s_k

6x7.

I think music will be fine.
Altough sound quality may descent, I think computers and the internet will create an entirely new music scene within now and 15 years. With a lot of free sharing and little gigs and festivals.

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TockTockTock

Of course, there are musicians like Khonnor who are gaining popularity solely through the use of the internet. Not to mention many young people of this generation are able to expose themselves a bit easier to music of other eras and genres (like myself). I remember watching a music documentary talking about how music in the 50s and 60s were just like plastic dolls - mass produced, uniform, and lacking. Then, tons of bands exploded out of nowhere and started an era of experimentation and musical progression. Perhaps history WILL repeat itself, and we'll see this happen in and outside the internet? Eh, but then again mainstream has always existed... there was the Little River Band and Peter Frampton in the 70s. But what do I know?

Dr_Rez

I agree. The fact that I can record a full length album for a few hundred dollars in my bedroom if I have the instruments already means that music you and I love will always be around. That didnt use to be the case.

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mr dave

THIS. this is also why there was such a huge boom of bands in the 60s. technology became affordable and it shows no signs of abating.

i don't see how regionalization is detrimental to the independent musician. perhaps detrimental to the independent who wants to live like they're the pop star du jour or dreaming they might become rock stars like it's still the 70s. if you're honestly playing because you honestly want to play then it won't matter. if you're playing because you want to do it for a living, shut the hell up, and sell the fock out. otherwise the reality is, you WILL be working a day job, and your 'tour' won't happen unless you and the other guys in the band can all get time off at the same time, and even then you'll be paying for everything. it's not because the mainstream sucks, it's not because your band isn't good, it's because your band isn't that good.

as for having to dig through crap to find gold, it's always been that way, sure the internet makes it exponentially more time consuming but we've already started establishing systems to cut through the rubbish. by the time it proliferates to the mainstream there will be plenty of other systems in place to help listeners sort through the trash to find what they like most.

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Dotoar

mr. Dave: Exactly, precisely and spot on! Although...

I'd say that the Internet has made it all the more efficient to cut through the crap, much more efficient since you don't have to rely just on what surfaces in the record store and vague recommendations. If you discovered one good band way-back-when, then you'll probably discover ten good bands today, and with a fraction of the effort.

Doesn't take away your main point though.

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s_k

I get the idea that 'underground' music is easier to find now. You don't have to be part of a scene. Just a couple of good music stores and the internet will do the trick.
Forums help, too.
I don't know if that's a good thing by the way. Some bands tend to lose their originaltiy once they get some sort of fame.

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s_k

I think there's always been a non-mainstream scene as long as music existed.
I don't think we should be worried.

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clutnuckle

Well how far ahead is anybody thinking? I'm thinking anywhere from 50-100 years. The world is going to COMPLETELY change by then, based off of the kind of power China will become, and its ties to other powers; their influence IS going to come to matter in Western Civilization like it never has, as well as parts of Europe. A lot more suppression will exist in everyday life. Yes, there is ALWAYS mainstream, but the mainstream will not be easy to avoid. Or in the other sense, it will be easy to avoid, but there will be nothing else to catch up with.

For instance, China has already banned several music websites ( see http://www.scaruffi.com/boycott.html for an example [and no, I don't read Scaruffi, but a friend link it to me.] ). It will not be as 'easy' to find the 'underground' scene as many people seem to think. It will result in impersonal, calculated suffocation.

Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra

I don't know, I think this is a bit extreme. It's an interesting Red Dawn like theory but seems to be thinking a little too outside the realistic scope. Albeit there have been attempts in America to Censor the Internet(Hillary Clinton was huge on it) we're too self indulgent of a commercialism society to let anybody take our porn away from us. I doubt we'll let them take away the music. China may be a growing military super-power, but if they take over the first world, it's not likely they'll keep a hold of it for very long. People in their country can get around their censors.

As for the unbearable-ness of mainstream music. I think that comes from human laziness. Just cause people don't sift through free music it doesn't mean it's not there(take a visit to archive.org if you believe otherwise. Albeit... too many people doing avant-garde ambient noise... dammit, a little is ok but learn to play instruments. Anybody can put effects on the sounds of planes flying by, and birds, and slap in static).

Thing I wish though is that people would go out, and mingle more with the regional audience. Find artists/musicians to connect with directly, and support. Connect with other people directly like I'm hoping to try to do more, and more, over the next few months,

clutnuckle

I would analyze the whole thing, but that 'realist' comment really gets to me.

The reality of history is that it is a series of the same things happening over and over and over... Different names, different places, different times, but the same story. Anybody who has taken the time to grasp the history of the arts would know that. Actually, any basic historical knowledge would suffice. Wars are usually won/lost for the same reasons. Revolutionaries are killed off, some are intelligent enough to live (usually for the exact same reasons). To quote Mark Twain: "History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme."

For anyone who TRULY thinks we've done anything differently than the same people who ****ed up and had the arts drowned out 2,000 years ago, you might want to analyze it from a purely historical perspective. Nobody has fixed' anything; kitsch still controls virtually everything. Thousands of years ago there were critics who thought outside of the box. Those people were the 'underground' powerhouses who the masses came to adore for telling the truth. They were eventually suppressed, and everybody re-assimilated.

Just because I'm writing 'a lot', doesn't mean I'm reading too much into this. It's purely logic. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.