Batman

and Muzik, sorry about insulting you so much. If I had known that you know so much about music, I wouldn't have asked you such a silly question as "Do you know what melody is?" because I would have realized that you didn't mean it literally. But you can probably see why I had such a surprised reaction to "modern music has no melody" without knowing the background info about yourself!

I agree Kevin, I think that if we keep going the same way we're going, there's never going to be another Beatles, but I think that's probably a good thing. I'm not saying there will never be a band as good as the Beatles (I think there already have been), I just don't think there will be another band that unites such a large portion of the population. But I don't really see why that should upset the common person. In fact I think it should be exciting to people! It creates more opportunities for new kinds of music to spring up if there isn't one all-encompassing band that every musician in a genre looks up to and tries to emulate. I think the only people it should worry are members of the mass-media who are constantly trying to push some new fad on the public. Like this Twitter crap that every adult is convinced all the kids are using and is revolutionizing communication. Who uses Twitter? Nobody! Well that was kind of off-topic, but anyways, I think that there will be (and have been) plenty of new musical styles created in my lifetime, it's just unlikely that everyone will love one of them enough to change society.

Muzik - I'm off to the mountain for a few days! Kevin - Thanks a lot, I'm glad someone here sees where I'm coming from and respects my opinion.

Oh hey what terrible timing, there's your response right there! That's true MT, and it kind of scares me to know that in 40 years I will likely not understand the modern music. But it is my hope that I will at least realize that there is something to understand, and that I just don't understand it myself (and I hope you realize that as well). But I'm still curious as to what you mean by "true melodies." And I agree that this is my favorite kind of music discussion. I mean, it's nice to have a discussion on "your favorite Beatles album" or "good cover songs" or something, but things really start to get interesting when people discuss the most important aspects of music itself. And the reason that these discussions get so heated isn't because I dislike you or something (hell, I've never even met you, how could I dislike you?), it's just that music is something that is connected so strongly to the soul that when one person attacks the music another person holds dear, things get pretty ugly. When we are talking in terms as vague as "modern music," this is no longer a discussion about bands and songs, it is a full on philosophical debate. So yeah, my posts are not intended to be read as personal attacks (because again, I do not know you, so it would be very difficult for me to personally attack you), I'm just trying to express my frustration at the fact that some of the music I love so much is not only being insulted by someone, but being insulted for what I feel are illegitimate and misguided reasons.

After you answer my question, don't be surprised if I don't respond for a week or so...I'm about to go to sleep and tomorrow I'm going on vacation

Well I was angry earlier, but now I'm just confused. What do you mean by "true melodies?" Do you mean "good melodies?" Because I suppose that's just an opinion and as strange an opinion I think it is, it's still an opinion and it doesn't make any sense for me to try and change it. But if by "true melody" you literally mean a melody, then that's not a matter of opinion, and it's just objectively wrong.

Actually, I really don't care if you respond to the rest of my post (since I'm pretty sure you won't), the only thing I'm really curious about is my question: do you actually think modern music does not have melody?

Alright forget those two words and respond to the rest of the post, please. If you say my calling your remarks "ignorant" is a personal attack, I say your calling my answer unintelligent is a personal attack as well. Oh, and you calling me a "senseless young punk" could maybe be taken as a personal attack as well. What I'm trying to do is a) answer your question respond to attacks on the music I love c) explain what I think is warped about your perception of modern music Which reminds me, I hate all this talk about "modern music" and "music of the past" as if these are meaningful terms. It's so obvious that it's become cliche, but you can't just say modern music is soulless, because the music of the past is soulless as well. And of course there is plenty of modern music with soul and plenty of old music with soul too. It's just not very open-minded to put a time period of music in a box like that.

It wasn't a serious question, it was just a surprised reaction to what I assumed was a thoughtless statement. Was it a thoughtless statement, or do you actually hold the opinion that modern music does not have melody? My answer to your question, if it wasn't clear: Yes. Post-rock and abstract hip hop are two good examples of original styles of music that have been pretty much completely created in the past 20 years, and if electronic music keeps evolving at the rate it is, I'm sure there will be at least one completely original genre made from it in the next decade. By the way, I don't mean to say that you don't love music, I just think you have a very warped perception of modern music (as many people from past generations do...it's sort of inevitable). I just think that if you love music so much you deserve to know that tons of people still make it well and have a passion for it, and that people still experiment with new sounds. And if you want a more intelligent answer, I think you should try to keep the ignorant remarks (such as the few sentences that immediately follow your bolded question) to a minimum.

