how today's music is boring, low information, and how it was better in the past. Also Rick: "WhY dO pEoPlE nOt LiKe ToDaYs MuSiC iN mY cOmMeNtS???"

[@fduranthesee]

Lmfao

[@ruffryder13]

Exactly. This is a disingenuous conversation just for clicks.

[@charliecampbell6851]

And Rick would be correct.

[@TomMilleyMusic]

​@@charliecampbell6851 Dude, nothing I said was a debate about music today being good or bad lol

[@juliachild9377]

@@charliecampbell6851 don't be dense.

[@prescottparks]

Anyone who writes, plays, sings, records has my respect. I may not love it all but it would not occur to me to insult the artist. You two guys have fantastic content. Thanks.

[@shaneliddy7315]

What I think a lot of people don’t understand is that all music takes work to create. You don’t have to love every single top charts song but bad mouthing them won’t help anyone. If anyone’s music can make just one person happy then it is immediately valid.

[@Thunderlion-yd4nv]

"All music takes work to create" Not the dubstep/EDM/rap/electronic shit that's popular today--All you have to do to make crap like that is: 1) Copy and paste a sample 2) Fuck it up with autotune and other excessive effects 3) Loop the fucked-up sample to repeat the whole song 4) Add machine noise after machine noise

[@alistairwallace77]

Hearing you guys talk is one of the true pleasures of KZbin. I especially like it when you talk about music I don’t like, because you’re both so much smarter than I am about music, it’s nice to hear a deeper take on something that I probably missed. Thanks for being talented and positive :)

[@HeathInHeath]

What a great video. Really good interplay between you and Rick to explore the ideas (and yes, new Coldplay isn't as interesting as their early material although they can still write a hook with the best). Random observations: Social media seems to excite more comments from two groups of people; those who have nothing significant to say (super awesome dude!) and those who have very strong negative comments. There doesn't seem to be a lot of in between and most folks don't want to get caught in a flame war. Most people do get attached to the sound of music from the time when music became important in their lives and often don't move far beyond that. Music touches very primitive parts of our brain. It is easy to keep listening to the same stuff you grew up with and takes effort to really reach outside your comfort zone. There are techniques that seem to be dominant in current pop music that I *DO* believe are awful and really look forward to not hearing in the future (excessive autotune and the vocal WOO-EE-WOO-EE-OOH). I'm also not in favor of excessive compression in the final mix and generally prefer for songs to be long enough to really explore the musical ideas. I appreciate a wide variety of music and want it to sound like I'm in the same room as the artists. Excessive production interferes with my enjoyment of that in many cases. Popular music in the last 100 years has undergone a really interesting transformation in sound that nobody seems to really talk about. Every ten years or so from WW1 through the 60's there were massive changes in the sound and style of what was popular. After the seventies, the changes were substantial but not monumental. When I was in high school in the 80's there was NOBODY listening to music from the 50's on a daily basis. It simply wasn't in the mix even on oldies stations. Nowadays you can listen to modern rock stations and occasionally hear them drop in Hendrix, Who, Zepplin, Deep Purple, etc. Stylistically (and to a lesser extent thematically) modern rock is much more similar to music from 50 years ago than that music was to music from the WW1 era. One wonders why (I could certainly speculate for hours). As a fan of progressive rock I started wondering if anyone had done anything remotely prog since 1980 (not counting the near infinite recombinations of Yes and some lesser work from King Crimson). Streaming music channels really opened me up to some amazing newer material by letting me use existing artists and songs as a search seed. I'm thankful that these services exist because even in a major metropolitan area (DFW Texas) it's difficult to find outlets for every genre that I enjoy. Without Spotify and its competitors I would never have found Porcupine Tree, Pure Reason Revolution, Riverside, and many other great bands who are carrying on the tradition of exploration. Rick touched on something important recently while talking with Larry Carlton (and followed up with Tim Pierce, or maybe the other way around). Musicians coming of age in the late 50's and on were exposed to a broad variety of styles. Most kids who took music lessons were starting with classical and building out from there. I don't know how many modern kids get this exposure now that classical is no longer the 'accepted' style of high society (and now that there is no longer really a high society). It is always a shock to me how little exposure to other styles most young people seem to have experienced.

