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OldCrapEnthusiast (phpBB)

(@phpbb_185:legoisland.org)

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6/16/2026, 7:28:44 AM
Is it just me or is populair music nowadays a bit boring?
I don't know if its just me, but I think the populair songs of today are all pretty similar and a bit boring they have gone from being an artistic masterpiece where people have but a lot of time into, to just being the same melody all over again with the same kind of lyrics, I don't know It just seems the creativity seems gone to me. I mean im not saying every new modern artist is bad but most artists that are creative and make good music usually never come to light, and you really have to look for them to find them

Shaddow798 (phpBB)

(@phpbb_63:legoisland.org)

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6/16/2026, 7:28:44 AM
Well yeah I think I agree with you.

I think apart of the problem is a lot of people listen to most of there music via algorithms in there music streaming apps. which just play music it thinks you might like by taking the average of what other users like you like, and adding a bit extra.

A consequence to this is the most popular music is just going to be what the most people don't hate that much.

Another thing is there way always alot of shitty music. But really great songs sometimes made it through.

Also since the music everyone is listening to is different the songs that get played on the radio used to make a big impact in album sales but they dont anymore.

And people don't really talk about music through word of mouth as much as your not lisstening to a cd or its being played on the radio. So most people just don't think about the song thats playing.

MattKC (phpBB)

(@phpbb_2:legoisland.org)

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6/16/2026, 7:28:47 AM
I'd say I generally disagree, not in the sense that I really like today's music, but in the sense that every generation has hated the music of the generations younger than them. If you can think of an era or genre of music - even iconic ones that are beloved nowadays - you can be sure there was backlash for it from the previous generation(s) at the time, so I feel any comment about "music nowadays" vs "music back then" is going to be highly subjective.

That being said, I do think digital distribution, particularly streaming, has very likely negatively affected the music industry and its willingness to take risks. There was a time when interesting artists were sought out by agents and A&R representatives because there was a lot of money to be made off physical album sales. Managers would mortgage their own houses to bet on an artist they thought could make a hit record. Now that the only money to be made is $0.00437 per play on Spotify, it's not surprising that major labels nowadays just wait to see whose SoundCloud mixtape happens to go viral on TikTok. The only real money to be made in music nowadays is live tours, or licensing to TV shows/movies/commercials.

Sure, you could argue that major labels are obsolete when a SoundCloud mixtape can go viral on its own, but you're still probably making virtually no money, and the widespread accessibility of music distribution arguably makes it just as hard to stand out from the crowd as before (if not harder). You could also argue that streaming makes people more likely to consider songs disposable; songs come and go constantly, and when you have nearly the entire catalog of officially published music at your fingertips, each one of those songs may start to feel less individually valuable.

So I think for the most part fashion is fashion, there are plenty of songs from previous eras that could be considered repetitive or uncreative (we just tend to only remember the good ones), but I also think the music industry arguably has been in a unique decline/struggle in recent decades.

Shaddow798 (phpBB)

(@phpbb_63:legoisland.org)

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6/16/2026, 7:28:48 AM
MattKC wrote: ↑Sat Jan 07, 2023 8:55 am I'd say I generally disagree, not in the sense that I really like today's music, but in the sense that every generation has hated the music of the generations younger than them. If you can think of an era or genre of music - even iconic ones that are beloved nowadays - you can be sure there was backlash for it from the previous generation(s) at the time, so I feel any comment about "music nowadays" vs "music back then" is going to be highly subjective.

That being said, I do think digital distribution, particularly streaming, has very likely negatively affected the music industry and its willingness to take risks. There was a time when interesting artists were sought out by agents and A&R representatives because there was a lot of money to be made off physical album sales. Managers would mortgage their own houses to bet on an artist they thought could make a hit record. Now that the only money to be made is $0.00437 per play on Spotify, it's not surprising that major labels nowadays just wait to see whose SoundCloud mixtape happens to go viral on TikTok. The only real money to be made in music nowadays is live tours, or licensing to TV shows/movies/commercials.

