What Happened To Music? Why Does Music Suck?

[@stevecowder4774]

While growing up in the 60s and 70s, I never realized just how good we had it when it came to the quality of the music being released, until many years later. Back then, I always figured that it would continue well into the future as if to enjoy an endless supply of the absolute best. But I couldn’t have been more mistaken. Although I do have a certain amount of admiration for some of the rock music of the 80s and 90s, no other decade could ever compare to the pure innovation we once had in the glory days. It could never be possible to reproduce that magic in today’s messed up music industry.

[@barrycuda3769]

I completely agree , not only the music , but also the cars , the movies , clothing etc .I also was naive enough to think it would ( or should ) always be that way . I was born in 1964 , ( New Zealand ) . My father definitely did not share the same sentiments about that music, he was born in 1919 , and was adamant that the rot set in with Bill Haley , and Elvis . I think if he'd had a more open mind he would have conceded that a lot of the '60s music that I like isn't all that bad. He was a jazz fan ( even 1960's and seventies jazz) and his father frowned upon his liking of that.

[@MichaelBeeny]

@@barrycuda3769 I was a youth in the 60s and loved the music of that time. The pirate station in the UK just added to the music content. Funny thing was that my mum & dads music included the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.

[@barrycuda3769]

@@MichaelBeeny I think it would have been very special to have been a teenager in the uk in the sixties. When Mick Jagger was knighted, my father said something like "well that's it then , a knighthood is now meaningless " .I remember in the mid seventies, I told him that our school music teacher had talked about Elton John, and he was set to go and give the school a tongue lashing, but mum settled him down and talked him out of it. 🙂

[@denniswood1437]

I couldn't agree more, too much of modern popular music is made by people who don't have mastery of a musical instrument, create a song with heart & soul, or really have a passion for music in general. There are young musicians today who are talented and genuinely love music, but the industry today won't support them or give them a chance. Artificiality has replaced heart & passion.

[@JonBlackstone]

Very well put! Of course you know I agree with every word. Thanks for watching!

[@santosmadrigal3702]

Today's music sucks . Because the cellphone and the internet came , and stripped everyone of creativity and individualality .

[@laurenblainebamartistmgt]

…and AI is coming right on our heels.

[@laurenblainebamartistmgt]

@@JonBlackstone You might like Americana singer/songwriter, Effron White. No click track at all. The only place I find real music today is in the Americana genre.

[@santosmadrigal3702]

@@laurenblainebamartistmgt today's generation can't even think for themselves . They have a computer do the thinking for them ... Have you ever seen the movie " Wally " ?

[@ericlovrerockandroll7382]

I'm an analog guy, and this is the best video I've seen in a long time!! Thank you Jon!!

[@JonBlackstone]

Thank you! You made my day! I sincerely appreciate your comment.

[@ericlovrerockandroll7382]

@@JonBlackstone Thank YOU! Do you remember the Dharma Bums? That was me. . .

[@caramanico1]

A fellow musically hurting '70s kid here. Outstanding Jon - the absolute best video summary of the decline and fall of rock music I have ever watched (and I follow all of you guys). To wit: 1) I also use the phrase - and I've always called Elton "my first musical love." He taught me how to graduate from stuff like The Partridge Family. 2) But secondly, I didn't go right to The Beatles, though I heard them of course and loved them. I became a Zep aficianado (room decorations, bootlegs, etc...) 3) I also personally mirror your formula for a great songcraft "play, write, versatility, originality, "individual genre." My summary is balancing technical ability and songwriting. 4) Quality started to decline rapidly in the early '80s - see my quote from another writer below. 5) Today's repetition and sterility because of engineers/producers and AI. Uh, yup. 6) This all started with the click track. Interesting, see below for that take I mentioned above. 7) I liked your fresh angle that stated "short lifespans of recordings now due to technology." That was a brilliant insight. 8) ""Need to get back to music being an extension of the person and not calculated." A very insightful way to to say it. Excellent! The other great analysis I can remember - I think it was Dave Marsh in Rolling Stone - was that if you wanted to put as fine a marker as is possible on when things really turned, look at the industry after Frampton Comes Alive came out. He stated that the sales were so completely unexpected and so far over the top that the suits finally realized that they could not only make money in the industry, but they could make one whole helluva lotta huge s__tloads of money. Enter target marketing... On a fun and roughly similar note to you and your Dad - my Dad asked me one day about these guys Led Zeppelin. I played some, and he liked the acoustic and purer bluesy suff but not so much the loud, heavy stuff though he recognized the musicianship, versatility originality and songwriting throughout. He turned me on to Brubeck,. whom I still listen to. Probably because I'm a huge ELP fan and Keith always cited Brubeck as a main influence. Once again, fantastic job Jon!

[@JonBlackstone]

Wow what great comments! I really appreciate your perspective, and hearing your own experiences. I’m sure we could talk for hours! I’m planning to do some interactive livestreams and would love to have your input. Stay tuned!

[@timbrabender6847]

Thank you for your fine work. There is nothing like 1960-1970s music

[@JonBlackstone]

Amen and amen! You know you won’t get any argument for me. Thanks for watching!

[@jamesaston410]

I grew up on 70s music, prog rock! I may be biased, but it really was the decade for groundbreaking music imho

[@ONealMusicStudio]

I’ve been a session and touring bassist for almost 50 years. Most recently with the Motown group The Miracles. To me I see a lot of rock but very little roll these days. You don’t hear guitarists who really go back listen to the Chuck Berrys of the early days. You hear it in metal music. Lots of rock and zero roll. I also think so many players these days are so consumed with playing as fast as they can and totally forgotten or never learned musicality and taste. I really see this among bass players. These guys simply don’t get hired. Music is about writing and playing things other people want to listen to. Most of the stuff today just doesn’t measure up.

[@ericrogal995]

Total agreement. “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing!” The shuffle and a 3/4 time as well. It’s got to breathe and push and pull!! Serve the song. Listen to all of the music! Every instrument and every part. And then see how you can fit in and contribute to the piece. I could go on but you get the jist of it. Establish the foundation first. The structure is simple and solid. From jazz to pop to rock and country and r/b soul. Good Day.

[@JonBlackstone]

Totally agree. Thanks for watching!

[@GeoffreyMorrison-xh2eo]

People differ.I'm not a mass-appeal guy: I like lots of genres, though. I get the mass-appeal. This guy here is a mass-appeal guy., too. Old-hat and dull to me. Sure, it's great--I've moved on. You guys can't lecture me ....

[@harri211]

You're right about music generally starting to suck beginning around 1980 (start of MTV). The one exception is alternative/college radio music which was REALLY good through the mid-late 80's.

[@robertb653]

I agree 100%. Sadly many, not all, but many of the artists today are not musicians. That’s why my music tastes are rooted in the past. Keep spreading the word.

[@Ministry4Fellowship]

I remember seeing Elton John the first time he came out to Los Angeles and played the Troubadour in ‘70. The local LA band scene had the most epic bands and musicians. Being a studio musician at the time, I had a window to see what amazing artists and musicians were creating. I’m in agreement with everything that you talked about in this video. Keep it up 👍

[@JonBlackstone]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Coming from someone with your background I really appreciate it. I hope you subscribed. I look forward to hearing from you again.

[@BonnieBlair-zm4uu]

Wish I could have been there at the Troubadour!!! Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote the soundtrack to my life, with a little bit of the Beatles, especially Georgie H. thrown in. Love this channel.🤩👍😻❤️😍✨🌿🕊️🕯️💚💛🤍❤️❣️🌲

[@petergrewe6923]

That is so cool!!

[@lagpressure]

My band Blue Cinema just finished recording a double album 100% on analog tape machine Tascam 16. We only used 8 tracks actually. No clicks, no digital editing. We transferred the tape into digital at 24/96 completely unedited. Recorded in a great room, drums, bass, guitar with no effects, saxophone. No vocals. We played live to 2000 people on the 4th of July and folks loved it. All original music. It can still be done.. just do it!

[@TheMuseHakBoston]

I remember the first time I internalized the backing vocals on EJ's song Harmony. I couldn't believe human beings made that sound. My head exploded. I came to understand that was harmony. I was never the same. You can't buy that feeling or capture it any other way but through humanity with heart and soul.

