RANT | Why Modern Music is Crap | Part 2

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Andy is a drummer, producer and educator. He has toured the world with rock legend Robert Plant and played on classic prog albums by Frost and IQ.
As a drum clinician he has played with Terry Bozzio, Kenny Aronoff, Thomas Lang, Marco Minneman and Mike Portnoy.
He also teaches drums privately and at Kidderminster College

[@markjohnson7572]

You almost brought tears to my eyes remembering the joy of sitting in front of the musical shrine that my dad had created with high-quality stereo components top of the line turn table and reel to reel tape decks. It was the social entertainment center especially whenever we had guests. The TV was secondary. Being exposed to great music on a great stereo system had a life changing impact on my love of music and sound. It was a social and emotional experience that I believe few people are really exposed to today.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Yes...I think that is the big change that no one talks about...I can remember albums like War of The Worlds or Variations being events like films coming out...

[@seansrecords]

they are in my house 😂 if we have guests i put records on , i try get everyone back into buying albums that they love on vinyl and listening in some kind of quality

[@adude9882]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Andy, the change is that in the old days, say the 60s, the people involved in the business side of the music business thought that the western world was controlled by people they wanted to dethrone so they pushed counter cultural mind expanding questioning art and freedom of speech. They wanted the masses to be individualistic etc etc. Now those people are actually in charge of the wider society so they don't want chaos anymore, or even freedom of speech, just bovine interchangeable masses working and consuming. Time will tell. On another level people have not imbibed a religious culture at schoo for the last 30 years, even if they wete not religious. All the rock poets had sung hymns at school and felt some other worldly sublime emotions outside of the world of materialism and money. The modern people have not got this inside them or the appreciation of chords and melody from hymns. As I say, can it last?

[@l.rongardner2150]

Imagine having a 100 K home theatre-system, but no longer having new movies worth watching, nor sound tracks worth listening to.

[@AlmostEthical]

At around 15:20 you talked about listening to music that you didn't immediately enjoy. That's akin to a young person trying adult foods and acquiring the taste. Now mainstream music is all musical sugar and saturated fats.

[@Valleyplant]

I think Frank Zappa would be nodding his head along to this video

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

He is in the background just out of shot

[@johngiles132]

He had me at "Why Modern Music is Crap," and he held me here until the end. LOL

[@DaddyBooneDon]

We used to HAVE to listen to the whole album, cuz if you tried to pick up the needle you might wreck the vinyl, and THAT was like a cardinal sin in our home. That's how important records were in our home. The good old days...

[@coilhead]

My stereo is an altar. No joke. My parents taught me the power of ritual through taking that record off the shelf, keeping it clean and listening to the music. I'm grateful. As an adult nothing I could afford was good enough so I learned to build my own amplifiers. I still buy records, new artist and old and listen. Respect.

[@elaineandjohn9599]

Wish we could remember when and where we heard the following idea. Whoever it was they suggested that popular music changed with Sinatra and created a “cult of the singer”. Before it was about the band or orchestra and the singer was just another instrument. It has grown to such a point that the average person can’t listen to instrumental music; they require a vocal to even get started on a piece of music.

[@adude9882]

Yes, I think I was aware of that. The singer being an employee of the band leader. Maybe easily replaceable. It might come from the classical idea of the conductor as supremo which itself only developed in the late 19th century. Also I am aware of faint echoes of a snooty attitude amongst instrumentalists towards singers, that they were not really musicians because what they did was somehow cheating and playing to the gallery.. Maybe even that they were selling 'personality' not the real thing. This is sounding plausible as I'm writing it ;)

[@someguy5261]

Well said, it's disgusting.

[@TheBeeRescuer]

I can't believe your channel doesn't have more views. But I guess the competition is tough out there.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

It just takes time. In 6 days time I will have been posting these type of videos for a year. The channel has really grown in that time.

[@lesnyk255]

I was heavily invested (emotionally and financially) in reel-to-reel recording. As you pointed out (maybe in Part 1), there was some loss of quality dubbing from vinyl to tape, but it helped the vinyl last longer. And pairing a good deck with decent tape minimized the degradation. Then came 8-track & cassettes. Convenient, sure - but not only was the sound quality inferior to R2R, there was a sense of involvement that got lost. There was something comfortingly ritualistic about mounting the feed reel, threading the tape through the heads, past the capstan, & into the takeup reel. Now you just popped a cartridge into the player, done, finis. It took no effort, no degree of skill or dexterity required, no sense of engagement. (That's why I still drive a stick.) I guess my excuse for settling for digital & MP3/4 is that at my age (72), I've lost most of my aural hi freq response anyway......

[@KyleWhitlock-Music]

Very interesting perspective. I’m another old timer that remembers when there were no videos to distract us, no mtv. We spun lp’s dropping the needle as many times as it took to learn grooves and melodies. I remember when sheet music for a cool jazz fusion tune was almost non existent. No inexpensive decent sounding recording devices to learn your craft on! There were many years I could not afford the keyboard instrument I wanted to learn on. Now it seems that most everything is better in the world- there’s more of everything to go round. Cheaper instruments. But is any one really Listening the way we did back in the 60’s 70’s and 80’s? Or are they being distracted by all the things that go along the industry as we know now days? To me it’s not about the viewer listening deep for that profound message that we all looked for in our recordings from yesteryear. It’s all the other stuff you point in your video about the media industry. For me the old paradigm was the best because there was more human feeling all the way through the process. Honing your musical Craft was a big deal and it involved real communication with all the players involved.

[@tonyhodgkinson4586]

What happens around 2002 was the emergence of pop idol and all its spin offs, that killed a lot of creativity IMO.

[@fredthomson2384]

I am beginning to really appreciate your channel, talking more about the, I guess, the philosophy of the contemporary and historical music scene. I’d love to see you and Rick Beato have a discussion someday.

[@gerardpalmer4185]

You’re absolutely right and Rick Beato made the same statement some time ago, you just broke it down to smaller digestible chunks that are easily understood. Because you baited me to listen to the whole video I’m now subscribed!