I just read your original post again, and I'm sorry to insultingly over-analyze it like this but... I urge you take this sentence apart and reflect on how ridiculous it is. Music of the present has no melody? Do you know what melody is? I apologize for being so aggressive about this but I hear these kinds of statements all the time, and as far as music discussion goes, nothing bothers me more.

Exactly right Farin. I doubt Britney's fan base care if she's actually singing or not, they just want to be in her presence and watch her dance. I often wonder who Britney's audience is today. Back when she started it was all preteens, but I was just thinking...I wonder if her audience is still made up of preteens, or if it's made up of older teenagers and girls in their younger 20's who remember loving Britney when they were little girls?

here's another good link. There's not a lot of music from the past that sounds like this! these guys are pretty original as well, and quite popular: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVnRzEjpUmE

the first time I smoked weed I was already drunk so I didn't notice much of a difference, besides just feeling more drunk.

Well thanks for being open-minded then. I think even if you don't enjoy the links I've provided, it's hard to say that the musicians are being derivative of the past.

By the way, this is a very innaccurate statement. "Progressive" means moving forward to something better (which is ironic because what people called "progressive rock" in the 70's was made by musicians who would rather go back to classical sounds rather than forward to new sounds). So "progressive" music is music in any genre that attempts to move music forward into new sonic territory.

Unfortunately I can't thank you for the same I really get annoyed by the older generation when they simultaneously complain about how music of the present just rips off older music, but get frightened when they hear something that's original and refuse to look any further into it. I know I mention them a lot, but I don't think there's any band (from the past or present) that does what Animal Collective does. I mean, they're influenced by psychedelic music, but of course psychedelic music was influenced by other music as well. They are a band that combines experimentation with accessible pop in a perfect way. I don't think they've created some new genre that's going to stick around forever, but I think they are truly original and worth checking out. www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6KPDWNAPBU I think that one type of music that has almost undeniably continued to evolve positively since its beginning is electronic music. When it started out in the 1940's, it was basically just a bunch of mathemeticians and scientists trying to find a new way to make music. It started off as very abstract stuff that could truly be called experimental music, since the point was not to make good music, instead the point was to experiment with different ways of making music. But as time went on, electronic instruments became more user-friendly and actual musicians started to use them (there's no exact date as to when this started, but two examples people use a lot to describe when this kind of music receieved mainstream attention are "Popcorn" by Hot Butter and "Tommorow Never Knows" by the Beatles). The advancement of electronic music is directly related to the advancement of technology, so electronic music just keeps getting better. I think this is because as time has passed, electronic instruments have become more "playable." The first electronic music was "tape music," which was basically just getting analog tape of music and cutting it up with scissors and re-arranging it. The process was totally random and impossible to perform live. Modern electronic instruments such as synthesizers and electronic drums and samplers can be played live, and now electronic musicians can interract with their audience and other musicians in real time. B-F brings up a good example of a genre that was invented recently (post rock). Another good one that just popped into my head is experimental hip hop. When hip hop started in the 70's, it was pretty hard to distinguish from the disco and funk of the same time period. It really wasn't until this decade that experimental hip hop sprung up. It's pretty crazy actually. Who would have thought that this genre would someday produce this?

She's like 17 right?

I say who cares if she's actually singing live? It's not really her music anyways. If I wanted to hear some live Britney Spears I'd have to wait until DJ Toomp and "Danjahandz" go on tour.

she's actually been performing since she was a preteen on the Mickey Mouse Club show with Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera. I thought that was a well-known fun fact.

five dolla foot loooooooooooooooooooongs

I like this band, they're good

So if someone is pretending they are in it for the music but is actually just in it for the money they aren't a sellout?

Girl Talk just came out with two albums that each were made up of about 300 samples and nobody sued him. Hell, the Avalances came out with an album that featured 3,500 samples and nobody got upset with them. And bands still play covers, and musicians still jam with each other, so I really don't see what's changed here.

Ha, Vince Offer. Have you seen his latest commercial? It's awesome. "You'll be slapping your problems away all day with the Slap N Chop."