You really aren't listening to the right hip hop artists, then. There are a myriad of highly talented rappers who's songs are rooted in meaningful, thought provoking subjects. And the same goes for any genre.
Musicians themselves are exploring various niches and the audiences that await them in every corner of the music world. And as a result, have a smaller fanbase. The reason why you still hear the same garbage on KROQ and why the top 10 acts are ancient is because those are the musicians that have been proven to appeal to the widest audience. And with the top 10 acts, I'm going to guess that a big part of their fanbase is composed of 30+ year old individuals who are going to stick around for a while with their static tastes in music. Basing the state of the music world on who the top 10 performing acts are is a bit foolish. There's a whole lot happening.
My iTunes library is filled with music of recent artists who's music is of high quality. You can't just turn on the radio now to find good music, even via Pandora or Rhapsody. Don't fool yourself by thinking that Pandora is really giving you an in depth look to the various genres of music. It really isn't. You have to work a bit harder than that.
Wouldn't you say that the fact that you have to work harder, even with amazing sources like Rhapsody and Pandora (which have a cornucopia of indie music) to find good music means we're in a rut? In the '90s you could just put on the radio.
If anything, that's a reflection of the shift in popular musical taste. Kids these days are, in my opinion, much less mature than those that grew up a decade ago. And it's their taste that pretty much dictates what we hear on the radio.
But as far as music production, I think we've definitely seen a boom in music exploration and creativity. Again, a lot of musicians are finding niche audiences -- audiences too small and insignificant to record labels who are looking for the next Fallout Boy.
I'd agree with you in saying that the music business is in a rut, because its goal of marketing the next hit artist for huge returns leaves a lot of talent unnoticed. But is music, as far as its creativity, originality, progression, and meaning, in a rut? I really don't think so.
A decade ago with Blink 182 and Brittany Spears? Or 10 years before that, with Mr. Roboto?
Most people will always remain largely tasteless. That's nothing new. Popular music will always be worse than the real cutting edge, because pop music hit its peak and now it's in recline. The Beatles were that fusion of cutting edge and pop, and now that they're done music is changing again.
> the fact that you have to work harder, even with amazing sources like Rhapsody and Pandora (which have a cornucopia of indie music) to find good music means we're in a rut? In the '90s you could just put on the radio.
That's my experience too. In the 90's, lots and lots of really good music was selling really well too. You could just turn on MTV (or the radio), and you'd end up hearing it.
I haven't been following new music for many years, because somewhere along the way all that changed. The last time I happened to hear the stuff playing on a popular radio station, I was taken aback by what passes for a hit these days.
But I'm practically a grumpy old grandpa now. I bet people who grew up in the 70's bemoaned the lack of good music in the 80's or 90's too.
Musicians themselves are exploring various niches and the audiences that await them in every corner of the music world. And as a result, have a smaller fanbase. The reason why you still hear the same garbage on KROQ and why the top 10 acts are ancient is because those are the musicians that have been proven to appeal to the widest audience. And with the top 10 acts, I'm going to guess that a big part of their fanbase is composed of 30+ year old individuals who are going to stick around for a while with their static tastes in music. Basing the state of the music world on who the top 10 performing acts are is a bit foolish. There's a whole lot happening.
My iTunes library is filled with music of recent artists who's music is of high quality. You can't just turn on the radio now to find good music, even via Pandora or Rhapsody. Don't fool yourself by thinking that Pandora is really giving you an in depth look to the various genres of music. It really isn't. You have to work a bit harder than that.