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Thanks for subscribing Gerard

[@TheBeeRescuer]

Andy, as outspoken as you are, you are my only hope for a musician out there who will actually speak out against all the subwoofer-worship that's been happening the past 20 years. Do these people realize they are completely destroying the sound experience at live shows? You can't hear anything but a rumble, and the bass guitar has no definition. I know often times this has to do with who is working the sound, and the particular sound system the venue has, so it's not necessarily the band's fault, but not enough people are speaking out on this topic. By the way, I've been a bass player a good portion of my life, so nobody can accuse me of not liking bass. It just needs to be balanced.

[@l.rongardner2150]

Super-heavy, monotonic bass beat attached to virtually every song nowadays is abhorrent. I bought $400 speakers (that got rave reviews at Amazon) for my laptop and returned them because they were made with a super-heavy thumping bass. I then bought some Edifier $100 speaker with balanced, clear, nuanced sound, and I love them.

[@markcapofari8419]

Andy - insightful broadcast - when walked down memory lane. aka Abbey Road , was considering the path we took - reading magazines Downbeat / Rolling Stone / High Fidelity [for equipment too] and others for “record reviews” and the local record store had new records in on Friday (The Record Baron) and would be playing them and could listen and buy (or not) would have friends come and agree on what to buy and take turns listening to all records over the week and do it over the following week -

[@SergioValenzuela]

I love your channel and your analysis resonates a lot . Thank You for bringing this rich insight about the (sad) state of music& arts culture as pushed of a cliff by technological and societal change, in a plain and honest talk . So many YT channels flooding us with fancy titles, annoying intros and superficial graphics, and lacking in depth . What is needed in this platforms is precisely people that help in keeping some flame of thought and context alive, consciousness in the end. Specially for younger generations who didn`t have a chance to experience music creation and performance in he older way.

[@davestephens6421]

Spot on Andy!!! In our day the music was it. I had no interest in what Andy Latimer, or Michael Brecker had for breakfast.... if you saw Camel on the Old Grey Whistle Test that was a real bonus, but it was always the about the music... the record and the gig!!! Listening to RTF albums over and over if you didn't quite get a particular track....that was the fun and education. I can't tell you how many times I listened to Birds Of Fire....it was a challenge, but a beautiful and rewarding one..... I carry on writing and recording my music for the love of music, I love the whole process of making an album. Planning the running order designing the artwork and then as Rick Beato says I leave it and it collects digital dust. And then I will start another project when I have some ideas/concept. Most of my best music I never bother to release because the last thing the world needs is another album..... Just glad I was there when music really meant something....and that is the world I still inhabit in truth...... I love Rick's analysis of the current pop charts....and from someone like you, who knows real music. Would love ho hear the two of you chatting one day. His interviews with Metheny, Scofield and Sting are just great.....

[@mattf9076]

So you don't release your best music and instead release your sub-best music? Did I read that correctly?

[@davestephens6421]

@@mattf9076 Hahaha...well I release stuff that I know gets a bit of airplay...the 'smoother' end of my catalogue....

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I don't have any judgement about the quality of the music I make...I just make it

[@lesnyk255]

re- listening to music you didn't get until you did - happened to me with Shakti. I was hugely disappointed by their 1st LP - impressed, and sure I was supposed to appreciate it - but I couldn't. Every so often I'd put it on, but it never clicked. Then my wife left me home unsupervised for an afternoon, so I lit up a doob & tried again. This time, it effing blew me away - and it wasn't just the weed, because it sounded just as good the next day. (Not to her, maybe - but enough to compel me to immediately run out & order the rest of their catalog.)

[@syn707]

I know I am not unique to this but I remember gatherings for the sole purpose of listening to vinyl records. This was with musicians and non musicians with much discussion between records. Anyone could bring his records and although you may not like the music, you sat and listened. I was exposed to so much great music this way.

[@serenitypeaceandcomfort3669]

Yes! Whenever my friends and I went to parties, besides bringing snacks, you'd bring your albums with you. People would sit for hours on the floor talkibg aboug the music, the bands and the lyrics. I'll never forget the horror of my mother doing the absolute unthinkable: Since I'd always bring my albums to different parties, my mother thought it was a good idea to put my name on all of my albums. Yes, she meant well, but I went apoplectic when she took my new, beautiful green YES Close to the Edge album cover and wrote my name in the cool YES logo, ruining the album. The album I worked hard to save my money up for. It was the most uncool thing to have your mommy write your name on your albums. They were ruined and I was too embarrassed to bring them to any more parties. It took my entire adolescence to recover from this crime. Lol!!😄

[@syn707]

@@serenitypeaceandcomfort3669 That’s a GREAT story…..!

[@adude9882]

@@serenitypeaceandcomfort3669 Man, the worst I got was her wiping my face with a tissue. That's off the scale mom behaviour. Let it go and move on brother.

[@AntarblueGarneau]

In the 60s when I would by an LP record I would take it home, crack the shrink wrap and smell the inside of the sleeve! Then I would put it on the turntable and play it. Sometimes I would take a whiff of the sleeve every once in a while while listening))

[@scoop1178]

The Times They Are Changing The behavior of the consumers depends and is driven from the hardware/software they use. Todays comsumption is smartphonedriven with impact to the attention and attentionspan. also the musicproduction must be smartphonecompatible. Products useable and payable 24/7 whereever the consumer is in bus, metro, walking or at home with the smartphone in his hand. And have in mind, the time we use listening to Andy or Rick Beato and to our drummerheros talking with Narada (btw a great series) we used in the past to listen one more time a RTF album.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

They are changing...I really would love for my channel to grow, and maintain the music I love here....

[@joshdavies749]

Andy your right we are the dieing breed of listeners but im 100% with you on this i just wish more of the young generations understood this about music and yeah the music industry now is all about image these days. I still listen to vinyl records and im 30 now but theres still many many people in my era that dont even know how to drop the pin on a vinyl record 😔 but its also the artwork on the old record covers like news of the world by queen for example or Sargent pepper. Music will never be the same in my eyes. Can i just say that these 2 videos you have posted really reminded me of the music history classes we had in college and i absolutely loved it can you please do more of this stuff and i hope your fan base grows and your able to teach more people out there about the progression of music from the blues jazz and classical roots just to help the modern generations understand. Thanks mate great videos

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Wow...30 Josh!!!! Great to see you the other day!

