I was speaking to a friend one day, we talking about music and he said that music these days are rubbish and almost any idiot can make it to the chart. he named dropped Jedward, Gaga and that Bieber kid. he also said that just by repeating some words over and over again in an annoying pattern people call it call music. Another point he made was that lyrics are less meaningful and subject matter are nothing but stupid. like sex, drugs, money, partying etc. There isn't much inspirational or lyrically meaningful song in this generation.

Now I want to put it to you, has music really degraded?

This isn't really a stab at all genre's cause many have stayed unchanged it's more towards the more mainstream music genre. Like POP, HIP HOP, ROCK and the sub genre's etc you get the point.

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I really don't know how much bad music is there today compared to the past. But there was always generic sounding music on the charts, I believe. You should tell your friend that if he looks in the right places, he could always find good music, no matter what generation it is.

Do you yourself think popular music in the past was even better and more meaningful than today's? Have you heard much cheesy pop songs from the '90s/'80s/'70s?

I think mainstream music has really degraded. Out of say, ten artists, only one or two really stand out. It's sad to see that a simple chorus of repeated words is considered amazing music these days. Underground and old school is the way to go. 😀

Just down to opinion and preference...It has degraded tht much it just changed.

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For example take Rolling Stone's list of 500 greatest songs of all time.

Decade Number of songs

1940s 2
1950s 69
1960s 195
1970s 131
1980s 55
1990s 21
2000s 27

There will always be songs that suck and there will always be the ones that rock. But nowadays finding good artists is harder than ever.

well i wont argue that in some instances the quality of music has degraded considerably but thats all the matter of genre and the artist, but for me i listen to music for the rhythm and the sound of the music rather than the lyrics themselves because yeah i agree in some cases the lyrics are just repeats anyway.

but u kno realistically music changes to suit the masses and alot of the time music is written to meet a certain market and isnt meant for everyone, so its entirely possible that your friend is either too much of a purist or they have been listening to the wrong artists because i would say that for every genre there are decent artists its just a matter of lookin

I heard it on the news saying that over the years that the quality of muic has degraded a lot.
Which I believe is true...@westsider2 I agree with your friend

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hmm.. i wouldn't necessarily say degraded, but it's changed. there will always be music that people like and don't like. it's just a matter of opinion.

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Not really. But the audience definitely has.

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No, it's just tastes and sounds have changed to suit the new day and age, and new audiences like bedob mentioned (got a good point there).
Like, you know when a song is old because of the way it sounds. I dunno how to explain it. It's just got that beat that lets you know that's it's an old school tune.

You'll find that the ones that just repeat the lyrics are more the type of tune to dance to rather than home listening. That's what I've noticed anyway.

You mentioned Jedward, Gaga and Bieber...they're just 2010's version of The Cheeky Girls, Las Ketchup and the Baha Men from back in the day. Who can forget Mr Blobby too 🤣
You'll always have them (although I can't say I agree putting Gaga into that category. Her songs aren't that bad, it's just because she's a bit weird that people seem to throw her in the same category)
Although I've noticed that Pop has never been the same since all that Disney stuff tainted it.

But indeed, it's all a matter of opinion. I don't feel the music I listen to has gotten any worse.

If you look around you will still find bands playing genesis, journey, etc. So it isn't so much that music has "degraded" but that a new and different form has taken the reins of popularity in a way that, like all of their predecessors, masks the public's opinion and perspective such that the normal individual will have no knowledge of a band past its popularity, even if they are still very popular with its new and old fans.

One trend that I do see in the metal scene, I'm not sure about the pop and rock scenes, is that a bands first CD is usually considered their best, getting worse over time. Although this isn't for all bands and such, it still might prove your point, in a way. 😎

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I'm of the opinion that music has improved over the years if only in it's range and diversity. Artists have continued to evolve and take the best things from the previous generation and incorporate them into new styles, beats, and melodies. With the internet as a distribution method, the current generation of new music has never been bigger. Sure, we have tons of wanna be pop stars tossing crap onto the web (and some of them unfortunately managing to score record deals) but for every 10 shitty bands that pop up, we'll get 1 more great band. It's just a matter of sorting through the crap and finding the good stuff.

To say that "all pop music is trash music" is complete ignorance. I feel it's like trying to compare apples and oranges. Pop music is designed to be super catchy with a catchy melody, dance style beat, and simple to memorize lyrics. If you can't get a pop song out of your head for a week then the producer/musician succeeded in making a great pop song. To me, that's creating great music.

@Sybear: I disagree that metal degrades, with each album. For example, Scale the Summit. I think their 2009 album, Carving Desert Canyons had far more memorable songs and effing awesome riffs than their prior '07 album, Monument. They're just one of many bands that develop their style and improve with each album. Also, who can forget Sikth, who dropped amazing bombs with every album and could hardly be accused of getting worse with each release. Despite breaking up, their music influenced a ton of new bands including Periphery, Fall of Troy (who also recently disbanded), and Animals As Leaders all who have picked up the torch and are taking metal to new and unexplored directions.

...yeah, I listen to a lot of music and have diverse taste. 🙄

These days you don't need talent or money to get your idea of a great sound heard by others. Technological advances has allowed the cutting of corners, costs and initial talent requirements; talentless hacks can be autotuned and mixed beyond recognition into something sellable, the rest is just marketing the image and lifestyle.

There was then and there is now good and bad musicians and artists, the difference between then and now is that now we get to enjoy the full spectrum of quality and not only of those who made it big. That and the nauseating idol culture we are wallowing in.

I think music has degraded in the sense that it now lacks originality. Yes, there still are some good songs out there, but I find a lot of the music just repeating words or reusing old songs. And personally, I don't like the idea of someone earning fame off of someone else's music. I get that it updates those songs to the newer generation but I usually like the original much better. I agree with the no talent thing. So many artists don't sound like they do in their recorded song.

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Yes, music has degraded, I think music pretty much died at the end of the 90s. All the good bands are gone and all we have left are GaGa and Bieber.