Has Every Song Been Written?

[@epicmeade]

19 years ago I used to play guitar for a woman, Linda Perry, who went on to be a very successful songwriter. and at that time we demo'd a few songs. one song was called Beautiful, and the other was called Cruz. Cruz had a really nice part in the Bridge that went Fm7,Cm7,Fm7,Cm7,F.. that I thought sounded a bit like something Steely Dan might do. a few years later Christina Aguilera did both songs on her album, but the bridge in Cruz was gone. I asked Linda "What happened to the bridge ? That was the best part". And she said "The record company felt it was 'too sophisticated' and would turn off potential listeners. So they asked me to remove it". So, yeah, the conversation you're having here is right on target. And you're right, It's really sad that we now have two generations of listeners who have...um...never experienced eating musical broccoli.

[@datatwo7405]

Wow. And this is precisely why I do not nor have I listened to commercial radio since 1999. No lol, Prince had nothing to do with that.

[@xkoamane]

epicmeade I agree 100% Interesting story by the way. They’re killing music while wrapping it up in a nice package.

[@dannysmith6066]

Although I have given up on this generation (I’m part of it) I always try to convince my friends to listen to some Beatles songs.

[@Vortexafternoon]

Linda is an incredible writer! What's Up! Spaceman. I'm Coming Up. Fm7 Cm7 is a great interval - would've loved to hear your take.

[@contrarian8877]

@@bryandraughn9830 People that like good music will gravitate to it. Still possible to build fan bases. No point in gaining the world if you lose your soul.

[@pedrokoury1352]

God I love these discussions. This channel is my music magazine.

[@johnnysparks44]

i'll Drink to That Bra...

[@OspreyFlyer]

It is very informative! I'm addicted! 😂

[@glennk1931]

Exactly Pedro. 👍

[@overtonesnteatime198]

Mmmmmmmmmm musical discussion.

[@mojo1229]

I loved your discussion on the dumbing down of current music. Where are Stan Kenton and thelonious Monk now that we need them?

[@billbrandt1106]

One can learn more about music from RICK BEATO's videos than anywhere else on KZbin or the web. It doesn't matter what ur level of music development is, the information covered is from such a wide segment of the whole music experience that everyone will learn something. Thank you RICK & please keep them coming - the more people (musicians) listen to this level of music information, the better the music that we all listen to will be. ***

[@JayRenn]

If blues musicians had started suing each other for using the same I, IV, V progressions, we would only be listening to covers of songs written before the 1940's.

[@michaelluzius5704]

Good point!

[@markbrady871]

Exactly. Blues is so derivative there’s a whole notation for how to steal. 12 bar blues with a turnaround in A. Go.

[@paulthoresen8241]

@@markbrady871 A collection of derivative music is called a genre. Go.

[@rodman410]

Sorry I don't understand...know a little and know some chords and 12 bar blues but don't know what I, IV, V means? Pretty sure it's related but appreciate any insight if not too complex...frets maybe?

[@paulthoresen8241]

@@rodman410 Roman numerals refer to chords of scale degrees in relation to a tonic. I, IV, and V in C major would be C, F, and G. C I *** D ii E iii F IV *** G V *** A vi B vii^o In blues these would usually be C7, F7, and G7. It's kind of funny that some people think 12 bar blues is simple because it is stereotyped as these 3 basic chords, but it actually allows you to get away with some pretty complex harmony that may be lost on those choosing to hear it as pure derivative noise. That's not to say simple = bad either, if you like it then listen to it, if you don't then try it again later.

[@araxxisinnovations6544]

Part of why I love Stone Temple Pilots: cool jazz chords thrown into grunge songs. Their producer kicked ass too

[@ryanburchett8455]

STP is one of the most underrated bands. Totally agree with you.

[@cardbored_]

100% they have some almost straight jazz tunes too! Like “Daisy” on Tiny Music. Love STP!

[@thebigjimmyd]

Lady Picture Show & Interstate Love Song are 2 of my favorite songs from the 90s. It's a shame Scott Weiland couldn't hold on to his sobriety. I know that struggle intimately. I wish he could'e seen himself the way his fans saw him and he decided he was someone worth saving. RIP Scott.

[@corm1000]

The sex type thing guitar riff is probably the most ripped off guitar riff of all time.

[@treff9226]

@@thebigjimmyd Nicely said, Scott was extremely talented and had a helluva lot more to offer to the music world! STP was AWESOME! Dig every single album!!!

[@jacobbockover1628]

Support you local smaller venues and live music. Having a band is expensive

[@markwilmeth3082]

ABSOLUTELY!!!

[@Elksniffer1]

Covid😑

[@drvee1983]

Rick Beato says many things that I've heard for over 40 years as a guitarist. He's also well studied, and can play his butt off and has walked the talk. Its unfortunate in his attempt to educate musicians at no cost, some stuff gets pulled by the giants. Millions of dollars, and fame has been achieved by many famous guitarists who got riffs from others that came before, or during their careers. Most of whom they "ripped off" wouldn't even be known if the ones we know now dídn't use it. I don't owe a caveman for the wheel just because I designed a race car. But entertainment law will decide where the chips and dollars fall. Please keep teaching Rick, and thank you.

[@RAPIDMEDIAGROUP]

John Vilardo VERY WELL SAID!

[@adrianmack8537]

Judges are the last people to act on copyright infringement, they have no idea of the phenomenon and it's subtlety

[@DrTWG]

@@adrianmack8537 Juries are worse . Recent case 'Christian rapper' v ?Perry - plaintiffs requested a jury trial as they knew they wouldn't have a clue. Little sympathy as the whole business is rotten.

[@adrianmack8537]

@@DrTWG I totally agree, that is why these cases should be judged by expert songwriters, musicians and even musical historians. Wanna start a band? 😆

[@jamesrogers2963]

Salient argument! A feeding frenzy by gold-rush attorneys has been responsible for the steady decline in the good will and reason of humanity for quite some time. Shakespeare was right... But, since they now control the law, the state legislature, the federal congress, the courts, the Supreme Court, etc., we are left to wring our hands. I am having a great and educational time, however, learning some of the back story from Mr. Beato, and part of that is scanning the comments for pearls of wisdom like yours. Thank you!

[@krisfrederick5001]

Every musician is influenced my something they've heard (Don't Beethoven me). I've at times caught myself with a new song or melody, then it occurs to me "Wait a minute". It's subconscious sometimes.

[@johnnysparks44]

How old are you son... you do know only Genius" in this world had to face Guardian Angles right not" Once I was young.. now I am so very old... nothing New under our Star son... Grow some Whiskers Boy... Geet yo feet wet... Dirt behind yo Ears now n again... it's yo Time to Rock.... Rock a By Baby. Shake it shake it Shake it Baby Rock a By Baby... its yo time to rock rock rock rock rock Rock a By Babyyyyyyyyyyyy Peace on Everybody Have a lil fun kid... it Is a Blink of an eye... one infinite moment at a Time. Peace out Mu&ician Lucifer always sits first Chair Baby. we never play Mu$ical Chair$ you lil Devil dogs.

[@richfroiland2337]

The problem is there is no courage anymore. The music is sugary and people just listen and like whatever the radio or Spotify tells them. That’s as low as it gets and you’d think we can start climbing back out but sugar can be addictive and it’s too much work to do otherwise. It’s amazing kids are even learning guitar anymore.

