Pretty lofty title, I hope I can do it justice.
Present day day music will be excluded from this column. Not because it sucks beyond belief (It does) but because the current generation of music is only important now, doubt it will be significant in 50 years.
I get that Taylor Swift is a veritable machine and she has millions and millions of “Swiftys” but I honestly could not name one song she has ever done. I give her credit for what she has accomplished and how she has taken charge of her whole career. She truly is brilliant and gutsy and more power to her. Her music, however, is not a part of my life and I just don’t get it. An individual performer, after a while, sounds the same song after song. The voice, the music, the lyrics, all meld into one sound. It is rare when a singer can create multiple sounds and recreate their sound over time.
I did do a dive (not a deep one) into some Taylor Swift material and to be honest, her first album sounds exactly like her last album. It’s boring. To me. She does have talent however and she can dance and sing so I will leave her be.
Talent is obviously a rare thing and that is what I think is missing in a lot of performers today. They do these highly staged shows and have adoring fans but are they talented? Let’s look at Drake. He actually is a pretty good singer, a very good performer but again, I could not recognize anything he has ever done. I like the guy. I think he has a good personality and he rarely says stupid things, but will he be remembered in 40 years. Maybe.
Another artist that I just don’t get is Beyonce’. She is a mediocre singer. Puts on an extravagant show that hides all of her flaws and she married Jay Z. In 40 years will she be remembered. Again Maybe.
The point I am trying to make is that music today has very little staying power. The talent level has dropped considerably and I think the popularity of artists today is more about these are our generations entertainers and we love them rather than this group or this singer is an extraordinary talent.
Things are different on the Country side of music. Not a huge fan but I can always listen to a Chris Stapleton or a Morgan Wallen. Excellent productions and great songwriting make up for the somewhat limited range of these artists but you go to see one of their shows and they are fun and lively and their isn’t any need for 40 costume changes and 20 backup singers and dancers. All country songs have something in common, there are stories to be told and these songs tell them.
Which brings me to rock and roll. Some say rock and roll died in the early ‘90’s. Probably pretty close to the truth as I look through the current roster of rock and roll talent. Not easy to do but I checked out a few bands and they weren’t half bad but I don’t see a great group among them. Greta Van Fleet is okay. Interesting music but I don’t see them attracting a big enough audience to classify them as top tier. The Georgia Thunderbolts might have a shot but my thoughts about them are; Are they a southern rock band or are they heavy metal without the thrashing guitars? Once they figure that out, I think they will be just fine. The Steepwater Band out of Chicago is also another band I like very much. They would be a huge hit in the late 70’s, early 80’s so I am not sure how well they will do in this age of overdubbed, over produced recordings.
Now that I have trashed the modern music scene I want to bring home a point most of my readers will agree with, music from our past still resonates today. I think there are several things that you can attribute that to.
First, when you hear almost any song from your childhood it will stir up some distant memory. “Spill the Wine” by War, for example, reminds me of my first kiss with Margaret Malpigly at some junior high school dance. Her father was the head custodian at the time and he was staring at me with daggers in his eyes. That was the first and last time Margaret and I shared anything.
Second, from the worst trend in music,Bubble gum, to some of the best trends, rock songs were catchy and singable. Come on now, how many of you have caught yourself singing along with “Sugar, Sugar” by the Archies or doing a solo to “Hey Jude”. Fact is, over the years I will bet we pretty much know the full lyrics to roughly two million songs but can’t remember where we put the car keys at any given point during the day. The writing may not have been great on every song but we still loved the lyrics and the music.
Third, as we were progressing through our early years, rock and roll spoke to us as a generation. You could be a kid from the suburbs and still want to listen to and understand what was going on in the ghetto. While we worried about our first dates with Margaret we listened to the Temptations “Runaway Child running wild” and had empathy for kids that were not as fortunate as us. You could be three years to soon for the draft but still want to protest the unjust war in Vietnam. The shootings at Kent State were down in the song “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. The events that were taking place around us were routinely put down in a song and we may not have directly experienced any of it but we always felt we were a part of it.
Lastly, the music from the mid 60’s to the early 80’s is still better than anything before or after. Listening to productions by Emerson, Lake and Palmer was like being treated to a symphony of sound that we all could connect to. Groups like Chicago and Blood Sweat and Tears brought complex arrangements to simple songs and you might have liked them then but you really appreciate what they created now more than ever. Sure there was some bad music out back then but to be honest, I can’t recall a single lousy song from that time period. Plenty of groups had filler material on their albums. I just can’t recall any of it.
Speaking of filler music, Cosmo’s Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival was supposed to have 7 or 8 tracks that were supposed to be filler material yet they all turned into medium to huge hits. This album holds a very special place in my heart since it was the first album I ever purchased with my own money. I may be partial but go look at the track list on this album and if there is a song you have never heard of, play it and you will see what I mean. If I were to go back and list what I feel are the top ten rock albums of all time, surely Cosmos Factory would be in the top five.
While I go on about the 60’s and 70’s I will have to admit that I have a dirty little secret. I happen to secretly listen to Disco music while I am working in my yard. It must be a sight for my neighbors to see I am sure. Me, cutting my lawn with my headphones on listening to “Car Wash” by Rose Royce or Chic’s “Good Times”. Who cares? Trimming the hedges with Kool and The Gang or power-washing my patio to “Groove Is In The Heart” by Deee-Lite. You all must be crazy.
Thank you Michael. Zach Bryan I know, I will check out Childers.
Chris Stapleton and Morgan Wallen are great, but two guys who do country music real justice are Tyler Childers and Zach Bryan. Definitely worth giving a shot if you haven't heard them yet.