Look at how many great cars were designed by committee after intense marketing analysis. ;p

And they all wanted to just go home... because they were paid to get the work done.

omg..

@Acererak hilarious

Meanwhile, in another part of the world, one man composes music, designs characters, writes stories, programs games, and ends up creating one hella big fandom. His name is Jun'ya Ota.

Excellent point that seems to escape a lot of commenters here. I listen to WXRT in Chicago, a famous "progressive" rock station, and I can tell you the same thing is happening there too. Everything sounds the same, or is pure throwback.

THANK YOUUUUUU. The radios are run by Ricks generation so...

I would say it is a sum of both factors, but you are right. Radio is a big filter for quality. And again non musicians deciding what they think what people would like to hear.

@@timn5008 I remember when XRT was the coolest non-college radio station in Chicago (88.3 WXAV was my fav before I moved), then around '96/7 they started playing (in earnest) a lot of crap just to be the "You heard it here first" station. How I miss Frank E. Lee and the XRT of the late 80s\early 90s. Cheers brother!

@@slappy200 Yes, I remember those days. I also remember when they first started broadcasting in 1973, or maybe '74. They were truly different, and I heard a lot if great music that you couldn't hear anywhere else.

I don't waste my time with radio anymore. I can find music worthy of hearing between spotify and youtube.

@@deed5811 I've (mostly) given up on all contemporary music except that which I and other local songwriters create ourselves (indie).

I'm still happy with metal, even newer bands

Austin, TX has some fine college radio stations that play off track new, relatively new, relatively old and old tracks---all day long. AND, they publish their playlists online so that if you perk up and exclaim, "What was that!", you can easily find out.

@@kennethlatham3133 And the only station I listen to here in Dallas is KXT 91.7. They play brand new music unlike anything you've heard before, older deep album cuts, classic tracks, and a lot of local music. On Sundays they play international music and have live performances in studio with interviews. They are a non-profit public radio station -- so no commercials EVER either! And you can listen online. I agree, there IS good music on the radio nowadays.

I don't agree, the emotional aspect is still very in a lot of modern music, way more than the technical aspect

I would agree, looking at the lyrics the songs are not about love first of all

@@fiftyshadesofgrey1991 Love is litteraly the most overused topic in modern songs

Both

@@thepierre396 unfortunately

i guess it s easier to produce a beat than a melody, so they re fed it and learn to like it

modern music is essentially just background noise. its just a loud beat with people mumbling, it does not challenge or move the person listening to it.

A friend put it this way to me explaining Aphex Twin: the development is in the rhythm not the melody/harmony. When you look at it that way you see that focusing on chord changes doesn't show the whole picture.

@@DonaldMerand Absolutely. Rhythm is an essential element, and I'm not saying that focusing only rhythm is necessarily wrong when evaluating music. Interesting chord changes, however, coupled with complex melodies also adds to the rhythm of a song, which is what this video is arguing.

@@xq39 Listen to Kody Blue 31 by jid, it has an emotional, interesting beat with good harmonies and rapping. Stop generalizing music.

I'd say its made by musicians, which is then presented by non musicians, with the goal to appeal to the mass (non musical) public with simple songs, to make the most money

So true

Many musicians and bands are not waiting for their labels to tell them what to do... some people need to turn off the radio and TV sometimes.

Which came first though, was it the simple hit song that everyone wants to copy because it was a hit? That's the feeling I get, of course you're right it's about money but if money was being made on the new Stairway to Heaven then everyone would be doing that.

Even shorter answer: It's made by producers that tell you you don't need music theory to make music (!?)

also check out some of the weirder art-rockers, like Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream (1970s german kraut-rockers!) or MAGMA (french prog weirdos of the 1970s!) and so many others!

45 and me too. I realized that I've been missing prog rock and (now classic) metal.

Damn right!

Check out early Genesis like "Foxtrot" and "Selling England by the Pound"

@SoftserveSodium I might well have done so - were I familiar with any of their albums!!!

Consider why this is happening. It then really gets interesting! Who, after all, cares about general culture stuff anyway? It's what's behind the gruesome development that matters.

Yeah it’s scary, increasingly I’m seeing this mentality of submission take over the population while those who are different are condemned & heckled. People don’t even realize how bored and miserable they are!

The problem is that media no longer grows into media out of true individual life experience and necessity but out of media quoting media through human curators with a loose sense of style and no sense of substance.

@@whynottalklikeapirat Well said!

@@jamiepaolinetti5087 Well - the closer one becomes to being an old dude, the more one sounds like an old dude. Go figure xD

It's fun to watch YT reaction videos by kids today listening to music from the 70's. They are always blown away by real music.

Greta van fleet is a great example of this

I am a kid(compared to your age sir) and don't see othwrs around me enjoy them :( Only me and my best friends do

@@yootoobdude Van Fleet is not a band from the 70s

@@TAWTAW-hf3xw I know, Greta Van Fleet is a band of young kids emulating the sounds of 70s rock.

watching luther vandross explain what he does in young Americans with bowie is mindblowing. the complexity makes the “back-up” feel like foreground.