[@vicsardou9654]

There is just music. I can't say I like all music, but I appreciate someone's attempt to make music. There are some songs that Rick has chosen to highlight that I don't like, but I learn to appreciate it because of his insight.

[@mattmanley7118]

It’s not that I hate it but it all seems to be the same formula esp pop right now with no instruments and every pop song good bad or great has a hip hop or rap verse shoved into the middle of it at least that’s what I hear as a casual listener

[@GergonX]

Commercial and contrived. Bland and soulless. I can't understand the appeal. There is sooo much great music out there right now...too many turds floating to the top.

[@thseed7]

I want a KZbin channel that recommends all of the good modern music. The "Outside the Top 40" stuff that others have mentioned. The searching is the fatiguing part.

[@CurrieNerd]

I'm pretty sure KZbin's algorithms will show you 'similar style' stuff if you click like on the things you like. Or.. find people's playlists on their that include songs by artists you're already familiar with. There'll be some cack, but lots you might like.

[@srfhdx5584]

Go to Spotify, go to the browse all page, pick a vibe you like, look at all the playlist names and thumbnails without looking at the music in there and choose one, that once more is a vibe, eg summer, then beach vibes, and just shuffle it, you will find loads of music you like by picking off of the theme of the music as opposed to the genre. Do this a couple times a day and by the end of the week, go to your ‘made for you’ section and there will be 30 playlists with a somewhat structured mix of all the music you have been listening to. As an example, i went to summer, then beach vibes and discovered a lot of new artists such as DENM and Surfer girl, some that have been around a few years like Dirty Heads and Iration, and then did it with a few more playlists and ended up on jazz. Before i did this my music was basically Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin ect… Now it is Hendrix Led Zeppelin Cream Run DMC FKA DRAM Major Lazer Various ASAP members Tyler the Creator Kanye West The Doors Jefferson Airplane Joao GIlberto Stan Getz Cannonball Adderly Dexter Gordon John Coltrane Bill Evans DENM Surfer girl Schwaze Aer Tropadelic Cisco Adler Mike Pinto Kash’d out Wolf Alice Catfish and the Bottlemen Bombast Bicycle CLub The Wombats Sam fender Sea girls Kaiser chiefs Blossoms And literally hundreds more. It’s easy to find new music but once you have a system of regularly finding some new tracks and forcing yourself to try i guarantee you will find a plethora of new stuff to sink your teeth into. Like me from psychedelic rock to quite literally hip hop to jazz to surf reggae

[@djholland70]

I like algorithm suggestions on streaming services but for me the best way is still the good old radio. In the UK BBC Radio 6 plays great modern music of all styles, interspersed with classics.

[@beartoffoli9820]

@@CurrieNerd That's the problem though, the algorithm sends you in a circle of similar sounds. The algorithm is not a replacement for curiosity. My suggestion is SCREW KZbin and go find dedicated websites to new "good" music. I like Saving Country Music for country music for example. I like the Song-Bar because the side bar always has quirky, unique interesting acts. I may not like them all but I've liked many. Also new music is any music you haven't heard before. So maybe you'd have fun exploring Nigerian funk of the 70s or POlish political new wave of the 80s or Ye-ye of the 60s France. I am REALLY obsessed with late 70s/early 80s city-pop from Japan right now.

[@shadez123]

It's not that hard honestly, there are plenty of review sites and channels that recommend good stuff, and with youtube and spotify it's all at your fingertips. It's easier to find good music than it ever was

[@freq9939]

I'm 25 years old. It is not about how old you are or liking or hating modern/contemporary music...That video was top 10 "Alternative" music. Alternative to me is music for outcasts, weirdos, rejects, people who feel they aren't understood. Dark and brooding but yet somewhat still accessible. This music was created as an outlet and became huge. Alternative can be mainstream but Mainstream cannot be Alternative. It came from indie punk and eclecticism ethos and is reflected in the sound. People react to authenticity not over produced top 10.