Sure, you could argue that major labels are obsolete when a SoundCloud mixtape can go viral on its own, but you're still probably making virtually no money, and the widespread accessibility of music distribution arguably makes it just as hard to stand out from the crowd as before (if not harder). You could also argue that streaming makes people more likely to consider songs disposable; songs come and go constantly, and when you have nearly the entire catalog of officially published music at your fingertips, each one of those songs may start to feel less individually valuable.

So I think for the most part fashion is fashion, there are plenty of songs from previous eras that could be considered repetitive or uncreative (we just tend to only remember the good ones), but I also think the music industry arguably has been in a unique decline/struggle in recent decades.
Yeah I generally agree with most of your points.

I do feel like the music industry's golden age was probably around the time when audio cd's went mainstream. and then declined slowly. then had a hit again when itunes started doing 99c songs making music just impulsive purchasable, and when having a music collection was desirable as a ipod was a desirable mainstream device.

I still use a ipod for alot of my music and such. but if i'm being honest I pirate most of my music as its more convenient then doing it legally.

The music industry is at a point where there isn't really any money to be made apart from in person things. And that indi people can create some great things without billion dollar corporations backing them.

and nostalgia is a hell of a drug. and also overtime the music people remember gets filtered out by what was the most popular so usually the best tracks are the most fondly remembered. making people think that time peroid of music was the best.

flatrute (phpBB)

(@phpbb_115:legoisland.org)

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6/16/2026, 7:28:49 AM
I mainly listen to J-Core and only occasionally listen to some local counterparts of "emo music" such as I will not ask for gift returns and I know I was wrong so I simply do not listen enough of those popular music to find them boring at all Thuink

maxmoon (phpBB)

(@phpbb_234:legoisland.org)

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6/16/2026, 7:28:56 AM
A huge problem is spotify. It degenerates art a lot.

Music must be simple and interesting within the first 3 seconds, otherwise people will not listen to it anymore and on spotify artists get payed if the listener is there for a specific amount of time, which leads to bad music and to everything sounds the same, because most humans are pretty undercomplex or even conservative. Doing something new or what is not mainstream could scare away potential listeners and you could loose money.

This wasn't the case back then when artists (or their labels) got supported directly by buying their records. They don't have to fit their music to masses and they could even create music in genres you've never heard before. Nowadays no one will even find your music if you do such "experiments", trying to do real art, which is not optimized to spotify or any other similar algorithm.
MattKC wrote: ↑Sat Jan 07, 2023 8:55 am I'd say I generally disagree, not in the sense that I really like today's music, but in the sense that every generation has hated the music of the generations younger than them
This might be a reason too, because I don't even define todays music as music anymore (am I getting old?). If someone is just talking off beat (not even singing) filtered by auto-tune not even understanding the words because the filter is turned on max, how can it be music? It's like going to a discotheque with a friend who had a bad day, but who is trying to talk to you while loud music is playing. Record this with your smartphone and use auto-tune and you have a new masterpiece by todays standards.

I think the factor that huge tech companies forcing artist not to do art like they want but how it is optimized to keep people on spotify or any other platform, just to consume, is a bad development no matter what older people think of the music itself.

flatrute (phpBB)

(@phpbb_115:legoisland.org)

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6/16/2026, 7:28:58 AM
maxmoon wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 12:31 pm This wasn't the case back then when artists (or their labels) got supported directly by buying their records. They don't have to fit their music to masses and they could even create music in genres you've never heard before. Nowadays no one will even find your music if you do such "experiments", trying to do real art, which is not optimized to spotify or any other similar algorithm.
It is funny to read this as a J-Core listener since new music with weird and/or brand new genres come out consistently and the buying/selling of CD records directly in annual conventions is (still) commonplace though to be fair it is Japan after all YEP

maxmoon (phpBB)

(@phpbb_234:legoisland.org)

