if you can name 4 or 5 artist that were popular I can name another 4 or 5 artist that were not as popular and more talented.

Ive been back and forth on this subject asking myself "Did things really used to be better? or am i just nostalgic?" and the answer in my case is im just nostalgic lol

i was born on 83 so the first music movement i came in contact with was the 90's grunge movement and i luv that era of music but much of why i miss that era is because of how young i was and the mindset i used to have so even if bands today still played grunge i would still be like "Nah old grunge used to be better" not because the bands are worse it's simply because it doesn't mean as much to me as it did back then

i also think about bands from this era like Of Montreal which i love an how back then bands like that didn't exist and couldn't have existed because music hasn't lead to that yet

that's Rock though, Pop wise i would have to agree old pop is better i prefer Madonna over Ke$ha anyday an MJ over Chris brown but again i think it's cause i was raised in that era and grew accustomed to that kinda music rather than what pop is today

What actually horrifies me is the fact I recognize most all of those songs on Urbans list.

There is a certain sense of tranquility I get by listening to 70's pop that I don't get with todays pop. I'm sure youth is one of the biggest reasons why.

Okay, I think I will go by decades because some of the artists actually were popular repetitively yearly

I guess I will start with the 1950's. We can go to other past decades but I just wanted to start with this one.

These were the top 200 songs of the 1950's decade
Acclaimed Music - The Top 200 Songs from the 1950s

Based on this list these are Top 5 popular artists from this decade

Elvis Presley- He has the most hits out of all of them
Chuck Berry
Jerry Lee Lewis
Little Richard
Ray Charles

The last four do not have the same number of hits from this decade as Elvis but they have more in comparison to the others listed

That is why I think I love alot of the oldies myself.

That is the only type of music I have ever known because my parents exposed me to it at an early age. Youth today will probably never get expose to that type of music unless their parents expose it to them. I was fortunate to have that. I have always been into music in decades past because it is more authentic and I feel overall better quality

Pop music seemed more clean sounding and vibrant in the 70s. Karen Carpenter is one of the first names that comes to mind whenever discussing pop. And bring the Hollies in on a close second as personal favorites.

Pop music splinterd off in different directions as well, the bands Three Dog Night and the Raspberries were two of the more popular bands that started to use fuzz and distortion to their sound

The 70's are actually my favorite decade of music and I love Karen Carpenter. I think you made a good point with pointing out how popular music has went in different directions. The popular music from the 70's does not sound like the popular music in the 80's and so forth and so forth. That is why when people say "I don't like popular music" I don't think its fair to generalize the medium when they are really referring to a specific era or era's of popular music.

For instance, I love Pop music I just do not like the popular music of this current era.

I guess you could state that the 70's pop music evolved all the way through the decade itself, I mean you had bands like America, James Taylor, Cat Stevens and Neil Young that best fit in the folk orientated pop section of the spectrum.

I will go out on a limb and suggest that Elton John was one of the first artist to bring pop the closest to the rock threshold. From there on it was all blues rock and progressive.

My input on the subject is just a drop in the bucket (And quite subjective at the same time I will admit) when considering all the different varieties of 70's pop and going on in to the pop culture explosion of the 80's.

Pop music of yesterday (60s\70s) was still more based on having a degree of talent vs today's "pop" music which is all based on the formula devised by the suits in the back room.

When do you think that formula was born? During that same period of time that you glorify. So all the music that you feel was so much more talented was manufactured as well.

I'll add my opinion of artists who had just as much talent who released great songs during this era as well that did not have as many hits as the above.

Anybody can add, I think I will do this for each era.

1. Jackie Wilson
2. Muddy Holly
3. The Drifters
4. Fats Dominos
5. Ella Fitzgerald
6. The Dells

That is an interesting point.

I notice that each of the decades have their own explosions of genres and movements like in the 60's you had the British explosion with bands like the Beatles and Rolling Stones but you also had the big rise of Motown and African American cross over acts.

That is an interesting point about Elton as well. He has done so many genres.