[@dougimmel]

Courage, exactly - fear and anxiety drive out the time and patience required for rumination and creativity. listening to the main points of commercial and industrial efficiency, the speed required by the pressure to produce, market and monetize- I hear the same strains I've heard in every sector i've worked in: (health care, education, design and architecture and competitive sports training.), i.e. speed and pressure (driven by underlying fear and anxiety around loss and lack) are the ENEMY of QUALITY, CRAFT and ART. When the fear is replace by the calm of security, bravery and love, then there is the time and peace to create and nurture beautiful things.

[@laneromel5667]

When our generation was in high school pretty much everybody that could play music at all was in a band, or affiliated with a band, there was tons of music being made. Music teachers were very abundant and were busy. Today both my children could not find anybody that wanted to be in a band. A few times they got together with friends. Most of the music teachers have had to find other professions because there were no students. The music competitions are a quarter the size they were 20 years ago. There is just very little interest in creating new music, so it is not that all the music has been written it is just very little effort is being put into music in general..

[@marcosandre3761]

K

[@M3CH09]

Lane Romel that's a really good way of looking at it actually and very true. There's so much focus on the catchy pop stuff or modern "rap" so not many people are investing time into being creative and writing

[@beanstalker3292]

Maybe Mike Mangini saw this coming, that's why he started thing about leaving Berklee College of Music and joined Dream Theater.

[@johnhendricks8140]

Kids have other types of distractions like video games and streaming sites that take up your attention 24/7. Or if they are getting into music its electronic computer based music.

[@mackin26]

As a music teacher, the amount of times I've played a song to a pupil and the kid asks "when do they start singing?" They're so used to everything being instant. One of my favourite intros is You Could Be Mine by GnR, it just builds and builds and explodes. Estranged is full of amazing music when the vocals aren't happening.... great music for the sake of great music. Beautiful creativity there, a real journey between the parts and huge soulful solos. So much modern pop music has so little to it, you can do so many lessons with G Major and I, IV, V and vi chords. They look at you like you're a wizard when you learn these tunes so quickly. They're all using the same trick, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift especially. The food analogy is good 25:32 Sheeran is chicken nuggets. Queen is Italian cuisine that the patriarch has spent 3 days preparing!

[@robertvondarth1730]

One of my favorite songs is actually quite short, and it’s just guitar. Mood for a Day, by Yes

[@geisenm]

I vividly remember a classmate of mine in high school asking what I was listening to (it was Good Times Are Killing Me by Modest Mouse) and so I offered her an earbud and she listened for about five seconds before declaring that it was too boring...it only takes 20 seconds for the lead vocals to come in on that particular track. But modern pop has created the expectation that you'll hit the first chorus by 30 seconds in.

[@harpodjangorose9696]

“There’s only so many chords, man” - Tom Petty

[@johnnysparks44]

no such Thing as too many Notes Amadeus" Ha h ah haaa

[@davidcallahan3615]

Isn’t that exactly the case? These days, you can write a hit song with only a melody? Recently there was a hip hop tune at the center in a court case involving a Katy Perry tune. I can’t give specifics, But I seem to remember hearing about a Christian hip hop artist alleging that Katy Perry had used some of his song in one of her tunes, and the jury found for the plaintiff in a recent court case. I remember that despite the hip hop tune had no chord structure to speak of, that the jury found that Perry had to pay an award in the millions. Yet the Christian tune was mostly a melody anchored by a couple of chords. You can find a much more eloquent recounting on Rick Beato’s channel. I was floored because the Katy Perry tune had the most superficial resemblance to this hip hop tune. Beato rails against this case, because I points to a dumbing down of the music industry. I found myself in agreement. Why should you pound music theory into your head when a catchy melody is enough to stake out a your territory for future litigation? Pop music and hip hop has always seemed to me sooo much simpler than jazz, classical, etc., but I can usually find something to like in those two genres. I just blows my mind that a piece of music that consists of a bare minimum of elements that used to make up a song has been so stripped down. It also occurs to me that artists that work in music today can find their livelihood threatened by someone who can essentially whistle their songs into existence with no subsequent work. So many chords indeed.

[@aaronpearson2168]

There’s only four: Major, Minor, Diminished, and Augmented. All the others are just variations on those four.

[@davidcallahan3615]

aaron pearson what about sixths?

[@aaronpearson2168]

David Callahan, is it a sixth or minor 7th in first inversion.

[@m.s.g1890]

You have to be careful, though, not to make the mistake of equating complexity, necessarily, with quality. An unusual set of chords don’t necessarily result in a good piece of music. Da Vinci said “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. At it’s best, I’d agree that that is the case for music. There is of course plenty of simple music that is just artless immaturity. As for broccoli: stir fry it and the kids will love it! Peace.

[@trevorcarl9515]

To further the food analogy, I would say that more complex chord progressions and harmonies are like seasonings. Not everyone is going to like every combination of flavors, but people who care about what they eat want a certain amount of depth to their food, because they can appreciate it. However, the average person is unable to decipher complex flavor profiles, much like the average music listener just wants songs they can relate to that aren't dissonant.

[@toyotasupra97]

Bake it with olive oil and salt and pepper.

[@JoeLabisch]

You know what happened to beer? Some years ago, about three major companies produced 90% of the beers sold world wide. First, they bought the small traditional breweries and then they made many small changes to the taste and at the end. all the beer tasted alike. Then craft beer came up. Very small breweries brewed their own beer, in unique style and unique taste. Now, the major companies follow and produce "craft beer" too. Is that happening to the music industry too? If every song sounds the same, will many small labels and musicians start their own unique songs and sounds again? And then: will the major record companies catch on again?

[@lamper2]

i'm drinking Sierra Nevada now because i'm down to my last dogfish head!

[@thesquigglespin]

I think you really got something here. The music industry has force fed us gruel for the past 15+ years, and we keep coming back saying, "Please sir may I have some more?" There are a lot of great undiscovered artists out there just waiting to be discovered. The trouble is people aren't willing to give them a break. I recommend you (everyone really) to hit your local music scene, and support those venues that provide a listening post for local bands. That's how it used to be, back in the day. That's how a lot of, at least 80% of the greats were discovered. Like the Micro-breweries, if people didn't take a chance and taste for themselves they wouldn't have become as popular as they have. In short who makes the difference in good music? You do, by word of mouth. My two cents.

[@peachmelba1000]

People still happily pay for beer. Music, not so much. Sorry.

[@norwegianscantcook7528]

What happened to keep it simple?

[@TapeCollageForEloise]

"will many small labels and musicians start their own unique songs and sounds again?" I really don't think there's any "again" about it. Small labels and independent musicians are always out there creating new sounds and songs. There's never a lack of creativity in the underground and that stuff is always out there and has been for decades. These days it's just harder to find because that sort of stuff just doesn't get popular and there's so much to sift through on websites like Bandcamp and Soundcloud, but those are the places you'll find the innovative and creative musicians these days. But I would love to see a craft beer-esque grass roots renaissance that really takes a chunk out of the major labels and levels the playing field a bit. People used to say that the internet would allow for that but I feel like the opposite has happened and the internet has rendered music more disposable than ever for numerous reasons.

[@cameroncwiakala9593]

Talk more about Fiona Apple. . . she's got to be one of the strongest songwriters ever!

