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Has melody been pushed into the backround with today's mainstream music

analogue

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This is something that i have been thinking about for quite some time now and it just seems to me that alot of today's music is just heavily driven by beats. Melody really seems to lacking in today's modern music, alot of people today only seem to care about ''hot beats'' and nothing else. I think that's sad, i do like a song with a good beat to it, but it's usually the melodies that make me fall in love with a song more than anything.
 
Definately.

Listen to a song like Smooth Criminal or Beat It or Who Is It. These songs have such rich melodic arrangements. They get under your skin.

99.9% of pop music today lacks any real hook. I blame generic R&B producers. It's almost like it's fashionable to see how melodic-less you can make your music these days. I feel so sorry for the younger generation of kids, who'll never experience that europhic rush of excitement I had when I was a kid and I snuck into my sisters bedroom when she was out so I could listen to Dirty Diana and Smooth Criminal on her cassette of the Bad album.

That kind of magic in pop music is long gone.
 
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Definitly, I agree with everything that was posted before me here^^

It seems like almost every genre has lost the melody. (at least the mainstream music)
It looks like they don't remember that melodies will never go out of style where as a beat of the moment will.
It's so frustrating because I love melodies so much, they can change the whole feeling of the song I think.
It's not just melodies though.It feels like there are a lot of acts out right now that just don't seem to have that passion and deep love for music and it comes through in their songs imo.
I think that's why so many artists are releasing back to back albums. They don't even seem to take the time for their music, they just want to get another "hit" on the charts. I guess being a perfectionist is out of style at the moment.
(It's not completly their fault though, it seems like the public demands it from them, because a lot of the public doesn't wait for the artists anymore, they will just move on to the next "hot" thing.)

It kind of breaks my heart in a way.
 
It's nothing new. A lot of James Brown's 1970s music was rhythm based. Rhythm is the main focus of funk music.
 
DuranDuran said:
It's nothing new. A lot of James Brown's 1970s music was rhythm based. Rhythm is the main focus of funk music.
Click to expand...

Yes, but the difference is James Brown created GROOVES with a band of amazing musicians.

It wasn't soul-less music made on computers by producers who can't play any real instruments and "singers" who need autotune to sound acceptable.
 
MattyJam said:
It wasn't soul-less music made on computers by producers who can't play any real instruments and "singers" who need autotune to sound acceptable.
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But why does anybody need the radio or music video channels to program music for them to like? I never listen to the radio. In the rare case I do then it's the oldies station or the light rock station. There's plenty of acts that aren't on the radio to listen to. If someone doesn't like the new music, there's thousands of old albums available. If you've never heard it, it's "new" to you.
 
i think today that so many people coy one another and the witing is generic as well. i mean tuneless and wordless
 
DuranDuran said:
If someone doesn't like the new music, there's thousands of old albums available. If you've never heard it, it's "new" to you.
Click to expand...

But this thread is about "todays mainstream music."

I personally don't follow the charts, I probably don't own the music of a single artist who is currently under the age of 45.

I am passionate enough about music to seek out older albums from artists who were making music before I was even born, but it's the younger generation of kids that I feel sorry for. I grew up in an era where Michael Jackson and Prince were demi-gods and it was them them who started my life-long obsession with music.

Who is out there today inspiring kids in that way? No-one.
 
not on topic ^but your siggy made me smile, love private home movies:wub:
 
Melody is probably the sole reason why a record will endure or not.

It hasn't disappeared from today's music, but it seems a record can be very successful without it, but I don't think it will have the longevity.

E.g. the recent Black Eyed Peas stuff seems very cutting edge & up to date, but there's no melody there to speak of.

There are still some stunning tracks out there with great melodies. Amy Winehouses Rehab or You Know I'm No Good spring immediately to mind. Try just humming the tune of it in your head, fantastic rhythm & tune.

There are of course other great songs with melodies out there, they just tend not to chart as that's filled with faceless 'here today, gone tomorrow' pap.

Example of one of my favourite songs from last year with a beautiful melody

Daniel Merriweather - Cigarettes
[youtube]fwJw2zAepvo[/youtube]
 
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No Lyrics has been thrown in the background because evidently no one seems to care about quality lyrics. Music is just so generic today....glad I have my oldies :)....
 
It is not just the type of music, it also has to do with the way music is mixed these days. Everything must be as loud as possible and lacks subtlety and variation.

Just get the listeners attention, pretend to be 'different' and get your 10 seconds of fame.
 
Melody (along with many things) died with Michael Jackson.
 
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