Modern radio is horrendous nowadays except for a few artists

It's today's Bare Life proscription.

i love how you think pro musicians can afford the space, time and finances to record a full orchestra in 2023. we have to direct music videos, run multiple social media accounts, tour, sell the merch, do the accounts, often drive the bus and the label takes 82% of an ever decreasing 0.01 cent per stream revenue all while music venues are closing down and our living costs are going up. what are you expecting from us? and i know you're gonna say that pop music has more money but i wrote a song that was a top 5 in multiple countries and i was able to buy half a 1 bedroom basement flat in my city with the total money made. the rest of my 15 year career has been indie records (11 albums released) and most of my time was spent doing admin and promo and management because that's what pays now not artistry. im in the top few % of pro musicians financially...

@@m.o.n.d.e.g.r.e.e.n Who said anything about a full orchestra? It sure wasn't me. But many older songs included a trumpet or sax solo or a couple of violins over the top to add fullness. And backup singers can be overdubbed by the lead singer although if the band tours, backup singers would need to be found. Anyone who can afford a tour can afford to pay for a couple of backup singers. And performers starting out back in the day were just as poor as you but they wanted to achieve a certain sound so they took the time to write those extra parts. No, I think it has more to do with laziness and greed of today's radio songwriters than it does money.

Fantastic statement that!

Make sure you get the essential vitamins and melodies.

Bam! What an accurate phrase to coin! What I’ve been saying to my A&R brother in law at Universal.

not a dad but so super true

I have to thank my mom for supplying me with a good amount of nutritious songs during my childhood. _Ilalang ilalang_

Thanks for the laugh. I’ll have to use this with my kids and keep the legacy alive.

I like that.

Haha! I was born in the 90s and my dad has said the same thing!!

Peak bankruptcy is whatever Chicago turned into in the mid 80's under David Foster :D

David letterman! It’s you!

Yes please some more Steely Dan. Sorry my spelling was bad.

Just wanna add my positive support. Rick is great medicine!

same here. matur suksma bro

A wise man once told me when you're in crisis, be not afraid for just around the corner you're about to experience TRUE contentment! Good luck friend!

Sending good vibes your way brother 🙏

Hang in there, buddy 👊🏼👍🏼❤️

This is actually a pretty good idea. I would search out music that Rick said was actually worth listening to today. Most of it I find incredibly boring. I think most folks that grew up listening to 60-70-80-90's would think there is something missing in todays music. The shape of automobiles today are pretty bland as well.

I’m glad you guys both like the idea! Response to the first comment: To be honest, I don’t find Rick’s recommendations to be boring. I actually find them to be quite the opposite, and I was born in 96. I know a lot of people my age who can’t stand today’s “popular” music. I’d much rather have Rick help to guide the industry in a different direction with examples of what he finds to be great sounding, complex new music. Response to the second comment: I don’t believe Rick would have to listen to every song out there in order to provide his top ten list... It doesn’t need to be a perfect list per say, it would just be his top ten list of new songs/bands/albums. Algorithms are nice but they’re not perfect either (and I honestly think they’re part of the problem, not the solution).

@@danstory471 THIS. I love cars from 50s,60s and 70s. All unique designs and stuff. But somehow cars of today all look same egglike shape. Very dull. Dont get me started on music, films and other stuff

Man I’d love that, or maybe a subscriber submission list. I myself probably wouldn’t have the balls, but I’m sure there are plenty here who are also musicians and maybe would benefit from the feedback . Lord knows I’ve learned far more from watching Rick’s videos over the past few months than I did over 4 years of college

@@danstory471 Today's car "design" looks like cartoon cars on steroids.

I’d suggest digging deeper with “today’s” music. You might be surprised what you find.

there's still a lot of great stuff coming out in all genres, I'd argue even more so than the times you mentioned - due to DAWs and how easy it is to release music nowadays. The problem is that the sheer volume of releases nowadays make these bands and artist difficult to find, unless you know how to look for them.

I think the differences is more in whats all know in the moment vs whats still known after 50 years. There is always a lot of trash popular music, as you've said. But the good songs will stand the test of time. And with the internet and accessibility of music production doesn't it sound more likely that there's now more (good) music than ever before ?

I revisit old stuff to find music i passed on then, but it's an improvement over now. I discover things I haven't heard as well.

I dont know about conservative per se. Modern music has gone from ribald or risque to downright vulgar in many respects. I could respect vulgar if it were, you know, good but...modern music that manages to hit the airwaves is so so bad.

Yes there was plenty of rubbish music in 1980 or 1990, but compared to years like 2015 or 2022, the music was much better in 1980 and 90, due to more variety. The 2010s and early 20s is just full of dreadful auto tune rap, trap and EDM music.

You nailed it

@@rileydermanuelian7307 If your notes is gonna talk for you and you only use 2 notes - you cant really tell me much.

@@steinetakorgroovy Tell that to Neal Young :-)

There may be different metrics for different genres and mediums as well. It is easier to define what is not liked in art, imo.

Well said, man! Not many people SEEM to understand this concept.