[@brandonrose582]

Couldn’t agree with you guys more. Tuned into a top 40 playlist the other day just to see if I could find something interesting. I listened to maybe 7-10 songs and had to turn it off. They were all the same message, the same harmonic progressions, very similar melodies, and had lyrics that possessed absolutely no substance. Music is art. It is sad to see it all becoming so uniform. It’s all white paint on a white canvas in today’s industry. (As far as top 40’s are concerned)

[@paulgottlieb]

One of the reasons the Beatles were so successful in using more complex music is that they blended more advanced concepts with melodious pop.

[@patrickhale424]

So glad to see you point out that people are being dumbed down musically. They have been dumbing people down on all other fronts I'm really surprised more people haven't been complaining about the garbage the record industry has been putting out. Absolutely disgraceful !! We love ya Rick !!! You make life better !!

[@dr.mikeybee]

I don't like most hip hop, but I adore Outkast. I think they're outstanding musicians.

[@neobliviscaris3346]

I used to hate Hip Hop, you should try Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid m.A.A.d city, To Pimp A Butterfly or Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

[@josiahjarumi4482]

I Absolutely Love OUTKAST!!!

[@dhpbear2]

​@@josiahjarumi4482 I like "The Way You Move". On their big hit "Hay Ya!", they're singing SHARP! Not crazy about that track.

[@0FFICERPROBLEM]

I miss the good old days of Eminem. A lyrical genius without match, musically backed by Dr. Dre.

[@rrichards31]

Hip Hop ruined music because it lowered standards. When you have a whole almost 2 generations listening to non music...real music is considered old or dated. They don't even know what music is. Talking into a microphone is spoken word. It belongs in a completely different category. But doesn't belong in the music section. Outkast were musicians. These gangster hand waving 8th graders are imposters propped up my the media giants at the same time they are purposely suppressing white culture.

[@stephentyndall159]

I've written songs in the past and only realised later that it's already been used. It's kind of subconscious, at the time it feels like I've come up with something really cool and original. It's annoying.

[@SoloDallasII]

I do the same thing! I thought I was the only one.

[@tomchristie3199]

Nothing wrong with writing somewhat derivative songs, especially when you're starting out. Most of the best regarded songwriters did so at some time or another. I like Rick's content but this vid kind of missed the mark for me - you can write worthwhile music without going to Steely Dan levels of invention/progressivism. Some people just want to write basic pop songs (e.g. Ed Sheeran).

[@supposed2rot354]

Stephen Tyndall I was noodling around one night and started playing a riff I swore I made up, sent it to my friend who is a huge Zeppelin fan and he said “you learned how many more times?” And I legitimately thought I made the riff up. Really tho it’s my fault for not being more familiar with the song. But it really is subconscious sometimes , really weird.

[@joleneloveland2942]

Stephen, yeah baby I've been there done that! Once it was the melody to a Hank Williams song. You see I've never listened to Hank William's BUT when I was a little kid, we only had 1 local radio station, country music. I never cared for country either, but somebody with the radio going in public places and in people's residences seemed to have planted Hank's tune pretty deep in my little girl subconscious. Yep, nothing is more annoying except maybe a huge pack of mosquitoes!

[@n-Chantreuse]

A disadvantage of following music theory is that the structures for making things that sound good have been used thousands of times over. Even if you don't accidentally make a copy of something you heard months or years ago and you don't remember that you heard it, chances are fair that you will come up with something reminiscent of something that someone else wrote.

[@DR-nh6oo]

Here is a video about recent popular music that even my Dad could appreciate, and I mean that as a big compliment. Cheers Plus I have been writing songs that I haven’t finished yet after decades, I guess I might find success with some standout music yet, lol. One more thing, the little kids loved Nirvana, even if they hadn’t developed a taste for broccoli. And success is all relative of course.

[@Fuzcapp]

I am told, Cole Porter once said, "There are only 7 songs - and I've written hundreds of them."

[@GLu-tb1pb]

Eh? What about the sharps?

[@tarkusmjg]

I believe the comment, but If a musician has to go back and redo another song they have lost their verve.except a few bands,

[@johnnysparks44]

"melody like Lotto.. is infinite to the point of artist ability to structure words with melody." johnny Sparks. Ha h ah h aaaaaaa h h aaa

[@johnnysparks44]

I Published only 9... Ha h ah aha aa Written Hundreds... Ha ha ha ha haaa I Hate the Hollywood Gang of Thugs... H h ahah love the Honest People Trying to Make Their Dreams come True... Keep The Illusions... been on a Dozen Published studio sessions never got a Dime.. Ha h ah ha hah a

[@benjclarke5825]

@@GLu-tb1pb the different keys are transpositions of each other. Any song can be played in a different key, and the sharps (or flats) will change, but the melodic/harmonic relationships within the song will remain the same. Like if you were playing chess over here, and then you picked up the pieces and went to play chess over there... you'd still be playing chess.

[@dawidgraczyk1954]

Black hole sun was written in 15 minutes by Chris Cornell. Lyrics too! RIP Chris

[@jackdaniels7488]

@John Martin Cantorne Sounds right, Black Hole Sun is his best song, and has that quality that can only be channeled directly from that other world, not contrived like most songs are, just received

[@Scratch_Monsters_Golf]

I thought I heard him say on Howard Stern that he wrote it in his head while driving home at like 3am. Then, he woke up the next morning and finished it.

[@lenafranklin7262]

I think that he was murdered

[@hayleyb467]

@@lenafranklin7262 why? and who did it?

[@johnnysparks44]

right … The He had to Play that bastard 15000 Times... you Better love yo songs... or Hell Has no place for you.

[@davidjunto1008]

As long as songwriters can't make a living writing songs, the depth and quality of music will continue to grow rarer and difficult to find. We are at a point where if you like a songwriters stuff you have to go fund them directly... I'm interested to see how this corrects...

[@odarter9800]

I remember watching this video around when it first came out, and coming away from it feeling kinda depressed about all of this. But, after coming back to this, I'm realizing that there is actually a place where you can still find this more complex music. Video games. Just look at soundtracks like Mario Kart 8 on the Switch, or anything Disasterpeace has worked on (not exactly mainstream, but still) to know what I am talking about. Not to mention a lot of the older stuff being pushed to people through Nintendo's online program. Video game composers have gotten really good over the years at keeping their work from getting too stale in a loop. Most people will end up enjoying these soundtracks (especially if they are enjoying the game) just by the fact that they'll end up hearing those tracks pretty much endlessly. With how popular gaming has become over recent years, I think there's still definitely a lot of people in the mainstream that are being exposed to these more complex ideas. Just without anyone really noticing. Time will only tell if I'm right, I guess. Just some of my thoughts.

[@justinr1094]

Mario Kart 8, Undertale, Cuphead and many others are still keeping intelligent music alive. Video game music, for the win!

[@polymix2971]

Well, no. Because a note is just a color, what you do with it counts. Every color has been used by painters but in a very different manner.

[@stigmurder99]

What color would you say Tool is?

[@stigmurder99]

I would say Pantera is like an orange-red

[@kurdtacolbain731]

Most tools are silver, so probably silver. 😂

[@ConwayBob]

Good analogy! Notes definitely are colors, only in the medium of sound rather than light. A few people's brains are wired so that they actually "see" musical notes as colors and/or they hear colors as sounds. Synesthesia.

[@TokyoBlue587]

@@ConwayBob the painter Kandinsky had synesthesia.

