Who's got the juice?

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wg-

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What does seem to have ebbed away a bit in music is the 80s/90s/2000s concept of expensive/rap "cool", which was so ubiquitous but has now become passe in some senses. Rare expensive clothes, loads of gold, belter cars. The enjoyment of these things gradually becoming nihilistic wealth

It's still there in theory but rap is too full of drug addict theory now to really have the same floss energy. As much as say early 90s NY grit was massive they still exuded hustler extravagance

Even in London scenes, e.g jungle scene clobber or UKG moschino/versace etc

I do sometimes think that the current music and entertainment models are ultimately pushing everything towards an SSRI or medicated model; how rap music is drowning in opiate or how disposable entertainment media is ultimately becoming an advert for adhd or consumer hegemony. Look at how the Internet has changed "Jersey" into schizophrenic 180bpm for the most part

Not really an answer to the question but the Internet machine is so parisitic that most "dance" music ultimately becomes swallowed by all-encompassing "club" in a lot of respects & it is hard to identify regional scenes which retain identity over long periods of time now, really
 
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0bleak

Well-known member
wg- said:
Look at how the Internet has changed "Jersey" into schizophrenic 180bpm for the most part
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I'm flipping through some of the popular 2024 Jersey Club mixes, and even the fastest stuff doesn't sound any faster than footwork which is like 160.

BUT, it seems to me the main problem with those styles:
1. Never any interesting sounds
2. ALWAYS the same decades old drum machine sounds (yes, I realize that many producers aren't using drum machines, but they are using sounds derived from decades old drum machines).
3. 1980s "baby's first sampler" aesthetic when it comes to sampling - like, wow - repeatedly play the same sampled sound (usually some kind of vocal) over and over in a repetitive rhythm and sometimes even pitch it up and down - like, wow, MINDBLOWING
 
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0bleak

Well-known member
yeah, that's different - now only if someone would combine those rougher sounds with the kind of jersey club i was thinking about (or with footwork)
 
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wg-

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In a lot of senses I think those of us who are beginning to age beyond the limits of youth will view modernity as lacking a certain frission that once seemed within grasp or inevitable. I have got a Ballard book that I've never read called Myths of Near Future and it's a good title I think

Ultimately futurism has failed in a lot of senses and has begun to fictionalise the world in a way that frames us simply as an element of the machine, AI feedback transmission.

Something like the days-long Kai Cenat Mafiathon is perhaps more indicative of cultural currency now than tunes and DJs or MCs. Massive cultural figures dipping in and out alongside NPC Miles Morales; is it cultural cachet you are competing for now or just momentary fiscal opportunity

No wonder all the NY drill MCs have sore throats from screaming for attention

Etc

it is easy to pretend you have a substack if you just type away
 
Corpsey

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
shakahislop said:
t its podcasts that have the juice really at the moment, they are absolutely ascendent and mean more to people than tunes
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I was thinking about this earlier, cos 90% of the time I'm listening to podcasts as I walk around or even just sit around and not music

Why are podcasts so addictive? It almost doesn't matter what the people are talking about, but I suppose even at their most vacuous they're more "content" rich (information rich?) than music

And music seems more and more to be a soundtrack for content - tiktok clips being what blows tunes up , people filming live shows instead of dancing (dancing itself as content for boiler room, tiktok etc.), reaction videos, and rappers writing lyrics (or at least hitting big with lyrics) that can be used in memes, fandom culture as a social media activity

It makes sense to me, too, even as someone who is probably more into music than the average Joe I never listen to music without doing something else really, I'm always watching something or playing a game or whatever...
 
Corpsey

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Like before the internet (oh no it's turning into one of those threads again) what was the 'content' factor of music? The music press. Conversations with sympathetic mates.
 
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old goriot

Well-known member
Music is still about the same. Recorded music has long served a soundtrack for other activities: driving, partying, excercising, working, restaurants, stores etc. But it shared some of those roles with talk radio. Podcasts are only really replacing talk radio, and are being listened to in the exact same context. Nobody throws on a podcast at a party. Same thing with streamers - they are replacing non-narrative linear tv, like MTV’s TRL, reality shows, Nickelodeon etc. Stuff that kids used to watch after school

It’s just the particular things that dissensus is obsessed with that have crashed. Print music press dead. London nuum dead. Dancehall absolutely collapsing. Rap having a rough couple years. And that has coincided with the average poster here aging into the talk radio core demographic. Plenty of rock dudes before you got tired of listening to the Rolling Stones all day and put on Howard Stern, or traded in Simon & Garfunkel for NPR
 
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wg-

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Moans aside really it was probably the SA ama scene that was the last thing to really make a difference to other scenes or activity elsewhere. Plus the major league djz lads are probably the only ones who have taken the boiler room idea and did something else with it. Maybe not the best example this one, but



Difficult to agree with "music is the same as it always was," it is much more expensive to run venues now than it was pre-covid and London hotspots aside the availability of spaces to run in continues to dwindle
 
Corpsey

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Yeah I guess amapiano has been the juiciest sound in recent years, although I don't particularly f with it (saying that I've heard some really good stuff, I probably would like it a lot more if i went to some proper nights)
 
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old goriot

Well-known member
wg- said:
Difficult to agree with "music is the same as it always was," it is much more expensive to run venues now than it was pre-covid and London hotspots aside the availability of spaces to run in continues to dwindle
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Dissensus circa 1920:

“Fewer people than ever are riding horses around says the newspaper. That settles it then, travel is OVER as a practice! Everybody is staying at home just like me!”

Again, formats are just shifting. Live nation is putting up massive revenue numbers. Ticket prices and sales numbers have been through the roof. Festivals are bigger than ever. Warehouse parties and similar one off events are extremely popular for the more underground stuff. Band type performances are increasingly happening in multi use spaces that also host art shows, commercial shoots etc

Eg: in LA there’s barely a club scene, but if you go to the warehouse district there’s a ton of good events every weekend.

It’s not hard to see why.. Primarily it’s way more fun as a night out. Most traditional clubs kinda suck tbh. In terms of economics, you’re not renting out an expensive piece of real estate, and attempting to fund it through a few hours of (increasing unpopular) alcohol sales 8 days a month. It’s much more flexible and efficient

Storied nightclub “Taftleyworth’s” in Stoke-on-Trent may have closed it’s doors, but “TBA info on the day” is doing just fine
 
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wg-

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Eh that's all well and good but regional clubs in Britain and into Europe (and hobbyist promoters in small venues) are a massive part of the touring musician income stream and also give beginners the opportunity to actually make a start and keep things fresh and moving

I can't comment on LA, nor do I particularly care, but the shuttering of venues and rise of the major conglomerate night out is really fucking things up
 
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