DaveA wrote: Sat Oct 08, 2022 6:36 pm Don't know about "neo-grunge" (whatever that is), but fuzz pedals, for one, are more popular now than they were in the nineties.

Or at least it sure as hell seems that way.

Fuzz pedals: In addition to all the other reasons posted, this is a facet of the overall gear market explosion. I don't know that fuzz pedals were ever particularly unpopular, but yeah they sure are a big deal these days. I think there was a good stretch from the 80s-90s where newly manufactured and good fuzz pedals were not common. Their popularity in bands of those days were limited by what vintage gear could be found. Dunlop made some assy Fuzz Face clones, and various forms of the Big Muff (fuzz status of which has been challenged) were around. The boutique market eventually revived fuzzcraft as a more common thing. Analog synths were gone until the last decade introduced new affordable units (even if many were reissues).

Pseudo lo-fi is the phenomena that kinda boggles me. I mean, I don't dislike a little warble and a little bit crushing here and there, but folks just hose shit down with it these days. The most obnoxious thing is the vaporwave whatever stuff. Like it's nostalgia for something that never was, not even remotely.

Man, the late 90s and early 2000s were a rough time gear and music wise in a lot of ways. When I started playing guitar it was hard to get a decently playing, affordable guitar that wasn't a strat copy. And unless you lived in a proper town, offset fenders were hard to even find let alone afford. You could still get killer deals on tons of stuff if you had a halfway decent regional used market, but even then the internet was rapidly sweeping away those sweet pawnshop scores. Where I lived it was mostly used church audio stuff anyway.

VaticanShotglass wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 4:07 pm Like it's nostalgia for something that never was, not even remotely.

You say this as if it's a bad thing. It's a sight more fascinating than retro, at any rate.

The only bad thing is that the music is so dull.

A_Man_Who_Tries wrote: Sat Oct 22, 2022 1:07 am

VaticanShotglass wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 4:07 pm Like it's nostalgia for something that never was, not even remotely.

You say this as if it's a bad thing. It's a sight more fascinating than retro, at any rate.

True. That is not bad in itself and has plenty of potential for good ideas. Unfortunately...

kokorodoko wrote:The only bad thing is that the music is so dull.

Which just makes me think the primary appeal is the faux nostalgia, and not the execution. Bland synth trash (versus fun synth trash) with compression and vibrato. The "low-fi" sound palette is pleasant enough, I'll admit. I have fond memories of cassette tapes as a high school bedroom guitarist. I really liked those Cobain Montage of Heck mp3s I got off Napster back in the day. That stuff was right up my alley. Maybe not great art, but creative stuff an arty kid could make with household equipment. The creative spark is where the charm is, and the clunky aesthetic qualities of the technology used fused with that. Experimental lofi sampling is also something I really liked, but can't recall a good example at the moment. There's legit nostalgia there, and while nostalgia may not be the most durable or noble aesthetic feature art can have, it is not inherently a negative one. Vaporwave just makes me think of a current era $300 chorus pedal (or $3 app filter) more than the $120 Tascam I never did manage to save up for. Meh.

Oh, and why have people bee doing 80s (and pre-grunge 90s) retro fads since the late 90s? Why the 80s? Not even the formative eras of rock and pop culture of the 50s/60s see this sort of attention. (In contrast with the continued popularity of "mid century modern" furniture and design trends, no matter how commonly bastardized and ill defined it can get.) It's never the good stuff from the 80s either. It's like primary colors, abused Mondrian patterns, and a Lamborghini Countach trapper keeper. I get there is a cycle of when generations grow up and produce media set in their formative years (see baby boomer 50s nostalgia during the 80s). But man the 80s seemed to jump ahead and stick around.

VaticanShotglass wrote: Sat Oct 22, 2022 6:52 pm
Oh, and why have people bee doing 80s (and pre-grunge 90s) retro fads since the late 90s? Why the 80s? Not even the formative eras of rock and pop culture of the 50s/60s see this sort of attention. (In contrast with the continued popularity of "mid century modern" furniture and design trends, no matter how commonly bastardized and ill defined it can get.) It's never the good stuff from the 80s either. It's like primary colors, abused Mondrian patterns, and a Lamborghini Countach trapper keeper. I get there is a cycle of when generations grow up and produce media set in their formative years (see baby boomer 50s nostalgia during the 80s). But man the 80s seemed to jump ahead and stick around.

80's were a heyday of digitally driven monotonous pop music mixed with cartoonish escapist cheese. It's perfect for todays audiences and creators.

YEAH FASCISM AND ROBBER BARONS THE 21ST CENTURY ROCKS!!! WOOO!!!!

VaticanShotglass wrote: Sat Oct 22, 2022 6:52 pm
Oh, and why have people bee doing 80s (and pre-grunge 90s) retro fads since the late 90s? Why the 80s? Not even the formative eras of rock and pop culture of the 50s/60s see this sort of attention.

That's a curious idea. I think 60's music is always providing fuel for new fires, but 50s?

Elemental pop punk like Ramones or even early Lookout Records stuff did it in a way. There's always the rockabilly sub culture. The surf thing is perennial.

But the broader sense of 50s greatness? The simplicity but utterly unique courage of pathfinders like Bo Diddley, Little Richard or Chuck Berry? I don't know anyone who fucks with that. Maybe Los Lobos in a way.

I'm a quick study of genre and arrangement and if you paid me and gave me all the right people I don't know how I'd put it together. There are so many other throw back sounds that I find easier to borrow.

Edit: the Stooges drew heavily from 50s rock!

losthighway wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 10:49 pm

VaticanShotglass wrote: Sat Oct 22, 2022 6:52 pm
Oh, and why have people bee doing 80s (and pre-grunge 90s) retro fads since the late 90s? Why the 80s? Not even the formative eras of rock and pop culture of the 50s/60s see this sort of attention.

That's a curious idea. I think 60's music is always providing fuel for new fires, but 50s? . . .

Um. I was thinking a little more broadly than music. Movies mostly. Like think how Spielberg, Lucas, Stephen King, etc. were pumping out, in the 80s, stuff set in the 50s of their youths. Just another facet of how the Baby Boomer generation have utterly dominated my entire lifetime. Now when those movies get remade or remixed, they are now set in the 80s.

Feels like there's a riptide involved. Has anyone ever written on intergenerational nostalgia feedback loops?

^ Oh, I get ya.

I've been watching a cheesy Netflix horror show Midnight Club. They're trying to hit the 90's hard. Sometimes I wonder if post Y2k settings will be less clear to an audience the way a typical audience can recognize a 50s vs 60s vs 70s vs 80s setting. Are the cultural and fashion signifiers clear enough?

Outside of historical references I don't know if I could spot a 1930s set story vs a 1940s one. But yeah 80s are very in right now.

losthighway wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 5:28 pm Sometimes I wonder if post Y2k settings will be less clear to an audience the way a typical audience can recognize a 50s vs 60s vs 70s vs 80s setting. Are the cultural and fashion signifiers clear enough?

I've wondered that the whole time as it has been happening. Seems like a lot of folks remember eras of the internet more than clothes, cars, or whatever. Sure there are things, but I don't know. Then again, those oft recalled decades featured in media are rarely all that accurate. It is more a post-modern world than ever.