I read a few weeks ago about the lack of bands charting this current decade. I can’t remember the figures exactly or the timescale however it was something like 3 weeks at No 1 in the last few years. I don’t mind what others listen to (I prefer dance, rock and opera) but I find today’s a little one dimensional. It seems a very individual performance based era both male and female, but some serious talent as well. And I feel for music lovers in their teens/twenties. They wont have the same excitement of discovering a new genre of music appearing from nowhere, promoted by a DJ/Radio station who were prepared to take a risk musically. Punk, New Romantics, Dance, Brit pop etc. Due to injuries I have a lot of Sauna’s/cold showers/plunge pool sessions. I get to speak to a lot of younger people during these sessions ( it would be boring otherwise) who are now switching away from the current and revisiting the past, especially older hip-hop and earlier dance, because they are so bored of the current state. This video popped up on my YouTube channel tonight. I am not a huge fan, although I didn’t mind them at the time. I wanted to post this to prove a point. This is 10 minutes of genius. This is 10 minutes of a bunch of blokes in unison. This is 10 minutes of a bunch of blokes KNOWING they are doing something special. This is a band, playing live, performing at their peak. Especially the drummer. This is what is missing currently. 250m + views is mental. Forward this to someone younger than you. Let them discover bands again.
There's several YouTube videos that show the reaction of those that view the above for the first time, many mention the amazing drumming. The views expressed in my posts are not necessarily mine.
It’s fair to say I’m happy I grew up with the punk/ new wave/indie scene. Different era however I do raise an eye when I hear a lot of the new stuff.
I can find absolutely nothing that appeals to me in the slightest nowadays. But yeah,people are going back the way!! My youngest Daughter is 36 and listens to The Clash and the Pistols,bits of Bowie,though she was a huge Amy Winehouse fan(I liked Amy,she was different). The most bizarre thing is though,my Grandaughter at 14 is big on vinyl and she's got Clash and Pistols stuff,I've never encouraged her down that road,no idea what took her down that path.She came round a couple of weeks ago and she had a Joan Jett T.Shirt on,I was listening to the Ziggy Stardust CD and she said 'Oh I love Bowie'. I've got every Bowie Album on vinyl and some singles...Not anymore,I gave her them. I think it's fantastic that generations of my family have got the same musical tastes as me yet no idea why?
Today, of all days, I thought you'd be listening to a bit of Andy Stewart. The views expressed in my posts are not necessarily mine.
There’s plenty of good new stuff, it’s all just pushed a bit more underground and difficult to find. Get yourself on a streaming service like Spotify or Apple Music, get yourself playlist saturated with things you like then allow it to offer you recommendations, you will find stuff.
In fact I’ll give you 2 good examples that immediately spring to mind of modern bands that sound a lot like older classics Ghost - Black Sabbath, Judas Priest Greta Van Fleet - Led Zepplin
This year on youtube I got recommended Band Maid, a five piece all Japanese women's band. They've been going for around eleven years now and they're a really tight, exceptionally talented group. They've got a large song list in that time, around 120 songs and to be honest the ones i've heard so far are fantastic. I highly recommend 'em, even if it just turns out to be for one song. They're not a manufactured group, they formed the band themselves after one of them worked in a Maids Cafe that the have over there in Japan, hence their name. The first time seeing them in their maids outfits you don't realise what hard rock music you're gonna get.
Anyone into dance music had no reason to immerse themselves in the past. Yes, it's harder to sift through because of the sheer volume of tracks being produced, but there is an incredible amount of good, innovative, music still being made. My favourite style atm is Detroit House. The groove, and the feeling, coming out of that city is still immense.
So it's you that is that annoying old bloke in the sauna that keeps chatting while I'm trying to chill out and enjoy the peace & quiet! I don't mind some of today's throw away music, but a lot is just crap, and I do often wonder who are the equivalents to the timeless bands from much earlier decades. Maybe it's just an age thing though.
Never really occurred to me but yeah it is strange how bands don't really do well at the moment. It's a bit weird in general how certain music becomes 'big'. You go to grassroots festivals like Humber Street Sesh and there's loads and loads of good bands, people love them and it gets massive crowds. So what's stopping some of them getting into the mainstream? I find it hard to believe there isn't a demand for rock bands for example. I'd guess they're not as popular with teenagers, and maybe that's who the mainstream radio stations serve primarily. And I suppose that generation must contribute significantly to the charts, but even that is hard to get my head around really.
Manufactured stuff sadly. Solo artists, boy bands, rappers etc. as others have said there is still some good stuff around but definitely not in droves like back in the day. Remember going to see the Jam at Brid Spa approx 1980. Great concert, loads of pogoing at the front and that feeling of been part of something.