[@MzNettyBird]

Thank you.. can’t express how much i enjoyed your film.. ya got good taste!

[@CasperLCat]

Love the nod to the original Chicago around 16:49. They were one of the greatest American bands. Fantastically orchestrated writing, beautifully warm recordings, insanely tight and powerful live performances, 3 great and varied vocalists (Lamm, Cetera, Kath), a horn section, and a towering lead guitarist in Terry Kath.

[@JonBlackstone]

I couldn’t agree more. They were in a universe of their own with Terry Kath. Amazing stuff. I grew up with my dad playing Sinatra and my older brother playing Chicago and The Beatles. Can’t get better than that. Thanks for watching!

[@CasperLCat]

@@JonBlackstone Great content, Jon. What a selection of talented originals you showed us. I choked up when you put Karen Carpenter on.

[@JonBlackstone]

@@CasperLCatI have the same reaction when I watch. 😎❤️🎶

[@jeanmariesworld4358]

I so appreciated listening to the video. I also grew up listening to the late 60s and early seventies. We didn’t know that it would ever end. From groups like the Eagles, Linda Rondstadt, Badfinger, Lobo, Bread, Seals and Crofts, Jethro Tull and sons like Wait a million years and Diamond Girl and more. I still play those songs on violin piano and sing. Guitar and flute once in awhile. You have inspired me to work again in assisted living places while my brother and I used to do. He played piano and sang many songs similar to Billy Joel. I used to do that before the virus and now doing some art. I love the designs and colors but miss music. I live near Clearwater. Anyone want to join me. We may not get paid that much but music was my paycheck. Anyone game.

[@mikethurman6502]

Hello Jon, saw your video tonight and it really resonated with me. I'm a little older than you, I saw the Beatles appear on TV with Ed Sullivan in Feb 1964 and it changed my life. I used to have friends in Nashville in the 1990s you might know. Gerry played with Kathy Mattea after the Bluebird days, and I knew Sam Bush. I'm also a musician, play keyboards, a big Elton fan like you. I played in rock bands in high school and post college, also coffeehouse type stuff with my guitar friend. A big collector of music - literally thousands of CDs of classic rock, old jazz and Classical music (I was a music major) - and so to my point. I've tried to explain to friends why modern music sucks, and why I'm only interested in collecting the old classic (1960 - 1980) rock albums. But they don't get it - they are too caught up with modern "culture" and being "up to date". Old music makes them embarrassed. And by the way, I'm a firm believer in having the real media on CD, not "in the cloud" because that could all go away in a flash. I believe someday having a CD collection might be the only entertainment worth enjoying. Your words say it all about what is missing in modern popular music - and yet there is still an ineffable quality that's hard to define. Soul, heart, etc.?? We know it when we hear it. In the old days, there was also a relaxed, open, friendly - and you use the word HUMAN - quality to the music and the recording process. So true - go watch the video on You Tube of Leon Russell and his friends in the Homewood Studio in Dec 1970. While recording, one of the backup female singers bakes a cake!! That atmosphere, and the tour with Joe Cocker in the film Mad Dogs from 1970 - shows this human love and bonding the band had with each other and the music they made. When they all put their arms around each other in a circle backstage and sing "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" it brings tears to my eyes. All the things you pointed out are true, but I would say that maybe the main missing quality at the root of it is - no good songwriting!! There first has to be an inspiration and a real creative passion that writes a song like Let it Be, or Tiny Dancer or Imagine. And there isn't anymore. The real genius songwriters are gone. You can't make a crap song sound good, no matter how much technology you use. I could go on - Question by the Moody Blues, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Salty Dog by Procol Harem, Close to the Edge, Fire and Rain, Burn Down the Mission - will we ever hear new songs again that are this magnificent? No. Probably not. The industry is so different. Go watch the documentaries about Sun Records, or Muscle Shoals studio. Hah - it's like another fucking planet. Also, I don't know if you're aware, but there is (so I've heard) a large presence of organized crime now in the record industries that control everything. Just sayin. But then I get stoned, and feel there yet may be hope for another new group with the same revolutionary energy as the Beatles that somehow busts through this phony wall of corporate noise and manages to start making real honest music again with human heart and soul in the studio that rediscovers the real spirit of rock that used to exist. A new feeling of hope, love and peace in the culture would help, to start with. The possibilities exist now, with the internet and home studios, to produce and market your own music. Finally, there are actually a few groups I discovered in the 1990s that I do like - ever hear of the Samples from Colorado? Or World Party with Karl Wallinger (who sadly recently died)? But mainly, like you, I pull out my classic rock - with all the new remasters and box sets, there's always something new to enjoy. Thanks for the video and your thoughts. Will follow your channel. Peace and love. We all shine on.

[@MichaelBeeny]

What a great program. I agree 100% with you. I just cannot even listen to modern music. It's not just the mindless music itself, it's the lack of dynamic range and clipped to the point of distortion. I just hate it. I long for new music made the way it used to be. I would buy it for sure. I also hate continuance swearing. It's completly pointless and demonstrate the total lack of writing ability.

[@fclefjefff4041]

You're wildly exaggerating because of an obviously very limited frame of reference. People who are lazy and/or clueless often moan about how "modern music sucks." There is A LOT of great music being released today, and there always has been. It just isn't spoon fed to us by popular culture. You actually need to invest a modicum of effort to find it.

[@MichaelBeeny]

@@fclefjefff4041 Thank you so much for putting me right, I thought it was just crap!!

[@dranet47]

We're about the same age, and I was the same exact way in high school. When everyone else was listening to Madonna and Duran Duran, I was also listening to Elton John and the Beatles. My album collection varied so much (Elvis, Ella Fitzgerald, Led Zeppelin, Simon & Garfunkel, etc.), which I really enjoyed, but it made me feel like an outcast at school. I grew to like 80s music a lot, because there were some gems, but even my favorites were more eclectic than popular. Today I tend to stick with 60s/70s playlists. I can't listen to modern music, the voice manipulation with autotune and other techniques is worse than scratching a chalkboard to my ears.

[@JonBlackstone]

Thanks for watching! That’s been my experience as well. I really believe music started dying in the 80s because of technology. Almost no one was making music that didn’t depend on technology. That’s when the artist stopped making magic in the studio. Thanks again!

[@dranet47]

@JonBlackstone Wow, that comment sounds like I wrote it! lol Glad I'm not alone.

[@MsArtemis64]

I also grew up listening and loving Elton John and the Beatles, but I also love the music of the 80s. I think Duran Duran's Rio, or Tears for Fears Everybody wants to rule the world or U2's Where the streets have no name or INXs New Sensation are just stunning examples of great bands and great talent. I miss bands, and today's pop music is so single singer oriented. That being said, I think there are some of those singers that I can still enjoy. I think Bruno Mars is an amazing talent, and I have enjoyed a few of Dua Lipa's songs (New Rules, Don't start Now), and Harry Styles's As it was, or even DNCE's Cake by the ocean (Which is such a fun silly song). I hope that rock bands do comeback someday, but until then, we can enjoy this vast catalogue from the past 🙂 I am currently revisiting Supertramp and the Cars, and let's not forget Genesis!

[@stevecowder4774]

@@MsArtemis64 Nice comment. Especially Genesis.

[@swann4233]

I loved, "Did you have a click track? No, we had Ringo..."

[@DavidStonerook-k8q]

Recently I took my daughter to see X. The opening act was a man named Jesse Ahern. I have never heard of him. I absolutely love his set. He reminded of individuals like John Cash, Tom Petty, Warren Zevon, and Arlo Guthrie. I found myself singing along to songs I have never heard. The songs touch my heart and soul. After the show my daughter and I took some time out to talk to Jesse. He was a fan of Warren Zevon and Tom Petty. My daughter asked Jesse that the next time he plays Omaha Nebraska if he could do Ring Of Fire. Jesse said he could make that happen. What stood out the most was when my daughter asked if he had a set list that she could have. Jesse didn't have an extra one available. So he took one of his posters he was selling turned it over and personally made out a set list for my daughter and gave it to her.

[@kenayers9728]

Nailed it,Jon, Fabulous video, I’m looking forward to seeing the next one.