Just a few hit songs from the Summer of 1965
1. Rolling Stones Satisfaction
2. Sonny And Cher I Got You Babe
3. Elvis Crying In The Chapel
4. Byrds Mr. Tambourine Man
5. Jay And The Americans Cara Mia
6. Jackie Deshannon What The World Needs Now
7. Beach Boys California Girls Help Me Rhonda
8. Billy Joe Royal Down In The Boondocks
9. Supremes Back In My Arms Again
10. Johnny Rivers Seventh Son
11. The Righteous Brothers Unchained Melody
12. Guess Who Shakin All Over
13. Beatles Help
14. James Brown Papas Got A Brand New Bag
15. Tom Jones It's Not Unusual
16. Beatles Ticket To Ride
17. Otis Reading I've Been Loving You Too Long
18. Herman's Hermits Mrs Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter
19. Lesley Gore Sunshine Lollipops And Rainbows
These are, but a few songs from the artists of the Summer of 1965. Although one could argue that the pop music of that era was manufactured formulated I will pt forth the observation that the diversity of the bands is light years ahead of what we are being treated to these days............

No it's not. The top charts now involve bubblegum, hip hop, metal, indie, r&b, etc etc.

you look at that list and see diversity? really? :crazy:

The list is very diverse actually... why don't you think so?

You call two genres diverse?

That's all I see listed there.

I see three: Pop, rock and Motown.

Not that that makes it much more diverse.

The year 1965 was not as diverse as the years immediately following. That late 1960's psychedelic revolution really opened things up for eclectic experimentation.

I find the 1980's pretty diverse for the most part. Here you have soul, disco, funk, r&b, rock, soft rock, country, straight ahead pop, and even some really innovative new wave stuff. You could find all that back to back on the same radio station back then.