[@orlock20]

I don't believe that even modern musicians like modern music. Major artists use to cover each others songs and there were tribute bands that could make a living covering an artist. You might not know who Beth Hart is, but she has at least one tribute act which is one more than what Justin Bieber has.

[@ElijahRock92]

So Rhett, have you seen the 12Tones video critique on Rick's livestream? It is interesting because what you two are critiquing is what 12Tones critiqued on Rick.

[@grateful4068]

'Alternative music' aside, there is a particular vocal effect that I cannot stand. It's the pumped mids before hyper compression that a lot of female singers are doing these days. Somewhere along the line, the EDM community figured out that extreme mid boost (plus high and low cut) and hyper compression combined with ducking could make the vocal REALLY stand out in a mix while keeping the music atmospheric. For a while, I dug that, in the early years of it. But now it's like 10-15 years later and producers keep pushing it. At this point, the producers are taking it as close to 'the entire song is telephone effect' as they can, and sometimes they just go all the way. It started with EDM, and now it's in most pop music. I love vocal effects. Almost every song I've ever liked has had console or outboard saturation on the vocal track. Same for delay and pitch effects and harmonizers and reverb. I like all kinds of vocal effects.

[@doodoopoo]

any examples?

[@1080kk]

This! Thank you, I also can’t stand how modern vocal tracks sound. There’s a sterile-ness to it that is tiresome, even if the singer can actually sing well!

[@amylaw3416]

@@1080kk that hollow sound that I used to get from singing through a vacuum hose effect.

[@MoreMeRecording]

100% you really hear it when they take a breath too. It's so fukin unnatural and as an old vocal coach I used to record for said "this kind of stuff just doesn't sit well in my body" Its because music is in our DNA and there has to be a level natural sound in vocal based music to sit well with the listener.

[@Pulse2AM]

@@1080kk Everything is over corrected, pitch, phrasing, cut and paste the perfect chorus to all chorus sections, then compressed to death and mastered to death. The shelf life is shortened because you hear it a few times and it gets old - it's the anomalies that keep things fresh. Knowing when to do something and when to not do something is important and has been lost on the current generation of producers because one person does it and is successful then everyone does it.

[@JakubKazmierski]

The issue with "modern" music is that I don't see much that will survive the test of time. Every generation had awful songs, especially in the top 40 pop charts. Every generation, including this one, has great music. The current issue I see is that a great deal of the "good" music today, not all, you have to search for, this means it's not popular, and probably won't have impact down the years. To be specific, what I mean by great music is music that is interesting, different (sticks out from the crowd, you can identify easily), and is memorable. This is usually music that pushes the envelope a bit either artistically or in production. The music also has to be enjoyable to a group of people, it doesn't mean I have to like. I think it's really hard to be artistic when there are a dozen or so writers per song, it's hard to have a vision. Who is in charge?

[@JMurdochNZ]

Good video guys. I don't hate modern music. I hate BAD modern music. If anyone reading this thinks there's no good music anymore, widen your horizons. There is more to music than what's on the billboard charts. It's but the barest slither. In fact with the Internet, we have access to more great music than at any point in history. And that music often features players of all kinds of instruments that can be as good as the legends of old if not straight up play circles around them. The rose tinted glasses of nostalgia tend to make us only remember the legends - Queen, Floyd, GNR, Nirvana, etc etc I could go on - while forgetting the gallons of forgettable insipid ballads, annoying gimmick songs, and tedious pop. People are also by and large creatures of habit. They don't seem to realise you don't need to forsake what you grew up with in order to appreciate something new. And yes, people need to get the hell over it when someone likes something they don't. They need to stop defining themselves and others what they do and don't like.