[@WilliamHenryAlbert]

Hello Jon. You articulate everything I believe about modern music. I have always followed musical trends and have enjoyed most of what I have heard. I believe the rot really set in at the turn of the century. I was born in 1951 and remember Elvis when my older cousin introduced me to his incredible songs. When I first heard The Beatles in 1962, I was totally transfixed, it changed my life and I never ever realised that music could make me feel so good. When i was old enough in the late sixties I went to the Marquee club in London and saw bands including Cream, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Fleetwood Mac (with Peter Green) John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Peter Green then Mick Taylor, Ten Year's After (with Alvin Lee) and so many more. I then went on to love music that was coming from the West Coast of America like The Mothers of Invention, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish and Doors etc. I also got into punk in the late 70's and even disco so I have an eclectic taste in music but I have to say music of today leaves me cold. Just listening to any top 40 hits is excruciating. I'm always open to something new and crave anything music that will move me in some way but today there is nothing. I my youth you didn't have to search for music, it was just always there on the radio, every day you seemed to hear something that would be worth investigating. I can remember hearing every single Beatles record for the first time on the radio and how, after two or three listens, it would work its way into your heard and you couldn't forget it. Of course, we had the Rolling Stones, Animals, Hollies and many more. From America we had Bob Dylan, Byrds, Beach Boys, and countless more incredible artists. It was a time of so much creativity, innovation and constant changes which we thought would last forever but I remember, when The Beatles broke up, feeling quite depressed about the future. Of course, the 70's bought incredible music too: Led Zeppelin, CSNY, James Taylor, Yes, Steely Dan, and punk at the end of the decade. I'm Waffling a bit but since the start of this century, music has been in a downward spiral.

[@rayc4244]

I agree! Karen, Janis, Mama Cass, Elton, Billy Joel, Beatles, Beach Boys, Elvis, Sinatra, Stones, Rick Nelson, Dylan (and hundreds of others) . . . with so much TALENT changed the world. No drum machines, no voice correcting - just raw talent. From the late 1920's through today, there have been/are incredible artists out there, but we've lost the element of soul with "modern music."

[@nolslifegren]

A friends grandaughter recently got into vinyl and apparently loves Queen , Fleetwood Mac etc . She loves music that is approx 50 years old ! That could never have happened when i was her age back in 1973 . Why ? Because every week there was more fantastic music being released . The equivalent then wouldve been me listening to 1920s jazz . Music is dead and has been for a long time now .

[@JonBlackstone]

Wow that’s an excellent observation! I never thought about that. When I was coming of age I would never have listened to music 20 years old much less 50! I wish I had included that in this video. Thanks for watching and the great comment!

[@WobblyBootsDuke]

Wow, man. I acknowledge your pain and felt every one of your words. Not just the recording but also seeing young bands cut their teeth in pubs, small venues and outdoor music festivals during the 70's here in OZ. Like the early days of INXS, Men At Work, ACDC, LRB, The Saints, Midnight Oil, Cold Chisel, The Angels just to name a few of so very many. There was no place for these artists to hide. Days long gone :-( Strange -- this morning for some reason, Terry Kath came to mind. Such a senseless death -- and bang, up he comes on your video. Thanks heaps, John. Really appreciate this -- and the Elton band one I saw some time back.

[@Bluepillphil-d1w]

There was a lot of crap music in the 60-70s. A lot! We just remember the better stuff and ignore the rest.

[@clydekimsey7503]

Yes, but the % of crap music is waaaaaay higher since the mid 80s😢

[@raybassman7536]

The problem with music is, the younger generation was never educated on HUMBLE PIE-Rockin The Filmore album.

[@JonBlackstone]

That must be one of your favorite albums? I love your comment! Thanks for watching!

[@raybassman7536]

@@JonBlackstone Well the way Frampton and Marriott worked together on leads in HUMBLE PIE when they were in their early 20's was Legendary. At this time Frampton was mixing Jazz riffs in his rock leads, Greg Ridley on bass and also did some lead vocal work. Ridley was from "Spooky Tooth" before PIE. Of course Marriotts Vocals so fabualis. Please listen to "I'm Ready" from the filmore album. Marriot starts a lead vocal, then Frampton does one and Riddley does one all in this song.

[@joebrewer4529]

I love humble pie with small faces were better

[@Borella309]

The reality is that popular music, to this day, lives in the shadow of The Beatles - and while there has certainly been fantastic music and artists in the 50 years since The Beatles ended, no one has come close to creating music as good as them them let alone bettering them. If you look at the history of recorded popular music starting from the end of the nineteenth century, there was always new styles and improvements and creative breakthroughs (Al Jolson, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Elvis) - this really does seem to peak with The Beatles (and probably the other artists of the 1960s as well - Bob Dylan, the Stones, etc), but it was The Beatles who kicked open the doors of popular music and popular music recording, took the world into the next room, but I think, as they were the first into that room the took all the remaining great melodys and musical ideas for themselves before everyone else got into the room. I think if The Beatles were just another part of popular recorded music's journey, we would have had the next creative equal by now, but that hasn't happened - I wish that wasn't so - I dearly would love to see a musical act come along that could create music on the level that blew us all away like The Beatles did - I'll cross my fingers, but won't hold my breath.

[@jeffkaufman9875]

Unless it is reactionary, music, like any art, reflects the time and culture in which it was inspired and created; if we’re honest, both our culture and times are virtually-vapid and bankrupt, and thus, so predominantly is its music!..

[@JonBlackstone]

Very well said. I agree with you completely. I wish I had discussed that aspect in this episode. Next time!

[@jeffkaufman9875]

@Jon I believe you’d do a great job expanding on that aspect; if/when it should come to fruition, if you would, I’d be honored to receive a shout-out for the inspiration… Keep the well-conceived, compelling, and very-relatable content coming!..

[@MrGeoffHilton]

Another great show and everything you say I one hundred percent agree. I'm also a fan of Fil of 'W of P.'

[@rosietait4032]

I am going to watch this more than once and share it with everyone I know. You put into words what I have been trying to explain to my young friends - I am 65 and they are not.

[@stevenpapuchis9677]

OK, so I genuinely liked your video and gave it a like and I am gonna subscribe as well. Understanding Sir Elton John as being a great pic for your all time favorite, my all time favorite is Deep Purple, specifically MK2. But, ironically, as a band that I think should have retired when the great Jon Lord passed, actually have made a pretty great new album just released yesterday with all new music remenecent to music they made back in 72! Their best song on the album IMHO is Lazy Sod. Hope this gives you a little faith that their are some old geezers still trying to hook the young generations back to real music.

[@catsofsherman1316]

Deep Purple has been putting out quality music under the radar for quite a while now. I haven't heard the new one yet, but I look forward to it.

[@mike_burke]

Modern music is made for earbuds. That means it is crushed, clipped and deformed in the production and has no dynamics and musicality. Which is a real shame, because there ARE still some really fine new artists out there. Second point, music went from being an artform to becoming a simple commodity. Units streamed, etc. Third point, music went from being about albums and concepts to being all about playlists. Generally speaking, I am personally really extremely picky about music produced after about 1992. It exists, sure, but it’s a reducing minority of recordings that stand out musically and stand the test of time. At my “old” age (I’m early genX) I still bought 6 new albums so far that released in 2024, and supported 3 of those acts by going see them perform live. This decade, bought 23 albums, seen 7 live shows. I would have done that in 6 months max back in the eighties, though.

[@AndrewLoukidis-jr2bp]

Some great clips there, nice.

[@JonBlackstone]

Thanks for watching! I really had a great time putting it together.

[@redstrat1234]

The Carpenters at 33:50 - immaculate AND with a key change. Key changes seem to be too hard and complicated for 'artists' now.

[@RemoWilliams-jg4yb]

Thanks you so much for speaking about this. I quit playing around 20 years ago. I thought about picking it up again, but this last trip to Nashville killed that idea. The problem is that the kids today, as soon as you start talking about this subject, throw their slang around like they invented the art of being a rebellious kid or call you a fudd, boomer, cope ect. What they don't understand is that not only are we living through this era of music, we LIVED the era before and can see the difference. They also don't get the respect factor. I did not disrespect the musicians that came before me. I asked them tons of questions and LISTENED to their stories. I learned as much as I could from them. We had to learn our licks and chops from rewinding the tape back and playing records at slow speeds, or IF someone had a VHS of a concert. Kids today get spoon fed licks right off of youtube. They learn at a greater pace than we did and kids today have chops coming out of their ears. But it is like Keith Richards said "there is a lot of rock, but not a lot of roll". Kudos to you mentioning Fleming and John. I saw them several times when I lived in Nashville in the early 90's. They should have been bigger, but......ya know........