He is being antiquated. What defines the times today is not music and he won't recognize that

@@trailerwager8850 tbf, I think one can acknowledge that music doesn’t have the same i dunno ‘cultural potency’ it once did and still want it to be ‘improved’ however you feel improvements are necessary

ok - explain why complex is better than simple

@@atomiccritter6492 complex doesn’t mean it sounds complex. But using the right tools in the right place is a complex practice that requires a lot of practice except for some folks that can do it naturally - usually those folks have been listening to complex music though in their past and have digested it. Things can sound simple that are actually complex. And those are usually the hits in my opinion. So that’s why I’m so interested in Ricks lessons. Because he’s giving us so many tools.

@@trailerwager8850 I think there’s more music than ever before in culture. I mean I don’t think tik tok could exist the same without music and that’s current culturally.

Straight up. The new "orchestral music" - that is what the general public thinks of as orchestral music - for the most part is derived form the same boring chord progressions as most modern pop tunes. vi-IV-I-V is ubiquitous. Film score these days really shows the regression. Very dull stuff. When one compares it let's say to your typical episode of a cheesy middle tier TV action show from the 70s or 80s the older stuff features some pretty complex film scoring. Now it's four chords in 6/8 over "tribal drums".

@SoftserveSodium Rhythmically bland.

So, recording of music ruins music, in any human sense.

@@georgemcfetridge8310 Not at all. Just the over processed recordings that take all human element of performance out of the equation.

@@canalesworks1247 Any recording, by its nature, is synthetic. Everyone accepts this! It's called music, which it isn't. It's recorded music, and is the real reason why today's 'music' is so boring. Beato doesn't see this, but he wouldn't - being a music-biz minion himself. I listen to recordings with great interest, and with awareness that they're nothing like the live experience, and that they are sterile, despite imaginative placing of oneself as though at a live event. Recordings of music are something for use - as well as dehumanizing and nonorganic. I suppose you'll have another clever response to this.

You’re talking about mainstream modern music, it rly doesn’t take that much effort to find good modern songs.

@@JADBeats But they still lack the melodies.

@@TheTVisions No, you just haven’t listened to good modern music.

If you're into metal, I'd say they're on the cutting edge right now. Spiritbox in particular comes to mind. And if you want a rock/metal band that likes to experiment with modern pop influences, Bring Me The Horizon pull it off extremely well. Polyphia with their new album are also doing something along those lines. CHVRCHES is almost a rock band but with synths (they do mix in guitars too quite often). Outside of rock and metal, I have something of a soft spot for Taylor Swift. She's simply an amazing songwriter. And judging by the Top 10 the last couple of weeks, she's as mainstream as they come.

@@sherochafernando6346 but they are talking about music, not metal

utter nonsense

Isn't that what they've been saying since MTV started in the early 80's?

@@hal2098 and those songs are underrated.

@@michaelgeorge4826 Probably why MTV doesn’t have MUSIC VIDEOS anymore.😒😞😩

Today's mainstream music

Yeah, miss Frank.

Now there was a complex musician - to the point of genius.

😆

Heck if you're cute nowaday's you don't even have to have a shred of talent.

Yeah, I just saw Three Dog Night. Great faces for radio!

I m afraid it ísť not enough...🙂

The Black Page wouldn't occur today.

With the exception of very few bands and producers, I feel that music has truly died due to all the reason's Rick stated. No one's willing to take the chance, especially when the possibility of making a living doing it have become even less likely. At some point everything Rick has been teaching will inspire some people to bring back what is truly a lost art, and the chance they take will pay off.

Go non mainstream. Hint: Snarky Puppy...on KZfaq.... You're welcome.

I haven't listened to mainstream music in years.

If you don't mind, what did he say? I totally agree by the way😅

Capitalism ruining things, who would ever have thought

No. Some people may argue that certain art and music forms have regressed in terms of innovation or quality, while others may argue that they have progressed or simply changed in different ways. Ultimately, whether art and music are regressing or progressing is a matter of personal interpretation and preference. Have you recently listened to metal, rock, or general indie releases? Isn't there such a wide swathe of new stuff out there that we can't possibly hear all the good stuff? Or, even all of the "bad" stuff as well?

Japan has good musical innovation and I’m not being a weeb. I don’t even watch animes. Also Russian post punk is pretty cool

@Zen Cubicle As Rick mentioned, modern metal and rock is partly plagued by the same problem

Yes ..they used advanced harmonic chords 11th, 13th, flat 9ths etc etc..and also different rhythms

I may offend people but it's not only simple music but it's just copypaste. Music will never be recorded or produced like it was in the past. Producers and engineers are really unaware of what music really means and the next generation don't generation don't even know what music is... Again they just copy and paste

@@websparrow Huh?

@@aidengoodrich5974 He is referring to how you record nowdays. It's all copy and paste. If you don't know what copy and paste means you shouldn't be on the internet.

Yeah Luca , I've produced such major artist such as Bach ,Chopin and Michael Jackson. Mozarts team wanted me to produce for him , but he drank and partied way too much for my taste. Well there's that and I took a pay off from Salieri. They all complained as well.

