Music in today’s day and age is a lot different then it has ever been before. With digital technology and the Internet you can now have access to so much more variety then you did before it is ridiculous. This also means that there is a lot more crappy music you have access to and might have to dull over. Nowadays I have no concrete way of finding music. Years ago I was a radio baby and heard stuff on the various local channels we had. Hoping that the DJ would say who it was and what album it was on so I could check it out at the local Tower’s. Hoping that maybe they had a sample of the album to listen to before spending the money on a album that may not be good. And I think we have all done it. You bought a album, spent $10+ on a artist, because of that one song. Then you realize the whole album was nothing like that song and wasn’t worth price of admission.
I think the height of my music appreciation and the year’s I enjoyed most were the 90′s. This is due to many reasons but most importantly these were during my teenage years when I was the most influential. With that being said that was also a period of great music. A lot of the great artists from the 80′s were hitting their peak. R&B with sexy innuendos was running rampant. Techno and even Latin artists had radio play. It was a time of so much different music and personalities you couldn’t turn on the radio and not hear something that you wanted to add to your collection. Stevie B made me want to get a really good sound system as well as it was smooth music for the ladies. Tupac had lyrics that would hype you up to get in a fight, then with the next song make you want to call your mom to tell her you loved her. R. Kelly had you wanting to make babies and every guy had him in their “mix CD” for that special girl.
Today’s music is catchy. Radio play and club play rule pretty much everything. Not much out that is super popular can not be pushed that way without studio’s pushing it in such a way. Of course there are many gems out there, don’t get me wrong. But the majority of what we hear is carefully planned out with marketing and guru’s who get paid a lot to sway us a certain way. The manipulation of it all is amazing and reaches so many ends. From TV show soundtracks to even music heard on your favorite YouTube video’s is all part of a marketing plan. It is a love/hate relationship for me. I love hearing music to pump you up and get the ladies dancing for sure. But when every other song has a remix with Lil Wayne and you hear the same songs on the “hip-hop”, top 40 and alternative stations, then you have a problem. I am all for crossing genre’s but some stuff is just pushed down our throats beyond belief.
I want a push from the 90′s artist to make a comeback and make music that is back to their roots. I think it would still do good in this day and age. I know most people try to evolve their music and try so many different things. Sometime it works and sometimes not. Think of Linkin Park (who I enjoy BTW). They have generally kept to their same music but added things here and there. I think that when they were all angry and struggling artists their music was best then, but I still enjoy their newer stuff. But if somehow their next album was like their first I wonder what the reaction would be. You would definitely get the critics who said they are going backwards as well as fans. But their fan base is so large why not make music that you enjoy as well like making.
Here is a scenario to think about. Think about your favorite artist or artists of the 90′s. Now think of their most current music that they have released. Now think about how different they are from one another. I am going to guess more then likely that it will be a good amount different. Good examples, Black Eyed Peas and No Doubt. Now think about if their next album they made like their older albums. How would you feel about it? I for one would 95% of the time probably be excited over it. Now imagine this, what if you just heard their old stuff on the radio now like it was new? How would you feel about that? Imagine turning on the radio and hearing Motownphilly again on the radio. I know it would bring a smile to my face, what about you?