[@iliketowatch986]

Follow the money. That's the destination of the future of music. Whatever people will buy. Which, as it turns out, is often depressingly shallow. That's what will be sold. (Clinical you say? In our current culture of greed--corporate and individual?...Please!) This is because people today don't have the patience, interest or motivation in giving a different kind of music a chance. It's too challenging--almost confronting. Plus 90% (or whatever the large percentage is) of people, while they like music, its place is in the background. Unlike back in the '50s and '60s, when the teenager-lifestyle became a thing, and the World. Music was the flag to rally around for that generation, and the center of many regular people's lives.

[@CineSoar]

When we bought an album in the 70's, we were investing a chunk of money in a small basket of songs that we listened to in halves (eventually, the whole album, when CD's came into play). Much of the album would get a 'fair shake' and even the 'weaker' songs would grow on us over time. As personal music collections have shifted toward thousands of MP3's (generally being able to purchase only the hits), radio playlists (and radio station ownership) have consolidated around formulaic acts, with songs written largely by committee, pop spirals toward the lowest common denominator... Simple tunes that grab you at first listen, or die.

[@bobnolin9155]

The 1970's was a great decade for music, without a doubt. The Mahavishnu Orchestra-- a jazz fusion band, of all things -- filled stadiums. It was a different time.

[@brianstephens8337]

The drummer for King Crimson once joked that the 70s were "a time when you could play in 17/16 time and still stay in decent hotels."

[@normalized2000]

as somebody pointed out "scarborough fair" had it's origin in Martin Carthy's version. And both Lennon and Harrison had their own days in court (for "my sweet lord" and "come together") and also despite the Dan's originality, "Rikki don't lose that number" is a tribute or cop of Horace Silver's '"Song for my father".

[@troymcgrew9822]

Man, I have zero musical talent except for listening (I’m a pro air guitar player and I have a very expensive collection of air guitars) and I’ve been saying this for years. Granted I say it in a dumbed down, non musician way. Lol. Music composition like the examples you use really blow my mind.

[@12presspart]

yes cher didnt need autotune she proved her vocal abilities from the mid sixties onwards but then when when wah wah pedals came out in the sixties they were done to death for a few years they were even built into organs for so called effect

[@johnnysparks44]

you mu$t be the la$t Human Being Alive that don't play Mu$ic Bra. keep up the Good work Fan were all starving now so... buy more Musick Jam yo assssss off ok. Peace out Brother FAN.

[@alessandromyer]

“People don’t spend the time to write songs anymore” - SPOT ON 🙏

[@bassinblue]

Then again, can you blame them? Ed Sheeran used to be a true folk derived musician and then totally switched (not changed) to serving what the public wants as opposed to making what he wants for the public to choose...and his net worth is as of today £200 million. Writing good songs isn't enough, it's also about business choices and when to release a song when the algorithm is right. Like if I wrote a song now that sounds christmassy I obviously won't release it now

[@rpbmpn]

People don't HAVE time to write songs anymore

[@dougimmel]

Time is everything...Georgia O'Keefe - " to see, to really see, takes time..." listening to the main points of commercial and industrial efficiency, the speed required by the pressure to produce, market and monetize- I hear the same strains I've heard in every sector i've worked in: (health care, education, design and architecture and competitive sports training.), i.e. speed and pressure (driven by underlying fear and anxiety around loss and lack) are the ENEMY of QUALITY, CRAFT and ART. When the fear is replace by the calm of security, bravery and love, then there is the time and peace to create and nurture beautiful things.

[@veng1974]

@@rpbmpn We have the same amount of hours in a day today. It's greed and the simplification of the mind of the younger generation

[@angelmatos9143]

Creativity is as infinite as the universe. (& so is inspiration)

[@Travs64]

It's like your Anthony Bourdain with a guitar and without a spatula. Love the info and insight! Thanks Rick.

[@leob4403]

His voice sounds more like Kevin Costner

[@ekirenrut]

Sad loss, Anthony Bourdain. I liked that guy.

[@mrburns366]

You're*

[@Niven42]

Haha, Rick really does low-key look like Anthony.

[@Rabkor]

I've got some awesome business idea right here: 1) Find some music nerd who's ready to invest some time 2) Pay him (and some other guys) a few bucks for 3-4 years straight 3) While being paid their only obligation is to make as many complex songs as possible, it doesn't have to be good or interesting, just combine all possible ideas and release it somewhere 4) Wait for about 5 yeas 5) Start suing everyone for borrowing ideas from your compositions, make millions of it 6) Buy me a beer for original idea. You can add some spicy wings too, I like that.

[@augustineriley5582]

The lack of originality and sameness in much corporate music today suggests to me the big boys are already doing just that ;)

[@augustineriley5582]

David, who were you referring to re the music exec comment? cheers.

[@augustineriley5582]

David, thanks for the response - and even more so, great minds think alike lol, - I think in summary of the video theme, I reckon its down to us, youtubers etc, to get the Gospel out there re the classic music we love so much, - byte by byte ;)

[@augustineriley5582]

David, sure do feel it, I think De Chardin's Noosphere is coming into manifestation, by the collective global psyche, regardless of market forces, - they cannot suppress great music! Peace.

[@augustineriley5582]

David, Aloha friend, - or as in my native culture (Irish - ergo Celtic) Anam Cara . . . = "Soul Friend" Peace.

[@TerryT304]

I'd love to hear you guys analyse Kate Bush, that's a challenge and a half.

[@stuartanthony6409]

She went round loads of record companies for ages and they all said "nobody wants to listen to a bunch of weird tunes with a that caterwauling over the top of it" - clearly they knew what they were talking about ... not

[@lavenderbee3611]

Love Kate Bush, she's a genius.

[@robertvondarth1730]

Goddess Kate She blazed a trail for Tori Amos, Bjork and all the like.. Back then Pink Floyd was still popular... David Gilmore helped her out.. She’s on an entirety different level, so is Peter Gabriel I’m a musician, but when I heard Kate I was like WHAT is THIS?!!! who am I kidding, I’m a joke compared to THAT Good grief she’s creative!

[@gtbones]

I agree totally Rick. The word or term that I use to describe what's missing in most of the music we hear today is 'craftsmanship'. The Beatles, The Stones, Zep, Ten Years After, Muddy Waters, and reams of 'popular music' were all united under the practice of craftsmanship. Musicians were practicing a craft which implies a collection of skills and knowledge woven together to create something unique, something that communicates something personal and none of those important things are communicated in the majority of today's pop music. What is communicated is conformity, commercialism and musical laziness....no craftsmanship. Of course rampant commercialism existed in the day of those great pop composers mentioned but there seemed to be a balance of craftsmanship and money and not just from the musicians but from record company execs all the way down. It's a sad state of musical affairs we live in now that simply reflects the sad state of affairs this world is in at the moment. I just put myself in a bummer of a mood!!

[@toddlavigne6441]

the Beatles heard the initial spark of an idea and had the skill to develop and finish the song. But all their songs initially where from constantly fucking around on their instruments.

[@iblindsamurai2677]

Take for example ‘let it be’ by the Beatles. Paul Mcartney’s mother spoke to him in a dream, and gave him the idea of the song. This song communicates the profound personal experiences and has so much meaning behind it.Not to say that there are no songs in today’s pop music that has no meaning, but it is nothing like it was before.

[@arescue]

The only caveat that I have is that songs often seem to write themselves. I know that It has happened to many songwriters (speaking of the Beatles). I have studied harmony and arranging, both jazz and classical. I enjoy harmony because it tends to suggest the melody. But, I remember when I was a young fiddle player, and I would improvise with friends and it felt like I could feel where the melody wanted to be. I don’t even have perfect pitch, and my left pinky is difficult to use. It just felt right. Can I analyze it afterwards or select an interesting progression before I sit down to play? Sure. But the best work seems to spring to life on its own. (I sure wish that I had perfect pitch.)

