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The youngsters are taking the same position that youngsters from the previous generations have had again and again.

My old man loved Elvis, and hated Black Flag. I loved both.

And my opinion is that nothing that has been produced in the last 15-20 years can compete with either one of them. Period.

This is my opinion. 20 year old knuckleheads will not be able to sway that opinion (nor 50 year old knuckleheads, either).

Enjoy your shitty music, kiddos.

Steve V. wrote:For the past I would say almost thirty years, there has been enough of an underground that pretty much ANYONE could put out a record. That's not some new thing. That didn't come into the picture just recently. But the fact that now anyone can start a record label by offering .zip files that are immediately emailed to you after you pay through PayPal at some "record label"'s website...I think that's kind of shitty.

True. However, when we recorded our first album in 1982, there was one recording studio in town. Now every jackass with a laptop and a few piece-of-shit Studio Microphones and some plug-ins has a Recording Studio.

Besides cheapening the recording profession, I think it's lowered the standards for bands and performances. Some overly-enthusiastic recording "engineer" clod telling you how much you rock in exchange for your $25/hour.

I could easily go on an Old Guy rant here, regarding things like the price of usable gear in the '70s, difficulty of getting shows, ad nauseum.

Many years ago I said the best thing and the worst thing that Punk Rock spawned was the idea that everybody could start a band. I liked it better when being in a band gave one the aura of being some sort of weirdo to most of the squares. Now everyone is in some horse-shit band, covered in ink. Barff.

Anyone can make a record. Anyone can digitally distribute it. The record industry IS toppling. There is an unstoppable deluge of shit coming out. The good news is this:

There is less of a hierarchy, its no longer about schmoozing with some assholes, or being "in the know", since anyone can do it. The only thing that matters is making good stuff. Bottom line=good songs. No matter how many people are easily throwing shit out into the world it is still fascinating how many of them forget that this is a craft. I use Myspace, Itunes, Paypal, digital plugins (less and less these days), sm57's, sometimes I even buy strings at Guitar Center (as much as I hate going there). At the end of the day its all just neon commercial garbage, highly forgettable, the only thing that remains is whether there was a decent song in there somewhere.

When the biggest-selling part of the "music" market is Hip-Hop, I don't think The Song matters much anymore at the end of the day.

zom-zom wrote:When the biggest-selling part of the "music" market is Hip-Hop, I don't think The Song matters much anymore at the end of the day.

Um...yeah, I guess.

I agree with a fair bit of what zom-zom has said on this thread, but I can't help wondering how he ever got past the skiffle boom.

rocker654 wrote:The youngsters are taking the same position that youngsters from the previous generations have had again and again.

My old man loved Elvis, and hated Black Flag. I loved both.

And my opinion is that nothing that has been produced in the last 15-20 years can compete with either one of them. Period.

This is my opinion. 20 year old knuckleheads will not be able to sway that opinion (nor 50 year old knuckleheads, either).

Enjoy your shitty music, kiddos.

You are a complete dumbass. You have no fucking clue, old man. Obviously your days of traversing the true, non-"old man punk" underground are long over. If you weren't such a prick, I'd shut you up immediately via sendspace.

Isabelle Gall wrote:

Steve V. wrote:For the past I would say almost thirty years, there has been enough of an underground that pretty much ANYONE could put out a record. That's not some new thing. That didn't come into the picture just recently. But the fact that now anyone can start a record label by offering .zip files that are immediately emailed to you after you pay through PayPal at some "record label"'s website...I think that's kind of shitty.

This part makes a lot of sense.

Music has always been bullshit when you take the full totality of the industry into consideration I guess, combined with a wide span of whatever was currently popular at the time. The harsher and more difficult the circumstances, and 'hopeless' the current cultural climate, all the more chance of something truly unique and outstanding appearing through the cracks. So much of the 'music industry', and i'm not solely taking into consideration major labels, seems like an artificial construct currently...i'm not sure that it would cause any lasting damage if it really all just crashed and burned?

People aren't starting record labels this way. Unless there was some kind of brilliant Calvin Johnson-esque marketing campaign, it would never work.

Just because music gets around via links to downloads and such, doesn't mean that a new model isn't popping up before your very eyes. It is so close-minded and damaging to think that we are totally fucked. You are letting the old people make you think that there is nothing worth finding. The industry? Yes, let the motherfucker burn...but people are still making records and they're doing it the same way that we've always done it...spreading the love via any means necessary and personalizing the physical records so that you want to buy the pieces of plastic.

Jesus, I thought the EA board would know better than to give up on the fucking future. The internet has its share of flaws, but why would you give up on a new model before it has been properly utilized??

do those of you complaining realize what this sounds like?

losthighway
wrote:the record industry IS toppling... but the good news is this"

BUT? the record industry toppling IS good news.

rocker654 wrote:My old man loved Elvis, and hated Black Flag. I loved both.

...

enjoy your shitty music kiddos[/quote]

so are you saying that you're a close-minded grumpy old man? or that people should only be open to what came before their time, but not what came after? i don't know, doesn't sound like fun. i'm going to try to enjoy this more democratic diy culture. so underground and corporate are blurred -- so what? isn't this a good thing that people can record and share their music more easily than ever before? are you people complaining that major label a&r reps aren't preselecting for you, determining who you can hear?

i mean goddamn, this is the most free time ever for recorded music. the amount available is exponentially greater, and so much of it, without even resorting to piracy (which is easy these days), is FREE. and people are complaining that they don't have the energy to sort through it and find something good? that's your own fault. i don't have the energy either, but i'm not complaining about it -- this is a far better model than just having to accept what some fatcats spoonfeed us. everyone's an a&r agent now, getting solicited on myspace by a zillion bands they don't know.

"freedom of choice is what you got
freedom from choice is what you want"

Salut, trilonaut!

Seriously, I think a lot of the people on this board just read about what it's like to go to shows as opposed to getting out there and discovering what will inspire you. You don't have the energy?...you're so tired at such a young age? That means you 20-25 year olds on this board...lighten up and put forth some effort.

Look at MySpace networks. Top 8s often hold the key to underground networks.

Minotaur029 wrote:

rocker654 wrote:The youngsters are taking the same position that youngsters from the previous generations have had again and again.

My old man loved Elvis, and hated Black Flag. I loved both.

And my opinion is that nothing that has been produced in the last 15-20 years can compete with either one of them. Period.

This is my opinion. 20 year old knuckleheads will not be able to sway that opinion (nor 50 year old knuckleheads, either).

Enjoy your shitty music, kiddos.

You are a complete dumbass. You have no fucking clue, old man. Obviously your days of traversing the true, non-"old man punk" underground are long over. If you weren't such a prick, I'd shut you up immediately via sendspace.

You are a stupid kid. You'd "shut me up via sendspace"? What the fuck does that mean?

Go back to playing D&D, little nerd.