Mainstream Music Is Improving

[Rest]

I find myself tuning in to radio more these days. I don't know why; maybe it's the quality of the songs being aired today, or maybe I'm warming up to radio. Regardless, they sound great, and the set of songs are, at least, starting to stray away from the usual pop-and-dubstep/electronic as well as country, and exploring in hip-hop, indie folk and rock, and R&B, as well as arena sounds. It sounds less derivative (relatively speaking, though), and I think it's starting to improve as a whole!

I'm citing Thrift Shop by Macklemore, Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars, Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift, Don't You Worry, Child by Swedish House Mafia, Suit & Tie by J.T., Radioactive by Imagine Dragons, Thinkin' Bout You by Frank Ocean, Some Nights by fun. and Poetic Justice by Kendrick Lamar, among others, all from the current Top 40s chart. I think all these songs are great on their own and they're from different genres.

I guess it's entirely subjective, but I'd like to hear what the people of GE think.

[Snowdrop]

Pretty much anything Imagine Dragons comes up with I'll like, and they're mainstream right? I like a few scattered songs here and there, but I rarely listen to mainstream music. I don't think there's anything wrong with it, per se... in my own opinion, I just find it generic. And they lyrics... wow. I usually don't pay attention to lyrics of a song but these ones are just... yikes. However, I think a lot of mainstream music has really catchy instrumentals. So if I went on YouTube and dug up the instrumental versions of these songs I'd like them :D

I haven't seen it really 'improving.' It seems similar to what it was years ago.

[Elendil]

I sort of agree. I mean I don't listen to a whole lot of mainstream music, especially if its mainstream metal I mean what the hell does that even mean, but the recent revival of R&B has been pretty damn good. Rap has lost itself in 1996 and never has come back, but R&B's revival so far has been pretty decent and is fairly enjoyable. Everything else is a mess though, nothing is tolerable.

[LilJz1234]

I don't really the mainstream music they have on the radio. But they have SOME that I do like. Taylor Swift isn't bad and some pop songs neither.

But Flo-Rida, Rihanna & Chris Brown.. those stuffs you can't count me out of those garbage.

[DarkRisingGirl]

Originally Posted by Elendil

I sort of agree. I mean I don't listen to a whole lot of mainstream music, especially if its mainstream metal I mean what the hell does that even mean, but the recent revival of R&B has been pretty damn good. Rap has lost itself in 1996 and never has come back, but R&B's revival so far has been pretty decent and is fairly enjoyable. Everything else is a mess though, nothing is tolerable.

I'd have to completely agree with this. Honestly, the only real mainstream rap artists right now that can be taken seriously is Kendrick Lamar & J.Cole.

[.EJ]

It's entirely subjective and to me all those songs you've mentioned sound like previous mainstream songs long forgotten. You can thank MIDI for that; mainstream music at one time is usually forgotten for the next "hit".

[Rest]

Originally Posted by LilJz1234

I don't really the mainstream music they have on the radio. But they have SOME that I do like. Taylor Swift isn't bad and some pop songs neither.

But Flo-Rida, Rihanna & Chris Brown.. those stuffs you can't count me out of those garbage.

I agree, I'm not that fond of Flo-Rida and Chris Brown too. I'm not a fan of Rihanna either, but admittedly she's pretty good in featured spots in some singles, like her work with Yeezy, Drake and Calvin Harris, all of which I enjoy to some extent.

Originally Posted by DarkRisingGirl

I'd have to completely agree with this. Honestly, the only real mainstream rap artists right now that can be taken seriously is Kendrick Lamar & J.Cole.

A$AP Rocky has been dishing out solid work too, IMO, but yeah, Kendrick Lamar is one of the best things to have happened in mainstream music today (even though his choice of singles are probably several of my least favourite tracks from his otherwise spectacular album).

[Mac]

I have found myself enjoying almost everything you mentioned in the first post. I actually listen to the radio fairly regularly now and it's quite enjoyable. A lot of good music is making it on the airwaves and I'm happy to see the change.

[François]

It's just a case of radio playing more music that fits your taste. It hasn't improved, it's just a genre-shift.

Now personally I think the charts are better (to my ears) now than they were in say, 2010/early 2011 when it seemed like all hope was lost for the world, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who think everything that isn't dance is horrid and we're heading into an awful phase for music. Which we are in the longterm - Gotye, fun, Imagine Dragons and co are so obviously going to lead to a return of the vomit-inducing landfill indie of the mid-2000s that I'm sure will have me crying out for the return of Pitbull. But radio can never stay diverse for long, it always has to latch onto one genre and hammer it to absolute death.

From a UK perspective, 2008-2009 was the best time for the charts. In 2009 especially there was wonderful diversity and everything sounded so fresh. It's just a pity that everything that was so fresh back then was turned into LMFAO and Flo Rida and blah blah blah.

[Brizz]

Originally Posted by DarkRisingGirl

I'd have to completely agree with this. Honestly, the only real mainstream rap artists right now that can be taken seriously is Kendrick Lamar & J.Cole.

