I don't understand musicians who don't know current music and artists!

[New Trail]

At rehearsal I'll mention The Killers, or All American Rejects, or Jason Mraz or Lily Allen, or anyone this century and get blank stares. I mean, these guys just don't listen to anything new AT ALL! I mean, some new stuff is crap, but that's always been the case (remember Freddie & The Dreamers and Herman's Hermits?) but shouldn't musicians at least have a {censored}in' CLUE as to something since 1985. Damn!

[alcohol]

Ever watch that movie Amadeus? Good movie!

[Hegmatronicon]

 

At rehearsal I'll mention The Killers, or All American Rejects, or Jason Mraz or Lily Allen, or anyone this century and get blank stares. I mean, these guys just don't listen to anything new AT ALL! I mean, some new stuff is crap, but that's always been the case (remember Freddie & The Dreamers and Herman's Hermits?) but shouldn't musicians at least have a {censored}in' CLUE as to something since 1985. Damn!

 

 

This sort of happens to me as well.

Our singer is the WORST for it. I've been on a big pop/rock kick lately. We have a good amount of classic rock - i just wanna learn maybe 5 or 6 pop/rock tunes to play when the crowd is younger and more...female.

Songs like Hella good by no doubt, I wanna cover that hot n cold song by Katy Perry too coz that could be cool, Carolina Liar = I';m Not Over as well.

Things like that - so far they've been met with very little enthusiasm. Our singer just calls everything that isnt motley crue/guns n roses etc "gay" and wont do it.

[tlbonehead]

 

At rehearsal I'll mention The Killers, or All American Rejects, or Jason Mraz or Lily Allen, or anyone this century and get blank stares. I mean, these guys just don't listen to anything new AT ALL! I mean, some new stuff is crap, but that's always been the case (remember Freddie & The Dreamers and Herman's Hermits?) but shouldn't musicians at least have a {censored}in' CLUE as to something since 1985. Damn!

 

I love 90s. That's newer than '85. I like that Mraz song too.

[pmtrub]

 

Ever watch that movie Amadeus? Good movie!

 

 

Good movie!

[supervillain]

 

At rehearsal I'll mention The Killers, or All American Rejects, or Jason Mraz or Lily Allen, or anyone this century and get blank stares. I mean, these guys just don't listen to anything new AT ALL! I mean, some new stuff is crap, but that's always been the case (remember Freddie & The Dreamers and Herman's Hermits?) but shouldn't musicians at least have a {censored}in' CLUE as to something since 1985. Damn!

 

 

 

your band probably thinks they'll be sell outs if they listen to anything released this century....

[GreenAsJade]

Have you thought about just _how much_ new stuff there is out there, and how unlikely it is that someone else listening to "new stuff" actually hears the same thing as you.

 

I've never heard any of those artists you mention, yet I listen to "new stuff".

 

It's a bit like wine, in a way. A century (or two) ago there were few enough good vineyards that a connoisseur might have a chance to recognise characteristics of any good wine you put in front of them.

 

These days there is _so much_ wine out there that you couldn't possibly expect someone to recognise which Coonawarra vineyard a Shiraz comes from if they have to be able to deal with any wine you throw at them.

 

Same with music. A decade ago there were still few enough artists and (more particularly musical outlets) for an enthusiastc to be across them all.

 

Now new music is gushing out of every portal...

 

GaJ

[stevesherbert]

maybe your band members don't know them because they don't listen to garbage music.

[Hegmatronicon]

I dont understand anyone saying they've never heard of lily allen, all amercian rejects or the killers?!

I mean - i dont like any of them...and i dont listen to them by choice....but they are pretty popular bands. The killers especially.

[newmaxnew]

Our other guitar player stopped listening to new music in the early 70s. Well hey, we are a 60s and 70s band so we only have to explain about half of the stuff to him.

 

Now we are adding in some 80s tunes and he just doesn't have a clue!

 

Max

[rorylawford]

My bands are 80's cover bands - we slip a Buckcherry tune in - went over great for a month or two then died off - the old stuff never does...

[6StringSling]

I don't know new bands at all. I stopped listening to stations playing new music on the radio over a dozen years ago - my radio stays on sports talk radio unless there's a game on that I don't want to listen to then it's over to classic rock or classical.

[herbie d]

In most of the band I've been in I generally feed everyone music. A Lot of musicians just don't search out new stuff. I mean they sit at home, work on scales, riffs, song lists, or what ever. When they listen to music, they listen to the radio, or music they happen to have. I just try and make sure they happen to have music "I" hope they'll listen to. Heck I fire music on em that has nothing to do with the type were playing as well. Its what I do. It doesn't bother me.

[tim_7string]

I understand it, but I don't condone it.

 

I enjoy some of the newer artists, but I must confess that most of the music I prefer is from the 70s and 80s, sprinkled with some 90s here and there.

 

The band I had in 2001 played "Higher" by Creed and "Flavor Of The Weak" by American Hi-Fi (who? ). If we did that these days, we'd be met with either groans or blank stares.

 

A lot of the newer music doesn't "stick," at least right now, because a lot of it doesn't have a strong enough hook. I've always been a fan of the hook. Making sure a song had a very strong hook is what made Paul McCartney and Kenny Rogers both mega-popular. A lot of popular music these days lacks it.

 

Still, I do like bands like The White Stripes, Seether, Three Days Grace, Chevelle and The Killers and plan to put at least a few songs from the 2000s in our set.