[@adude9882]

The most radical statement now would be 'I don't want anyone's attention.' That, plus still making art.

[@recordrabbit]

Good commentary! Very insightful about the landscape of the post album era -- don't think I've ever heard it explained so well.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

You are welcome recordrabbit

[@GCKelloch]

I agree that the "listening space" is all but gone, but I think it's more from gadgetry than digitization. Digital aliasing and quantization noise issues have all been addressed at this point. Speakers can't reproduce the very small steps between samples, and potential Micro wavelets and step distortions can be reduced to below human hearing with 24bits, but properly produced 16bit CD's are adequate for 99% of listening environments anyway. There is the phenomenon of audible artificial harmonics in the mid-bass to midrange below -65db at 16bits that can be an issue in low-level passages, but that all drops below the hearing threshold by 20bits. Nyquist filtering is also advanced enough now to eliminate audible aliasing in CD's, but I still prefer to record at 96kHz for smoother filtering and minimal aliasing. Part of the issue with digital reproduction is the more accurate transient response can be a bit jarring to the listener. Natural transient smoothing, and possibly other artifacts, make tape and albums easier on the ears, but less accurate. One could always add some type of post-processing to emulate those effects. Either way, quality digital recording is a more accurate representation of the original recording than any analog reproduction method.

[@excelsiormusicreviews]

You’ve made some extremely interesting points here that I’ve never considered. Also, I could see someone listening to songs on an album side that they don’t even like, because they don’t want to lift the needle and damage the vinyl.

[@davidcarr2216]

You are definitely a video star Andy, and very engaging. 😊. All KZbinrs say the same about needing "clickbaity" titles. There's a ton of stuff in this video for us armchair philosophers to get our teeth into. Here's my two bob's worth. Unfortunately, for the music business (and artists in particular), humans are predominantly visual creatures and when screens became a big part of our lives then visual content was always going to become dominant for digital natives. To emphasize this further, many of the big Japanese audio brands of old barely make make any two channel stuff nowadays. In the States, in particular, it all went over to home theatre and multi-channel AV amps. Get ready for Dolby Atmos music with 11 speakers guys !!! I'm not going to get into debates about audio quality but yes, analogue recordings and vinyl don't sound the same as digital/CD/mp3, it would be surprising if they did. I'm not going to say which i think is better or sounds better, just to say that so much depends on production/mixing/mastering as well, and the replay gear also, together with what we've gotten used to and our individual preferences.

[@ronaldmorgan7632]

When I got my first transistor radio as a six-year old it seemed to open up a world of possibilities. I was not just that I was in control but I was now exposed to musical styles that I'd never heard before. I was jamming to early Beatles songs as they were available. There was a station just for classical music. I now had a reverence for music that continues to this day. It's what got me into the symphonic band in middle school and high school. It's what got me playing in a garage (actually a warehouse) band in my early twenties. It's why I always wanted a better and better setup for listening (like everyone my age in the late 70s). It's why I still go to concerts and listen to vinyl albums in the dark with headphones on. I believe that the younger people (which is just about everybody these days) should at least be introduced to it. Maybe make it a college course with credits. Can you imagine a twenty-something listening to vinyl "Close to the Edge" that way for the first time?

[@TheBeeRescuer]

By the way, Gregg Bendian has interviewed Dave Gregory of XTC several times. Now it's your turn. GET HIM ON!!

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I was listening to English Settlement only yesterday...great album. I like XTC a lot but I'm no expert.

[@TomFazzini]

Great video Andy - can relate to your perspectives and overall summation.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@grahamallen9393]

Like many on here’s, the central audio unit was a 70 s Music Centre , what an apt term , I did wonder what you might think of the Walkman which began an end of ‘sharing music’ as a sort of communal experience. The beginning of the individualist experience. We now see YT jazz fusion sessions where the invited audience all have blue tooth headphones on . So further moves away from communal listening. Just some random thoughts.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

I personally put the cut off point at Michael Jackson……..after the Bad album, he parted company with Quincy Jones and embarked on a series of hip hop inspired albums with little or no musicality. He made big ‘statement’ videos which were bigger than the songs he was promoting. He lost his way musically, and everyone, because of who he was, followed. That doesn’t mean that I don’t respect Michael Jackson - he was a consummate performer and musical artist…….but I think he started the trend of music being about the personality, the image and the dance routine, rather then being about the songwriting and the music.

[@tommonk7651]

Andy, very thoughtful and deep analysis. I'm 62, so I'm a child of analog not a child of digital. I loved going to the record store, talking to the employees about music, buying some record and taking it home to listen on my expensive stereo system. I hated essentially being forced to buy digital, and it took me a long time to make the switch. Now, everything I buy is digital, but there is very little new music (beyond jazz or classical) that I buy. I probably buy mostly out of habit rather than because I'm excited about the music. I buy older stuff primarily because I don't find new music to be good or interesting. Digital is more convenient and perhaps more "perfect", but perfect is the enemy of good IMHO. I miss the warmth, the soul, of analog recordings. Yes, music can be corrected so that it is perfectly in time, so that a singer is never off key, so that the guitarist never hits a wrong note... but that takes the humanity out of the music. I hated a lot of 80s music because computers and synths began to dominate the sound. I don't like synthesized or programmed drums. Give me a human drummer (imperfection and all) every day. But, yes, our generation of music appreciators or consumers is dying off. I hope kids will realize what they are missing....

[@rocketshiptoaltair]

i really like the use of the word "Campaign". Great example this very week. Ed Sheeran wins his court case, the day he gives a speech regarding that event and his new "album" is dropped. Opportunism through events around a court case that has become a massive advertising campaign. It's more of a game than it has ever been. Also the titles of your videos are similar to how Justin Hawkins channel works so no apologies required. Subscribed and I will be drawn in no matter what you say because I am a KZbin puppet ;)

[@SonofCastille]

@11:49 Neil Young penned an article about the harshness of digital processed music ,IE, square wav e, vs Analouge, or sine wave process. I remember this well!