[@darrinlawton2748]

The second we transitioned from 1999 to 2000 it was like somewhere someone flicked a giant switch and popular music became unlistenable rubbish. I grew up listening to just about everything from Elvis and The Beatles to Pink Floyd and Queen The Sex Pistols, Elton John, Bowie, AC-DC.......I loved all kinds of music. I loved INXS and U2 in the 80's and when the 90's came around I was crazy about Nirvana and Pearl Jam, RHCP's and Live........that was where my love affair with popular music ended sadly.......it was a fun ride while it lasted.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

Similar for me, except that it was the transition from 44 to 45 (in 2017) when I realised that most of the stuff on pop radio was utter junk.

[@craigstephenson7676]

Just imagine some monk saying, "Thou taketh my chant!"

[@joebeastyg5686]

For some reason I really love this comment!

[@Mr.Nichan]

Þū tōce mīnes Cantic! P.S.: "Taketh" means "takes" or "is taking". It is present tense and goes with 3rd person singular subjects. It would be "Thou took my chant!" or "Thou hast taken/tooken my chant!" Also, "Þ" = "Th" (probably as in "theory", in this case).

[@lenafranklin7262]

You are hilarious!

[@johnnysparks44]

Bra... The Fallen Angel Grigori weep Gnashing Their gums... they can't even Sing Halleluiah" Can't Chant.. forgot all the words... they filled our Oceans with Tears for Humanity... Salt from Mamma Earths Deepest Fears of God. now they stand alone in the Deepest Darkest Hell... i am Kicking The Gates of Hell wide open Our Guardians Will Never Stand alone... All for one & ONE FOR ALL,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Dare Never Bring No Harm on Man Amen... Halleluiah,,, Halleluiah... Halleluiah Fig a Grow. Ha h ah ah aaaa

[@markwilmeth3082]

Maybe we can take the chant the monks made in The Holy Grail!!!

[@andrewanderson4555]

I certainly am in love with the “more complex” styles of music they pointed out, and by no stretch Someone who pays any amount of attention to top 40, typically I’m living in the past with a lot of my music, however I feel there is still huge artistic value in simplicity, I just wish there was more variety represented in modern popular music. But some of my all time favorite songs are simple ones that were written long ago, granted there usually is still a bit more nuance thrown in then the typical Ed sharron campfire sing along.

[@shaneferris6742]

The dumbing down of music is in concert with the dumbing down of society as a whole.

[@Billo1281]

Shane Ferris Unfortunately too true.

[@gusdogbrownlab435]

Agreed. I am a teacher in the UK. I see dumbing down of my subject content all the time

[@shaneferris6742]

@@gusdogbrownlab435 That would be frustrating. Better sneak some intelligent content and critical thinking stuff in there while no ones looking. Give the students a chance at life.

[@fingigs]

@@dorrianstone7264 Thanks for this link. 'Dumbing down' fits in this strategy. Making our kids strong in defending their own opinion is what we need.

[@davekochan2460]

I don't agree with the thesis of the whole video, namely that the more complex a tune is the more interesting it is, or that it's more original or appealing. Nor do I agree that with time songs have become more simple. Go back to the beginning of rock'n'roll....three chords and the music was amazing despite its simplicity. Taste is everything of course. But originality can come from three major chords as much as it can from any other combination, or from complex harmonies vs simple ones. Listen to Tutti Frutti. Nonsense lyrics, three chords. But man it's exciting!

[@RoyMaya]

The reason music is so safe now is because there just isn't room to take risks. There's just not enough money to be made like in the past. Back in the day you could sign a Steely Dan and if it flopped you wouldn't necessarily get fired. In today's world you'll get canned much quicker. It's just the nature of the business now.

[@bigjohn606]

The Doobie Brothers first album went cardboard. Their follow up albums sold millions.

[@RoyMaya]

Kitten, absolutely! I think that is partly what's going on now. People are making all kinds of music today and KZbin and social media is where you can showcase it. It won't get on the radio, but you have to find a way to monetize it. Some acts are able to do that and some aren't. It's just a different business world today.

[@anthonygstrand6931]

That's not entirely true.

[@spareplanet]

It will cycle, like the Dark Ages and the Renaissance.

[@wreckim]

We hope.

[@pdexBigTeacher]

The richness of older music is the source of its longevity. This channel has inspired me to find so much more in music I've always listened to, and enjoy it even more. As for hip-hop The Roots are probably the best musically sophisticated artists, but there aren't too many who can do what they do. As I've commented before, adults have to expose children to the music; when you do, they like it as has been my experience.

[@randyhandy6437]

I just said that! Great minds think alike

[@124laurent]

I personally believe that a lot of modern musicians are not artists, but performers. I mean, some of them don't even write their own songs. However, I think there is still a lot of complexity in modern music. You should check out the youtube channel of Holistic Songwriting. He did a video series called The Artists Series where he analyses how many modern pop artists write melodies, chord progressions, etc... It's really interesting and it helped me realize that modern music can be complex and isn't all about the auto-tune.

[@augustineriley5582]

Quidam - you hit the nail firmly on the head, we need to first differentiate between creative artists and performers.

[@josiahjarumi4482]

Rick Beato Is The Truth, I Dig This Dude!!!

[@johnnysparks44]

it gets Real Quick Bra... Hahhahahhaaa

[@50pence59]

The guitar riff from Nirvana's Come As You Are was used by 4 prior bands. They all got along fine.

[@6teezkid]

"Dumbing down of music...". Omg, how lucky was I that I had every genre known that was played on radio....song after song after song. And they were so different from previous song. It was insane. No, it's NOT impossible to write an original song! Just, where are the ARTISTS? Chord complexity or hooks (or both)? Mostly, it's melody. These FORMULAS that current "musicians" are sticking to is just disgusting and condescending. Think 1965, Psychotic Reaction" opening. Whuh??!! SO SIMPLE but forever unforgettable. That was so progressive for that Era. And there's still millions of those hooks out there not written.

[@didifischervideo]

Where are the artists? Yes, but where are the red politicisans? WHERE ARE ALL INTELLIGENT AND CREATIVE PEOPLE? They are doing something else - or the big money bought them to make more money, with more money....

[@brolik82]

Rick, you have to give some kudos to Dr. Dre though. He makes a lot of his beats and they're pretty damn good.

[@Eekolooginen]

Sampling started because people didnt have the money or space or whatever to buy instruments, drums, synths and what not. So they figured out they can sample records on a single drum machine and make the production "sound" as close and as organic to the real thing. Which is pretty creative if you ask me. In other words making something out of nothing. If you listen to 90s hip hop (golden era) its about the lyrics mostly anyway. And the production is dope usually. Especially those which are made Taking bits and pieces from multiple records and combining them to make something totally different compared to the original songs they were taken from. Sampling using an 1980s drum machine is very difficult. Nowadays technology has made it too easy. Too easy to "create" music generally speaking. Technology has killed creativity in my oppinion. Edit. I highly recommend you to listen to Madlib, J Dilla, Dj premier, Pete rock, Nick Wiz and other hip hop producers from the 90s.