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6/16/2026, 7:28:58 AM
flatrute wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 2:02 pm It is funny to read this as a J-Core listener since new music with weird and/or brand new genres come out consistently and the buying/selling of CD records directly in annual conventions is (still) commonplace though to be fair it is Japan after all YEP
It sounds like Japan is a cultured and well developed country. I am not even cynical, I am serious, because all those algorithms keep degenerating art in any kind, it even doesn't matter if it's music or a Youtube video or something else, you must do what the god (the algorithm of the company) wants and not what is coming out of your heart in western countries. (There are only a few exceptions)

But is it really like this in Japan? Aren't there huge companies with their algorithms controlling how music have to be structured and how it has to sound to fit for the masses? Can you post a link to your favorite songs? I am curious how they sound...

flatrute (phpBB)

(@phpbb_115:legoisland.org)

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6/16/2026, 7:28:59 AM
maxmoon wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 3:19 pm It sounds like Japan is a cultured and well developed country. I am not even cynical, I am serious, because all those algorithms keep degenerating art in any kind, it even doesn't matter if it's music or a Youtube video or something else, you must do what the god (the algorithm of the company) wants and not what is coming out of your heart in western countries. (There are only a few exceptions)

But is it really like this in Japan? Aren't there huge companies with their algorithms controlling how music have to be structured and how it has to sound to fit for the masses? Can you post a link to your favorite songs? I am curious how they sound...
To be fair I doubt such algorithm exists in the first place but what do I know? Services like Spotify and Apple Music are just as commonly used there as in the western worlds yet they still have catJAM like this:



(I do not like embedding YouTube links but for the sake of attempted argument I will do it here MikeBruh)

On another note, the "J-Core" I was talking about is short for Japanese Hardcore which has a very different vibe from western ones. Bandcamp had an introduction article on the genre in question with some samples you can have a listen to. It is hard for me to pick one of my favourite since my artist-I-listen-to list basically look like this pepeLaugh

Edit: emote fail

andreizabest (phpBB)

(@phpbb_84:legoisland.org)

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6/16/2026, 7:29:00 AM
Time is generally speaking a good filter for bad content in general. Of course most people are going to prefer older music to some extent because time typically allow for the bad stuff to get filtered out. It's not as if there wasn't bad music in the 80', 90's and early 2000's it just got left behind. It's also worth considering that music has gotten significantly easier to make and publish allowing anyone with a mic to make it and post it online. Obviously this is kind of like a double edge sword in the sense that as a result there's more good music but at the same time there's also more bad music. Add to this preference as well. Not everyone is going to like a certain song or type of music, it's impossible to point at a song be it popular or not and not have someone that dislikes it or that type of music. Music in general is very subjective rather than objective. To you it might feel like music has gotten worse over time for others they might consider it better.

Also this whole thing reminds me of the notorious "BORN IN THE WRONG GENERATION" Filthy Frank video.

maxmoon (phpBB)

(@phpbb_234:legoisland.org)

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6/16/2026, 7:29:23 AM
There are some bangers and some even sound like German techno from the 90s, but in better audio quality :)
andreizabest wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 1:30 am Time is generally speaking a good filter for bad content in general.
True words...
andreizabest wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 1:30 am Also this whole thing reminds me of the notorious "BORN IN THE WRONG GENERATION" Filthy Frank video.
I tried to watch the video, but it is really hard to watch and I had to abort it in the middle of the video, because he doesn't make a point and kept screaming from the beginning. I can't believe this video has 20 mio views... if I would have found it by accident, I would have closed it within a second.

flatrute (phpBB)

(@phpbb_115:legoisland.org)

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6/16/2026, 7:29:23 AM
maxmoon wrote: ↑Thu Jan 26, 2023 10:47 pm There are some bangers and some even sound like German techno from the 90s, but in better audio quality :)
I read somewhere that J-Core is basically a mutation of old school Western techno music, much like how anime is a mutation of Disney animations.

Hanzo (phpBB)

(@phpbb_173:legoisland.org)

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6/16/2026, 7:30:26 AM
I genuinely don’t like the music of today. I much prefer music from the 70’s up to around the early 2010’s heck there’s even some songs from the 50’s that I like. That effectively shows my music taste.
Is it just me or is populair music nowadays a bit boring?