[@raybassman7536]

Rick Beato did a video on this topic too.

[@JonBlackstone]

Yes, I watched that. Thanks for watching!

[@catsofsherman1316]

Rick's video was on point, but not as entertaining as this one.

[@JonBlackstone]

@@catsofsherman1316​​⁠Thanks man. I really appreciate that!

[@jwmeirose]

But Beato's video can't even touch the impact of this one. Bravo, Mr. Blackstone!!!

[@laurenblainebamartistmgt]

“Fine tune…” They even take the breath out of the vocal track!! Arrgh!

[@JonBlackstone]

Thanks for watching! I feel your pain. Here’s hoping that things change!

[@Roy-mw5js]

I accidentally found Aurora Asknes last year and a half. Love Aurora. True artist. Singer, songwriter, and producer ❤

[@swamisalami3000]

I love a lot of 80's bands. Sound much better than what we get todayand even today there are some great groups working

[@paulhumberstone4843]

A very thoughtful video on modern music Of course being my age I was 14 when i heard she loves you on the radio that was a light bulb moment for me and forever yes the beatles gave us music that will be played in 100 years time Can you imagine jimi hendrix and the experience playing their fist lp in todays world ! i think it would be such a shock to modern ears but it could another light bulb moment for someone else

[@JonBlackstone]

I’ve thought about that kind of scenario for years. The record industry wouldn’t have a clue what to do with any of the great artists of the 60s and 70s. Thanks for watching!

[@wilhen1]

Jon - spot on again and very well done as always. Thanks in particular for including Karen Carpenter - a voice for the ages.

[@josephblue4135]

I love this video & agree 99%. The year 1979 is too early. There was a lot of great music in the early to mid 80s. Dire Straits' BROTHERS IN ARMS is fantastic and was released in 1985. It was also digitally recorded. The album NEW YORK by Lou Reed is a masterpiece & was released in 1989. I could list others but i won't. I was stunned by The Carpenters clip. And seeing Sinatra live with the orchestra was out of this world. Bravo 👏

[@JonBlackstone]

Thanks for the great comments! I can tell you’re a true music fan. Those clips of Carpenters and Sinatra leave me breathless every time. Thanks for watching!

[@shambaby]

Hey John, I share your love of Elton John. Music devolved into what I call “addictive sounds.” this was pushed by major studios because it’s lazy and it still makes tons of money. I feel sorry for anyone growing up today.

[@JonBlackstone]

I feel the same way. How blessed we were to grow up with such incredible music as the soundtrack to our lives. Thanks for watching!

[@sidalientv]

...... Man! I discovered you accidentally, and what a fortune I´ve had! You are an unsung hero! A top musician with solid roots! I agree 200% with your point of view, because I started my musical career between 1985/1986, heavily influenced by the Police but at the same time I was a megafan of Queen, Yes, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, ELP, U2 was scratching the surface in the time. And suddenly the recording companies did not accepted our demos (there are in my own KZbin Channel for the curious out there) because "They are not in tempo"............ It was a real frustration because every band, every radio song sounded like played by robots. The image is another topic whose rotten face started to rise in the 80s too. And the sound of today recordings is unhearable today. All that mega compression and limiting, no more details hidden in the background, every instrument must be "in your face". Well, OK, we are talking about mainstream music but alas such viruses come slowly to the rest of the musical spectrum sometimes. Even in the classical music field it happens! Last time here in KZbin a very beautiful russian pianist who played showing her legs up to where the imagination and moving herself in the middle of an orgasm like playing a piece of Franz Liszt...... Or Tina Guo. We need a reset as soon as possible. PS: I am subscribed to your channel.

[@rebelpunx88]

I've seen a trend of people that start hating on the music of their time specifically during their teen years onwards, I noticed it in myself too so it's really a matter of perspective Where I'm standing I'm certain in the next couple of years we will start to see the music of the 80s as loved and artistically relevant as the music from the 60's to the bewilderment of older generations

[@tawnieriekena7]

I concur with your assessments . Been saying the same things myself for years. In the 60's and 70's we valued authenticity. With the dawn of MTV it all became about the sizzle and not the steak. Been going downhill ever since. Saw your cover band, Britain (sic ?), back in the day. You guys were awesome!

[@paras5435]

Jon....thankyou for expressing everything I've been saying for a number of years to fellow musos

[@quentinbringthenumetalchil5125]

I found a couple of bands and albums from the past ten years that I admire and love, but they’re more rooted in the underground. Other than those, the popular music and sounds we’ve heard for the past don’t - know - how - long is/are not that exciting or memorable as most tasteless people make it out to be. It annoys me, honestly. So much good music that should be mainstream instead of all the fecal product. I always wanted a backlash to happen, but that’s doubtful as times moves on. So many individuals comfortable eating absolutely nothing. Thanks for the video. Hope it gets to more people out there.

[@JonBlackstone]

I love how you said that. Obviously you know I agree with every word you said. Thanks for watching!

[@andymelendez9757]

Wonderful John! Love early blues for its organic feel, with real emotion and sentiment pouring out. Your musical examples (of the great stuff) gave me goose bumps. Hearing Elton John tracking withe no effects was powerful.

[@edwardhaaland2310]

I agree with most of what he is saying here, but I would not write off the music of the 1980s, there was a lot of great music created in the 1980s, but when you get to the 1990s & beyond, not so much. For me, the most creative period of Rock n Roll spans from the 1960s through the 1980s.

[@robertrouse4503]

I got my first guitar a couple of months before my 10th birthday, Christmas '64. The Beatles made me want a guitar. I was never great at it. Good rhythm player, good vocalist, I play some keys, but I decided to to concentrate on my vocals and I knew great players, so I let the experts do the work on my third band. Approaching 70 and arthritis end my guitar days in the past few years. The Beatles were the soundtrack of my youth, from 4th grade to my Sophomore year. Of course, gone, but still in my life. Music today has lost class.

[@frankfurter63]

When we grew up there were distinct genres such as jazz , blues, country and rock and roll. There definitely certain styles and musical tendencies for these categories. There were lyrics that made sense and were expressed coherently . Over the last 40 or 50 years, that has happened few and far between.

[@jeffbrinkerhoff5121]

What a rich life in music you've had... thanks for making this excellent video that hits home w me. I've played all my life (1st band 1962) and by the 80s I wondered what was going on and by the 90s I saw the focus of pop turn to damaged personalities. I live in the woods now. I play every day. Thanks Jon

[@skukumquills303]

You're a damn good musician, Jon. Great voice to 🙂

[@pauln7058]

@pedrocha9 I'm pleased you mentioned George Michael.... he was a creative artist who started out in 'pop' music, but was a truly creative artist once the 'shackles' were released, plus he had an awesome vocal talent. His performance of 'Somebody to Love' in the Mercury tribute concert is one of the most breathtaking performances I've heard , and will always love. Bless his soul ❤

[@John-em6wi]

Just like you, Crocodile rock was the first single I bought, 4 of the five first albums were Elton albums… and Tumbleweed Connection amongst his best. Absolutely agree about disposable modern music

[@jedikiah1541]

Great video! Clear, concise and to the point. Laura Nyro was one of the greatest artists from the late sixties/early seventies. It is a pity she is so neglected. I don't know whether you listen to her, but her first four albums were fantastic, with everything you appreciate (and especially when David Geffen started managing her from the time of Eli And The Thirteenth Confession, New York Tendaberry and Christmas And The Beads Of Sweat). I could tell the change certainly by 1981, and that coincided also with the introduction of MTV. Everything became glossier, more immediate, but lacking in the substance of earlier times (the melodies became increasingly cluttered also by 1983/84). However, the real highpoint was perhaps the sixties transitioning into the seventies, when not just the music, but lyrics also became very important, and inventive. There was an introspection which has pretty much evaporated from much of the chart based sounds, particularly with regards to singles, certainly by the early eighties. Elton John is an odd character, in dabbling overtly with contemporary sounds (and especially that terrible remake of Don't Go Breaking My Heart with Ru Paul), yet there are times he does acknowledge that the old way of doing things was the best. Captain And The Kid was a very good album from 2006, and if it wasn't for his weathered voice, it could have been on par with a few of his seventies albums. He acknowledges and appreciates new artists, but there are times he also gives an indication that he thinks the old days were the best.