@@shanemiller6982 I think your referring to the musical practice of sampling. Which isn't the only way recording is done nowadays but also even if it was I don't see a problem. If a song sounds stale it isn't because you copy and pasted specific sounds, it's because the songs stale.

yes 100%

yes exactly, the market has greatly diversified and is much less captive

Todays music is sad and agressive, most artists do not even read music or play an instrument. Todays music is just like sad ditties written by children, with facile lyrics.

@@chrissmith2114 I think you could be missing out on the good stuff that's never on the radio anymore, buddy. I mean, there are amazing musicians today! A guitar virtuoso of our time can do things Jimi Hendrix wouldn't have thought possible, or even thought about altogether. Hell, Paco de Lucia was doing it with a "common" Flamenco guitar! Problem is, a superb jazz metal album like Impact Fuze's "Moscow", or Argentina's prog rock band Deformica aren't in the charts. Well, tbf, King Crimson wasn't given that many hours of radio airplay in their time either. But nowadays you just can't find any variety in the mainstream media anymore. And I'm only citing the ones I was lucky enough to find out about. I don't even have as much time to devote to music anymore, who knows what I'm missing, Even despite having a lot of musician friends who actively look around for good music and recommend it... You have to do the digging yourself and rely on your circle. But, boy! You'll unearth amazing treasures!

@@ParaguayanPolkaNRoll What you are describing is hardly 'pop' ( popular ) music though is it, there have always been good musicians around, but for sheer variety todays music sucks...... Waht is lacking is innovation and variety - and also good lyrics.

13:38 That was really funny.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂👏 agree

There always are niche rock and roll bands that don't get heavy airplay. For whatever reason they don't connect to the mass audience, or they don't want to. Pink Floyd was all over the radio in the late '70s early '80s. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zep, Moody Blues, Grand Funk, Deep Purple etc. all were radio mainstays. Even when there was trash like disco on the radio, there also was heavy doses of Cheap Trick, The Cars, Squeeze, Foreigner, Boston, Elton John, Bill Joel and Queen with REM waiting in the wings. The difference today is you hear nothing but mass-produced dreck on the radio/TV and none of the truly innovative young bands you speak of.

ur right there is a scene on soundcloud of insanely progressive innovative music mostly made by kids, great take.

thank you for this comment sir

Herman’s Hermits were pretty cool

I get your point but even Herman's Hermit was a pretty solid group, with nice tunes. Hey, even The Monkees had some great stuff.

coming from the third world, though, i have to say the great majority of listeners are possibly tone deaf by now and just want "the new thing". the greatest chunk of the populace aren't hungry for something complex, they just take what they could get, always did from since my youth, and i don't blame them. life is hard enough as it is, and they're too tired with trying to survive to pick sonics apart.

If you think all of "today's music" is like this, then it says more about your lack of interest in research, than anythign about young people or what music is being made. This whole thread is kinda sad/funny. I'm starting to wonder about the effect that RIck's "hot takes" are having on the musical culture, b/c this isn't helpful in the least. He should actually do the work he said he did in the 70s, and elevate the artists who innovate, b/c theyre still there... instead of painting all of "today's music" with such a lazily broad brush. It's generating cycnicism in a cynical era. The kids are alright, hope i die before i get old... this whole comment section proves that point again and again, sadly.

Ya, I work in music.. that’s very true!!! Still fun tho!! Lol

Couldn’t have said it better

I'd argue that the very very top like the top 10 tend to be fairly good songs. They just tend towards the generic.

@@MA-go7ee Is generic a bad thing?

@@biivamunner3122 Yes it is because it has no soul

This. This comment basically sums up what's wrong with the world. We're doing this with everything now and humanity has peaked artistically as a result.

Bullseye.

Every aspect of society is made with the intent of making money. Even the peace corps needs a check every now and then.

@@jessyfretz5800 It doesn't follow. It's true that we all need food and shelter which cost us money because that's how our world works but art made for its own sake is invariably the superior product.

Its kind of like youtube these days, no one does youtube anymore to bring anything new or fun, they are just doing youtube for the money which is why there are so many same content lately on youtube.

pop music has always been commercialized

Ya. Years ago, when they started minimizing literature, music, all the humanities and critical thinking skills in the schools, I knew lyric writing in songs was going to be toast. Without vocabulary and context (poetry, writing, ect.), very difficult to write great lyrics.

@@LeeEisenstein this exactly. I've been saying it since the mid 90s. Thank Newt Gingrich for robbing us of music in schools and the National Endowment of the Arts.

@@joellebrodeur1015 Exactly right. Low wage workers and (with all due respect), soldiers. That's always been their vision for America.

Don't forget to blame the market. If people wouldn't accept crap, crap wouldn't be offered.

@@markupton1417 Yep. Especially a market that offers limited fare. In this case, a market that offers fare that is largely crap and designed to sell a predictable, easily marketable product. People tend to like what they are familiar with.

I've been listening to Steve via, "little pretty", over and over. The tone and mix is special.

Yes, what a lot of older people don't seem to get is that most young people consume music on the internet that's not really famous, and since their music taste is a lot more diverse, it can't be represented easily like before where you could just say "I like Led Zeppelin" and that was your musical identity. It's pretty much impossible to characterise this generation's taste because music has completely exploded into so many genres, so people's are much more dispersed, and mainstream music isn't the giant of influence it used to be.