[@BryannaHitchcock]

For every hater who comments and gives a thumbs down, there are hundreds of us who appreciate your videos, Rhett and Rick. We just don't comment. For example, I mostly watch on a "smart" tv that let's me browse and watch KZbin, but I can't leave comments with it. On the larger issue, a lot of music fans bond with the music of their youth and that is that. It's unusual to find a fellow metalhead who loves the old stuff, but also follows the new bands. It's unfortunate. As other posters have mentioned, this happens in other disciplines and is aggravated by social media anonymity and a polarized society. Love your videos and analyses. Keep up the awesome work. .ps I never hear solos anymore. If one pops up on one of these lists, please take the time to talk about it.

[@transparent6748]

I don’t actually hate new music..just not my taste..check out Drew Sycamores..45 Fahrenheit girl..screams hit!!..fantastic voice

[@AlbusBand]

I did a double take when you said “I guess Aaron…” then I remembered I don’t have any room for negativity and therefore wouldn’t have written that. I love everyone. You do you and enjoy it, no matter what that means. Love you bro, hope you and Tilly are well 😘

[@brentnoury7626]

No room for negativity? What does that even mean? How would you write a song?

[@AlbusBand]

@@brentnoury7626 I meant in comments and against someone else’s efforts

[@brentnoury7626]

@@AlbusBand I hear you, but that's how we get bad art and trophies for all.

[@danielhoskins4690]

@@brentnoury7626 a large percentage of good art gets created by people who spent a long time making tons of bad art. Like, really bad art. The “are you going to tell him he’s shit or shall I?” Kind of bad. (Answer is let them just keep doing it if it isn’t hurting anyone.) But then, a lot of people do just make bad art and stay shit. I don’t like to think of art as competitive though. Music as competition leads to really bad art. People need time and space to get good without being dragged down.

[@brentnoury7626]

@@danielhoskins4690 so famous musicians need time to grow into their fame? Like Justin Bieber and Ed Shareen and Beyonce?

[@kylevandeusen]

"Who are these people leaving comments? Let us know in the comments!" XD sorry, I couldn't resist! I really enjoy when you and Beato chat. The generational gap, but mutal respect makes for fascinating discussions. Glad y'all live close to each other so we can get these often!

[@jiminverness]

Modern music now in my opinion is just like modern music 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, etc years ago. Some is good, some great, some truly excellent, but most in any given top 40 current week list is crap, and the rest varies wildly by taste. Notice how most of the not-so-good stuff from weekly top-40 lists throughout the decades is seldom even talked about? Most people never (or almost never) hear that stuff. On the other hand, today's current week top-40 is blasted at us everywhere, so the less pleasant stuff is memorable (in a bad way). Even good tracks might not get a proper listen from people who might otherwise like them because they've been pelted with the hook unto nausea.

[@TokyoBalletReprise]

Exactly!

[@TokyoBalletReprise]

We only remember the good stuff, but the majority was ass.

[@humane143imperfection6]

You don't have to dislike todays music you just have to understand that the entertainment industry is shaping your preference for you. It's less music and more promotional ad content these days as they've built their marketing algorithm to near perfection. Billie was sold to the public using the pitch that they were a brother and sister group (once that got traction as a buzz word they ditched prompting her brother) and she was this phenomenal singing sensation that came out of nowhere on SoundCloud. If we're talking "over production" groups like Alan Parsons and Pink Floyd and Cher couldn't have been guilty of it as they were pretty much the first iteration, it was creative - It becomes derivative when you see artists like Travis Scott rely on the autotune fifty years later. There's a gigantic difference between the way that artists like Pink Floyd made albums back in the day and the way engineers "help" artists today.

[@CorbCorbin]

The majority of people don’t dislike modern music. The reason that vid got so much hate did because it was supposed to be an Alternative list. That alternative list just wasn’t alternative music, and it all sounds like the same producer, besides a couple songs.

[@hotglassbottles]

So-called genres are such a waste of time. And often lead to pain and suffering. To use a label with as wide a catch as 'alternative' is a false premise, and is always going to devolve into mud-slinging as it means different things to different people. Music is so evidently subjective that arguing on taste alone is for the foolish. Listen to everything! You don't have to like it all, but don't close yourself off to discovering something amazing.

