Korean Job Discussion Forums

[fosterman]

I was born in the mid 70's to a hippy mother and a musician father.
my mother was a hipster, clubber, she clubbed in london, new york, traveled the world, was down with the scene at the time. she was way into music.
rock, pop, disco you name it.. she was a real cool chick.
my dad being a vocalist in a band during the 70's a recorded artists might I add, he was into all kinds of music. my parents use to have killer parties for all hippy set, musician types, live music, records, drugs, booze, dancing etc.. the 70's come on.. you know what I am talking about my parents through it down..
so I when a kid music was always being played in my house.
when I was around 8 years old, which was in 82, I started to venture into my parents music collection and put on music which I liked.
my parents had such a vast collection of music so I was into everything.
from Queen, to ray charles, from deep purple , billyl joel to eric clapton to david bowie, you name it my parents or their friends were listening to it.

as I got a little older I started to be selective of what I wanted to hear.
I was already exposed to rock, punk, pop, blues, country, jazz, alternative, etc.. I was now a kid growing up in the mid 80's.
there was all this new experimental music all around me. from punk to glam rock, from rap to old folk singers who were now legends.
It was a great time to be a kid and find my tastes in music.
there was so many original artists making original music, singer song writers getting contracts and selling albums, it seemed like every saturday when MTV came on there were new artists being introduced to me.
I went through all kinds of music, and at the same time had an older brother and a mum and dad all fighting over the stereo for air time, all into different music, at the time I didn''t care what they wanted to play, I just wanted my billy idol or genesis record on, but i had to fight my brother who had the cure, or depeche mode in his hand, and my mum waiting to put on the stones, as you can imagine we were a family so we all took turns so we all listened to each others music.
as much as I hated depeche mode back then. mainly because it was mu brothers taste, I love their music now..
as the 80's rolled on the 90's approached. I was 15, 16 years old at the turn on the decade.. 1990!!! we saw a new style of music take center stage.
hip hip, rap, and new jack swing.
I was there for the birth of rap music! grand master flash, ll cool J, beastie boys, NWA, etc etc.. boys to men, jodici, c & C music factory, Mc hammer, playing more energy dance rap music. the music scene was exploring new boundaries and the people were thirsty for anything.. and I was there as a teenager looking for my scene. around 1993 alternative rock was making a come back with bands like pearl jam, nirvana, and oasis, but I felt that music was just old rock music from the 70's which I already had grown up to so I didn't take to it, there was a new music which got my interest,
trance, techno, and house, bands like the ORB, leftfield and the prodigy
the birth of the club DJ also was born. this new style of hard, fast pace music, the birth of EDM music, I was there again for ther birth.
18-20 years old, in the clubs, taking pills and going to raves listening to his new music a.. just like in the past years, where it was hip hip, gangsta rap, alternative rock, new jack swing, 80's pop, etc..it was a new genre.
so many new genres as a youth I was spoiled when I think about.
the difference between then and now is, that then it was all new..
now if we turn that music onto kids, it's old music..

as the 90's progressed, the mc hammers, the public enemies, color me badds, pearl jams, jodicis etc couldn't find their place and eventually died out. and we saw the big stars from the 70's 80's still dominating the charts, and rap music taking over mtv. then the rebirth of the boy bands, and pop idols again made a come back, brittany spears, Back street boys etc.. rock music, rap music and techno were the main draws.
I was there for the birth of them all. well not rock music as that goes way back but I did grow up as a kid listening to it..
so for me..
the 70's
the 80's
the 90's
three decades of music with countless genres, countless artists, and countless classic songs, EPIC times for music...

as the 2000's rolled along, there was no real new scene.


like if you compare it to the 80's crossing into the 90s
it seemed like it was just a continuation from the 90s...
and that decade 2000 I feel like nothing special happened.
just the artists from the 90's are still here in the 2000s with a few new guys just continuing the genre which was born a decade before.

now here we are.. 2012..
2 years into the new decade.. again I don't feel like there is a cross like say the 70's disco into the 80's glam rock, or the flamboyant 80's pop
into the 90's rock. or new jack swing.
it seems again as a continuation from the previous artists just trying to survive in the new decade.
now we have lady gaga( who is nothing more than a female version of Ziggy stardust and madonna, we also have justin beiber who in probably just the rick ashley with better marketing.
so really.. in case of music.. have we reached the end?
disco is dead
80's love pop is dead
90's alternative rock is almost dead
boy bands are dead,
EDM is wel...l nothing new and it's just progressing
rap and hip hop artists are still rapping about getting of the ghetto and nothing really new is being done there.
so ...
where do we go from here?

can anyone really tell me an artist who is completely original and doesn't sound like someone from old days?
is there a new genre waiting to be tap into ?