Been listening to all of them, and find them quite decent.

"No longer" - was it ever? My whole life i can't recall a time when the top of the pop charts could be relied on to find decent music. They won't consider playing any song longer than 5min which immediately disqualifies a huge pool of otherwise viable songs. The pop charts are (and always have been) a machine for producing profits with formulaic and therefore predictably catchy songs. NB that catchy is not synonymous with good or being musically talented.

True. I was listening to the modern metal band Ne Obliviscaris. So complex and awesome.

just listen to the current song "without you" by kid whatever his name is. its a very basic and repetitive in the lyrics tone, and the main chorus is pitchy as hell and just lacking in substance. "without you. without you-ooohhh. wo oh whaah oh oh whaah ooh waah oh oh without you-oooo"

It just means that you don't know how to look for new, interesting songs and regress back to your comfort food. What genres and artists do you generally listen to?

Bro, I'm 30 and I can hardly ever listen to songs dating beyond the 2000's. They just don't do anything for me, and I too attempt to listen to the new songs to see if they appease to me, but only a handful of them succeed in achieving that.

Does anyone know where the video is where Rick compares the chord progressions in Beatles songs, and shows the complexity in the Beatles top hits compared with modern songs today. He points out that the Beatles used a lot more variation.

small worlds by mac miller, blues for hip hop fans.

Most people hate music theory. They act like it’s oppressing their creativity.

@@sevenchambers theory is 2ndary, always

It's only true in the mainstream though, people have the freedom to create and release what they want to release, you just have to look for it. We're at both extremes, a regressive music industry trying to maintain profits, and an exploding independant internet of music to enjoy. Stop mourning the death of the popular, and embrace the underground.

@@AfferbeckBeats Fair enough. Good point. Our underground FM music was playing while people were still listening to Top 40 on AM radio. I first heard Fleetwood Mac on underground FM when they were still a Blues band. Let’s hope the independent music of today can then become the mainstream of the future. I listen to college radio and independent radio (KXT 91.7 - The Republic of Music) to find today’s better music. I also use an app called, Jango, which I highly recommend!

It's the marrow in the bones that dogs like. A confection fav amongst carnivores.

@@johndavies5052 thx john

Bones seriously mess up their teeth tho in reality

@@mountainman8775 Not raw bones..

@@CraigOlove thx for the tip. I hear pork bones are the exception because they splinter even when raw. The other day I learnt cats are intolerant to milk as it turns out, hehe

80´s were better than todays music, but by far the worst decade of music of the past century. 60, 70s and 90´s were a lot better. (dont know much from before the 40´s though)

@@franciscosouza5345 I havent met anyone who likes 60s or 70s music though. It's always almost the 80s. Look how for example 'Running up that Hill' from Kate bush became an instant hit again after Stranger Things used it. 80s songs are still popular because of their uniqness I think.

@@franciscosouza5345 '90s music better than the '80s...?! You must be deaf. lol

@@user-hw8nr3mu8e ever met a fan of Pink Floyd or the Rolling Stones? Black Sabbath, the Grateful Dead? the Beatles, Rush or the Who? weird - they used to be everywhere!

I loved everything up UNTIL the 1980s. Yes, the 80s had endless UNFORGETTABLE songs and bands.....but I couldn't stomach how PLASTIC it all was, especially after the PERFECT 1970s of your Led Zeps and Pink Floyds and ALL OF IT......cuz it was NATURAL! The girls wore NO MAKEUP and put NOTHING in their hair! NICE! No guy wants a girl in makeup or uptight clothes or processed hair! YUCK! The 1970s were the PEAK of humanity for many reasons. (EX: all the gorgeous van paint jobs!) (EX: ppl wore the MOST COLORFUL CLOTHES ever!) (The cars were all colorful too like never before or since!)

Thank you so much for expressing my experience exactly.

Hear-Hear! Well said, well said.

Exactly. You want music to MEAN SOMETHING AGAIN!!! Stop recycling the same melodies from the last 20 years. Stop using trap beats/drum machines. Stop using fucking auto-tune and actually learn to sing. Use chords that jar the ears and keep you waiting for the resolution.

@@monolythentertainment9970 autotune needs to die already.

@@joellebrodeur1015 auto tune along with beat quantization, drum machines, and Justin Bieber

I feel like he's saying: "I'm either completely ignorant of all the interesting independent music being made on little labels all around the world or am just ignoring it for the sake of my argument, so I'm just going to make a blanket generalisation, and take easy pot-shots at incredibly low-hanging fruit (i.e. contemporary pop music)." I feel this is maybe a generational thing, Mr.Beato's generation had "interesting" and complex popular music coming out their ears, handed on a plate, so it's little wonder today's equivalent seems pretty pale by comparison. Personally I'm not a fan of most of the bands Mr.Beato often cites, that's neither here nor there, though (note that "complex" doesn't automatically equal "good"-- I don't judge art by that rubric anyway but whether it's "interesting" or "not-interesting". So props, at least, for the title!). Take a song like "Hip Priest" by The Fall, something of an independent post-punk "anthem"-it is not complex, not even played by "trained" musicians and is repetitious, hanging on just two chords, a shuffle beat and a fantastically menacing bassline (and of course Mark E. Smith's great, cryptic lyrics) but is the OPPOSITE of "boring"...indeed it's build-up is absolutely thrilling (especially on The John peel version). What I'm saying is music doesn't even have to be technically perfect with dozens of key and time changes to be "interesting". IT can be the total opposite but still grab you by the balls.

