Adults usually argue that music from their generation is better than it is now and kids and teenagers vice versa. We basically grow up with the music that is released during our childhood so that makes sense. I however am a teenager and I’m repping older music. Don’t get me wrong there are some great indie songs that have come out these past few years but the popular music on the radio all sounds the same to me and is super overplayed. Music from the past had more in depth lyrics, better dynamics, tone and an overall better sound.

Ever since autotune was introduced into the world of music it has been used more frequently through time. Artists now are heavily editing their voices compared to singers in the past. Could you imagine singers like Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, or Stevie Nicks using autotune? It’s almost unimaginable. Artists like this using their original raw voices have helped define a generation of music.

Music like this has made me the person I am today. None of the music that is important to me though is from today. Sure if I hear a Katy Perry song I’m probably going to sing along but that doesn’t mean I think it’s good quality music. If you break down all the qualities in that type of music, it doesn’t represent good music to me. Most music music today has no change in dynamics or range like music from the 60’s or 70’s as compared in Milners graph. People are starting to run out of ideas and songs are becoming unoriginal.

Music today has the ability to be made better however. The technology we have today to record can create better sound and typically CD’s have better sound than Vinyl or Tape as Wiley states. However, Musicianship is also slowly getting worse because of all the new technology around and the fact that it is becoming so much easier to create music that they aren’t putting in as much effort when creating their songs. Many artists now are not even writing their own music and the actual writers are not getting as much credit asx the singers.

Most people I know pretty much exclusively listen to popular music, like rap which I am not a fan of but it’s what they were raised on. The most influential time for you to learn more music and more about it is when you are a teenager as Colburn says. Meaning kids from this generation will probably still be listening to “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran in 20 years while people born in the 60’s are still stuck on "Hotel California" by Eagles.

For me though this wasn’t exactly the case. I had to be reintroduced to older music. I went through a phase from probably ages 9 to 13 where I exclusively listened to pop music. I didn’t really start to educate myself on music until I went into high school. The more people I met, especially adults who would play music around me would play older, more influential songs which made me begin to realize there are actually lyrics in songs you just can’t really hear it in pop music because the music drowns out the words. After I learned about older music I was able to connect better with a lot of people through our mutual love of music and I realized that a lot of music from the past was written better and contained more meaning.

Now I’m not saying music now if completely awful, in fact a lot of it has very expressive lyrics. Especially right now many artists are speaking about political and social issues in their songs such as “This is America” by Childish Gambino . Because music now is reaching so many people it’s really effective for artists who want to make a change. But sadly a lot of music that is being produced has no point and is just a way for the artists to make money. Through the years it has begun to lose its meaning and is just about things like sex or money.

This is just a cycle that is going to keep happening. Eventually people aren’t going to remember who Fleetwood Mac and Queen are. It makes me really sad. In 30 years people may even say the song that defined them is “Hotline Bling” by Drake instead of something like “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen or “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin.

Today though, music websites now are making it easier for people to find different music. Now adults can find that live song they heard at a concert 20 years ago and kids can find some older tunes as well. A few years ago when I found out about older music I was hooked. Since then it’s all I’ve listened to. I practically need it to get through the day. I am thankful for this music that was introduced to me that I hope I can introduce to future generations.

Works Cited

Colburn, Randall. “Here's Why You Don't like New Music Any More.” The A.V. Club, The A.V. Club, 12 Feb. 2018, <avclub> Accessed 28 Mar. 2019

Milner, Greg. “They Really Don't Make Music Like They Used To.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Feb. 2019,<nytimes> Accessed 28 Mar. 2019

Wiley, Steve. “Is the World of Music Better Now or Better Then?” Riverfront Times, Riverfront Times, 20 Apr. 2019, <riverfronttimes>. Accessed 8 Apr. 2019