I sit here now listening to music from the the old days..
not because I am nostalgic,
ok, maybe that's part of it.. but no seriously, because all the new music coming out today is just regurgitated music from my youth. and that goes for 70% of hollywood movies too..

you guys agree? or am I missing something here?
can someone please tell me that 2010's is the greatest decade for original music or all time..

I mean, I remember MTV when they use to play music.now it's Snookie and JJWOW get smashed with the kadashians in club LA with special DJ paris hilton.

I don't know.. maybe I am just getting old like my daughter told me the other day while she was listening to justin beibers new track..

[DIsbell]

You might just be getting old. The 2000s had lots of great music. There's a lot going on these days with electronic music- not just EDM, but lots of innovative, alternative stuff that often incorporates traditional instruments as well. I'll just leave a few names that will hopefully get you started...

Animal Collective
El Guincho
Gold Panda
The Album Leaf
Crystal Castles
Flying Lotus
Deerhunter
Kavinsky
College
Danger

[fosterman]

[northway]

I get the impression that you're including alternative rock as a new genre of music from the nineties, but it was just as derivative as anything coming out today. Ditto with nineties hip hop versus current hip hop. That said, I think the Internet has led to a larger number of midrange acts with a lot of exposure within certain demographics, with an overall decline in the number of big names tht everyone has heard of. Radio is dying a slow death, and the musical landscape is affected as a result.

[Dave Chance]

Basically OP you're dead on.

Artistic expression was encouraged and nurtured by the big labels once upon a time, letting a band grow and get its feet over the course of a couple of albums wasn't unheard of, now it's like sell at least a few hundred thousand right off the bat or to heck with ya...just a sign of the times, or cultivated design...something for one to consider...in any case it's highly unlikely you'll see the likes of Morrison or Hendrix given a high-profile platform, ever

[Underwaterbob]

The music scene didn't die, instead it splintered into big business and smaller, local scenes. The 60s and 70s were a time of experimentation, so people were willing to take a few more chances with their music. Now those people are in the minority and most want something more secure and accessible. Thus the glut of cookie cutter pop artists pumped out by big name labels, and less support for the new guy trying something crazy. Trying economic times don't help the situation. In times of recession, art is the first thing to go.

There's a lot more to it than that however:

Just look at the history of western music to gain some perspective. The Renaissance Era lasted 200 years, Baroque another 150, 50 years of the Classical and another 100 of the Romantic. Entire centuries of static musical styles. Not that there wasn't any innovation during those eras, but honestly, can the average person tell the difference between Vivaldi (Baroque) and Mozart (Classical) who were composing nearly 100 years apart?

Musically, things might have slowed down since the early and mid twentieth century, but in terms of sheer number of notable and innovative artists, we're still doing way better than we were at any time before 1900.

[transmogrifier]

I don't keep up with much never music, but that's just because I'm getting older and have really settled into my own little comfort zone with regards to the music I listen to. I'm not sure whether there is any decrease in the vitality of modern music - but I'm definitely sure there has been a decrease in my interest in keeping abreast of it.

At the moment, I'm actually going back in time and discovering brilliant bands of the 60s, 70s and early 80s:

The Seeds
The Monks
13th Floor Elevators
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Can
The Stooges
The Adverts
Parliament/Funkadelic
Faust
Television
The Modern Lovers

etc.

Brilliance. And the great thing is, their entire body of work is out there already. No getting into a new band and waiting 2-3 years between each album.

[Steelrails]

The problem is that music isn't about music anymore. It's about identity and trying to be different.

People used to listen to music because they liked it and it sounded good to them. People used to want to share in music with other people. Now people don't want to listen to music everyone else listens to and choose artists based on how different their sound is and how it lets them be a snob.

I agree that the good thing with this trend is it lets one look back and focuse on the huge amount of music in the past to find. For me classical and jazz. Also smaller genres and their mainstream artists like Neo-Soul, Gospel, Bluegrass and music from different nations and languages, especially a lot of different Latin genres and music from the Middle East. At least the non-English speaking world seems to be more about how music used to be.

That and Old Tyme Radio shows. Nothing like an episode of Dragnet in the morning to wake up to or some Our Miss Brooks.