As a fan of '60s music, I found the music in the 1980s to be fabulous. It was a great decade for Contemporary music radio [US] at that time, too.

The slide towards the kind of music you talked about happened even before streaming. So streaming may have exacerbated it but definitely did not cause it.

I’m 15 and I crank Eric Clapton everything he comes on!

Fantastic summary. I think its also EXTREMELY harder to be unique or have something so new nowadays in addition to a sea of mediocrity. 50-90s you almost had no choice but to be a performer and play an instrument on stage. Now it's cookie cutter bubble gum musical tofu.

@@marshallloeks Glad to hear it!

Try this new reggae artist: Tony Saint - Cutie; You Only Live Twice (reggae cover); Depend on Me; Memories (Flamenco reggae beat).

Well said! Always believed that chords are the colours of music, and Don and Walt are the kings of colours

I've been playing guitar for 9 years and just now have started to learn how to play some of their songs. It's really opened up how I understand my instrument. If only I had done it years ago

its not always about the chord progression. For example, "Fake plastic trees" and "Street Spirit" are just as good as "Just" on the album, some might say even better and they have a simple chord progression. May be the answer is not always "Complex chord progression". There are hundreds of great songs with simple progression too. Oasis have them, The Stokes have them. Arctic monkeys have them. So do Wilco and Coldplay and The Verve and many other great artista frankly. I love radiohead and even they have simple chord progressions sometimes (how to disappear completely, let down, no surprises etc) and even nirvana has some simple progressions (all apologies, something in the way). May be the answer to "What makes a song great" can never be truly rationalilzed. I don't think making "out there" chord progressions are the answer to the problem of boring modern pop music. If one can't write a good tune with simple progressions, they can't write good tunes with complex one either and almost anyone can make a complex chord progression. It's just a matte rof making one yourself or borrowing inspiraion from other complex songs. That won't make someone a more innovative songwriter. But i feel where he is coming from. Just about anything will make the current state of modern pop more interesting if they stop the formulaic/overdone approach to songwriting and introducing complex chord progressions might just be a good step.

@@saritajoshi1737 I think he is saying that the complex Steely Dan chord progressions (with extended and altered chords) give the studio guitarist trying to fit a solo over the song many more chord tones to choose from when crafting his solo than a rock song built on I IV V triads does. This takes us into the issue of how when you create your boring chords first, it restricts you to choosing from boring chord tones for your melody, which comes out boring unless you do something very creative with the rhythm of the melody or have a very wide tessitura (like "Fake Plastic Trees", which I LOVE). So, if you really want a great melody.... create your interesting, different, fantastic melody FIRST, before the chords, instead of pumping out a I-IV-V or I-V-vi-IV (or whatever) on your guitar or piano and then singing the boring crap that fits perfectly over it.

@@saritajoshi1737 I think the point that Rick was trying to make was that "out there" chord progressions (eye/ear of the beholder) weren't "out there" 30-40 years ago..... and I've got to agree. Pop music is becoming less sophisticated and more homogenized. I don't see that as a judgment call, just a statement of fact. And by the way, I say this as a big fan of power pop bands like Fountains of Wayne, Jellyfish, and The Greys.

​@@pawelpap9 True in a sense, but in classical music there is even a word for this when no parts are repeated: through-composed. Pop music just assumes a 'song' is the only form for a piece of music. People don't even think there could be non-"song" music.

challenge accepted :)

@@amremorse true man I feel u, but all it takes is one

@Anne Day precisely. my music isn’t complex at ALL musically, but it’s thematically and emotionally complex

@@pawelpap9 agreed! also though the best piece isn’t defined by its catchiness

I could not even imagine Roundabout being played on the “radio” today.

@@nddst77 Agreed. We need to return to the days of great music like that being played on the radio again. I'd like to see more artists coming up with that sort of music again.

Nice. Or in the words of Homer Simpson “..the suckiest bunch of suckers that ever sucked.”

@@alans423 and @Laurentz Duba - and to paraphrase Comic-Book Guy, "Best quotes ever."

That's it! They have all opportunities like we never had them and they are fuckin it up completely what a shame

@@1963jesse They’ll never learn to sing on pitch using Autotune. These machine operators couldn’t get on a stage and begin to jam with real musicians. David Crosby got it right, “Kanye West is a poser.” The industry is full of posers laughing all the way to the bank. They have to know they’re nothing more than sound sampling thieves editing on a computer.

Unfortunately, B&B were part of the problem in the decline.

I have a pretty broad taste in music, and Rick has managed to introduce me to so much more wonderful stuff.

I really like your description of what you find engaging in music, it's very relatable to me, but is that not complexity? It's the opposite of simplicity to introduce changes to keep the ear interested, i.e. complexity. That's separate from any judgement of whether a given piece is "complex", because that's subjective and entirely relative.