[@redriderbbgun8018]

I'm not a huge fan of Chicago, but g-damn the final third of Feeling Stronger Everyday is downright killer. Even the Stones don't have a song that finishes that way.

[@Alan-lv9rw]

Best concert I ever went to: March 1977, the Eagles “Hotel California” tour at Madison Square Garden in NYC.

[@catsofsherman1316]

That was a far more entertaining take on the recent controversial Rick Beato video. I agree with pretty much every word you said. Im a few years younger than you, but as a teenager in the 80s I abandoned the popular music of the radio and mtv. I plunged deep into Beatles, Kinks, Hendrix, Doors, Who, Zep, Purple, Tull, and so many more. There was some ok music in the 80s, but most has aged poorly. One thing I might differ with you on, is that I think the alternative music that started in the late 80s and really bloomed in the first half of the 90s was a bit of a musical Renaissance as well as the britpop of the 90s. By the end of the nineties the permanent rot had set in. I was watching an interview lecture with Tony Visconti and he talked about "destructive" editing and mixing and how those limits of tape based recording added a psychological fire to the performances. The Beatles had to make creative mixing decisions during recording to free up extra tracks. They couldn't just go back to a saved point before so they had to get the reduction mix right. I idea of "we'll fix it later" didn't exist. As a recording artist myself, I try to embody the spirit of late 60s and early 70s music. While I record in digital format for practical purposes, I avoid most of the pitfalls of modern music production. There's a studio close by with a 24 track 2 inch tape machine and a big Neve board. I did a project in protools there, but really wanted to fire up that Otari 24 track.

[@JonBlackstone]

Thanks for the high praise! That means a lot to me. I agree with everything you said. We could talk for hours 😎. I’m planning to do some live interactive stuff and I’d love your participation. Stay tuned!

[@catsofsherman1316]

@@JonBlackstone sounds great

[@pauln7058]

​@@JonBlackstone😮 I look forward to that, and hope I don't miss it my friend 🤞 😊

[@thejoyofthemusicinmylife7897]

I think modern mainstream music has been so dump down and young people will just take what is spoon fed to them by the industry. Yet there are many great newer artist who by going the indie route in releasing their music and have build up a fan base by playing smaller venues have done well for themselves but still they do not get the attention they deserve. Through independent research on the internet I have discovered many such artist and I have purchased copies of their music, just not listen to them on streaming services. Artist like The Record Company, Fleet Foxes, My Morning Jacket, Logan Ledger, Valerie June and Michael Kiwanuka are among many of my discoveries. Kiwanuka's last album entitle Kiwanuka is amazing. A stunning classic. It is like Marvin Gaye meets Bill Withers. Worth checking out.

[@MsArtemis64]

The early albums of the Decemberists and Tame Impala are also really good!

[@thejoyofthemusicinmylife7897]

@@MsArtemis64 The band Temples are like the other bookend to Tame Impala. Check out their debut album Sun Structures and last album Exoctica. )

[@aminahmed2220]

What a fantastic video have a wonderful weekend also my favorite youtuber ❤😊 also Monday was my friends birthday last week ❤😊

[@garyinla4807]

Today's "songs" have no hook. Rap is not music, and video did indeed kill the radio star.

[@catsofsherman1316]

Yes it did. Some of those MTV songs sound better without the video in my head

[@sborg221]

You nailed it! I especially liked your comment about how a lot of 80s music became almost un-listenable... over produced crap!

[@hoppes9658]

1985 I was 20 and my girlfriend turned my car radio to St. Elmo’s Fire I knew we were finished.

[@marshallwhitlock8591]

Best analysis and commentary on the subject so far. You Sir know your trade.

[@bradc32]

can't argue with anything you said.just glad i was around for the good music..

[@hollywebster6844]

For me, the mark of a musician is their ability to make music with just themselves and their instrument. Can the singer stand up and sing for us with nothing other than their voice? Can the guitarist pull up a stool and make music with just an acoustic guitar? If the performer must have electronic support always, are they a musician? Their preferred style or genre of music might always include electronic support, but I don't believe true musicians need it.

[@JonBlackstone]

I agree wholeheartedly! Thanks Holly!

[@bunnyboils2723]

People don't know what music is anymore, and think that McDonald's is food. The real soul in music is in analogue, and acetate. Look what Lee "Scratch" Perry did, with just his ears and a tape machine. When he died, it looks like he unfortunately took music with him. The younger set thinks that my recently serviced 1975 Sansui receiver is old and stupid, and needs replacing. Your grandmother is also old. What's she to be replaced with, and why? Music production these days sounds childish, impulsive, and doesn't seem to have a point, or any structure. Instead of a bass and drum foundation, it seems to need a cartoonish, sped up hi-hat track, reminding me of the old WWl films, accompanied by an overdriven distorted bass drone of no fixed key, mixed with two minutes of machinery sounds. Thanks for this video.

[@laurenblainebamartistmgt]

Sigh. We used to believe that music could change the world so we listened closely to the lyrics, what could we philosophically learn from each particular song. And what did the music say? We revered great music and sought it out to allow it to work its magic on us. I don’t see that the newer generations respect it nor seek out the experience of saturating themselves with music’s essence. Some rare few do. But does anyone have any insight about that?

[@JonBlackstone]

I totally agree. Another viewer recently stated that today’s music is a reflection of today’s vapid culture. I really believe that’s true. In the 1960s and 1970s people were so appreciative of great art because it was a reflection of the changes happening in our culture. But today people consume “music” the same way they consume McDonald’s hamburgers. Our society can’t even seem to decide what the definition of a woman is. We live in very strange times. Thankfully, we always have this incredible music to fall back on. Thanks for watching!

[@MarshallTitus1]

Thank so much Jon, I totally agree with you. I am also a singer, songwriter, performer, producer who started my career when all the musicians and singers recored together in the studio, 2 inch tape reels, cutting / editing the tape with a razor 😊 I am still navigating this current music landscape. I have this same conversation with many of my friends. Thank you again. Marshall

[@Falkenroth1]

Was waiting for samples of Roy Orbison and Dire Straits. Haha. It’s crazy how all this good music lives on in movies and entertainment. They still use most of them still today. They know it’s better than modern stuff. Great video.

[@petergleeson295]

Invest 3 years into learning the human musical instrument and you will have a revolution in quality voices and experiences within choirs. Become more like a human by becoming an overtone singer. In 3 years the big performances begin happening and in 6 years we will fill stadiums with advanced voices making the music humans have always enjoyed and experienced. Make being amazingly skilled your standard

[@batautomat]

Have you listened to Mike Viola? So authentic, so heartfelt. He now produces his music and others out of his basement Barebones Studios. Give it a listen- I think you’ll like it.

[@richardbartolo2890]

On thing I miss a great deal is 2 & 3 part harmony from bands. The original line up from the band Poco excelled at singing harmony. Their songwriting and guitar skills were also excellent. In order to sing & understand harmony, music theory to some degree has to be applied. Maybe there's the problem.

[@kevinreffitt9635]

I can't understand why I can watch documentaries on Studios and Studio Musicians making great music, and now nobody seems to be making the great music anymore.

[@efficiencygaming3494]

There are artists today making music worth your time, but it's ridiculous how much digging you need to do to find them! They're the sort of talent the music industry should be championing, but instead they're preoccupied with milking every pop cliché for all it's worth, putting out dreadful dirges with tasteless lyrics, uninspired melodies, and soulless production. If you listen to a pop music station now, there isn't enough variety, which gives the impression that artists are trying too hard to copy each other. What happened to individualism and doing your own thing? It shouldn't be frowned upon!