[DevilRaysFan]

Understand that the demographics of music now are different

 

In the 60s and 70s, recorded music was limited to what the labels were putting out, save for whatever few-and-far-between indie releases one may come across. There was no "music television" or internet

 

In 2009, we still have corporate label music, even more indie label music, a bunch of music televisom stations, and the internet, which itself can bring you the music of millions of unknown artists

 

Music is EVERYWHERE nowadays that it doesnt matter what is considered to be modern popular bands.....The object is to just find songs that, not only work for the crowd the majority of the time but, more importantly, what you can SELL as a performer, regardless of when it came out.

[rhat]

 

I dont understand anyone saying they've never heard of lily allen, all amercian rejects or the killers?! I mean - i dont like any of them...and i dont listen to them by choice....but they are pretty popular bands. The killers especially.

 

 

 

Never heard of them... I listen to modern country when I am in the car. Everyone has their tastes. Modern rock, to me sounds like the stuff that would clear a bar. bars are large demographic place . .unless you play the beginner drinker bars. In those the current rock would prolly be just duckie

[ggm1960]

 

Still, I do like bands like The White Stripes, Seether, Three Days Grace, Chevelle and The Killers and plan to put at least a few songs from the 2000s in our set.

 

 

Some of this stuff is ok. We were doing Animal I've Become by TD'sG and Lips Of An Angel by Hinder in my last band.

 

A HUGE problem I have with a lot of the new stuff is the downtuning, I'm not bringing a different guitar for every song and it doesn't always work to try transposing to fit the song.

 

I suppose the idea behind all the stupid tunings is to sound different, however, the vast majority of new stuff I hear still seems to be weak retreads of all that's come before.

 

Maybe I'm just getting old but few things I hear anymore really spark of any musical originality and there's no stand out message to the lyrics either.

[SpaceNorman]

As far as I'm concerned - for every 1 new tune I find palatable - I'm stuck listening to 25-30 tunes that are total {censored}e as far as I'm concerned. That's basically one "good" tune every two hours of listening.

I just don't have the time.

[js1]

Our oldest song is from 1965. Our newest song is on the charts (such as they are) now. I guess I'm with the OP, in that I don't understand the lack of curiosity as far as new music goes. I still get the same thrill discovering something new that resonates with me now that I did when I was a kid.

 

It's a lot tougher to find a rock hit these days, but they're out there. And some of it is a lot of fun to play. Killers, Jet, Kings of Leon, Finger 11 - they all had the crowd going for us last weekend. For that crowd, they worked better than the "standards".

 

Not listening to new music since the 70s, though? Avoiding new music for THIRTY years? That's just wrong.

 

js

[c4racer]

I understand it, but I don't condone it. I enjoy some of the newer artists, but I must confess that most of the music I prefer is from the 70s and 80s, sprinkled with some 90s here and there. The band I had in 2001 played "Higher" by Creed and "Flavor Of The Weak" by American Hi-Fi (who? ). If we did that these days, we'd be met with either groans or blank stares. A lot of the newer music doesn't "stick," at least right now, because a lot of it doesn't have a strong enough hook. I've always been a fan of the hook. Making sure a song had a very strong hook is what made Paul McCartney and Kenny Rogers both mega-popular. A lot of popular music these days lacks it. Still, I do like bands like The White Stripes, Seether, Three Days Grace, Chevelle and The Killers and plan to put at least a few songs from the 2000s in our set.

 

The White Stripes? Really? Vomit!!

I simply cannot stand them...

[SunRaFan]

 

Understand that the demographics of music now are different In the 60s and 70s, recorded music was limited to what the labels were putting out, save for whatever few-and-far-between indie releases one may come across. There was no "music television" or internet In 2009, we still have corporate label music, even more indie label music, a bunch of music televisom stations, and the internet, which itself can bring you the music of millions of unknown artists Music is EVERYWHERE nowadays that it doesnt matter what is considered to be modern popular bands.....The object is to just find songs that, not only work for the crowd the majority of the time but, more importantly, what you can SELL as a performer, regardless of when it came out.

 

 

I think this is really on point. I play in original bands, and it's often the case that I will never have even heard of a current artist that my bandmates cite as an influence and vice versa.

[tlbonehead]

The White Stripes? Really? Vomit!! I simply cannot stand them...

White Stripes are REAL!

[tlbonehead]

Never heard of them... I listen to modern country when I am in the car. Everyone has their tastes. Modern rock, to me sounds like the stuff that would clear a bar. bars are large demographic place . .unless you play the beginner drinker bars. In those the current rock would prolly be just duckie

That's another good point. Not all giggers are playing college slopfest gigs. There are lots of genres to gig to. I'm sure the OP and others complaining about this topic have little knowledge about new country popular acts, or popular blues people of the 00's, etc.

[cuffdc]

It's really situational. I mean, if your bandmates aren't interested in today's music and you are, maybe you need to find another band...or a second band.

 

Likewise, learning new songs might pay off in places where many bars cater to younger crowds (college towns, large cities), but it might clear the bar in areas where you're pushing the envelope to play REM.

 

I don't think the OP was holding up his particular bands as the only examples, but it's the nature of the forumites to {censored} all over anyone's taste as if it's the only possibility he's considered. I'm sure if he were playing country or metal he might have listed music from this century in those genres.

[tlbonehead]

It's really situational. I mean, if your bandmates aren't interested in today's music and you are, maybe you need to find another band...or a second band. Likewise, learning new songs might pay off in places where many bars cater to younger crowds (college towns, large cities), but it might clear the bar in areas where you're pushing the envelope to play REM. I don't think the OP was holding up his particular bands as the only examples, but it's the nature of the forumites to {censored} all over anyone's taste as if it's the only possibility he's considered. I'm sure if he were playing country or metal he might have listed music from this century in those genres.

Wasn't {censored}ting on his tastes, just wondering if he considered things outside of personal interests.