It's quite amazing what get filtered through the radio these days. I try not to pull the "strictly worse" scenario very often, but it applies to pop music in general and has for quite a large number of years as we are seeing the end result of record label and radio station buyouts. When I was younger, Detroit rock stations would play J Geils and Bob Seger in heavy rotation while New York stations would play a lot more Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith. Depending on where you went, local culture had its own flavor. That's not to say that you never heard the Boss in Detroit - he was around, alright - but back in the Big Apple, they pretty much played every song he ever wrote as often as they could, while the same was true for most of Seger's catalog in Detroit.

Now there is very little localization left. We could blame MTV if we wanted, but I think one of the things they did right was to get exposure for many bands to a larger audience. Of course the internet allows bands from all over to be heard anywhere in the world, theoretically. The bigger issue is that 40% of the radio stations in the US are owned by one of two companies. All the stations play something like Linkin Park or Matchbox 20 (if they are still around even) , because the stations are paid "promotional fees" to play the bands. You get enough people listening to the radio and allowing that portion of their lives to be handled by some guys in suits, and BAM! Linkin Park has a hit record. Then they release a carbon copy of that hit record, and, while I haven't heard the latest album yet, I feel like, well, like I already have heard it.

What works really well for all the suits that are in charge of just about anything you can get on a major radio station is a product like Linkin Park, because their specific composite of various Top 40 styles works on rock and pop stations, and their sound is perfectly distilled to be pretty much the tastiest bag of Funyuns you'll find - this month. Next month someone like Shakira will come out with something and it wil be the new flavor.

The bands sell because the people they are marketed to don't look for anything else. Now I think there are plenty of discriminating music fans who happen to enjoy LP's music immensely, but until we get a few here, no one on Radiomute is going to believe me.

whenever i think about matchbox 20 i'm always reminded of this article

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30719

particularily this quote...

"No matter how many times we recorded the new single 'Sitting Down (Hands At My Side),' there was still a certain 'oomph' coming through in the drums, a loud-ish, slightly gripping sound that we couldn't remove," drummer Paul Doucette said. "Finally, after running them through about two dozen filters, we managed to get that 'plastic spork hitting mashed potatoes' sound we were after."

You are absolutely right about the localization thing. A lot of popular artists today are world-known, at least in all the places where people have money and access to listening to them. And for a lot of us, a lot of these bands are known because they're so widespread popular.

And you're also right about how different artists exchange being the "big thing". And what I've mainly found with people is that they usually either love or hate the "big things". The people who love them are, in a way, forced to be part of a conformity, which is the main reason people hate them. The people who hate the popular artists are usually trying to avoid the conformity, which is more convincing then just something like "I don't like their sound", cause if they say that, people will still probably try to make them like the popular artist. It's weird how it works, and how many people are so influenced.

Despite this, the music industry is still just in it for the money. Sort of like tobacco companies, not caring how they're buyers are affected. Now I may be wrong about all of this, but another thing - it really seems like you see a lot more of "This band has won X awards" or "This artist was featured in a popular movie" a lot more than "They have a quality sound that reflects their lives". Nobody really cares about that anymore.

And the whole conformity thing seems like it's rapidly growing in exponential amounts. It's scary, being a fan of a lot of mainstream bands while also being a fan of a lot of underground or not very popular bands. I don't know where I'll be left if this gets too extreme. And still, I might not know what I'm talking about, so I could be wrong about all this, but all that was just my view on the music business currently.

You might like The Dresden Dolls...if you haven't checked them out already.


Also, check all those lists that I provided links too....it's impossible that you wont find something you will like.

well i listened to ben folds and the format they are pretty good. i had to go to ashville and back today and i had both them playin on the way there and back, they are pretty good. i'll take a listen to The Dresden Dolls.

i haven't read all of the posts in this thread, they seem to be a bit redundant. but: have the beatles been suggested yet?

young man, if you want to consider yourself a fan of music in general, you ought to know their catalog inside and out. use them as a starting point.

1. You saw that I posted in this thread, right?


2. You're a whopping 4-years-older....what's with the young man bit?

Hell, even I didn't drop that and I am 107.

There was a similar problem, band members said, with the guitar solos, some of which contained trace elements of what musicians call "passion."

"It's really derivative and boring," he added.

Wow so much going on in this thread,

I agree, Radiohead is one of the most rewarding bands this forum introduced me too.

That article you posted from the onion is hilarious too.

The Beatles can't be beat.

Nice post Seerix, well said. But why does every thread seem into turn into a mainstream discussion?

Matchbox 20 I find dull and nothing special at all. Mae I have heard a couple times and I guess it is catchy but gets boring quick. I find it over done and petty. I have only heard their first album and this was a few years back.

I really do think you should try out Texas is the Reason. The record might sound a little rough to you but they really hit something with "Do You Know Who You Are?".

One of my favorite albums when I was younger was Jimmy Eat World - Clarity. Have you heard this? The production, song writing, and themes are just what you are looking for.

Do you know The Blue Album by Weezer? This is an excellent album and something I grew up on. Its immediately catchy and if you haven't heard it, I can't see how you wouldn't like it.

Ok, just in case some newbie in the future comes by and actually bothers to use the search engine and finds this thread. I have gone back and added in several lists of bands in multiple subgenres that I have made on RM.


The Updated List....


http://www.radiomute.com/398804-post2.html



If you/they are intersted in non-Rock.....Satchmo has that covered as well.


There is Jazz!


http://www.radiomute.com/114665-post3.html



and DA Blues



http://www.radiomute.com/22030-best-...es-albums.html



That should keep any newbie busy for at least 30-years, BABY!