[@DooblesGoDoobles]

Genres are for record labels and music critics, not for musicians.

[@chrisggoodwin777]

I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong) it was Steve Jordan who said, in his interview with Rick, genres were created for marketing purposes (paraphrased)

[@tealeaf3210]

I think genres are pretty useful outside of creative context to understand how music is evolving through the years.

[@hotglassbottles]

@@tealeaf3210 Only assuming anyone can agree on what they actually mean, which they can't.

[@chrisggoodwin777]

@@tealeaf3210 I get that for sure, and it can be handy to understand what is similarly categorized with what one prefers.

[@zambonidriver42]

Over-used autotuners combined with rap/hip-hop derivatives…. as designed by 23 year old record industry weasels in LA conference rooms.

[@zambonidriver42]

Go back to the hey-day of the alternative music, 1990’s. Those groups, they played clubs, busted their asses, and they broke thru with real music. Today, most music, It’s not real. It’s plastic. It’s marketing. Manufactured by committee. It’s not art, it’s a product. Utterly lifeless, to be thrown away in days for the next big thing.

[@CorbCorbin]

@@zambonidriver42 I was a young teenager at the first Lollapalooza, and went to the second and third. I am biased because of this for bands from that era, but there was just as much music being done by committee/record execs marketing for a pop hit over the band making a great album. There are actually less record companies controlling bands now, because there just isn’t as much money in it. Most musicians self produce, or pay someone to produce, and have no record label. The label come in once a band or artist has a big enough following, and then try to strike a deal to get a piece of that artist’s future success. Live performance is where the money is for most acts, and that’s why the labels do a mage deals for the bigger bands. I also think too many one hit wonders in hip hop/rap who become more famous for a persona they present over the music. Example: ‘WAP’ is a one hit wonder that had a novelty, had guests to make controversy in the video and became a viral thing because of women making it a statement against misogyny, even though it’s not anti-misogynistic. In fact, many used it in a near misandrist way to say, “we don’t need men who criticize anything!”

[@SeekerGoOn2013]

@@CorbCorbin I think of one-hit-wonders as people or bands that achieve one popular hit song in their entire music career. For examples: Hot Child in the City by Nick Gilder, or Escape by Rupert Holmes. In this case the song is WAP performed by Nicki Minaj. She has had several hits.

[@charlotteice5704]

you say you don't write comments often but honestly you're one of the yters I'm subscribed to that I unexpectedly see the most in other ppl's comment sections

[@monkeysweeperguitar]

I also think that there’s a lot of really good stuff getting put out there. However… Too much stuff out there feels incredibly inauthentic. And, even when people aren’t necessarily looking for it, they are innately able to feel authenticity. Some people are more sensitive to authenticity than others, but I think we’re all looking for it.

[@vonofi]

I started listening to Billie Eilish because of Rick Beato’s video on her. Actually, the information provided from both Beato and Shull have been breaking down my wall of ignorance and prejudice towards some musical styles.

[@josepapiii]

Rick Beato praises today's music one day and shits on it the next day. He takes whatever song suits best for either scenario and does it for the views

[@ill_Hex]

I’ve had this “born in the wrong generation attitude” for years until some of my favorite creators started making their own modern music. It also helped majorly fixed my identity crisis.

[@joshundrwd]

I had that issue in my teens when I first started getting into music. I think a lot of it came from hearing so many stories from my dad and uncles about their concert glory days. Like I have an uncle who saw the Allman Brothers 6 times before Duane Allman died. He saw Jimi Hendrix on the 4th of July, 1970. My dad saw Van Halen before their first album had even released. I would hear these stories and think, "Wow, it all already happened and I missed it because I was born too late." It's a bummer when you let yourself frame it that way. But then I started going to shows with my friends whenever I could. I saw a lot of the classic rock acts I like, but also started going to smaller venues, checking out lesser-known acts, and even some arena shows and festivals for artists that were big at the time. I saw bands like the White Stripes and, great as it was, at the time it was just another show. I never would have thought that eventually teenagers fifteen years younger than me would be like, "I can't believe I missed the White Stripes! Rock is dead!" A lot of people in these comments have mentioned Polyphia... I saw them in a bar years ago, way before NLND blew up. They were opening for the band I was actually there to see. Sometimes it'll be like that, you'll catch some unknown band and it turns out they were going places. Point being, you've just got to get out there and do the thing, if you can. You'll stop feeling like you were born in the wrong generation once you start actually living in yours. That's all there is to it.