I agree with you here but imo B.o.B is also one of the few mainstream rappers that can be taken seriously.

[ShinyUmbreon189]

Mainstream is not getting better. They're doing it for money and fame and most of the lyrics make 0 sense. Compare mainstream from early 2000 and earlier to now. Artists now are degrading women because they think it's "music" when it's just ignorant. As the above said, J Cole, Lamar, and B.o.B. are the only hip hop artists that I can take seriously. Still can't stand up to old school mainstream. Wiz is a joke, js, that dude shouldn't even be mainstream, he's a sell out and the music industry made him a puppet. I'll prove evidence if anyone want's to disagree, I know what goes on in the music industry. I'll post song after song even from different artists.

[Bobby Emerald]

I'm not quite sure if Curren$y is mainstream (as I almost never listen to the radio in the first place), but I've been keeping tabs on his work, he dishes out a lot of projects....He doesn't stand up to J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar (don't care about B.o.B.), but I think he's doing pretty good as a standalone rapper. I don't listen to Asap, I probably should though.
That being said, there are plenty of good rappers that AREN'T mainstream - Childish Gambino is one of my faves.

[ShinyUmbreon189]

I agree with Emerald. Mainstream rap < Underground rap

Here's the definition of the 2 and how they are different by my understandings.

Mainstream - Degrading women, don't speak facts when they're rapping, and lacking the passion. They care more about money, fame, and fashion than they're lyrics. It's been proven, MAINSTREAM RUINS ARTISTS. Look at Wiz Khalifa, one of the biggest sell outs in hip-hop today. His Show and Prove album was "facts", had his own style, etc. As soon as he went mainstream he turned to utter crap. He only raps about drugs, money, women, and fashion. Underground he rapped about the streets, how he had real flow, pretty much for the passion than idiotic ignorant crap.

Underground - As a whole speaks truth. When they're rapping they're speaking facts and have true meaning. They don't rap about crap that degrades women and drugs, money, etc. But just because your underground don't mean your real, I've heard a few underground artists that are fake as mainstream. That's why as a whole they do it for the passion. Lots of underground artists are smart enough to not get sucked into the mainstream and have made MANY songs about mainstream or mainstream industry music.

I'm gonna name a few "underground" rappers that will completely murder anyone on the mic in mainstream like they were goin on killin sprees. Tech N9ne, sickest flow today and even tho he's a chopper at times (spittin super fast) he's a lyrical genius. He's rapped about the industry on numerous occasions and everyone in mainstream know's he's the king, 40 years old and still has the stamina he had when he was 25. He's a legend in rap. Songs like Come Gangsta, Industry is Punks, Who Do I Catch, and Ugly Duckling are a few where he bashes the industries. He also raps about struggles and the half owner of Strange Music. The dude makes millions upon millions and yet made songs like he went mainstream. He respects mainstream but hates them at the same time.

Hopsin, yet another underground artist and the owner of Funk Volume. On numerous occasions rapped about the industry. Nocturnal Rainbows, Ill Mind of Hopsin 5, Kill Her, etc. Hopsin is yet another lyrical genius and went from homeless to rich. The mainstream despises his music and they told him he's not "real enough". He pretty much said fy I'm gonna make my own label, and look where he's at today. As soon as he started getting recognized mainstream industries have been blowing him up with messages and his latest song "Independent Living" mentions that. He's making close to as much as mainstream artists and has some of the realest lyrics known to rap.

Immortal Technique, he's been down the mainstream industries road and he knows what goes on. He's one of the realest rappers in the underground and owns his own label as well.

Mainstream has no reason to do what they do because they're cash flowin, it's actually not them, it's the industries and they're just puppets.

As Tech N9ne said "Yeah the radio dead! - cuz the industry is punks! (punks!)
Put the double-barrel to it's forehead!"

[Katalyst]

Mainstream music was never really good actually, save for a couple of bands or songs. Nowadays it's just incorporating different genres. If anything, it's getting worse by the day - each passing day you listen to songs on the radio and TV and such that are just outright unoriginal on the instrumental and the structure of the song, with generic (and sometimes stupid) lyrics/lyrical themes and a hit song only lasts a week. Then you have awards that focus mostly on the mainstream and show a total disrespect for several genres. It's music that is created to make money and that's it.

[CarcharOdin]

Mainstream music is getting better?

Haven't noticed. Then again, I don't listen to the radio, I just bring CDs I like and blast them instead of searching for frequencies that don't aurally rape me with Top 40 pop, simplistic R&B, gangsta rap, cancer-of-electronic-genre dubstep, and butt-rock.

[Keiran777]

The only listed song close to being decent is the one by Frank Ocean. The rest are crap. Nowadays, most mainstream artists just vomit out singles that get overhyped and overplayed (a good example is the Justin Timberlake song) until people get sick of it, and then they release another.

[Scarf]

I'm cynical. Even if for the sake of argument all the music brought up in this thread were good (not familiar with enough of it to say if it's good or bad) I'd guess it's only a matter of time before something awful comes to replace it. That's just what the mainstream is: trying to appeal to as many people as possible and (usually) stretching itself thin.