[@mikerickson01]

When he heard about Edison's recording machine, John Phillips Souza mourned the death of music. And he was right. Pre-Edison, without recording, most music in a person's life is made by the person, or at least in their presence. Recording transformed music from something that most people made (whistling, humming, singing off key in church) into something that was consumed. Souza was right, the number of community orchestras plummeted, and radio replaced humming to one's self. Edison's recording machine increased the distance between people and music. Similarly, auto correct and the various plug-ins are separating performing musicians from the music. The music doesn't come from their hands or voices, it takes the raw material of what the musician does and standardizes it to lock step timing and a tempered scale based on a 440 A. (Who said that bending a note to quarter tones is a "wrong note".) I think at the core of all this is the desire to be "correct" rather than being one's self. In Worried Man Blues, does the judge sentence you to the Rocky Mountain line or the RC Mountain line and why can't we see it as both are correct. (Lead Belly would drive modern folks nuts with his singing in A min. but playing in A maj. (Never mind his tuning the guitar low.)) If there is a "correct" way to play a song, then that quarter tone bend is wrong, but don't worry, the computer will fix it and make it right. A key question to ask is "is live music the goal that recording tries to hit" or "is the studio version the goal" or "are the smiles in the room the goal"

[@pocoapoco2]

I pin it largely on concentration of wealth. I't not just music that it affects, not just art, it's all of humanity. When all the important decisions get made by fewer and fewer people, our very existance as a species gets threatened with extinction.

[@thomaskotch4770]

Great video. I have a similar story as you. House full of music as a kid. I found my musical heroes in the Grateful Dead.

[@jeffreyarnold627]

There was some good stuff happening in the early 1980s. HOWEVER…. I clearly remember being a teenager in 1986, and noticing that it was all going wrong.

[@johnbogle6475]

I've used this comment before but I think it applies here as well. There are still great artists out there and occasionally you get to hear one :). This goes back to an old discussion about whether art is for the masses or for artists and connoisseurs. Today it's being driven towards the masses because of money. Think of productions today as Mc Music and it makes more sense. Due to marketing, music today is a perishable commodity that if served hot is to most... kinda OK but it's cheap and portable "Mc Music". It's much cheaper to hire an engineer and a bunch of samples than to hire a band. Editing to a grid is a breeze for the engineer (think disco music with 120 bpm kick drum and... you get the idea). It's called slice and dice (tasty just like buying frozen carrot squares from Costco and calling it a fresh vegetable (yea, Kinda... :). The main missing ingredients are Heart & Soul (that Umami taste :). Again Real Artists still exist and after enough years of non-satisfying cattle feed, the average listener will probably catch on and start buying better food eh, er buying better music. Marketing is a powerful force though, so this may take some time. In the mean time, I'll remain selective in my listening habits. Great video. Thanks

[@petergrewe6923]

Jon - you are perfectly “on point”.Human-ness is not only lacking in music- mechanization and mindless, un-inspiring characteristics are increasingly prevalent in most of the aspects of our current society. (Media, movies and even some churches.) and the sad part is- the general public seems to be “buying into it”. All of the bands that I play in perform songs primarily created between 1940 and 1979- and we get comments from all different age groups thanking bf us for playing “real songs” so ya, you are absolutely right about this. And yes- we hear some new stuff that catches our attention, but like a shiny bauble , the lustre wears off after awhile.

[@alpoe4467]

Hi, I'm a newbie. Are you familiar with musicians: Paul Hardcastle; Hawkwind? If so; I'm curious as to your thoughts....

[@Mastabas2112]

I was in kindergrten in the fall of 1978 and i was obsessed with Kiss! Ironically, that was the end of the band that year and my dad took me to see them in 1979 at the Ponttiac Silverdome and also ironically Cheap Trick opened for them to promote Dream Police, arguably their last good record. So, what you said about 1979 tracks. My other favorite bands Blue Oyster Cult had tgeir last good album in 1981 and Rush in as well the same year with Moving Pictures, also a top 5 for me. The only other band i really got into was Yes with 90125 in 83, but diving into their back catalog, its the 70s stuff that i listen to the most. For me, its the sound of rock guitar. A les paul, plugged into a marshall with no effects peddles that gets me off everytime. A real drummer and the twang of a rickenbacher bass with rotosound strings. If there are keyboards, the better be analog. Oddly another favorite band of mine is Tangerine Dream, who pioneered non-keyboard electronics, but its the sound of Moogs, Oberheims and Meletrons that sound the best. I just recently read an article with Geddy Lee and he said, changing their sound ofter Moving Pictures with Signals was nit the smartest thing they ever did and lost them many devout followers. I think Disco, then the Drum Machine and then MTV killed rock and roll, way before napster and quantinization.

[@fclefjefff4041]

If you're only looking at popular music, yeah, you're going to feel this way. Dig deeper. Dive in to underground/independent music. There is no lack of great stuff happening. Anyone making the blanket statement that "modern music sucks" is just plain fucking lazy (or fishing for clicks from people who are lazy) 😄

[@donstevenson2660]

Honestly, it's the lack of old-time producers honest enough to tell today's acts, "No matter how many views and likes you get, it's just crap."

[@JonBlackstone]

You’re so right. I’ve interviewed legendary producers who are literally afraid to speak out. If they do, no one will hire them to polish more turds.

[@JonBlackstone]

And modern producers aren’t musicians; they’re programmers.

[@maxdakota111]

I'd agree with you for the most part. I grew up within that time frame you spoke of when music did seem VERY innovative. Let's remember, it's harder to be innovative today because of what's come before - the things (studio tricks, musicianship) we take for granted now WERE new and exciting then, at that time. I think every era has its plethora of great music. You may have to search harder to find it, but it's certainly there IF you're willing to keep open [your] ears. As a musician, these days, I'm simply trying to add the best possible music I can make to the canon.

[@johns126]

Spot on John !

[@daccrowell4776]