[@the16thGemini]

A great truth is that change cuts two ways : we gain something but we lose something. Today we have a great deal of access and convenience but the sense of value is lost. Some 20 years ago, Napster and other file sharing sites forever changed the value of music. It got even more problematic when networks dedicated to music such as MTV, VH1 and BET transitioned to "reality TV". Music journalism both on tv and print (MTV Week In Rock) took a hit too. Rolling Stone and other publications don't have the same impact or audience. The one glimmer of hope is the youth movement towards vinyl and in some instances cd. But we still stand in the shadow of what once was.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

You are right. I really tried to show the pros and cons, despite the click baity title

[@DrakodanSRL]

I'm a 30 year old guy who grew up amidst this era of the 2000s that's being talked about, and all of this rings so true for me. I'm passionate about music, first and foremost because it's just a joy to listen to. It's a pleasant and fulfilling experience to listen to a passionate recording by an artist who's pouring their blood, sweat and tears into their performance and sharing it with you. This art is rapidly being lost, or at the very least, it's metamorphising into something else. There do exist electronic artists who I've been shocked to discover are creating entirely artificial material made on a computer that I find emotionally moving, but it's vanishingly rare compared to previous generations where music was about demonstrating a great *performance.* I've been saying for years that there's no money in "music" anymore, and that when you go to a concert, the band isn't getting their profits from the ticket sales. That lets them break even, MAYBE. The profits are indeed in the merch sales, and it's so vindicating to hear this corroborated by somebody who was around "back in the day". I just want to hear talented musicians, man. I want to hear people with great ability and passion lending a special experience to the listener, rather than stuff churned out of the manufacturing machine to make a quick few quid. I discovered you through your work in early Frost*, that in itself is evidence that there is great music to be made in the modern paradigm, with digital sensibilities. But there's far too few artists flying that flag for my liking in current year. EDIT: Gonna go spin Milliontown again. 10/10 drum performance, thank you.

[@eyeprod3101]

Excellent! I like the way you articulate.

[@aaronocelot]

... except that in the various rave-related scenes, there's this common non-verbal social space between a stereo pair of PA stacks (or line-arrays, these days) known as the dancefloor, as in "see you on the dancefloor". The actual music is another topic, and I'll thoroughly aknowledge the use (and abuse, just as link wray sliced his speakers to get fuzz) of digital technology to achieve most rave-related music (the psy-trance scene comes to mind. zero tie-in with the trad music industry, the bars/mafias/ticketmaster/etc, and, while recently getting quite commercial, still largely an in-scene DIY effort) you may ask WHY? and I say: because 1) there IS interest from a dedicated group of fanatics 2) there is NOT sufficient interest for a corporate entity to be able to spend their energy trying to grok the psytrance scene and then profit from it. the "industry" then involves some amount of "labor of love" while still being semi-viable (at least as much as indy rock was) SO, this brings me to: I am seeing this kind of in-scene dedicated energy put towards goals like reviving or sparking interest in Jazz in a certain place (here in Portugal in a city up north called Braga, there's a dedicated crew spanning generations from oldies to kiddos, many of them musicians, and there's a cluster of groups all doing gigs and jamming together. It's clearly not financially motivated, but the passion and dedication are sufficient to make a "scene" occur.) I've seen aficionados of all sorts of things band together and create the world they want to live in. 1) I don't want to live in a "media influencer" world, and I prefer less popular youtube channels due to the lower THD (distortion) 2) we co-create the future and world we want to live in. I get the part where large existing interests seek to mould the future, but I don't submit to their vision and I suspect that it's not the final form. lol. What you describe is largely true: the conformist "please like/subscribe/approve/follow my morning poo" mentality of white trainers and mom jeans, fundamentally a fearful pose, a retro pose, a pose one assumes when one has nothing new to offer but is actively ignoring/suppressing creativity and pretending that none exists... it reflects the reality that the (formerly boundary-pushing) artist is also now the big wicked bad suit, is also the accountant, and the promoter. I've seen music producers stop producing music due to spending more and more of their time online "engaging" and "promoting" but mostly getting sucked into the parasite that is modern screen time. most people are all phone junkies now, and the smarter ones are laptop junkies....

[@AlanLopez-te6lc]

Music really went down the toilet in early 2,000nds. Digital and computers have really made things worse.

[@ArturdeSousaRocha]

So true about listening to albums we didn't like much. I got King Crimson's "Discipline" on CD in 1989. It was weird, with odd time signatures etc. It took me a long time to truly get it. So satisfying now, but with streaming that probably wouldn't happen.

[@deanwolfechannel]

I watched all 2 parts. More great insights. I think everyone on earth should have a KZbin channel as it is the direction we are going: Video is the new 'writing on a piece of paper' i.e. basic communication and self-expression for the human race en masse. Tempting to think it's just a big phase but it's deeper than that. Reaction videos are the new doorway to revitalizing discussion and focussing on music.!! (Lets do a prog chat! just interviewed Bjórn Riis and music biz came up)

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

The world has changed. What is great news is that Fusion does well on KZbin. I have a video about this coming out tomorrow

[@simonfolgar4208]

It's funny because after the video ended, it started an ad of Instagram. 😂 Great video, altough there are some things I don't agree with. But it was interesting to hear your opinion. By the way, I found "media artist" a very good concept, a very good category. Thank you for these videos. :-)

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

When I watched it back there were things I did not agree with! I think now the difference with and Adele and Ed Sheeran to classic artists is their ordinaryness. I wish I had made that clear but maybe a topic for the next video

[@ibassnote]

An album was like a piece of the artist that you could buy and take home with you. Digital files are just that. There's no person behind it.

[@UlrichBrinkmann]

Since I totally appreciate the ironic self-reflection on the clicky-baity trappings of the format, almost more than your intellectual sincerity, although that is appreciated, as well, I subscribed to your channel. Looking forward! Btw, are you working with a script, or an outline, or is that improvised coherence through passion?