[@laurentc1129]

I agree with you, the nowadays songs are less complex in terms of "harmonization", but you can't reduce music to just that. Young producers focus on Sound Design and Production, because that's the only way to create their own "signature" sound, to sound different. Skrillex succeed to create something new. And listen to some Flume stuff, you'll see the complexity in his production, we can feel the work, really. Flume said "you can create something that you never heard before turning knobs on a synth". It's harder to create a "never heard before stuff" with just a guitar, isn't it ? And more complex doesn't mean better or more "emotional", so what's the point to complexify something just to complexify it ? - like Leonardo Da Vinci said "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication"...

[@CC-TimesTwo]

Agreed!

[@FlyWithVid]

Rick got to say love your Channel for so long and all your valid input and to Rhett thank you so much for including Dawes in the conversation they have so much to offer both musically and lyrically and that anyone can identify with the words to the songs and somewhere another and being to several of their live performances and hearing how much of the audience is totally involved in singing every word along with the band from one song to the next they deserve the recognition that they get so I really appreciate your dropping them in This truly deep conversation!

[@ramspencer5492]

I'm a song writer. I can answer this easily..... No. Not at all. But please don't directly steel a part.... If you just have to do something like that for whatever reason, at least use a substitution..... Change the strum/picking phrasing..... Or something. It's not that hard. Oh.....and songs can have more than just 1,4,5,6.... Without even borrowing chords from a relative minor or key changes.

[@andym28]

Allan Holdsworth never got sued for copyright infringement. There's infinite possibilities if you have imagination.

[@RickBeato]

Haha True!!!

[@Markle2k]

And why should it be necessary to come up with new combinations of notes? At some point you are going to wind up only having the unsuccessful "million monkeys banging on a million drum sets to come up with a cool new pattern" nonsense. You don't want to have to eat mushy pasta simply so that it is different from what the cook down the street is doing.

[@andym28]

Markle2k I never said it was necessary.

[@RickBeato]

My point exactly. In the 80s he was able to make records and tour. By the end of his life, young people weren’t interested in trying to understand his music.

[@JC-bj5cv]

Thank you Andy.

[@patsfan4life]

I love how Rick drops Steely Dan references all the time...... People forget how unique their body of work really is.....Check out Rick's 'What Makes This Song Great' video on Steely Dan's Don't Take Me Alive..... fascinating stuff.

[@bonecanoe86]

I had a killer idea for a song one time with a great melody. I carried that song in my head for several months before I quite suddenly learned that I subconsciously re-created the Killers' "Dancer".

[@atmoravi]

Thanx for mentioning Tori Amos! She keeps writing and releasing pretty sophisticated music. I think that the reason for that is the fact that she has her own professional level studio for not being dependent on label financing. She is also switching labels every other album...

[@basti_marr]

Also besides the theory, a good artist always develop an unique sound and works on his/her technique, take Johnny Marr as an example, every riff he writes has its particular sound, you always recognize him

[@RorRiiZzLE]

Every example of well thought out songs you guys kept throwing out there are all songs I love and love to play on my instrument of choice, the drums.

[@hubertvancalenbergh9022]

Yeah, try 'writing' something like Firth of Fifth strumming campfire chords on an acoustic. It doesn't matter much if the guitar is pre-Napoleonic and costs $150,000 either. There was a time when 'writing' meant putting pen to music paper - literally.

[@JamesonD6969]

All so true. Since the beginning of Man, IMAGINATION has led to all advances in Music, Medicine, Finances, Politics, architecture, etc. Now everyone's answer is "google it" instead of figuring it out themselves. Hence recycled/regurgitated information instead of ideas.

[@davegoldsmith173]

You couldn't possibly be more right. The process of discovery is a very important piece to the creative endeavor. I would go as far as to say it's a rite of passage, and integral to the creative process as a whole.

[@ian1352]

Imagination and building on what already existed. If everyone had figured it out for themselves we'd be nowhere.

[@markdrum2392]

Corporate thinking. The future is only 3 months away.

[@ArthurYannLB]

Nearly four years later, I am grateful to you for introducing me to Dawes.

[@MartinRLeather]

People will enjoy all kinds of songs if they are well written songs. It all boils down to the fact that in the 50's 60's, 70's and 80's, people were exposed to EVERYTHING on radio. You could turn on the "pop" station and hear Roxanne, then Man Eater, then Good Times Bad Times, then Big Yellow Taxi. The older generations were exposed to all of it, not just homogenized pop.

[@axe2grind911a]

One thing you're forgetting is that kids today HAVE heard all the stuff of the older generations, because their parents listened to it while they were growing up. The problem is that they don't think it's "cool", and they (like the kids in the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's) want to have their "own" music. Imagine yourself, listening to the music of your own parents' generation. The music today is varied enough between pop, hip-hop, chill, reggae, etc. that kids can choose between many varieties of simple music, and still feel they have made it their "own". I think Rick put his finger on it precisely when he stated that writers today are largely responsible for the degradation in music, because they are not being creative and trying to write original. They simply follow the trend because that's where they believe the money is. Short term thinking....

[@emilydickinson-songsproject]

@@axe2grind911a You're right but he's talking about radio, I think, although today it is easier to find all kinds of music, It is more difficult for the boys to stop digging into it, (generally)

[@genehenrieiv4855]

Martin Leather I have never once even heard one of those songs on the radio. I’ve never even heard Zeppelin till this year and i’ve been hooked! I know i’ve been missing out but, that’s so not true. I used to listen to the radio all the time and if I head Zep then my life would be completely different now.

[@wreckim]

Yeah, and there's this need for the young generation to have their own artists who are at least close their own age, and be current...that's the problem...that old music is there but those artists--most of them--are in their 60s, 70s or not around anymore.

[@davidcallahan9766]

As a preteen in the 60s, I remember my first music purchases being Cosmos’s Factory by CCR & a Monkees album. Being an inquisitive kid, I took more to what was on the CCR album, which I quickly supplanted with the Beatles. I also had the good fortune to live within walking distance to a privately owned record/audio shop. By 15 I had discovered jazz, being attracted to Chick Corea/Stanley Clarke & John McLaughlin & Frank Zappa. When I got to college, I was truly out of sync with anyone who listened to the radio. Frankly, I’ve never looked back. Top 40 is the music of the great unwashed masses.

[@dyer2cycle]

@@RedroomStudios ...I listen to classic rock, but I agree...something new would be nice...Nathaniel Rateliff and the Nightsweats are interesting...a great voice, and they play real instruments!...and their songs don't all sound the same...

[@fatimamovement]

David Callahan what about 99 Luftballoons?

[@ChrisJCarter]

I highly recommend "South of Reality" from The Claypool Lennon Delirium. Early progressive rock Pink Floyd meets Stone Temple Pilots. Interesting riffs and progressions!

[@chrisl2285]

24:43 Interesting. I have playlists for every year, starting with the late 50's. The playlists from about 1975 to 1998, have a lot of songs but into the 2000's, some of my lists have just a few songs. Now I know why.

[@holypeachy]

Look at Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata First Movement and Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu. Not exactly the same but Chopin was heavily inspired by Beethoven's sonata.

[@vwgti1985]

I hate to sound like my father, but now I think that the music I grow with it’s the best, not many songs now have the quality, the purity, the composition or the feeling. I’m 63 now, my music education and great knowledge is because my foundation was developed during the 60s to 80s as most influential but listening from classic to progressive, and always open to learn and listen about everything. On of the best things now is Spotify access to an amazing catalog. I still have a lot of CDs, 33s and my apple iPod carry around 23,000 + songs and I’m still finding more to enjoy. Thanks Rick I’m a fan and I’m learning more and more everyday by listening to you.