Content, exactly

I would have to agree. Bruno Mars is clearly the Prince of today. They really don't make many of them anymore.

Jacob Collier do "complex" pop music but doesn't make it to top charts.

The majority what is running in the radio today is pushed by big lables with the intention to make money. Of course it isn't complex if they squeeze it out without effort. Similar with Hollywood. One look into the Japanese Touhou circles show how much diversity they have in their songs. Same wit Infected mushroom I discovered lately. Just stay away from big labels

Radios need to be as safe as possible nowadays, because they've been getting competition from sites like KZfaq, MTV, Spotify, and plenty more. If they play something that the viewers won't like, and the viewers leave, that whole thing could collapse irreparably. If you really want to listen to innovative stuff, ditch the radio. Go to the sites that I mentioned.

Back in the 1960s up to the 1980s, Italian public TV and radio stations used to educate the audience. But with Silvio Berlusconi's commercial TVs, they lowered the level completely. The same thing has been happening to commercial channels with KZfaq today. A song needs to be catchy from the very first 3 seconds, or they loose the listener.

dude, EVERY SONG You heard on radio over the past 60 years was PAID to get there, Payola is STILL going on today cuz there's too much money and power at stake for it to be HONEST on what makes it today. Even Pink Floyd, at the height of their fame in 1979.....were FORCED to pay the mobsters in LA to get on the four rock stations in LA! POWER Corrupts. NOTHING today is remotely honest. Hyper-capitalism took care of that! EVERYTHING is rigged, even YT videos!

Table scraps…great visual analogy!

The amount of fraud foisted on everyone is truly remarkable. We're in Bare Life now: complete subservience to power.

100% correct is mathematically impossible. This is just an opinion. It is dangerous to believe that one individual holds the truth. This allows for propaganda. Example: Russia = bad Us = good Roosevelt’s father was the most important opium dealer in the USA. This is how they got their fortune. Importing the good stuff, while in the us do propaganda, creating the image of the yellow pello. Hint: China : bad / us = good ;)

Ok

My lord

Evil is definitely more interesting

"Dark" or sinister sounding music definitely makes you think more while happy, upbeat music is more emotional "feel good" without really evoking much thought.

Time to invoke Lord LOCRIAN?

Lord Shred... you seem to be everywhere I look...

Good point. I seriously miss science fiction magazines where the curator (the editor) developed a level of quality and an ethos in the stories. If there are no human curators, there are no guides. It's therefore much harder for quality, original voices to become known because there are no curators promoting them.

@@AdrianJamesEllis the human touch is so important.

The music from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s is better than today’s new music.

Also the Beatles didn’t know what the hell they were going to a great extent and didn’t have the traps that some people put on themselves

Exactly, just like ABBA did

I love Mach.

@Greg Elchert Jeff Beck named his Head for Backstage Pass.

🤣

@@hal2098 Angelina Jordan on U Tube is supposed to be the next "Big Thing" in about 5 years, (she's only 15)

Check out white denim. They are great!

OH, I dunno, I remember --"Troglodyte (Cave Man)" by the Jimmy Castor Bunch. And the Lyrics back then! "Her name was Bertha. Bertha Butt. She was one of the Butt sisters. He didn't care. He looked up at her and said: "Sock it to me sock it to me!" "and she said, "I'll sock it to ya, Daddy!" 1972's million seller, Jimmy Castor Bunch. hahaha!

scuz also rises to the top

nah, back in early 2000s great music always made it to the top... The Strokes' This is It.. White Stripes.. it was quality music and was everywhere too, in radios etc.. nothing is as memorable anymore. even 2010s/2014/2015 era was also so much better. something happened.

I don't think he is talking about all music. He's talking about Pop music; essentially what's on the Radio. Yes there is still a lot of good music out there. But what is on the radio is much worse than what was even 10 years ago.

@@johnd3124 Didn't see your comment before I typed mine. Looks like we agree.

I love Barry Manilow's "could this be magic"

nah. The French and Russians are light years beyond those cavemen you cite! CLARE DE LUNE....still sounds like the FUTURE, while Bach sounds ancient!

@@christopherxanadude244 Bach is sublime. Most of those composers you cited were big fans as well 🤓

For me Tchaikovsky, more than anyone else.

Scarlatti rocked it, Baroque style!

yup , he is just talking about throwing in some different chords and changes that make it less predictable. He is not saying it has to be prog rock or jazz

Well you can't churn out a thousand songs a week and still be creative

@@miykaelp5284 well he should be, Caught a video by someone doing guitar and he did one on how to be neoclassical, and he was talking about scales and modes I never heard of , Rick should listen to some of that for a while. Rick is a producer, well produce some complex music. Grab some of these virtuoso players to do some session works and produce an album

Rick , Bach's Prelude to Cello Suite #1 in D, is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written, it only has 2 chords D and G. It is short simple and still beautiful and evocative. Really songs are more than chord progressions on a guitar, the words and the singing ability of the vocalists are more important than the chords.