Well...if anyone asks me (and they do) about why I left Nashville and never went back, I can show them this. One big difference between us is maybe about 7-8 years of age. The other big difference, however, is that I grew up in that town, around that industry, and in THAT position I had the privilege and/or curse of watching Music Row's sausage-grinding over a long period of time. In 1988, I left for grad studies in composition. Sometimes I'll traipse down there to dumpster dive the used gear, but honestly, I've not been back there since 2004 for ANY reason. I often tell people that I love music too much to sit by and watch "Music City" do what it does to music. Which is quite true; you mentioned the early 1980s as being the peak of quality music as far as songwriting, but I see that period as the beginning stages of a LOT of problems that plague us to this day. That span of time was actually very UNcreative...it gave us the concept of the "hat act", for example. And it's the end-stage of the concept of the great songwriters, as the Nashville Songwriters Association puked up the inceptive steps of the "Nashville Method", a writing method that has more to do with advertising techniques than artistry. If you knew what was going on and had a sense for the "ill wind that bloweth no minds", the correct reaction to Nashville from 1978 to 1985 should be total abject horror. And it all came down to trying to come up with a "perfect songwriting method": come up with a "hook" that sticks in a listener's brain, then you can fill in between the hooks with...well, you could sing the phone book, tbh. This is NOT how to write music...but ad jingles work perfectly in this model. Soooooo... let's make the songs JUST LIKE ad jingles. By December of 1988, I simply could not stomach the town anymore. People on BOTH sides of the glass hated this and the spewage that came out of it...but the label shareholders for the "bigs" LOVED it because even though it was killing Nashville's legacy, it made metric f**ktons of money. Now, expand that model to the entire mainstream music industry, tweak for genre and demographic, haul in the "right team" to make DAMN sure there's hits, and shoot it all down the wire to corporate radio where it can be slotted for max audience exposure. Keeping in mind, of course, that the shareholders of the RADIO companies ALSO wanted their own money-piles, so everything stuck in this appalling lock-groove of musical pigswill. Let the calendar roll by, and let the dust accumulate. Forget the realities from which Nashville (and commercial music as a whole) became acclaimed, and let that rot settle in. Like I said, I love music too much to sit back and watch the industry RUIN it. Now...well, those people telling you that your choices are stuck in the past are in fact totally correct. Or moreso, the choices are stuck in the past AND are also extremely mainstream. So in other words, you're embodying the very things that gave us the initial Lee Abrams radio formatting. From whence came the "crossover hit", a track that can work in several formats at once. More formats = more money = happy shareholders. Then, the "hat acts"..."formula" country...and so on, in the Nashville strain of the rot. You cite a number of 1980s acts (very quickly) as being "ewwww"...and yes, some were. The "proto-plant" that's singing "Nothing break my stride blah blah blah" is one such example. God, I hate that song...🤮 However, quite a bit of 80s music was pretty quality. Sonic Youth, for example. Chicago house and Detroit techno caught fire in the emerging "rave" scene. And so on...but like most quality things, you had to DIG for it. And that's not really changed, save that the "crates" today are largely virtual. The key to fixing all of this, however, is NOT to slap "Suite Judy Blue Eyes" on for the 37,629th time and let your mind float back to stuff that never really existed in the first place. No...the right response to the current music situation is to get really, REALLY effin' angry at what's being stolen, lost, or both. Find an angle of attack and follow it. And when the "sincere music meter" twitches, jump on whatever made it do that. Cases in point: Sturgill Simpson and Hank III. Sturgill's response is, to me, DAMN intriguing. He can write his own way. He draws ALL music into his work. There are no artificial dividing lines or pigeonholes in evidence. And the albums that've come out of him have been very exacting and very entertaining, with my fave being "SOUND AND FURY" for the sheer audacity with which he makes songs out of pretty much anything in his head at the time. Hank III, OTOH, is the very, VERY obvious connection to the OLD Nashville feels. He knows how his grandad worked and wrote...and looked at punk and noticed that there weren't any substantial differences, so in HIS case, he arrived back in 1956 AND the 21st century at the same time. But in both cases, you're talking about artists that insist on going forward from where music (in Nashville, but there's similar underground-ish changes afoot all over now) got stuck, stupid, and commoditized. The last factor, though, you can thank Bell Labs for. They gave us the transistor. And it was that one invention that's led to the mass technological upheaval that's the driver in changing music at present. Consider how you used to track prior to the emergence of the DAW. You would go TO a studio, waste loads of expensive AF time getting things right, then the repetitive...boring... process...of...retake.......on retake..........on retake.............. All on somewhat incomprehensible and mind shatteringly expensive equipment. This was the overall recording scene c. 1980. By 1990...just TEN years later, Studer Editech dropped the Dyaxis system and a new company known as Digidesign came up with Sound Tools. Analog multitracking was facing a real drubbing from both Alesis and TASCAM and their digital multitracks which used videotape tech to shrink down a "typical" 8-track machine to the size of a large VCR. Let this continue for about 30 more years, and VOILÁ! Here we are. You can go to any number of places online to get any sort of equipment you want and can pay for. Studio tech got incredibly simplified and loads smaller while growing INSANELY powerful due to electronics manufacturing advancements. The past 40 years, from around the time of Sony and Philips launch of the CD to this very moment, have seen more cumulative changes that have upended the entirety of the recording process. And the Internet, provided that you hook up with honest companies, then becomes the Tower Records of the GODS. So...does it work? Yeah. It works. But the last paradigm shift, and perhaps the biggest, is the rise of music via the Internet. Which puts us firmly back into a version of the Division St. location of Great Escape that stretches to INFINITY. Sure, you have to dig. But then, musicians don't worry about that, nor do serious music consumers. The dig is fun! So...hmm, present music that doesn't suck BUT which is commercial...OK, howsabout The Avett Bros output? Great example of "crossover" that results when you're not trying to specifically make that. 80s music? Try some Talk Talk...no, not the earlier albums, but the astonishing "middle" albums like "The Colour of Spring" and the VERY radical "Spirit of Eden". Or The The's masterpiece, "Infected". Just because lots of the 80s stuff SUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKED (and it did) doesn't mean that you can't have music that moves forward. You just have to be ready to "go off-road" a ways. Music, ultimately, will survive. Over millennia, it still holds its mysteries and secrets. Just because a bunch of bean counters and corporate coke-heads currently control the mainstream does NOT mean that music is in peril. It can only continue. And it's up to musicians (and here, I mean ALL people in the creative process...musicians, producers, engineers, arrangers, etc) to keep hold of the wheel. If the mainstream wants unrewarding sounds, go out and get your hands on something like a Buchla Sound Easel and circumvent the mainstream. Or a copy of Ableton Live + VSTs such as "Boids" or Hainbach's Audio thingies collabs. Or a buttload of free plugs from KVR in strings that might seem "wrong" from an engineering standpoint. THERE IS NO USE IN COMPLAINING ABOUT WHERE YOU LIVE WHEN YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO MOVE LITERALLY ANYWHERE...all you need is the restraint and artistic discipline necessary to whip out quality work. Hell, even AI has its uses; you can get it to whip up it's usual gibberish...then if something tickles your cochlea, sample it! Keep building! Don't like "the grid"? Then turn it off and pretend you're tracking into an old MCI JH16. The limitations are gradually disappearing. And that includes the hardware and software. The results in the end should be interesting AS LONG AS people keep exploring this frontier with an eye to keep music going forward. Yippie-ky-yay, y'all!

[@RemoWilliams-jg4yb]

I think you need your own channel! Very well said. I lived in Nashville in the early 90's, moved away for a few years and then moved back in 2000 (worked in the industry but did not play at that time) and I decided that it had changed for the worse. I was hoping for a resurgence in the early 00's and it looked like it could have happened, but sadly it feel short and it has gotten worse ever since. The "there is still good music out there, but you are too much of a fudd to see it" comments make me want to puke. Yes I know there are a "few" but it is nothing like the era I came from.

[@daccrowell4776]

@@RemoWilliams-jg4yb The biggest changes there started in the mid-80s, with the advent of the "hat acts". Before then, country had a lot more authenticity...it was still "working man's music", it spoke to human things from everyday life. And the industry there was far less cutthroat, far more cooperative. But by the mid-90s, it got lots more obvious. You had weird stuff that cost more money than whatever sense it had (see also the "Chris Gaines" fiasco), artists that seemed more like caricatures (good example here: Toby Keith), and a whole lot of really...well, Pavlovian response stuff ("God Bless the USA" and too damn many others) and SOMEhow it all got entrenched. Some of the blame is obvious, such as the music industry contracting down to only four or five mega corporations. But the worst of it was crap that was being cooked up ala carte, especially the fake flag-waving and posturing product (again, Toby Keith sets the bar with his "We'll put a boot in your ass/It's the American way" jingoism). When THAT emerged, Nashville was DONE. It quit sounding like Nashville, it lost all of Nashville's sense of hospitality, and what was left by 2010 could just as well be produced by robots. Yes, some interesting people DID come in there in the 2000s...Robyn Hitchcock being an exemplar there...but the vast majority of what flooded in was a countless number of "pay to play" school debris, which just muddied the waters into total opacity. Which is pathetic, given that the FIRST accredited music industry programs were just down the road in Murfreesboro, at a REAL school, MTSU. But for every MTSU student with an actual baccalaureate degree, it seemed like there were ten derps from MI or Full Sail junking up the place. Tbh, I would LOVE to see Nashville regain its footing here. The stuff I hear out of Sturgill Simpson or Hank III makes me think it COULD happen. But the big question is how to reverse the stalled momentum that's anchored to formulaic methods and chasing dollars, which I truly think has crippled the scene there. Nashville has never been a "proper model" of anything...hell, the very first "double A side" #1 out of there was actually best viewed as "lite jazz" for piano! But the Nashville that that was a part of just...well, it feels "missing". Too many "pod pickers" that all do exactly the same damn thing. Still waiting and watching, though...the chemistry's still there, it's just not found the right spark to set it off. I hope.

[@RemoWilliams-jg4yb]

@@daccrowell4776 Very well said my friend. I remember when I got there, they told me that I was too young and didn't fit the "image". Strait was king along with Garth at that time and most players ages ranged from late 30's to early 40's and you had to have the 27 gallon hat and a belt buckle that looked like you melted down a buick just to get the audition. Nashville then had a nice jazz fusion scene that I straddled along with a great rock scene, but the town was dead. Then along came Shania and she turned it on it's head ( and not for the better) her band looked like a bizarre pop act. There were and are still a few great soulful players in that town that I still keep in touch with from time to time, but I can see how that town has muddled their thinking.