1980 Billboard top 100

1 "Call Me" Blondie
2 "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" Pink Floyd
3 "Magic" Olivia Newton-John
4 "Rock with You" Michael Jackson
5 "Do That to Me One More Time" Captain & Tennille
6 "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" Queen
7 "Coming Up" Paul McCartney
8 "Funkytown" Lipps Inc
9 "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" Billy Joel
10 "The Rose" Bette Midler
11 "Escape (The Piña Colada song)" Rupert Holmes
12 "Cars" Gary Numan
13 "Cruisin" Smokey Robinson
14 "Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl" The Spinners
15 "Lost in Love" Air Supply
16 "Little Jeannie" Elton John
17 "Ride Like the Wind" Christopher Cross
18 "Upside Down" Diana Ross
19 "Please Don't Go" KC and the Sunshine Band
20 "Babe" Styx
21 "With You I'm Born Again" Billy Preston and Syreeta
22 "Shining Star" The Manhattans
23 "Still" Commodores
24 "Yes, I'm Ready" Teri DeSario & KC
25 "Sexy Eyes" Dr. Hook
26 "Steal Away" Robbie Dupree
27 "Biggest Part of Me" Ambrosia
28 "This Is It" Kenny Loggins
29 "Cupid/I've Loved You for a Long Time" The Spinners
30 "Let's Get Serious" Jermaine Jackson
31 "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer" Kenny Rogers & Kim Carnes
32 "Sailing" Christopher Cross
33 "Longer" Dan Fogelberg
34 "Coward of the County" Kenny Rogers
35 "Ladies' Night" Kool & the Gang
36 "Too Hot" Kool & the Gang
37 "Take Your Time (Do It Right)" The SOS Band
38 "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer
39 "More Love" Kim Carnes
40 "Pop Muzik" M
41 "Brass in Pocket" The Pretenders
42 "Special Lady" Ray, Goodman & Brown
43 "Send One Your Love" Stevie Wonder
44 "The Second Time Around" Shalamar
45 "We Don't Talk Anymore" Cliff Richard
46 "Heartache Tonight" Eagles
47 "Stomp!" The Brothers Johnson
48 "Tired of Toein' the Line" Rocky Burnette
49 "Better Love Next Time" Dr. Hook
50 "Him" Rupert Holmes
51 "Against the Wind" Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
52 "On the Radio" Donna Summer
53 "Emotional Rescue" The Rolling Stones
54 "Rise" Herb Alpert
55 "All Out of Love" Air Supply
56 "Cool Change" Little River Band
57 "You're Only Lonely" J.D. Souther
58 "Desire" Andy Gibb
59 "Let My Love Open the Door" Pete Townshend
60 "Romeo's Tune" Steve Forbert
61 "Daydream Believer" Anne Murray
62 "I Can't Tell You Why" Eagles
63 "Don't Let Go" Isaac Hayes
64 "Don't Do Me Like That" Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
65 "She's Out of My Life" Michael Jackson
66 "Fame" Irene Cara
67 "Fire Lake" Bob Seger
68 "How Do I Make You" Linda Ronstadt
69 "Into the Night" Benny Mardones
70 "Let Me Love You Tonight" Pure Prairie League
71 "Misunderstanding" Genesis
72 "An American Dream" The Dirt Band
73 "One Fine Day" Carole King
74 "Dim All the Lights" Donna Summer
75 "You May Be Right" Billy Joel
76 "Hurt So Bad" Linda Ronstadt
77 "Should've Never Let You Go" Neil & Dara Sedaka
78 "Pilot of the Airwaves" Charlie Dore
79 "Off the Wall" Michael Jackson
80 "I Pledge My Love" Peaches & Herb
81 "The Long Run" Eagles
82 "Stand by Me" Mickey Gilley
83 "Heartbreaker" Pat Benatar
84 "Déjà Vu" Dionne Warwick
85 "Drivin' My Life Away" Eddie Rabbitt
86 "Take the Long Way Home" Supertramp
87 "Sara" Fleetwood Mac
88 "Wait For Me" Hall & Oates
89 "Jojo" Boz Scaggs
90 "September Morn" Neil Diamond
91 "Give Me the Night" George Benson
92 "Broken Hearted Me" Anne Murray
93 "You Decorated My Life" Kenny Rogers
94 "Tusk" Fleetwood Mac
95 "I Wanna Be Your Lover" Prince
96 "In America" Charlie Daniels Band
97 "Breakdown Dead Ahead" Boz Scaggs
98 "Ships" Barry Manilow
99 "All Night Long" Joe Walsh
100 "Refugee" Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Today's pop vs. yesterday's pop ? That's a loaded question but I find the stuff is much better today for loudness and rhythm, the stuff of yesterday had much more emphasis on chord changes and dynamics (less consistent volume-wise). I personally prefer the pop of yesterday but the pop of today packs a seriously energetic punch.

All IMO, YMMV.

James Brown- Funk/Soul

Otis Redding R&B/Soul

Rolling Stones- Rock

etc and etc

I have to agree with listener101, though i hate the 80s, it was an fairly diverse genre what with hip hop becoming more popular and therefore opening up the charts a little bit. It seems like up to a certain point musical exposure is fairly black and white, in the most literal sense. White people only liked their Rock and R&B, and certain black singers, and the Black community had Soul, Funk, and so on. That might be too much of a generalization though, I know some artists were certain breakthroughs or crossovers, but there seems to be a sort of barrier in popularity.

Yes.

The 1980's can sound a little cheesy and naive in hindsight, but they were all really just having fun, doing their own thing, much of it new. The drum machines, synthesizers and digital technology were like brand new toys back then and some of the songs sounded a little toyish compared to the heavy, slick productions of today. The 1980's was the decade where personal computers and video games became mainstream. Digital technology went Supernova.

Afrika Bambaataa cited 1980's British new wave innovator Gary Numan as one significant source of his innovation and inspiration, as he (Bambaataa) helped build the the east coast DJ scene in the early 1980's. Rap and hip-hop became mainstream by the mid to late 1980's. The Billboard charts struggled to accommodate, but eventually gave in (they are pretty conservative after all).

1986

Walk This Way - Run D.M.C. #89

1989

Bust a Move - Young MC #42
Buffalo Stance - Neneh Cherry #36
Wild Thing - Tone Lōc #33


The 1980's were quite revolutionary, much like the late 1960's.

