What Are You Listening To Right Now? II

The Batlord · 04-12-2018, 10:44 AM

I see it as a far more garish, less wildly pretentious, but equally self-important form of GaGa. Of course I don't keep up with Miley Cyrus.

OccultHawk · 04-12-2018, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MicShazam

I already thought of Miley Cyrus as a poor man's Ke$ha, so that's a very confusing mental loop.

They take turns

**Frownland** · 04-12-2018, 10:52 AM

The Batlord · 04-12-2018, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

They take turns

Nah, Kesha is way better at being ridiculous.

~~MicShazam~~ · 04-12-2018, 11:02 AM

The last album from both Gaga, Cyrus and Kesha seem to signal that they're done being trashy dance pop queens. A shame, really. The alternative is more boring. Katy Perry's last album was great because it sounds more like Lady Gaga than her last album did.

The Batlord · 04-12-2018, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MicShazam

The last album from both Gaga, Cyrus and Kesha seem to signal that they're done being trashy dance pop queens. A shame, really. The alternative is more boring. Katy Perry's last album was great because it sounds more like Lady Gaga than her last album did.

Kesha's still got plenty of goofiness.

I do hope that she doesn't go deeper into eye-rolling hashtag activism though. Apparently this song was just for a compilation EP that isn't even hers so it might not reflect where ever she's going on her own.

OccultHawk · 04-12-2018, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MicShazam

The last album from both Gaga, Cyrus and Kesha seem to signal that they're done being trashy dance pop queens. A shame, really. The alternative is more boring. Katy Perry's last album was great because it sounds more like Lady Gaga than her last album did.

In general, maturation makes pop and rock music worse because it’s founded on juvenile rebelliousness. I know there are outliers but in general. It usually annoys me when party bands become conscientious.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about why jazz musicians keep up the good work so much longer and that’s what I came up with.

Maybe it was obvious all along but I used to think that it applied to all musical genres that musicians peak in their 20’s. I thought it was strange that so much great literature is written by old ****s but not music. But it turns out, it’s only because it was a youth culture talent all along.

The Batlord · 04-12-2018, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

In general, maturation makes pop and rock music worse because it’s founded on juvenile rebelliousness. I know there are outliers but in general. It usually annoys me when party bands become conscientious.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about why jazz musicians keep up the good work so much longer and that’s what I came up with.

Maybe it was obvious all along but I used to think that it applied to all musical genres that musicians peak in their 20’s. I thought it was strange that so much great literature is written by old ****s but not music. But it turns out, it’s only because it was a youth culture talent all along.

Well jazz and classic maturing is about actual musical innovation I suppose, whereas in general with rock and pop it's about proving that your genre can mature, which is self-important and defeats the purpose. The whole point of the latter two genres in the first place was to simplify music and make it accessible to a wider audience.

~~MicShazam~~ · 04-12-2018, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

In general, maturation makes pop and rock music worse because it’s founded on juvenile rebelliousness. I know there are outliers but in general. It usually annoys me when party bands become conscientious.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about why jazz musicians keep up the good work so much longer and that’s what I came up with.

Maybe it was obvious all along but I used to think that it applied to all musical genres that musicians peak in their 20’s. I thought it was strange that so much great literature is written by old ****s but not music. But it turns out, it’s only because it was a youth culture talent all along.

It definitely seems that the majority of the artists I like that turned into bland, unimaginative, limp muzak over time are artists in very mainstream genres. Radio pop artists and the more radio oriented singer/songwriters tend to go bad over time. That Tori Amos just seems to get better and better with age (in my opinion anyway), is an anomaly.

I basically agree with what you're saying, except I think it may also have something to do with lack of sophistication and ability in the artist (which is not to say they're not great at what they do best). Being good at cranking out thumping dance anthems doesn't mean you know how to not be boring with only an acoustic guitar in your hand. I really, really hate when pop/rock artists go for something more "mature" later in their career. It's almost always a dumpster fire. Just look at the new Kylie Minogue album. It's more adult and restrained and also unimaginably boring.

~~MicShazam~~ · 04-12-2018, 11:49 AM

I could name many famous artists that I think have kept up a fairly strong output over two or more decades, but your money theory still works for me, since the more famous, seemingly the more likely artists are to get some misguided ideas about their own artistic aims and abilities.

04-12-2018, 10:52 AM	#22513 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,548	__________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

04-12-2018, 11:49 AM	#22520 (permalink)
~~MicShazam~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Aalborg Posts: 7,636	I could name many famous artists that I think have kept up a fairly strong output over two or more decades, but your money theory still works for me, since the more famous, seemingly the more likely artists are to get some misguided ideas about their own artistic aims and abilities. Last edited by MicShazam; 04-12-2018 at 11:55 AM.

04-12-2018, 11:02 AM	#22515 (permalink)
~~MicShazam~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Aalborg Posts: 7,636	The last album from both Gaga, Cyrus and Kesha seem to signal that they're done being trashy dance pop queens. A shame, really. The alternative is more boring. Katy Perry's last album was great because it sounds more like Lady Gaga than her last album did.