[@hurrlipurr]

Andrew, I have only recently discovered your channel and love it! Why? Because it inspires such a wonderful mix of "just so" and "what the fuck?" in me. In this video, however, I find that while you name many symptoms correctly, I disagree *a lot* with your conclusions. Frank Zappa foresaw 40 years ago how MTV would destroy music (if I may paraphrase that in a very simplified way). Video killed the radio star was when? So everything was clearly on the table long before 2002. Didn't our semi-legally recorded and traded mixtapes already herald Spotify? Would Elvis ever have been a star if he'd had an acne problem? Didn't we get exactly what we always wanted? How many musicians and bands have hung up their instruments on the wall in the last century, even though they were talented, because they didn't have 30 grand to produce a record and their elaborately produced demo tapes were simply never heard by the record industry's agents? No, in your Rant, the decline of the Occident comes through too strongly in almost every sentence. Except for the really big stars, it was always difficult to make a living solely from making music, I guess I don't need to tell you. And for this you had to be very compliant with the industry's guidelines. Today, it's probably harder to become a superstar, but there are definitely more opportunities for someone with a talent, at the cost of having to market themselves, of course. Is that better or worse? I am 58 and have a similar musical background as you. But I see no problem with modern music. I love it and I keep finding new stuff every day. There's just an awful lot more of everything. And I don't have a working strategy against this media flood, that's right and that's a problem. If we don't take care, it could be that we as a society will become totally stupid over time and then, of course, no one will produce music or any other art with passion any more. But that is a completely different story and not especially about music. Elsewhere you rant about Winton Marsalis and Stanley Crouch, but I feel with your rant you kind of fell into the same trap as they did. Having said all that: keep on your wonderful work! I love it and I will right now go to Patreon to support it. :-)

[@AntarblueGarneau]

I used to believe that American music had "crystalized" and that's why everyone listens to old music. I saw it as a maturing of American culture. I no longer believe this. Simply, the context that generated jazz, blues, rock, pop, country has completely vanished. The traditional modes of production and distribution have vanished. The manufacturing base in the US and a vibrant middle class which spawned American music is gone.

[@michaelroche5744]

Such a great update on the art form that has enriched our lives and given comfort as we lived through the death of mass religious observance. Kids still seek this out, it’s not dead.

[@mattf9076]

Speaking of contemporary music, I recently re-listened to THE TRIO'S album Sodium and on that album is a song called Sodium Solo and I swear the drummer is giving a nod to A Love Supreme.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I'm always giving the nod to Elvin!!!!...just badly!

[@mattf9076]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer oh I meant the repeated vocal line "A Love Supreme"(i.e the phrase at the very beginning of sodium solo and repeated throughout just like the original song).

[@mattf9076]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer oh I don't hear the nod to Elvin, now I am going to have to listen to ALS again. I was referring to the repeated vocal line "A Love Supreme" which I heard at the very beginning of Sodium Solo and used throughout just like the original.

[@yesand5536]

The purists of the 90s who would throw up at the idea that they have to do more than just sit down and play their instrument (live or in a studio) and would argue that that demeans music .... are either not around any more, don't do music, or have adapted and are *horror* putting effort into image and video (sooooo beneath them). In a way, I love that. By the time 2012 came with smartphones dominant in society (and may not change), we are all swept in it now (by and large), so a lot of those old muso arguements that went on for years have sort of, from what it looks like, fallen away and are museum pieces.

[@tube5me1]

Great video mate! Im sure Ric Beato has checked you out allready.

[@djmileski]

Those who do not become media artists and stay musician artist are literal starving artists now

[@5150cappie]

Amen. The shallow vapidity of most pop culture is little more than a Brave New World drug of astonishingly thorough unoriginality and bovine conformity. Just discovered you - Thanks for your insights. Any Zappa fan has immediate credibility with me. Peace.

[@dbarker7794]

"bovine conformity" 👍

[@MrPetermc199]

Just imagine, there was a time when we thought we could change the world with music...

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

We did...and look what happened!

[@ralphhumphrey445]

I graduated from high school in 1962. And, I witnessed the cultural change you speak of. Growing up in the 50's was much different than what I experienced culturally after high school. So, I know of what you speak.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Honoured to have you visit here. I would love for you to talk about this more, If so please get in touch [e-mail]

[@johnpace5774]

Things change, I guess, but my son and friends are introducing me to folk like Cory Wong. Qobuz has introduced me to Ezra Collective, Nubia Garcia, Grant Haus, Snarky Puppy, and many others. There are bands like Fuzzy Lights in Cambridge making great music locally. I think I’m saying that the generation that listened to music with only one earpiece in are being replaced by a more listening audience. There are people making great music now, but you’re right that the problem is getting it into people’s ears! Campaign is such a sad word……Bandcamp is a much happier one.

[@JackJenningsGuitarist]

Yes really thougth provoking to bring in the cultural change around the music and how that shapes things alongside technology. Also the ending to this video was pretty funny. I do find your quite hypnotic yes.

[@kerrybarnes7289]

the difference is the bandwidth in a vinyl record

[@thekeywitness]

One of the remarkable developments in the age of KZbin and social media is hearing young musicians who are absolute virtuosos but they have no record contract or visibility beyond the platform where they’re seen and heard. In the 1960s-90s they would’ve been playing to arenas or stadiums full of people who bought their music on LP, cassette, CD. That’s hard to fathom now. They only artists who really sell now are singers and rappers who are media stars. Frankly, it’s not for me, but there’s no going back.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

The skills to play arenas are different to those required to play complex music. Then there is the question of creativity. Steve Vai for example has that level of virtuosity but also the charisma of a rock star and he is a musical visionary. All these factors need to be taken into account.

[@wyghtonblue]

I have noticed that no one seems to play music out load anymore unless they're in their car. I like to as music needs to be played out load and not just injected into the ears.