[@joe-e-geo]

@@joshundrwd Agree. Thanks for saving me from writing almost the same thing. When you enter into new phases of your life (marriage, children, ...) and you leave behind the good ol' friends in the good ol' days of school, your exposure to music wanes. I'm not saying it can't happen; and god bless if you can do it. Me? Born in 1965. One of my claims is seeing Jeff Buckley open for Juliana Hatfield and being blown away - never having seen him or heard of him before. He was wearing that sequin jacket on the cover of Grace. Saw Lita Ford open for Ted Nugent. Juliana was "alternative" of sorts in her early days. She is still active and rocking it. My daughter is 21 and is living her music life. We have each exposed the other to music and have seen some great concerts together. She and her friends love the old stuff from my AOR rock radio days in the 70s. Those friends have gotten me into Radiohead and Kendrick Lamar. (Yes, better late than never for me.) Shameless plug: those friends' band is Naked Gypsy Queens from Franklin, TN. They're doing shows at the moment, so check them out.

[@joe-e-geo]

Wouldn't mind knowing who those creators are that you so eloquently refer to. I'd be open to new things.

[@joshundrwd]

@@joe-e-geo Franklin, TN, small world. I grew up near there, I remember seeing Paramore in Nashville when they were still just a local band. That White Stripes show was actually at Bonnaroo, and nowadays the 'Roo lists it as one of their greatest shows of all time. But as a teen you don't know that the show you're at might end up being one of those "legendary events." You're just having fun. And yeah, my dad was born in '63 and I've gone to a ton of great shows with him over the years and we introduce each other to new music all the time. Luckily we're both pretty open-minded and have eclectic taste. I'm impressed that you're into Kendrick, I know that it's very different from what you grew up with and it's great to be able to broaden your horizons like that. I checked out a Naked Gypsy Queens song, sounds like fun. I'm only in that area maybe once a year or so these days (usually the holidays), but what do you think the odds are NGQ ever plays San Francisco? I'll keep my eye open.

[@joshundrwd]

​@Roger That Yep, that's how it goes. The older you get, the more clearly you can see that it's all cyclical to some extent. I just want to encourage younger folks to make sure that they get out there and have their own experiences. Don't let the jaded old cynics convince you that everything sucks now. Those people have their own issues that they're trying to take out on the younger generation. It's best to just let them be miserable, and once you're out there having fun you'll forget all about them. AND you'll see a bunch of dope concerts. Win win.

[@IL2TXGunslinger]

11:44 nail in the head. “Identify”. Greatest problem in the world is that too many peoples identity is defined by people/things/ideas/groups and not by themselves. Be yourself, make yourself, enjoy music, art and and all things for what they are. Stop trying to be part of something that’s bigger than you!!!! Your big enough

[@efilwv1635]

Today’s music is just freaking bizarre to me. Shallow as well. I will never forget the early 90s as a kid being blown away by grunge. Music that made you feel shit.

[@valdochez25]

I personally find it hard to find Modern Music that I like. It feels like at lot of Artist/Bands are just following trends to stay relevant. That could be because I don't listen to enough modern music and I acknowledge that part. I will say, once I do find a new artist/band that I do like, I try to see what music they like or are influenced by and find some gems there. I also feel that the older you get, the more effort you have to put to accept the change in music

[@lofiloop9124]

I have had a lot of similar experiences. Also, those artists who try not to sound mainstream oftentimes seem to overdo it in the opposite direction and get too pretentious and artsy. Just personally, I really don't like this clean high level production nowadays. For me it makes a lot of songs that I could really love... I don't know... soulless (?) and just good enough that I mourn over the missed opportunities. The talent is definitely still out there. It's just the tone that doesn't fit my taste anymore most of the time.