[@manologarcia1929]

When I was a kid (long time ago), what most people did was to "listen" to music. Only that. Record player on. Lights and off we go. Today what most do is listen to music but doing other things so no atention is drawn to instruments, plays , riffs, sounds or whatever. I couldn¨t stand no more than a minute "listening" to most of the garbage radio formulas bring to us today.

[@dougimmel]

There's no 'there' there.

[@Jswiss35]

This is why people like John Mayer are amazing to listen to

[@starpoint2112]

the EDM dancing violinist Lindsey Stirling took the KZbin route and she created her own label. KZbin allows an artist to test drive a sound etc and the equipment needed is a lot cheaper - one does not need a recording studio.. just a coffee table, some decent mic's, a camera, a decent PC and some software.

[@wallacewizard3934]

I'm seeing a lot of dangerously close-minded comments here, so I thought I'd chime in to very briefly play devil's advocate. Here's a little background on me before you read my critique - I am a musician, have been for years and have played many different instruments. I actually started playing french horn in a classical concert band. I currently front my own band, where we play some slightly oldheaded rock with some modern twists. My critique of this video is as follows (and do keep in mind that I agree with many of Beatos points, mainly about the industry and record labels): does a decrease in complexity necessarily mean a decrease in quality? This arguement seems to rest on the idea that complexity in music is inherently good - and I would reject that notion. It flies in the face of artists like Dylan or The Ramones. There is a degree of sincerity and groundedness that comes from a "3 chords and the truth" mentality to writing music. Sometimes simplicity can be beautiful. In the context of a balladeer like Sheeran (whom, to be clear, I am not particularly fond of), the meaning people get out of his music stems from his vocals and the perceived intimacy of the style. Furthermore, musical dialogue has always swung back and forth between simplicity and complexity - even in what we would lump together as the classical music monolith. The same argument could be made moving from the baroque period with its dense polytonal textures to the clear melodicism of the classical period. In conclusion - the cultural musical zeitgeist changes. That's okay - there will always be spaces for people to like the music people like. Viewed under this lens, dense harmony being compared to broccoli breaks down as an analogy when you consider that dense harmony doesn't inherently offer anything musically "nutritious". Dense harmony doesn't make you smarter just for having listened to it, and it doesn't make you a better person. You can't even say that dense harmony is inherently interesting and simple harmony is inherently disinteresting - punk bands managed to inspire entire countercultural movements with how interesting their ideas were. Not to say being an industry puppet is okay or good, but some people (like T Swift) naturally fall in to writing simple music. And as "boiled potatoes" as Taylor Swift is, one note melodies and sparse arrangements were hardly innovations - both concepts predate modern pop. That said, I feel this video missed a bit of an opportunity to really explore how much copyright needs an ammendment in the music industry. Instead, this just kind of comes of as oldheaded - saying copyright strikes are getting more prevalent because every new song is the same. While I have an immense amount of respect for Beato, this video kinda comes off as a missed opportunity. Please let me know what you guys think, I'd love to generate some discourse on the topic.

[@davidmiller9485]

what do you mean by "how much copyright needs an amendment"? I've had this issue with this subject before. Just what do you think copyright IS?

[@seangreis5191]

To go along with the broccoli analogy: The other day my 10 year old son was singing a melody. It took me a little bit to figure out what song it was. Miles Davis' "So What" (for the record, he also loves Nirvana). My 13 year old daughter doesn't care for pop music, she's told me she finds it boring. It's probably because I listen to a wide variety of music and the exposure seems to have given them a more complex ear. Now if I could just get them to learn an instrument, but as I like to say "If you force it, you're gonna break it..."

[@mmh0381]

My dad is a saxophonist in a funk band and also has a jazz trio. So I grew up listening to and learning to appreciate lots of diverse music. Some of my favorite music is Miles Davis, Maceo Parker, The Meters, The Beatles, The Allman Bros, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Willie Nelson, and much more. Basically I like any good music, and I don't care about the "genre." But modern pop music bores me, and it's all my friends will listen to.

[@Henry-uv9xu]

mmh03 Children of musicians who listen to the Allman Brothers but their friends listen to garbage GANG GANG

[@markwilmeth3082]

I like to think that I (we) influenced our daughter into music! She still plays but is so over come in the c(rap) on the radio, she doesn't "create" anything!

[@rupertlindsay5682]

FYI "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" is a folk song written by Anne Bredon in the late 1950s. Joan Baez recorded a solo version for her 1962 album Joan Baez in Concert and a variety of musicians subsequently adapted it to a variety of styles, including Led Zeppelin. Several songwriters have been credited on releases over the years, although Bredon usually receives a sole or partial credit on current releases.

[@tommystrazza1561]

The most recent song that I remember hearing a diminished chord in a pop song was “If I Ain’t Got You”, by Alicia Keys. That song is a great example of a pop song with Major, Minor, Dominant and Diminished 7th chords. I use that song with my guitar students, when we are applying chords that we learn to actual songs. But that’s the last time I remember hearing a Diminished 7th chord in a pop song.

[@bertjeffrey552]

That was from 2003

[@phillipstrommer4668]

The court ruling on the 'Stairway' case was that nobody 'owns' a Chord progression.

[@TheRagingPlatypus]

You always hear the same comment...there is still good music. But this isn't the point. Rick said it. Pop music. You can find esoteric music no one really knows and will never be widely known but back in the day, turn on the RADIO and music was good...not all of it but a lot. Now, literally none of it is good.

[@claytonpaul4259]

great point about musical broccoli; people not being able to listen to or even understand more complex instrument driven music. When I show people Hendrix who listen to top 40 they just get really uncomfortable and confused lmao. I have been listening to him so long and so often that when top 40 comes on I am the confused and uncomfortable one, it literally gives me anxiety, it just sounds so bad usually. Even better point about the 1996 telecom act. The music industry suffered from this as much as news and all other media did. The same companies who own the labels own the radio stations and the tv stations and the magazines and social media platforms and streaming services. They decide whats a hit whether or not its good, they shove it down our throats endlessly and we have no choice but to take and shut up. Now that the youngest generation has come up without instrument driven complex music and is brainwashed to dismiss anything that sounds different I don't know if there is any hope for the future of music. Thanks for that slick willie, the guy who played the jazz saxophone destroyed musical creativity with corporate greed. I think about this all the time, thank you so much for this video, at least I know I'm not alone! :)

[@Kosmo999]

I call this Click Beato.

[@Xerceis]

Called out, haha. Its a good video though.

[@Kosmo999]

oh i fully agree. Ive never been swept away by click beato and been disappointed. I love this man. I would touch his hand if i could.

[@vprousa]

These riffs that you and Rhett are talking about just seemed to be common place/expected when I was growing up (60 yrs old). Watching this episode really opens one’s eyes. Love this show.

[@hesh8367]

This is why if you go into the rabbit hole of Steely Dan Reaction videos on KZbin, you’ll see a ton of people in their 20s completely blown away by their ability to write and produce. They think “man, they were doing this way back then? They were before their time! “ No. They weren’t. They were writing in an era where people truly put their heart and soul into it, or at the very least were allowed to. We’re regressing, and Rick just talked about it quite profoundly in this video.

[@MrJdsenior]

Or Queen, or several others. Steely Dan's performers were the pick of the litter too, session musicians B&F thought would bring the best to that specific part, that specific song. It was GREAT stuff!