[@dbarker7794]

Love the "old man chat." Thanks! ✌️👍

[@pshoward22]

I’ll throw in Deerhunter as a great band that came up in the 2000s

[@mellotronin54]

I went to see Nick Masons Saurcerful of Secrets on Sunday in Leicester. Great show by the way . And afterwards in a pub my mate said do you think live music is dying? WOAH. I as a musician and avid gig goer said no. As I think about it the venues are getting fewer so very hard to get somewhere to play, record companies as they were no longer exist on the same level they concentrate on an artist but before they would use some of the profits to find a new one. Nah no longer unless it is off tick Tok. Get a one off hit then goodbye. I feel that all those great internet players out there who have yet to play in a band maybe never will live. And that is when the journey starts . Rant over.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

My band Quill has been pretty much wrecked in terms of live concerts. They have been going 50 years and this is the first year they are not booking gigs. Covid has really done some damage

[@mellotronin54]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Yeah I had to have an operation on my right hand which took 2 years to heal and just as it did we entered covid so now 4 years since my last gig. Have a couple of projects on the go not quite ready to gig yet as we have lost two years. But maybe soon . Which I see now as maybe 2023 as venues are clogged with acts and it is very hard to get an in.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

@@mellotronin54 I should do a video on the current sta5te of affairs....

[@mellotronin54]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Yeah just keep doing what you feel. That s how music should be.

[@Shtiscratcher]

Back in the 80's the arguement was always the 60's is better than now blah blah blah, but 1960 through to 1990 was the golden age, in 90's the regression started and I'd say although, they were good, Nirvana were the begining of that. Grunge was basiclly punk Mk2 and Brit pop took its queue from that. This is the point where the actual sound of the music stops evolving forward and starts to look backwards and replicates whats already been done. The record industry has basically eaten itself, they pushed fads down there customers throats until the audience was sickend of the styles, all that was left then was the boy band type stuff for kids. The charts then fragmented because any tastes that were not the particular fad of time were not beeing catered to. I think tey left a lot of money on the table to be fair.

[@Guitar6ty]

In the 60s 70s 80s 90s we all had a wall of sound experience since then its been a wall of brown and beige.

[@greggibbs3639]

Becoming a 'media artist' is the end point of individualism - post-modernism - with the artist becoming a commodity, not just their routine or average digitally-perfect songs. Dating this is pretty tough, but digital influence cuts off artists from their roots in a city, a scene, a style, in reality.

[@richardthurston2171]

"Becoming a 'media artist' is the end point of individualism - post-modernism - with the artist becoming a commodity..." That's not post-modernism. That's capitalism.

[@greggibbs3639]

@@richardthurston2171 Post-modernism is the cultural side of declining capitalism.

[@jantuitman]

The problem of a previous generation claiming that the stuff of the next generation is crap, is always the same: they can’t truely perceive the stuff the next generation makes. True, people nowadays don’t release albums and they do more with all sorts of media rather than music only. Still, there are great great artists after 2000, who make insanely brilliant music, true music. Music that isn’t crap, and isn’t like anything that came before. I name some of my personal favorites of 4 genius musicians that are from after 2000: Imogen Heap, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Heinali, Hainbach. There are countless other examples if you look close and take the time to investigate todays music. One additional complication may be that the shape of the demographic pyramid will always keep “the golden age of music” as the golden age. Simply because the newer generations are smaller. It. Is. Really. That. Simple. If you truely care about what the young people make, you’ll find it and listen to it. And believe me, it is not crap at all!

[@Daneiladams555]

it is crap, you just have bad taste. its ok maybe you'll grown one day 😘

[@jantuitman]

@@Daneiladams555 you so prove my point 😉 it is also ok, you have still years in your life left to explore genres you don’t know about yet.

[@iansteel5569]

Has anyone said 'Video Killed the Radio Star'?....no, OK I'll say it.

[@lagpressure]

The death of the audiophile. I think this is a very important thing that has gone wrong also.. Yes?

[@totallyunmemorable]

Normally, I would hate the click bait-ey bit, but in your case - and I only just discovered you a few days ago - your content is so good that, hey, no thang. I must confess though that I am leery of watching your video, noticed yesterday . . . something about left vs. right (politics, I imagine). That's a problem for people with strong views about such matters. I wonder how long I can resist watching that one. Sad that we (people in general) are the best of friends until we actually get to know each other. Search on 'the vonster in f minor'. Written for a Godzilla loving friend's birthday. Vocal starts at 2:30. Funny. Sorry for the spam.

[@cagesound]

When was 14 I bought Jimi Hendrix Are You Experienced? played it on my mum's record player and it was amazing. Years later I bought the CD to play on my Pioneer stack.....amazing. Now I'm in my 50s I listen to Jimi and Allan Holdsworth and Vangelis and Coltrane.....through decent earphones from my phone which contains 3000+ mp3s. Still amazing. The reason modern musid is crap is because there are no more Jimis and Allans and Princes and Tranes.

[@michelvoortman4725]

There was always a lot of shitty manufactured pop music, already in the 90's or early 00's when I grew up. But now, maybe since 2006 or certainly since 2010, there is a lot of music without a lot of dynamics and everything sounds the same. Basically popular music became one bland unigenre. Bitesized earworms.

[@stereofidelic67]

Post 2002 - The Coral.

[@Hisbay]

Indeed. We agree wholeheartedly and thank you for making this video

[@harrycuerden5266]

"Play them and play them till I got it".That's how I learned to listened to music.

[@herculesrockefeller8969]

Video killed the Radio Star.

[@djmileski]

I’m 41 and I have my record player in the living room and fill my house with jazz, some rock for the family 😊

[@tlister67]

I totally feel that the act of purchasing of individual pieces of music connected you to that music. You had to give it a chance. Now if we purchase music it comes as a bundle, it’s like a shopping spree and you are not held to your decisions. I also think there is an element of being compared to the past. Wilco, an American indie band has a song “Someone Else’s Song” where a supposed critic compares their tunes to the past. And their music certainly sounds like the past in many ways and have found ways to make their own sound. Maybe the combinations are all getting used up?