[Razor Leaf]

Originally Posted by François

It's just a case of radio playing more music that fits your taste. It hasn't improved, it's just a genre-shift.

/thread.

I see mainstream music now as the same as it's ever been; high quantities of very similar material made to cater to whatever works with the masses right now. And right now, what the masses want is generally more popular with people who don't like mainstream normally than it usually is. That's not objectively better, not that such a thing exists in music; that's just a phase which mainstream is going through which is particularly appealing. Give it a few months and people'll be saying how terrible it is again. Of course, there's always the chance that this is a rare occasion when a lot of genuinely semi-decent stuff is out there, but I feel like it's more likely that it's just what's in high demand right now.

[Soile]

I half agree with you. Part of the music on the radio actually makes me think: huh, the sheep are getting better tastes in music! Then Ke$ha comes on and I have no hope for this planet.

In short, the good mainstream is getting better, and the bad mainstream is getting worse.

[Rai]

I agree. I used to hate the radio. It all sounded the same and consisted of mostly heavy, crappy rap, which I hate. Now radio music is more techno-based and I really love techno music. It is more upbeat and easier to dance to. I also feel that the lyrics aren't as vulgar as they used to be (except for Kesha whom I despise >_>).

[Nuke]

I never listen to radio, but I always check the charts to see what garbage has made it this week. The US charts always seem infinitely better than what is here in the UK, but maybe that's because there is more hip-hop in the US charts instead of generic pop star doing a dance track.

If I look at the UK's current chart there's two good songs, Pompeii - Bastille (good far from their best song though) and I Need Your Love - Calvin Harris (which to most people would just be a boring electronic track, but I like Ellie Goulding). So it's not getting much better in my opinion, any good songs that make it to the chart I tend to have heard months before anyway, so radio is pretty pointless for me.

[droomph]

It's still the same, just sounds different.

I will say that I've always loved any type of music as long as it's a sound played in a certain way. Hip-hop, jazz, dubstep, classical, rock, tribal music, I'm all over the place with my music. I certainly don't mind it changing, because bring the horribles on, I'll enjoy them to defy your will.

I laugh at people who "hate" any certain type of music; they don't know what they're missing out on. It's one of the joys of life, and you should learn to love all of it.

That's not to say I'll listen maniacally to any type of music at any time though. If I'm tired, I'll be less prone to listening to new genres of music than if I'm actively searching for music.

[Rest]

Originally Posted by droomph

It's one of the joys of life, and you should learn to love all of it.

I tell my friends this whenever they have a prejudice against a certain genre. It's typical for people to hate a certain type of music just because of that one or two songs that come up that they're not fond of. I think people shouldn't readily shoot down a certain type of music just because it's in the top 40 (or it's a genre they hate). It's all about developing your own opinion and developing your own taste, and this can be done by listening to an artist's album and reading articles on its production, for example. You'll learn to appreciate music more. Keep an open mind.

[Yusshin]

imo music hasn't been good since '00. All I ever hear people talking about is Lady Gaga, Niki Minaj and Katy Perry. They're all horrible. Every one of their songs. Not to mention, the lyrics, music videos and just general behaviour of the artists (on-stage and off) is distasteful and hyper-sexual. I can't listen to any music nowadays without some sort of phrase relating to sex, "getting it on," making out or "check out dat bootay." There was this one song about summer love that my sister wouldn't stop listening to - I think it was by S.T.E.R.E.O. or something? Wouldn't know - how a girl should forget everything, "get it on" with him (it's summer after all!) and then drop it afterwards. 'Cause that's what tweens should be listening to. That's what's good for 'em.

I shouldn't be hearing a six-year-old singing about bootay calls on the bus, either. Then to top it off, their parents laugh and call it "cute"! What's cute about that?

Some beats are good, but every song is constantly ruined by lyrics. I'll stick to Beethoven, the Beatles and Coldplay until artists (and actors, for that matter) shape up. We need James Cameron to come o'er and raise the bar.

[Sydian]

I know this thread was made in February, but right now in the lovely month of April, there are some good songs on the radio. I'm not gonna sit here and list them all, but I find the radio so much more tolerable now than I did back in January. There a lot of great singles out right now and I think 2013 is starting to find its musical place and right now, I say it's way ahead of 2012. This time last year, we were still hearing the "generic club beat" songs with no fire, no back bone, and sounded similar to everything else. The radio was unbearable, honestly. Right now though, there are so many different sounding songs and a better mixture of what's mainstream right now. I really like it, and I wish it could always be this way, if not better. When I tune in to the hits station here, I hear so many good things. Country (one with hip-hop blends!), rock, electric, pop (from men and women!), and it's just golden. If anything, that blend of mainstream music alone has helped tremendously. Normally it's either all pop or all hip-hop and it gets boring. There's more variety at the moment.

This is coming from someone that loves music of all kinds though, so don't take this whole thing as fact. I think highly of music of all kinds and there's only one artist I think is trash, so...!