[@patbrennan6572]

do you think the music industry is going to fold because theres nothing left that hasn't already been written? billions of bucks are on the line so the industry has created assembly line music, the crap is all the same but young people have to buy something .so listen to the past, thats where the real music is.

[@sebastiandior1315]

There is very little money in modern music believe it or not. I believe its 80% of label revenue comes from licensing older songs. So the modern music is really just a result of panning for a hit act. Sad times. But then again, music has always been a poor mans art.

[@unabashed26]

I met Ed Sheernan’s ghost writer for ‘thinking out loud’ in Muscat, Oman. Very interesting guy. Said the song was originally written about a close friend of his who had become disabled. He sold it to a label. Told me a lot about the industry.

[@LeathanL]

Nice unexpected shout out to "PYT" which was actually written by a guy named rod Temperton. He wrote "Rock with You" as well.

[@WyattCayer]

The band "The Sonic Dawn" is vastly under exposed and underrated. They make psychedelic/progressive rock to this day and I love all their music!

[@steveogden5774]

The irony of using "Scarborough Fair" in this context is that Simon "learnt" it from Martin Carthy when he was playing folk clubs in the UK in the 1960's. Dylan also "borrowed" parts of the Carthy version for "Girl from the North Country".

[@markrup6369]

Foo Fighters are still using some crazy chord progressions Go listen to Rope, for example.

[@mrsstewart1995]

Mark Rup They are influenced by the Beatles and lots of old school rock composers.

[@sirako]

and they still suck hard

[@smhdpt12]

Such a crappy band. Ugh. Every song is more generic and bland than the last.

[@davidnelson7972]

God I miss Steely Dan !!! Specially the first, 5, 6, 7 aw hell, I like them all.

[@wodenoftheangles3339]

Scarborough Fair is the 'go-to' example of stealing in folk circles here in England! Simon stole that at a dinner party one night - the day after he copyrighted it!

[@davidgardner9515]

Woden of the Angles You beat me to the punch. Simon totally lifted Martin Carthy’s guitar part note for note in Scarborough Faire.

[@wodenoftheangles3339]

@@davidgardner9515 And let us not forget Martin Carthy taught Bob Dylan the old English folk standard 'Girl From The North Country' amongst others.

[@dibyayan388]

I mostly listen to pop and ever since I discovered John Mayer, other mainstream pop songs suddenly sounded inferior.

[@jan279]

Most especially in Room for Squares, the chords he uses in that album are crazy, and the amazing thing is he actually manages to make em sound very catchy.

[@treff9226]

John Mayer is immensely talented and is one of my leading hopes for the future of music!

[@slorr55]

I believe everything inspires everything, but it is true now a days all mayor pop artists follow a money making formula, we just need more musical theory installed in ourselves and love for creating something new

[@Rainbirdman1]

Amen to that. Cue Rick!

[@whychromosomesmusic5766]

I bought a Blue Note compilation cassette when I was living in Greensboro and was surprised to hear the beginning of "Rikki Don't Lose That Number!" It's the main riff of Horace Silver's "Song for My Father" which is also a great song.

[@whychromosomesmusic5766]

@@bobtaylor170 Yep I think most of the other cuts on the Blue Note compilation were all about late 1950s early 1960s. I haven't listened to it for awhile (no cassette player) but it was just as much a favorite as "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" or Stone Temple Pilots "Purple" or Alice In Chains "Facelift" when I was living in Greensboro.

[@hugofonseca465]

Music nowadays is greatly "diminished." Bu-dump-pump.

[@Odin029]

I don't listen to much new rap but in defense of rap a little... the complexity and even the drama of a song is in the vocal not so much in the 'track' behind the vocal. That's not a hard and fast rule, but the songs are almost completely about the lyrics, the delivery, the attitude and so on. Even that's dumbed down now in this new triplet style rapping, but listen to the rhyme schemes of Andre 3000 or even of Eminem. That's where the complexity went, although Outkast usually had some interesting music behind their vocals.

[@Odin029]

That song is one of the reasons I mentioned Outkast. I mean they did a whole blues rap on Idlewild. They were always a bit different than the rest of the acts of their era

[@coyleigh2860]

Oh good grief Rap is just a violent outlet for a violent people. Thats the fucking truth of it.

[@Romulus980]

Very interesting discussion. I was giving a lift to my work colleague in my car, he was in his early twenties. I played him on my CD Train Train by Blackfoot. He absolutely loved it and even went on to say he was born in the wrong decade as he loves all the old Rock songs from the 70's & 80's. He complained that music of today simply don't have that involvement. Maybe he was just saying that to make me feel good...?

[@mitchellweiner4990]

Rhett is incredibly interesting and should be included in more of these videos! My favorite jazz piece is Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five”!

[@dougimmel]

listening to the main points of commercial and industrial efficiency, the speed required by the pressure to produce, market and monetize- I hear the same strains I've heard in every sector i've worked in: (health care, education, design and architecture and competitive sports training.), i.e. speed and pressure (driven by underlying fear and anxiety around loss and lack) are the ENEMY of QUALITY, CRAFT and ART. When the fear is replace by the calm of security, bravery and love, then there is the time and peace to create and nurture beautiful things.

[@decalice4272]

Actually Babe I'm Gonna Leave You is a cover, arranged in a genius way. Same thing for Scarborough Fair.

[@williw.5815]

Of what? I'm interested to know

[@fab9891]

@@williw.5815 "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" is a folk song written by Anne Bredon in the late 1950s. Joan Baez recorded a solo version for her 1962 album Joan Baez in Concert and a variety of musicians subsequently adapted it to a variety of styles, including Led Zeppelin. Several songwriters have been credited on releases over the years, although Bredon usually receives a sole or partial credit on current releases. it's the beginning of the Wiki page for "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" :)

[@williw.5815]

@@fab9891 Thanks man

[@jackdaniels7488]

@OldPossum Not just the lyrics, they take the vibe too, the plaintive "Babe" over finger picked am descending chords. But do it in a totally original way, different. vocal melody doing the plaintive "babe" and different am finger picking and descending chord pattern..and of course the hair raising arrangement .....So it is totally genius and original of zep but its a little more than the lyrics they used as a spring board.

[@inspiredmusic1]

With Chris Cornell of Soundgarden (love his voice and their sound- may his memory be a blessing) he said he just came up with the song and riff for "Black Hole Sun" spontaneously when driving, as I recall. He explains it in an interview with Howard Stern, when I tried to link to it I keep on getting the comment removed, so I will not include a link here- Anyway, as far as he tells it he actually did not sit for a long time to come up with the riff and overall idea. Coming up with a song idea quickly doesn't mean it isn't great!

[@inspiredmusic1]

By the way, I love your videos, Rick (of those that I've seen)- and love your stories when you share them!

[@damienglasgow7864]

Great analysis...I’ve been saying for years that the music industry has completely dumbed down music to the point where everything nowadays sounds basic and the same

[@dougimmel]

listening to the main points of commercial and industrial efficiency, the speed required by the pressure to produce, market and monetize- I hear the same strains I've heard in every sector i've worked in: (health care, education, design and architecture and competitive sports training.), i.e. speed and pressure (driven by underlying fear and anxiety around loss and lack) are the ENEMY of QUALITY, CRAFT and ART. When the fear is replace by the calm of security, bravery and love, then there is the time and peace to create and nurture beautiful things.