hip-hop shmip-shmop

Monotone delivery of lyrics over a backing track isn't new by any means. Unless bragging about your bling and dissing your ememies is now considered a breakthrough in music.

Try Noel Coward in 1932... "Mad Dogs and Englishman". Same thing, different era.

Can't get enough of the New Pornographers myself and CBC's Radio 3 podcasts are THE best place to hear new music right now IMHO.

Music to shake you up

I suspect that the problem here lies more with the listener than the music itself. We are drowning music (as in most forms of entertainment) largely because the whole distribution chain has become so open and diverse. I have a modest collection of vinyl dating back as far as 1957 (my mother bought me a Billie Holliday compilation), a collection of CDs, a subscription to one on-line service and access to others, and a ton of internet radio. I'm so spoiled that I can indulge in whatever music I want when I want and to the extent I want. Contrast this with the AM radio that constituted most of the musical diet when I was a young sprout: limited playlists, one genre, few stations, many commercial messages. It was a veritable straitjacket. But with the satisfaction of all our desires comes a certain jadedness: Balzac said that pleasure is like certain medical substances in that they need to be taken in constantly increasing doses to achieve the same effect. So it is with "new" music. In order to achieve originality, musicians have to get farther and farther from the center of what's gone before, farther than other originals have already gone, often to the point where their appeal is limited to those who engage with music on an intellectual level beyond simple enjoyment and emotional identification. It.s a pretty narrow audience, I think. Were the Beatles really making great music, or were they simply the first in some veins and the best promoted. It's Hard to be dispassionate, and hard to listen "objectively" to music that's made an impression, but I think we might find that there are lots of great bands out there, that there is a stunning plethora of great music, but that there's so much of it that nothing really stands out from the crowd. So do we need stars...?

too much choice?

I listen to hip hop, as well as other genres, and I'm not sure I agree with that statement. Hip hop, IMO, has been in a rut of late.

I think the abundence of music availble on the net is why nothing seems fresh, at least for me. It's that saturation point you mention.

I used to only listen to what I could afford to buy, now I can listen to what I want, when I want. Since the advent of mp3s and ipods, I've been exposed to so many musical styles, bands, etc. that it takes something really special to grab me.

I call it "new music fatigue" and it's why, like you, I keep going back to my old stuff searching for that feeling.

Anyway, what have I been listening too lately? Nothing you haven't heard if you're plugged into the blogs. Here are a few bands that have my attention... this week ; )

The Clientele, The National, Spoon's latest...

Quote:Monotone delivery of

That's an ignorant comment from someone that obviously has no idea about hip hop. Like in every genre there is a wide spectrum of deliveries and content.

You can find many hip hop artists who are more interested in political causes than how much "bling" they have on them. Yes the mainstream uses the canned "bling" approach, but so does every other genre. That is the real problem with most music these days. This article is more about finding and unearthing hidden gems of which there are lots in hip hop.

Maybe if artists made more than one quality song per album people would be more inclined to buy than download. Over the last year I bought 60-70 CD's, out of those maybe 5 were worth the CD they were burnt on. Now I download first, and buy when the work warrants my money.

The generic everybody likes this template has been the real downfall of music. With widely available free distribution methods now available, we will start seeing a rebirth of music free from the tired record company template.

danneau

Would that I could give you all stars. Great discussion going on here.

hip hop innovation

Admittedly I have only a small idea about hip-hop. But, the fact that there's a wide range of approaches doesn't necessarily mean any of them are particularly innovative (the original point I was disputing).

Money Money Baby!

Time is money and I do not think 'great bands' want to wait to craft a great album anymore.

It seems to those participating in the music industry that its more about lets get product out there and sell it!

Just like taking the time to ponder things is now seen as time wasting!

No time for reflection, no time for making great music!

I enjoy mostly the music from when I was younger. Sadly gave up my albums, still have cassette tapes and re bought albums on CD.

Biggest disappointment is when the album (being 'old') is not released on CD!

I have yet to own a cell phone or i-pod, or mp3 player. I take my discman or use the stereo in the car.

As to rap, I call it cr_p! Especially when sung by suburban middle class caucasians! And shaken the neighborhood through some yahoo's car stereo!

I find new music (that I have not heard) mostly from taking in a folk festival.

I still volunteer (take holiday time to don so) at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival and luv the range: from african to celtic, reggae, to blues.

Fiery

Fiery Furnaces
Ghostrain
Rosebuds

Saturation point...

It could be as simple as there are too many bands, too many home studios, too many cheap ways to record, too many other distractions like games and internet. It seems anyone with an ounce of talent can now make a recording. It used to be a status thing to have a CD out, and bands were the coolest thing. Fewer bands got through the filter of the high cost of doing business.

So, maybe we are going thru an adjustment, like all areas affected by huge technological advances. Maybe the cream will once again rise to the top. I sure hope it happens in my lifetime.

I don't remember this being a problem in the "pre-saturation" days. Every album had a few singles, and the rest were called "album cuts", but not to smear them. They were somewhat less radio oriented and often were the best tunes.

Which leads me to two final thought: the damaging effects of radio, creating a constantly shrinking playlist (greed), and the effect of TV advertising, creating a constantly shrinking attention span.

If only musicians controlled the music ...

...

Yes, I'm liking this too. LCD Soundsystem is still getting a lot of play with me, as is the new Blonde Redhead.

I agree, I think this has always been the case and always will be -- as long as bands continue to put out albums. It's just rare to come across albums you want to play entirely, without skipping a track. You know, when "album cut" means "filler".

With the internet, I could see how bands might be tempted to just release singles, or eps instead of full lengths. My playlists are often condensed albums.

Who knows, maybe the internet will introduce a new standard.

Music and Audience

There's oodles of really good music out there, and it's easy to find: visit you local independent record store. That said, when music is in sync the collective conciousness, it takes on a whole new level — a truly great song that plays on the same wavelength as the people ingrains itself in time and place. And I think that's the music Elaine is looking for; it's just that she misses the real reason why those "Fleetwood Mac" moments are missing. They're missing — arguably —but not account of a dirth in pop genius. They're missing because of the disconnect between people and great music, and because if great music is disconnected from the people, it can never take on the new identity that comes with a synchronicity between music and people.

And it's not to say this doesn't happen, even in these confusing times — Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" was certifiable 2005 and 6. Gnarls may not be great for the same reason the Beatles or Marvin Gaye are great, but they certainly had a Guns n' Roses moment, which is good enough. (Yeah, St. Elsewhere was not a "great" album.) But the moments are certainly less frequent music is increasingly segregated by genre, time, and distribution method. And because of this, the mass audience is either dispersed, or humming the latest disingenuous pop dud, which is usually more about the art of marketing than the art of music.

Arcade Fire

Honestly, I didn't give it too much "benefit of the doubt" but the Arcade Fire's Neon Bible is a great record from end-to-end. I really enjoyed it and have listened to it a number of times.

The Acorn's Tin Fist EP is really growing on me.

Older records include Neko Case's Blacklisted, the last Diableros album and Amy Millan's Honey From The Tombs

Alabama 3

One of my faves, although they aren't really new, is Alabama 3. They're probably best known in North America for the opening music of the Sopranos. They blend blues, gospel, rock, techno and country music. They tour a lot in the UK.