[@frankingenito]

I'm a 66 year old drum teacher. You made a lot of excellent points and I agree that what's popular is awful. However, thanks to technology today it is easier than ever to find new artists, whether or not they are popular. I've been listening to a lot of great female artists. There is plenty of talent out there. You just need to look for it. Some of my favorites are Thea Gilmore, Larkin Poe, First Aid Kit, Kasey Chambers, Beth Hart, The Pretty Reckless, The Wolff Sisters, Margo Price, Lydia Loveless, Allison Moorer, Ally Venable, Amy Macdonald and Baskery. I think these artists are every bit as good as what I listened to in the seventies.

[@catsofsherman1316]

You have a fine point that there are plenty of excellent artists out there to discover. The downside is that there are so many polished turds to wade through to find the gems. Any sites you can recommend to find some of these great obscure talents. I was familiar with a couple you listed.

[@frankingenito]

​@@catsofsherman1316actually I use KZbin a lot. I search for new artists in a specific genre and playlists come up. For example, I searched for new americana artists and saw Thea Gilmore. Liked the song, checked out more and found out that she's been around for 25 years. Ended up buying all of her albums and now she's become one of my favorite artists.

[@frankingenito]

​@@catsofsherman1316actually I use KZbin a lot. I'll search for new artists in a specific genre and playlists come up. For example, I searched for new americana artists and saw Thea Gilmore. I liked the song, checked out more and found out that she's been around for 25 years. Ended up buying all of her albums and now she's become one of my favorite artists.

[@telliott]

What is that song from your past, "Revival", if that's the title? I really like it. Good music is still out there, you just have to search for it. Very little in the top 40.

[@JonBlackstone]

Thanks for the compliment! “Revival” is a song from my first album titled “Not Dressed For The Occasion”. You can listen to all my music here: jonblackstone.com/music or any music sites. Thanks again!

[@jvblhc]

I got into music from my Mom. She had a lot of 45s and I listened to all of them. And suddenly, I heard Elvis singing "Heartbreak Hotel" and I was hooked. From there I listened to Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Litttle Richard, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Stones and so many more. And I agree that music is not what it use to be. Listen to Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" from 1965 and here and there, Bob forgets a few words but he just keeps going. He knows he's got something really good and he's not going to stop just because of a few mistakes.

[@Alan-lv9rw]

The last popular music I liked was “One” by U2. I think that was about 1992.

[@glennandadriansrocktalk]

Check out The Warning. They're amazing, and they kill it live. They have the talent and the songs. Especially check out their album "Error". (We've done over 100 reactions to them if you're looking for a place to start).

[@burninggiraffe6615]

This is a self fulfilling prophecy and blows smoke up its own butt. I’m 56 so I’m fully aware of all of the periods you speak of. I’m discovering a huge amount of incredible contemporary music via Apple Music. It just sounds like older people lamenting that their favourite artists are no longer relevant.

[@nolarobert]

500 years from now as humanity spreads across the universe, the music of The Beatles will still be relevant. It is difficult to say that this will be true for any contemporary artist.

[@pauln7058]

​@@nolarobert I am sure you are right. The only sad thing is that we won't be around to see this for ourselves. Enjoy it while you can we are a VERY lucky generation!! 😊❤

[@antondial5326]

The music industry killed music. The business end got so engrossed in profits that it became more and more about making money, and less and less about making good music. There was a time when artists were signed to labels, and given a sense of artistic freedom. Now everything is formularized, and structured around unadulterated greed. Add to that, MTV, and VH1, which may have been well intentioned at first, but eventually got the greed virus, and went the way of money over music, devolving into jokes. Money, greed, lust, violence without a cause, and playing politics. That's today's music. Chords, melodies, structures, and writing great songs based on those ingredients, are gone today, replaced by jokes. I think you could use ANY technology, 4, 8, 16, 24 track machines, digital recording on computers, A.I., whatever the tech of the year is, and STILL create great music. Its not about the machines, it's about US, we, the people doing the music. WE are NOT making great music anymore, we have turned the music industry into a greed machine. I agree that the greatest music of the modern era came BEFORE the end of 1979, BUT I do think that the 1980s still gave us some great stuff, Duran Duran, The Eurythmics, and The Rolling Stones were/are still there. To boil it down, i don't really think the technology of the day is to blame. I think it's how WE have become slaves to today's technology. Think about the great songs of The Beatles, The Stones, Elton, ELO, and Dylan, done by humans using today's technology. Those songs would still be great. Don't blame the tech, blame the humans. P.S. It's amazing how we agree on these things, but even though Sinatra died when I was a kid, I am now a big fan. And YES, Elvis Presley, was a GREAT singer, and he had that star magic.

[@JonBlackstone]

Thank you for watching and thanks for the great comments. If you watched my videos, I’m sure you know I agree with every word you said. Cheers!

[@dalewier9735]

I was a music snob, because i played horn in orchestra and was a music major in college. I Hated and did not listen to Beatles, (but loved Yesterday, the long and winding road, and some others) no rock, a very little disco because i loved the bass lines, but i never let anyone know i liked some of "this" kind of music. BUT in 1971 i listened to Madman! "I can see... very well" "There's a boat on the reef with a broken back" " i can see it very well"... My Lord!, i can still remenber where i was and who was in the room, even the time of day! Levon, i did not "love" immediately but soon i would. And thus began my obsession with Elton, Dee, Davey, Nigel (please forgive any misspellings) ESPECIALLY DEE, who i believe is the greatest rock bass guitarist ever. Rock of the westies, Caribou, Dirtbown Cowboy, Don't Shoot..." (the b side of i became a "man" to) and 6 copies of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Tumbleweed, Honkey Chatou, the soundtrack "Friends" (i am forgetting at least one and maybe two in this time) even including Blue Moods. It was Elton John's music that allowed me to think, maybe, there was good tunes that had been written less than 100 years ago. And i have wondered the same, the older i get, i ask the question with greater frequency and sadness, why does current music S..U..C..K!!! Does this underwhelmed attitude concerning currently produced tunes mean i will soon be screaming at the neighborhood kids to "GET THE HELL OUT-A MY YARD, YOU LITTLE $HIT$!!! I hope not because if the cure for verbally accosting the town's children is to have to sit and listen and endure todays top ANYTHING" the little turds... sorry, i mean... darlings, best stay clear of my property. But seriously, music today sucks...unless they make it sound like it is 40 years old, minimum.

[@MsArtemis64]

I love me some Elton John! When I list to 'I've seen that movie, too' I'm transported to a smokey bar with Sir Elton at the piano! And let's not forget the amazing 'Funeral for a Friend/Love lies Bleeding!'

[@dalewier9735]

@@MsArtemis64 I learned to play bass and appreciate a screaming guitar solo (thank you Davey) listening to Loves lies Bleeding. I arranged a version of Funeral/Love lies Bleeding for my high school band in 1976. We never played it i n the full concert band but I rearranged it for Jazz Band along with "Killing Me Softly" by the great R. FLACK. GOOD TUNES! If I want to memory trip, it's Elton I put on also.

[@dalewier9735]

@@MsArtemis64 I wanted you to know that since reading your "...seen that movie too" comment, I have been looking so forward to listening to "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" again. The album has some of my most "favoritist" songs: Funeral/Love Lies Bleeding, Danny Bailey, Dirty Girl, All the Girls Love Alice, Sweet Painted Lady, Social Disease, Harmony, and one of the best ever... "I've Seen that Movie too". Wow! these are some great tunes and like you, hearing these songs "starts me remembering". I was about 13, turning 14 when I got this album, my first girlfriend, driving to Crystal Beach, ... It may be time for a Road trip...

[@rebelpunx88]

I think it sums up to two things, 1. I disagree is technology, it's lazyness, the beatles used it to their advantage and to serve their creativity it's the opposite today, because 2. There's focus groups to cater to people's wants like it's a product, nobody wanted or expected a bowie, etc history shows labels shouldn't cater to what people expect

[@ThePittsburghToddy]

I agree with every single word you said. Your premise is the sad truth of our supposed “music” today. I’m going to go yell at some clouds…

[@Alan-lv9rw]

I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s. Maybe it’s because I’m from that era, but I believe the best music is from then. The Doors, Beatles, CCR, Led Zeppelin, etc. Hip hop and Taylor Swift don’t do it for me.

[@JonBlackstone]

As you already know I feel the same way. Thanks for watching!

[@frankisfrank69]

As far as bands who can play anything and correspond to your criterion of good music are concerned, it seems like the Stones are on top of that list...