sethnintendo said:
I liked your post but I will just shorten it to these two paragraphs that I want to respond to. 1) I believe that the top 40 during the 50s, 60s, and 70s were a pretty good gauge of the talent during those years, but that is probably because I enjoy rock the most. 2) Probably the best suggestion in the thread (although I hope someone else has stated this, can't remember). I believe it was during my time on Myspace (no longer have any social media account) that bands were adding me based on profile searches that they did of their influences. That was probably one of the best aspects of Myspace that small bands actually tried to recruit people that enjoyed their musical influences. |
In the 40s through the 70s, about the only music that still exists in recorded format due to the cost of music production, would be music that was played on the radio (barring folk music or anything passed along similar to oral tradition). So the only music generally available from those time periods would be what would now be marketed as top 40 radio. That said, I'm sure there are still countless "lost" acts that never found any level of commercial success/fame well worth listening to that may have still made it onto vinyl or 4 track tape.
Totally debatable, but I'd say that it was maybe in the 60s that what could be called "disposable music" started clouding up the airways. Of course this is not to say that there wasn't plenty of good music out there as well, it's just that the market was expanding, changing the standards by what music could be aired. Still; plenty of genuinely forgettable music that has for all intents and purposes, been completely forgotten. And so all we remember today from those classic eras are the acts and music that endured into the present.
I would say that within the last 10 or so years it became viable for virtually anyone to record their own music in levels approaching studio quality with common, inexpensive, consumer level off the shelf computers/components and software. The abilility to post that music in an open forum (Youtube, etc.) or music upload site or social site (MySpace) has made it easier than ever to get that music out to audiences without touring support.
Before MySpace became a social site for people to post photos of themselves and friend random people on the internet, I believe the original intent of the site was for unsigned, unknown musical acts to post their music on an open forum and promote themselves. The tipping point for MySpace seemed to be sometime shortly after it just became little more than a dumping site for individuals (not musicians) to post as many self-promotional pictures of themselves and "friend" as many random people as possible.
And much like the social networking aspect of MySpace, the big problem with making it easier than ever to produce, distribute and promote music means that more mediocre/disposable/crap music than ever is now available for your listening (dis)pleasure. Like all things internet, it simply takes more effort to sort through all the dirt to find the gems. This is not to say that those gems do not still exist, nor that they are not still being made.
Also, as a music finding resource, Pandora does a pretty good job of finding good suggestions based upon individual user input. Enter even one band and it will create an entire streaming channel filled with musical suggestions that should appeal to the user. The more bands input, the better the suggestions. Maybe not the best for finding new acts, but will definitely expose you to acts you may not have been previously familiar with that share enough in common with your musical tastes.