Sorry Rick, leading from chords is not the way to write a great song

I recommend Sevish even for people who write 12edo music. Listening to Sevish will force your brain to reconsider how melody and harmony actually work at a basic level.

How bro felt writing this comment: 😎😎😏😮‍💨😎😎

but why? Culturally, why?

@@trailerwager8850 Monopolies. You can’t prefer music you never hear.

@@boggisthecat But with the internet, you have access to more music than ever, and bands are free to post their own music online via multiple services that then distribute it to the major streaming and sales platforms. It requires more work as an artist to sell yourself but that is always somewhat of a component in the first place.

The great thing is, they have a monopoly on something we don't need any more. We don't need some suit to bless us with what he thinks will make him money. We can ignore him and listen to music made outside his system. People already accept that traditional network TV sucks and would never go back to watching it, but people still expect the traditional music industry to be good for some reason.

Easy Money would be the title of that song.

I also notice that lyrics have gotten dumber in general too. There's a lot of repeating the last, one syllable word in the last line of a verse or chorus. They're literally churning out crappy lullabies and nursery rhymes.

Also consider editorial committees. When they require unanimity only dreck that offends no one gets through.

I keep thinking of cooking *every single dish* with the same 9 herbs and spices, then cooking it for half an hour on medium heat.

"It's going to sand off all the rough edges, homogenizing everything" Or, perhaps we could say such a song simply lacks vision.

@@EzaneeGires oh yeah especially rappers. They almost only rap about their bodily functions and who they're fucking. I know they rapped about that for a while but it's like you said gotten more dumb, and it's almost like it's their identity.

Which is the definition of irony when you see top 10 spotify reacts and he likes something in EVERY song you see/hear. Complete opposite of a boomer and yet someone will say it won't they

The problem with the term "old school" is that it assumes the existence of a "new school". From where I stand, as regards contemporary music, that's still in the works...

@@Valvicus Haha! Toucé.

@@Valvicus Oops lol. I read his comment and had left almost the same comment.

@@Valvicus Yes, there's a new school, only cranky old people and weird teenagers don't like the new music.

true. I find the people with less exposed music tastes cannot bear listening to other people playlists..

As an European I've always argued that even the "dead" Eurovision years are important musically. You have just under 200 million viewers, of all ages and demografics, watching and discussing 25 - 40+ songs (depending on if they watch semi finals and which years we are talking about), live, no skipping, any and all genres. You can't isolate yourself from different music styles as easily.

@SunTai I think the Music Streaming services like Spotify can help People experience and get to know more Music from all over the World. Spotify in special seems to push not just mainstream stuff. I always get recommendations of quite some interesting Music on Spotify. But it seems unfortunately People still listening most of the time to Mainstream Music on the Services just look up the top 50s list from every Country on Spotify

@SunTai Eurovision song Contest. Happens every year (2020 first ever canceled). Broadcasters all over European Broadcasting Area (Europe, mediterranean +Australia with special permission ), send one new song each to compete in live contest. Basic rules are: 1) song must be under year old (there is more precise date, but that's trivial) 2) all participating broadcasters (competing under country names) must show the entire final live 3) if there are more than 26 countries participating, there are semifinals. 4) if there are semifinals every broadcaster has to show the entire semifinal their act is performing in live. 5)All human vocals in the competition must be live. 6) all singers must be on stage (you can hide them in the darkness or behind props if you want) 7)no more than 6 people on stage 8)no song can be more than 3 minutes (added when someone sent 7 minute song in a year before final was capped to 26) There are more rules, but those are the most import. This year 39 countries participated (down from previous years due to covid). Also backing vocals were allowed on tape to reduce the number of people present. Final is about 4h live broadcast on Saturday (about 2,5 hours of contestants performing, rest is voting time and result counting). If there are semis they are on tuesday and thursday. There is no limit on genre, language or nationality of the performers or songwriters. Every act gets the same 3 minutes to impress the entire viewing public (not counting their own country). Once everyone has performed, the public votes. You aren't able to vote your own country (there are also juries in every country that give half of the country's points). The viewership of the finals is usually between 180-200 million. Most viewers haven't heard more than their own country's song, and possibly one of their neighbours, though there is always an attempt to market your song before hand. This year there was lots of basic European dance pop (with some local beats) , hard rock, nu-metal, folktronica, chanson, different style ballads, rap and alternative rock. Just in the Finals. Hard rock won btw. Folktronica went viral. There has been Romanian operatic vampire doing dubstep, rap with yodel chorus, electro pop with joikha hook and rap, anti-capitalist BDSM techno group, and just basic dance pop with folk fiddle. Some of it is awful, lots of it is magnificent.

@@Ruinwyn Watching Eurovision was a real event for my family in Romania. Growing up in the early 2000s, Eurovision with my family is a dear memory for me and my sister. It surprises me how boring music charts are. Even in the early 2000s the pop music in eastern europe was inspired from traditional and folk culture, and it was quite good. Nowadays they are boring to listen the whole way through, but obviously that's the way people listen to them. My suspicion is the introduction of rap into pop music. It isn't all gloom and doom though, I mean there's great big underground scenes all over Europe for all kinds of music,etc,etc.