Is Good Music Dead?

By LOGAN BLEDSOE

Rock n’ Roll started in the 1950’s, it grew from the clean, simple, bouncy riffs of Elvis Presely, to the dramatic, soul grabbing symphonies of Led Zeppelin. From there it jumped into the acid and southern rock of the 1970’s with the crunchy fuzz of Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Then came the 1980’s with screaming guitar tones, shredding notes at blistering speeds, played by guitar gods like Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Twisted Sister. This was enough to make any music lover headbang until their neck was sore. Finally the punk era of the 1990’s came, and with its end, the era of Rock n’ Roll super bands died. 

When we listen to these bands, it is important to remember that at the time, there was no autotune, no post-production software. All these bands had was hundreds of yards of recording tape, with which they would write some of the most popular songs in the world. To make it all come together into the blissful noise we know today, they had to practice and play for hours per day, playing hundreds of shows, and travel non-stop. Many of today’s musicians do the latter as well, but the one secret ingredient that these bands-of-old had that modern pop, rap, and alternative musicians don’t have is… talent. 

Today’s musicians have become lazy and untalented, with the overuse of autotune for singers and rappers like Cardi B, Blueface, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Iggy Azalea, Khalid, and most infamously Billie Eilish. When in concert, many of today’s modern pop stars, cannot even stay in tune with their own songs, so they have to sing over there own song in the background. Many rappers like Swae Lee, 6ix9ine, XXXTENTACION, and Rae Sremmurd have been blasted for doing this. 

Modern music is an embarrassment to what once was the lifeblood of mankind. We have lost sight of what true talent is, in favor of catchy-repetitive lyrics and recycled beats. Song lyrics used to have meaning, they had a story to tell, guitar solos used to have an inspiration from an event in the player’s life. Now all we talk about is money, guns, and girls. The same phrases are repeated in every song. If you disagree with me, and you think that today’s musicians are truly talented, I ask you to write your own rap song, see how long it takes you to come up with those lyrics. Now write your own rock song, with an intro, a set of choruses, and a bridge. All of which are lacking in modern music. 

Today’s musicians, unlike their Rock n’ Roll ancestors, are products, not artists, devoted to their craft. They push agendas, sell clothes, repeat lyrics, scream catch phrases. They aren’t willing to die for their music, they willingly let a sound engineer make their music for them. Musicians in the modern era, take breaks when they’ve “had too much”. Hardcore rockers like Slash, Janis Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, and Dimebag Darrel, were willing to play their music until their hands bleed, some of these musicians took to gluing the skin back onto their fingers in order to keep playing their instruments. Total devotion to the craft, they even placed music above their own health and well being. That is true music.