[fosterman]

I remember watching an interview with Billy bob thornton
I know musician doesn't come to mind, more like actor. but in fact he is a musician.
but he was saying one time on set of his movie he was having a debate with a girl in her late 20's. now billy bob is in his 50's so really decades apart musically.
and the debate was..

Billybob asked her, which musician can you call your own, from your decade who is original and is considered great, famous etc.? now this was a few years ago so he was referring to the 2000's , then he even went as far as say, you know what. I will even throw the 90's in there.. give me somebody!
she was saying names like
U2, Michael jackson, Radio head, REM, etc etc.
but billy bob was like NO. all those artists are from the 70's or the 80's!
then he went on to say, ok, there are a few from the 90s. but the last 15 years. you really got nobody!
and then he made a bet I bet you can't name 10 original singer songwriters from your generation. and I bet I can name 100 from mine!

now of course we all could name some from the 90's I don't know about the 2000's. but I think his point is validated. I mean it's how I feel too.
the music industry, hollywood, they are not only looking for hits.
how many marvel comic movies are out these days? how many sequels to movies,

studio engineered artists, like the 99% of the Koreans, and justin beiber.
it's all calculated and they don't want to take risks, but of course every now the then a gem will shine..

[northway]

There are plenty of musicians we can call our own, but you and Billy Bob might be a bit too out of touch to acknowledge them. Personally, I'd claim Arcade Fire as a huge band that formed organically, created their own sound, and I can call my own. Going a bit smaller, the indie scene has exploded over the last decade; does this fail to pass the test for you, due to the fact that they don't have major label support? I'm sorry, but this strikes me as a case of the previous generation complaining about the music of the young (as every generation is wont to do).

[JustinC]

Great OP, fosterman, very well put! I was born the same year as you and remember watching and listening to every single of those artists (after 1980) as they launched into the charts and faded away, or not in some cases. My dad's really into Deep Purple and mum loves Queen. I also enjoyed the acid house scene about the same time as you (various nights at the Brixton Academy, Fridays at the Camden Palace, Saturdays in The Brain, Ministry or others). Too much of a good time in too short a period, those were crazy, crazy nights.

Lots of great talent in all of those decades but, at the risk of sounding snobbish, I though Michael Jackson was a manufactured pop star as an adult (albeit a hugely talented one); Boys 2 Men and Salt 'n' Pepa were less talented and took no risks, the Beastie Boys were innovative but there was little finesse about their music (unlike NWA), Brittany Spears, Back Street Boys were/are a more expensive Tiffany, Cyndi Lauper was good but not great, Cher .. um .. yeah, Simply Red are cheese, Los Lobos (La Bamba) was The Chicken Song with a better melody, and 'Shuddap You Face' was a Worldwide friggin' #1 for some odd reason.

But yeah, there was so much talent and new music unleashed in such a short space of time that we've been thoroughly spoilt up to now. A lot of those acts are still selling music, concert tickets and tshirts and crowding out the younger set (even after they're dead, look at Elvis). And there are the massive bands whose marketing weight crowds out much of the stuff that appeals to younger people. Of course some good, new stuff still comes through, I love listening to Arcade Fire, Mogwai, Gorillaz (new-ish), LCD Soundsystem, Modest Mouse and Phoenix, and even Daft Punk didn't really get going until the late 90s. There are probably dozens or excellent bands I've not even heard of but I don't have the energy or time to go searching for them. I'm no music aficionado though.

[Newbie]

Dude,

Haven't you heard: KPOP. It's unique, wonderful, different, better than anything ever made and going to take over the world.

At least, that's what Korean TV keeps telling me. Who am I to argue?

[sallymonster]

I'm in my 20's, and I haven't followed modern music in years.

I know of a few current pop music "artists" only because I saw some celebrity news about them on yahoo.com, or because I heard their music playing in some store while walking down the street here in Korea, or because their music played at the roller skating rink I used to work at in Portland. I know of several k-pop "artists" because when I worked in public school, one my co-teachers insisted that I should try to make k-pop references in class as much as possible as an edutainment method, so I grudgingly did a little Google research.

I can't be bothered to try to find modern "obscure" indie bands to listen to. I leave that sort of things to the hipsters.

I'll just keep going through my parents' music collection and listening to classic rock radio, thank you very much.

[northway]

Finding new indie music is a really painless task via the internets, especially if you have a VPN and can access Pandora. YouTube channels, etc., are accessible for those in Korea. Not having the time really isn't an excuse, though it's fine if you just don't care to find new music.

[fosterman]