[@nativeforeigner]

"I feel bad for the kids. We had Rolling Stones and the Beatles, they just have trash like Nirvana and TuPac" - my uncle in 1995. I'm 40, and the 2010's was the most interesting decade for music I've lived through. So many new genres, revivals of old ones. I can't stand the attitude that so many people have about new things. I'll never understand it. This video makes me feel validated, lol.

[@CitAllHearItAll]

The Cohort Effect... smh

[@EdgardoPlasencia]

Whos TuPac ?

[@nativeforeigner]

@@EdgardoPlasencia An American rapper from the 90's held on a pedestal by millennials when they complain about modern 'mumble rap.'

[@1977WasPeak]

The early to mid 2010s were good mostly (even 2017 in my opinion) but 2018 to now is garbo

[@1977WasPeak]

​@@nativeforeigner ion like that description, he's on a pedestal for a reason, sure he's not the greatest rapper of all time but he's my top 3 under em & wayne. Not just millennials, i'm 20 (Gen Z) and i hold him up high, especially comparing to modern rap he's like mozart

[@mathewbrown9371]

You know, I guess I would slot myself in the born in the wrong generation crowd, but I’ve really spent my whole life wondering why I like older music better than most of what has been released in the past 20 years. I think to answer you have to look at the question historically, not just musically. For example, when Hendrix released his first album, rock music wasn’t this cliched, dying genre; it was radically new, and the music reflected that excitement. It was so innovative that it rippled across the culture and had real social impacts etc. The harsh reality is that there are more great musicians than ever on the internet, but there just isn’t room with the guitar or the genre of rock for that level of impact. The result is that are many good artists floating around but they are all stuck at the level of like Magic Sam or maybe the Zombies or something. That’s not to denigrate those artists, who are great, but there is a reason that Hendrix is a household name. It’s maybe comparable to the Renaissance and Da Vinci; obviously there are many great portrait painters today but there is a reason that a Da Vinci is incalculable in value whereas those other modern artists, even if technically superior in some sense, just don’t have the weight or history behind them. This is just one angle, there are other factors that have to do with technology, culture and the current set up of the market/industry that are relevant. For example, Billie Eilish, easily the most interesting pop star to come along since Amy Winehouse in my opinion. She has an ad where she’s trying to sell me Beats headphones. Something really is different in the culture when a supposedly rebellious figure can get away with that. I mean, she’s super talented but imagine Morrison or Cobain doing an ad for the biggest corporations on the planet. All I’m saying is that there is an integrity associated with rock music in particular, and it seems a lot of modern artists just aren’t convincing on that front.

[@theragingdolphinsmaniac4696]

Well said...

[@RJCHOICE]

I still personally prefer my AKG k 240s, but I remember some 70's, and 80's Rock guys endorsing guitars, and mics, and drums.. What's the difference with the "Beats" headphones? They are relevant to music, right?

[@xenixpro]

I agree with everything you stated. To add to that, the social media boom has allowed more people to express their opinions, good or bad. Plus, recent political divides have also brought out people that just hate.

[@davidmiller9485]

@@xenixpro that political divide is the result of Americans not knowing their own history. George Washington had a great quote about political parties (which i'm going to paraphrase because i'm to lazy to look it up). He disagreed with the whole notion of Political parties. They divide the people and create a divided nation. Most of the founding fathers agreed with him. Both parties are a problem. Most people never check the voting histories of candidates. They just vote their "party". It's why we can't have nice things. Add to that the loss of arts and humanities in schools and we now have people who don't think.