I was actually thinking about the demographic angle not long ago.

Back in the 60's whites were a bigger portion of the population than they are now - and their music buying power was undoubtedly greater proportionally still. Since they tended to like rock/pop music (plus jazz and classical for the older generations) that's going to have an effect on what sells the most.

Nowadays you've got a more diverse population, and as a result, you've got a wider variety of what's the most popular - and more fragmentation in the industry too.

Back when I was a kid and teenager in the 70's, if you listened to or were aware of maybe about 30 bands, you covered probably what 70% of what the general music-listening population out there listened to. Nowadays the top ~30 bands are probably going to be familiar to maybe only 40% of the listening population (or even less). At least that's the impression I get.

Of course the internet has had a big effect too, but I get the impression the industry would still be more fragmented even without it.

As Oscar Wilde would say, the best thing about today's music industry is that anyone can become famous, and the worst thing about today's music industry is that anyone can become famous. Take a look at things like Rebecca Black and What Does the Fox Say.

Viral videos isn't the same thing as being in the music industry though. What an awful analogy.

Those two weren't very good examples, because, as you say, neither of those artists are in the music industry. Gangnam Style is probably a better example.

Psy has been in the music industry for a decade though and he's huge in South Korea before he even got popular with Gangnam Style.

But it was the viral video that popularized him here, and brought more K-pop to our attention.
Take One Direction. They came in third on the X Factor and then signed a £2,000,000 deal.

K-pop was huge thanks to Youtube for a couple of years before Gangnam Style even came out.

On the other topic of those signing competitions, the acts that come out of them very rarely have any longevity.

Every year a new American Idol gets crowned. They put on one album or two and then they are completely forgotten about.


Did you forget about the existence of Star Search?
These singing competition shows aren't anything new.

I agree the video was definitely a factor. Likely not the only factor though.

As a fellow Canadian who's a fan of Brian Wilson as well, we should really both try to get over the fact that Gangnam Style is just a pure fun circus stunt which became wildly successful as a fad. It's over. It's not classic art, just an aggressively loud catchy diddy full of character and energy. Party music. It fully deserved to get the love it got because the people loved it for it's spontaneous craziness, and the easy to love charisma of Psy, not for an unrelated standard of complex chords and elaborate melodies.

Here's the challenge for the listener with old school tastes, new school tastes, as well as fans of Psy, or not. Go back to Psy's 2001 release and go through his albums chronologically, listening to each song (using wiki and youtube), and see if there is something more substantial to enjoy. I call it music appreciation 101. One might be surprised at what one finds. Through effort comes appreciation.

Psy Discography :

-PSY from the Psycho World! (2001)
-Ssa2 (2002)
-3 Mi (2002)
-Remake & Mix 18 Beon (2005)
-Ssajib (2006)
-PSYfive (2010)
-Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1 (2012)

Question for djchameleon or anyone else : do you think any East Coast DJ's (or any from anywhere in the world) occasionally play Neneh Cherry's 1989 hit Buffalo Stance ? I just heard it again for the first time in awhile and think it's got loads of personality and some interesting shifts throughout the song.

I guess the situation was different in my neck of the woods, because as far as I know, K-pop was unheard of around here until that viral video.
And I agree that the signing competition acts disppear quickly. Just about any artists who cater to a small cross-section of the population will. Remember when the Jonas Brothers were the rage? Nobody mentions them anymore.
And Star Search was actually before my time.

Honestly, I don't think I'd survive all of the synth. It's OK when done tastefully, like the Moog on Abbey Road, but the overload of it on Gangnam Style really gets under my skin.

Most of the time, correct. But it would be nice to hear something more substantive in the charts once in a while, as they did have that sort of artistic depth and edginess in the charts fairly often in the past (1966-1995).

I'll take those top 40 hits from the Summer of 65 pretty much over anything that has come out in the last 15 years!

BTW where'd galt go?

Last active on March 9th at 21:31 EDT...