[@alena2love]

I listen to music on my phone when getting makeup on and ready to go somewhere. Have my earbuds in while walking about my town, its definately still entettaining a part of my day, but is it like a timeslot like doing dishes or watching a movie, no, but its still brings some value, feels more distant with artist giving that feeling they are lesser connected to fans, cutting that to make more money with marketing other stuff more, but still some value. I would never sacrifice peesonality and deep connection. When is the last time you heard an artist going on lets say tiktok or instagram and ingaging with people and having conversations, they don't, almost like its beneath them to say people shouldn't just idolize you as a fame and be held back like you have to be something more for big sucess. Have a bubble of safe space now that you area singer all of a sudden. A lable or who eer might have it in somwthing they signed or telling them they cant interact personally, the artist giving away that personal touch which is such an ejoyable thing if you know how to be nice and such and be yourself. They don't care cause when a label says they will give them money and help them in ways they cannot themselves and they have the idea of uhhh finally the sitback and neva the other life ever again with ablabel telling them what they wanna here to sacrifice some stuff upclose so they can milk that artist for biger marketing gain or notice of thier business and such. Does the artist care at that poiny, no, cause they don't feel they need that personal touch that interaction and not act like thing to be protected from things cause even thoigh it would help somw artists to become big beyond anyones imagination, they already have enough to live on just over the line that is crossed to not need to live thier pervios 9 to 5 life so the sacrifice the personal touch not knowing how it effects musicand also sacrificing origonality and uniqueness to some degree. They could be much more, make a big impact that changes the music world as we know it, but instead like being a singer as the bare bines it takes to be comfortable in your life and the rest is a team label whatever telling them all the moves to make and how to act and be even if they know deep down its not them speaking and its not how thier personallity would show if they had a bigger say. Not wanting to go backwards and alot of artists not doing the research on anything at all exept maybe some proper vocal tecnique just to tidy thier voic e some in the beginning not even the true indepth research needed just a surface so they are clueless listening to what everyone who works with them says and doing it no matter the outcome. So artist now look like just a product that is found by someone and says yws like a yes person in the most favorable way with more wall and defences non existant that is good for a business or lable to put put there and make gain after while the artist signed the biggest fanciest worded thing cause they thing thres an you are this and have to act the lifestyle bull and are getting most likely not thier fair part and are not having what they should be owed. People look and act the same having an attitude or a defence if they have to step out of that mold to be personal and communicate online or do anything not just look pretty and be untouchable from a far. Little backstory or lityle onown of thier lives that builds personal connection. Its sad. I see it as opportunity for growth and change in music you just have to work so hard youre exhausted til you spend more time on that than you the time you get to watch movies and play games at home cause it matters so much to you. I already started puting a personal touch on me. I know I am nothing yet, also need to be posting social media content accordingly for one lol. I start by therule nomatter if they look like they going through dynamics of having anissue and agitated or spnething great has hapoened and they happy, if you walking, waiting in line, out in a town, in a store, say hello in a nice pleasing way while looking thier direction and most I have found smile alittke when you turn and after you say hello theyvsay in a beautiful voice something like hello, hi, how are ya, whatever and walk away smilinh alittle more. Shows the defence of being so distant and untouchable can be let go of some and start having personallity and acting like people are interesting in a friendly qanna know you for a sec way. Peole grab on to that cause they feel like you care about them more and the music is not just cause you wanna get paid, but because you love everything about it and wanna give the experience to fans. Anyone can listen to a song and be happy, but if ana artist walks to you says hello hows your day to you the music makes a bigger impact and you crush thoes not wanting the extra effort or felling its not good to do. You crush them cause they seem lesser connected and caring and interested thise things which will always soar an artist high. Hugs hugs from Alena

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I have been with famous people when they meet their fans. I have seen how they do their best to seem approachable and friendly and interested, regardless of how they personally feel. It is a curse to go through life everyone you meet has an opinion about you and yet they are all strangers. Happiness is having some say in who we are. This is the definition of freedom; to be the author of ourself. But when someone becomes famous they lose authorship of themselves. They are what the world thinks they are. Elvis, Kurt Cobain, Kanye West....they are all who we think they are now. In that position I would build a wall around my real personality and live there. And then there are the fans who think the music relates directly to them, who beleive the artist has some insight into who they are, they beleive there is a special link between themselves and the artist and beleive they deserve that link. These are the fanatics from where the word fan comes from. The whole situation is quite ugly as you have pointed out. The best the artist can hope for is a mechanism to get their art out there, and one person listening is the same as 1 million artistically. Everyone has access to that now who has a phone. But to make money you need millions. Every fan just needs the music, they don't need contact with someone they don't know, who usually has worse mental problems than them! Everything is there for everyone right now, it's a beautiful world...so what is it that creates all this pain?...it's the trauma of living in world of wrong expectations. Those expectations are fostered by a culture that needs us all to buy stuff. But that is remedied when we try and help someone else. That is the real secret of life. And that is the thing in the comment fans want from the artists they listen to. But they are fake and there is in reality no help they can really offer.

[@alena2love]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer but why hide youself, why not be you and show the world what that means. I'm going to keep saying hello on the street to people. Not be obsessed of devoted to only pleasing strangers like that though.

[@alena2love]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer yes consumerism is a thing and you look to be percieved as someone and it can be an unheathy obsession, but you gotta buy stuff to live so I am confused what exactly you mean.

[@alena2love]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer you always have a say in who you are if you can think a way and physically look your look, but what do I know when artists out here being told they have to approach different and being told to get sugries so they litterally are not themselves anymore just for the sake of prettty attracts attention. Who screams lizzy is the best music, but someone like selena for say gets more notice cause she is prettier by our time period of modern beauty standerds thats comfortable to openly agree with around people and not feel like its bad for you cause others are similar. Which is mean, but whatcha gonna do as one person to change that.

[@alena2love]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer it can be a curse for everyone to opinion cause they will say every little thing about all of it feeling entitled to change what they do not like since as a fan they think they control your sucess and can take it away if you don't comply when even if tgey tell otheres you don't, that 2 percent is not making or breaking you and most people will not care enough to listen to a person begging them to hear why they hate an artist when they have thier own dynamics at play in thier life to figure out much more important. Talking avout in the outside world, not online, (online negative stuff get more attention, like saying a video titled this is why I love so and so town gets lesser views than a video titled why I dislike this exhausting dangerous town with all its faults 101) And the person upset seems like mote of an irritant like a lesser fun distant fungopop or something idk.

[@mellotronin54]

We are a similar age and a couple of my mates and I every Saturday would go to the record shops and market stalls and buy vinyl . We would then listen to them and then tape each others and then the next week we would all probably like someone else's and try and buy another. Healthy peer induced knowledge and you would want to be the first to find a new artist. I am talking late 70's early 80's all you new was what was on the album sleeves.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I remember going to a mates and picking records I liked that I thought they would like...the joy of getting your mate into a band you liked! And now I just do that here!!!