Are bands dead? How solo stars took over the charts Pop was once all about four guys and their instruments. Now that gang mentality has been blown away by tech-savvy individuals please log in to view this image James Tapper Sun 29 Jan 2023 14.00 GMT When David Crosby helped found the Byrds, the idea of being in a band like the Beatles was intoxicating. The musician, who died last week, and his bandmates were so obsessed with the Beatles that they watched A Hard Day’s Night and went straight out to buy the same instruments. A modern-day Crosby would be well advised not to bother – bands are almost entirely absent from the music charts. Only four new songs by groups made it into the official Top 100 singles of last year, which was dominated by solo acts and a smattering of classics by the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Arctic Monkeys. There’s no shortage of new music. Lucian Grainge, chairman of Universal Music, complained earlier this month that some streaming services are uploading 100,000 tracks a day. So why have bands struggled to find success compared with solo megastars like Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift? The obvious culprit is social media, according to Chris Price, head of music for Radio 1 and 1Xtra, and the executive in charge of the stations’ playlists. please log in to view this image The Beatles in the 60s, the heyday of pop and rock bands. Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images “Social media is more of a solo pursuit,” he said. “It’s easier as a solo artist to convey who you are and the kind of artist you are on TikTok or Instagram than for four guys to do the same thing.” Record company A&R departments are much more likely to scout for talent online, checking follower counts and engagement metrics, rather than trying to size up a four-piece performing in a sweaty pub. Breaking a band now means going viral or getting a “sync” deal with a TV show or advert. This is not just about rock’n’roll. “When I first got into rap music in the 80s and 90s, it was Public Enemy, N.W.A, Wu-Tang Clan,” Price said. “In the last 10 years, it’s Drake and, in the UK, it’s Stormzy and Dave.” The same goes for dance music. “The Chemical Brothers were a band. Orbital were a band,” Price said. “I guess I’ve got a more sentimental attachment to bands than people born in the last 20 years. “At Radio 1, we have this balancing act every week, making sure we have an ethnically diverse playlist, and a balanced playlist in terms of male and female artists. Do we actively seek out bands over solo artists? Not necessarily, but I won’t pretend I’m not delighted that Wet Leg are the breakout band of 2022, and I’m thrilled when the 1975 headline Radio 1’s Big Weekend.” The rapid development of music technology is another factor, with software such as Ableton Live allowing people to release studio-quality music from their bedrooms for less than the cost of an electric guitar and amplifier. please log in to view this image Solo artists such as Taylor Swift dominate the music charts. Photograph: Jamie McCarthy/Getty “In the heyday of the band, in the 60s, if you wanted to make noise for people to dance to, you needed a band,” said David Hepworth, author of Overpaid, Oversexed and Over There, and former editor of Smash Hits. “Now you just need a laptop. When the Beatles arrived in 1964 [in the US], the thing that was amazing to people like Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty was that they were a band. Americans didn’t really have bands.” From Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis to Madonna, Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga, the American tradition has been towards solo artists, Hepworth said. “Whereas with the British invasion, what appealed was that there was a gang that you wanted to join. And there was the implicit promise that you could have a similar gang with your friends at school or college.” Independent Venue Week to support 300 grassroots venues – the UK has lost about a third of its venues in the last 20 years. Even so, “incredible and inspirational bands are still coming through”, Bloom said. “The demand is there because it’s still one of the greatest things any of us can experience, watching a band we love playing live, whether that’s in a tiny club or the mainstage at a festival.” Electronic music makers may appear to be solo artists but are often part of a broader group, such as a hip-hop crew or a DJ collective. please log in to view this image OneRepublic were one of only four bands to make the top 100 singles chart last year with a new song.Photograph: Thilo Schmülgen/Reuters LF System were one of the four groups to make the Top 100 last year with a new song, their dance anthem Afraid To Feel, alongside other dance acts Belters Only and Bad Boy Chiller Crew, and guitar band OneRepublic. The duo, Conor Larkman and Sean Finnigan, met while clubbing in Edinburgh and Glasgow. “We realised that we played and liked very similar music so started DJing together,” Larkman said. “Even if you think an artist is solo, they still, most likely, have a whole team behind them, helping them.” Stormzy may be one of the most successful British solo artists of the last decade, but when he appeared on the front cover of January’s Sound on Soundmagazine, he insisted that his crew were also in the picture and equally prominent. “Maybe there are some signs that we’re seeing the return of bands and groups,” Price said. “It’s hard to argue that Wet Legaren’t the biggest breakout artist of 2022. FLO won Radio 1’s Sound Off poll of 2023 and they won the Brits rising star [award] as well. That’s significant. I’d love to see more bands.”
It's an interesting fact that there has been more music released on a single day this year, than there was in the whole of 1989!
As you like Band Maid have you checked out Lovebites.? Another all female metal band from Japan. Miyaki on guitar is one of the best you will hear and is also a classical pianist. Haruna on drums is a force of nature. Check out the Chopin Etude / Swansong live video to get a taste.