[@billyperry3059]

Whatever is rebellious can become the popular thing to do, and then it's just plain not rebellious anymore. People confuse rebellion with some idea of achieving something positive in some way, but it's really just going against the grain for it's own sake in most cases. With so many opinions going so many ways, you can't even rebel against one thing without defacto promoting something else anymore. It's all pre-conceptualized. Distribution channels and insurance policies are already being devised for whichever rebellious thing is coming next.

[@kendouble9705]

Good discussion gentlemen. Puts some needed nuance into the topic. I would argue that some of Rick’s thumbnails (the titles and the pulling faces shots) can tease this stuff in order to get the clicks. People sure do salivate at the thought of someone going all get-off-my-lawn on modern music. (Much as their parents used to do with the music they listened to of course.)

[@SteveLFBO]

If "music experts" stopped taking the short-cut of labelling music as being in particular "genres" - which are then used today by algorithms to work out what will sound good to a target audience - or worse, making up new labels all the time, maybe the listening public would be less polarised in their opinions? PS I was very very confused by some "R&B" music I heard over the past few years, cos I'm 62yo and R&B meant something different when I was younger. Not saying the "new R&B" isn't any good, just it ain't what the label says...

[@fallenshallrise]

There's a brilliant video somewhere about Michael Jackson's Beat It where they talk about it how during production they worried that the song would make the Hot 100 but wouldn't make the R&B/Hip-Hop chart in the US because it's a guitar based rock song the whole way through. So they added the 30 second synth/drum machine intro that begins the song. Legend says.

[@Barrysautospares]

When my father called my music “crap” in my teenage years I would tell him that music (and the like thereof) is a subjective experience - he can’t call a style of music crap, he can just say that it’s not to his taste. I am now finding myself having to self-correct when I ask my own kids “ What’s this crap?”. Some cycles are destined to repeat.

[@buddyryeSE]

Most of the modern stuff has explicit lyrics laced throughout. Popular music is just a reflection of our culture. Most of us older folks are just wanting something meaningful without clout chasing.

[@rundaemon7109]

When I was a teenager, I hated country music, among some other genres. I dated this gal in my teens who called me out. She said, "You don't really love music. I don't understand how someone, who's a musician, doesn't love music." I was like "whaaaaaa?". She finished the argument, "when someone loves music, they look past genre, they challenge themselves". Sixteen year old me had an existential crisis cause I was not looking forward to all the country I was gonna have to listen to.

[@thibaudderonne6374]

First of all sorry for my english. It is a large subjects. I don't comment often. First, my opinion is just mine and if I don't have something more to give, I will not let you waste your time and so mine. That is why I think people doing this without anything else that "hate" is because they probably think they exist through this and maybe have some kind of power. I think they don't have find the way to exist other than confrontation (i'm not sure this is the good word). Well, the thing is positive attitude is not that easy for everyone for many reasons. I just hope many will realise it and finally find their way to positive attitude. I have to admit I have to do this myself because I still have too much negativity. This is a good reason to me to watch your Channel, because you share so many positivity with interesting contents. Thanks a lot. I will say the same to Rick.

[@relevantusername88]

Man, I literally had this exact argument the other day. There’s value to find in all music, it just seems so small to write off an entire genre/band/person just because what they make isn’t your preference.

[@yumyumbirdMusic]

"Why would you even waste your time to write a negative comment?" "Well, there's a lot of people that do"... THIS. Great video guys, keep on rockin it!

[@michaelharacopos6550]

I feel like In general we need to talk more about the social psychology of how certain demographics receive music. Why are our egos so attached to what music we like? Is that a good or bad thing?

[@ZO5150]

Just throwing my 2 cents out there…. I think when you look at modern music it’s a snap shot of the present. A mere fraction of existence. When looking at “great” music, bands or artists we have all of the history of the band or genres to pull from. Granted to be blessed with the gift of being able to experience the greatness certain scenes, bands or artists in real time it’s just that, a blessing.

[@rigorhead01]

When I watch Rick's videos or content with him in it, I'm always struck by how intelligent and extremely well spoken he is.

[@deandelion4838]

People should discover more languages and genres.Just like back then,there are millions of secret gems everywhere