[@noodlewhitley]

Music has come full circle to where it started, as a communal, ritual experience. The pop stars du jour have capitalized on this by making the stadium spectacle, and some of them, like Beyonce, are really quite good at that. But for me, the real connection with bands is happens at smaller jam band and bluegrass festivals. There is more free audience participation, and the bands can concentrate on their music, rather than their media image. It might not be megastardom, but it might be a living.

[@karachaffee3343]

I don't put too much stock in music written after 1750.

[@adude9882]

I feel that way sometimes. I'd go further back even, while being aware of the probable absurdity. Listen to Spem in Alium, by Tallis I think. Or try something by Josquin. You'll start to wonder about the degeneration of the human race. If you admit it's superiority you will feel divorced from present reality.

[@slobodanudarac5]

The Dying Breed would be a great name for a Heavy Metal band.

[@jayjames7055]

What Simon Cowell has revealed is that literally anybody can become a pop star. The pop music star phenomenon was always just an illusion. Lol.

[@pauldelsignore]

Don't worry about adding video editing to your videos, there's something about the raw quality of speaking to the camera that makes your videos cool. I think the biggest problem which you alluded to is that the culture is being conditioned in 60 second TikTok clips so there is no longer an attention span for albums. Playlists have killed the album.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Thanks Paul....I have found a formula that works and I will stick to it. This video is not my usual content but it is doing well. That opens the door for more videos like this

[@alena2love]

Lots of info thanks for the knowlege 🙂

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

My pleasure!

[@mesolithicman164]

Rod Templeton. Surely a subject for a video.

[@heresthething41]

We are inundated with media artists. But there are some great album artists out there. But they lack promotion. They are either on small labels or are completely independent. But there are other distractions, like video games & "13 channels of shit on the tv to choose from." More like 130 channels. Roger needs an update. I even find myself being distracted from listening to whole albums. I do while at work. But there are the constant interruptions. On a positive note, I will say this. This has been a great year for new music. A lot of great albums, mostly prog, have come out so far. And I am loving it.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I have a prog band called RAIN. We are on a small label and on the album 'Singularity' we tried to address all the stuff I talk about in that video...but no one listens to albums anymore....

[@heresthething41]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer I'll check ya'll aout. Thanks.

[@heresthething41]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer I did listen to Rain, "Singularity," today. It is an excellent album. I will highly recommend it to my buds. I especially liked the latter half. "The Magician" & the title track. (I like the weirdness) Hope to hear more in the future.

[@LR-oo8hq]

“Digital music sacrificed something and that something is music”, wow that is quite true, we did accept to listen to lower quality sound because it is cheaper and we did killed the social gathering of enjoying music together for the sake of the comfort of our earphones. I like to think about music as a social thing, it is part of our social interactions, as well as part of our grasping on our social issues. It seems to me that by sacrificing music we are sacrificing a big part of our social life. Maybe that’s why we all here feel the need to talk about music, I don’t know

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

If you read 'How Music Works' by David Byrne he really explains why analogue music is actually far more listenable and pleasant on the ears. I really noticed this with the advent of digital recording. My drums sounded so much better when they were recorded to tape, even a cassette tape. The digital domain seems to offer more quality but loses something in the process of doing this.

[@adude9882]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Could you explain this objectively? Is it the higher frequencies which are lost in digital sampling? We didn't hear them but felt them on the skin .... or something?

[@VictorBock]

Loved the 2 videos! And I'll be one to disagree with a small point you make. I think the first decade of this century was great. Better than the previou 2. The 80s and 90s were terrible for Pop Music, with the exception of the early 80s. The 00s was when Radiohead and Bjork made their best albuns, The Strokes, Lcd Sound System, The Knife, Caribou were doing great music. In pop you had Missy Elliot, Timbaland, Andre 3000 and Ganarls Barkley and others doig much better music than simlar artists on previous decades. Things really went Pete Tong around 2011 when social media came to become the behemot that it is today...

[@F.O.H.]

spot on

[@fredbarnes196]

Great rant. I would only disagree about sitting around the living room with music as the center of entertainment sharing your music. First off adults were pretty much pre rock and roll people in the 60s and 70s. And let’s face it you weren’t sitting around with your friends listening to Bitches Brew or RTF….. i learned early they hated that shit. But you did hang out with them listening to Cream or Santana or Led Zeppelin, usually in a place where adults never went

[@jakedooom]

I’ll stay.. I’ll subscribe to this interesting insight.

[@bilguana11]

I have hundreds of analogue LPs but most don't sound as good as the digital versions (DC & hi-rez) if properly mastered.

[@MikeBaas]

Wonderful ending! ;

[@unduloid]

I love me some Madonner...

[@Daneiladams555]

I dig your insights

[@MettleHurlant]

I'm late watching these videos but this is how I feel about it too. The problem is Muzakification - everything is very bland and overproduced and sounds the same. It's meant to be background noise and not an art form to be appreciated. Analog vinyl or tape is what I grew up on - I had a stereo with turntable and cassette recorder so I could tape my records to play in the car.

[@jontalbot1]

Great stuff

[@3moons29]

A lot of it has to do with the uncultured people who contribute to some of these ‘artists’ ( who aren’t) but they aimed to become wealthy, and while there’s an audience to buy their material make real artists struggle and having to be something more than artists, like for instance be in control of all technical intricacies. What about the music? I hardly spend my time on social platforms, even KZbin is getting on my nerves lately. My books, music and paintings are and will remain unhitched, more pure.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

These things happen in waves. There will be a point where people swing back to real art, especially as big business get there hands more and more on the digital realm

[@smguy7]

Obviously haven't heard Sa Dingding, Otyken, Singer-Sen, Taishi, Galcid, Tokyo Jihen, Shiina Ringo, Yuki Isoya, Hikaru Utada, Plus-Tech Squeeze Box, Misia, CHAI, YMCK, Atarashii Gakko, Capsule, Gacharic Spin, BABYMETAL, BAND-MAID. After the USA, Japan has the largest music industry in the world and the Japanese buy CDs and DVDs.