GordonK

Actually, "they" *don't* make music like they used to. For one thing, auto-tuning is the worst thing that ever happened to recorded music. It squeezes out all the subtle pitch variations that convey emotion. But it's so much more--and worse--than that. Pop songs used to have some structural variation. I've never been a big BeeGees fan, but they were masters at crafting songs with verses, pre-chorus, and chorus. Staying Alive is a great example, and there were so many others. Or consider John Lennon's Happiness is a Warm Gun. A musicologist would consider this an "art song" that moves from one section to the next, with no repeating verses, choruses, etc. Any of the pop stuff by Katy Perry or Lady Gaga has none of this complexity. The typical approach is a groove with three or four chords--for both verses and chorus. Often the melody is the same as well. This stuff isn't offensive; it's a crashing bore. It also seems that with the domination of the music delivery systems by corporate entities there is little chance that anything political is going to make it past the gatekeepers. If you want some airplay, you'd better make damn sure your song has no social relevance. I could go on. There's plenty of great music being made, of course, in all genres. But you're not likely to hear any of it on commercial radio.