Best decade for music?

[useless]

My favourite thing about the eighties are Morton Feldman's long form pieces, pretty much all I've been listening to recently. There was also some one of pop songs that will be remembered as classics for a long time to come. Beyond that I can't think of much going for it, maybe with the digital sound just coming in, people were still finding their way around the equipment.

Edited February 15, 2016 by useless

[TheAuthority]

4 hours ago, useless said:

My favourite thing about the eighties are Morton Feldman's long form pieces, 

Nice! You should check out some Iannis Xenakis too.

[Xann]

Go easy on him useless

[useless]

7 hours ago, useless said:

My favourite thing about the eighties are Morton Feldman's long form pieces.

3 hours ago, TheAuthority said:

Nice! You should check out some Iannis Xenakis too.

 

I'm already aware of Xenakis somewhat, especially the electronic side of things, his 'Hibiki Hana Ma' is one my favourite pieces of music ever. I almost see Xenakis as the opposite to what I like about the Feldman's longer pieces, but that's the way I experience it emotionally, I wouldn't know from a technical point of view. Actually some of the names you mentioned on the last page I've been meaning to check out more, like Schoenberg, Webern and Stravinsky ect.

[TheAuthority]

1 hour ago, useless said:

Actually some of the names you mentioned on the last page I've been meaning to check out more, like Schoenberg, Webern and Stravinsky ect.

My favorite piece ever is the Adagio from Mahler's 10th Symphony (he died before completing the symphony.) It contains the so called 'mystic chord' which contains all 12 tones of the traditional western scale.

One cannot overstate how important this was in western classical music. It is literally the collapse of 'tonal' music which had begun with polyphony in the 1500's. Mahler's music became so chromatic that the very fabric of musical language is torn open with all 12 notes sounded simultaneously. It's truly remarkable.
This is a great place to start Useless before tackling the works of Webern, Berg and Schoenberg "The 2nd Viennese school." Mahler's 10th is the precursor to their work. 
The musical language of 12 tone serialism from the 2nd Viennese school is an answer to the problem. The problem that had arisen with Mahler, Strauss (and earlier Wagner) giving us so much rich chromaticism - whipped cream on top of the emotional pie of all pies.

Here is Lenny with the Vienna Phil. Definitely worth a listen.

 

Apologies for driving this waaaay off topic.

[mjmooney]

Recommended reading with regard to the above - 

[chrisp65]

I wonder if the best decade for music might just be now, the present.

I know that anyone over the age of 12 thinks the charts aren't as good as they used to be, and anyone under 40 thinks that Radio 2 should be burnt down. But there is a diversification now that we simply couldn't access before.

In the 60's there was the buzz of knowing someone that knew someone that could get hold of R&B imports. In the '70's and '80's you could be in your little gang and wait to be told where your trousers should end in relation to your ankles.

But now, with internet and social media, my kids are able to bypass the once a week pop TV programme, they can ignore MW radio and tap in directly to what they like. They've just recently been to a gig in London for a couple of singer song writers that I had never heard of and have never had a 'hit' or been played on the radio. But through links and contacts, my kids have heard of them. The artists themselves have worked out that there was demand for a gig in London at a 250 capacity venue, did the sums and made it happen. The band have basically tweeted and facebooked a tiny fan base and crowd funded a gig. Needless to say, it was sold out in advance, the guys had a pre gig meet, drink and selfie session with the fans before the gig proper got under way. 250 people thought it was the best gig ever, nobody outside the room had ever heard of them. 

Crowd funding, social media access, downloads, live feeds and every genre and sub genre under the sun all available to you, whether you live in Falkirk or Hammersmith. You can get to London for a tenner, download a wav file, send your mp3's off to be transcribed on to vinyl or just stay up until 2:00am and watch a live feed from Wyoming.

The good music is out there, it just won't pop up on Heart FM, so you still need to work a little, which is a good thing. I think now might be the best.

We just need to be careful that the shared experience of the venue is under threat. I can see it in Cardiff, it's happening in London. Flats and developers creep in to an area and then somehow, because of messed up planning and development rules, once a new flat pops up next to an established music venue, the tenant can complain and get the volume turned down. It suits the developers to put 'apartments' in to edgy (cheap) areas. It suits the authorities to then be able to close down or severely restrict the perceived trouble of a noisy venue. But yeah, other than that caveat about venues, now is pretty good.

[dAVe80]

I agree with Chris. New music has never been easier to find, and there is so much great music out there now, that totally goes under the radar. That said, three of my next four gigs are by old men, who had their hey day 35 to 40 years ago.   

Edited February 16, 2016 by dAVe80

[useless]

Now is definitely the best time to be a music fan, It doesn't really matter when the music was made it, it's pretty much available at the touch of a button, for those lucky enough to have internet access. Although some might argue that we're too spoiled for choice these days to the point where music has become more disposable.

[Dodgyknees]

On 13/09/2004 at 18:42, The_Rev said:

Im going to abstain. For two reasons.

 

1] "what decade was best for music" is usually interpreted as "what decade did you grow up in" So, its a question that most people will answer with their age in mind.

 

2] To suggest that a new musical era starts on Jan 1st of a new decade is bollocks. Every musical scene has its own timetable. i mean, what is "90's music" ? Grunge? Britpop? Plastic Spice Girls Pop? The Britpop Era only really ran from Definately Maybe and Parklife in 94 through to Urban Hymns in 97. And you could argue that they all drew from what the Mondays, The Roses, My Bloody Valentine et al were doing at the arse end of the 80's.

 

The best music is timeless.

I now agree with this.

But my love of music spans a few decades as well, so really hard to choose.

[tonyh29]

On 16/02/2016 at 10:12, chrisp65 said:

I wonder if the best decade for music might just be now, the present.

I know that anyone over the age of 12 thinks the charts aren't as good as they used to be, and anyone under 40 thinks that Radio 2 should be burnt down. But there is a diversification now that we simply couldn't access before.

In the 60's there was the buzz of knowing someone that knew someone that could get hold of R&B imports. In the '70's and '80's you could be in your little gang and wait to be told where your trousers should end in relation to your ankles.

But now, with internet and social media, my kids are able to bypass the once a week pop TV programme, they can ignore MW radio and tap in directly to what they like. They've just recently been to a gig in London for a couple of singer song writers that I had never heard of and have never had a 'hit' or been played on the radio. But through links and contacts, my kids have heard of them. The artists themselves have worked out that there was demand for a gig in London at a 250 capacity venue, did the sums and made it happen. The band have basically tweeted and facebooked a tiny fan base and crowd funded a gig. Needless to say, it was sold out in advance, the guys had a pre gig meet, drink and selfie session with the fans before the gig proper got under way. 250 people thought it was the best gig ever, nobody outside the room had ever heard of them. 

Crowd funding, social media access, downloads, live feeds and every genre and sub genre under the sun all available to you, whether you live in Falkirk or Hammersmith. You can get to London for a tenner, download a wav file, send your mp3's off to be transcribed on to vinyl or just stay up until 2:00am and watch a live feed from Wyoming.

The good music is out there, it just won't pop up on Heart FM, so you still need to work a little, which is a good thing. I think now might be the best.

We just need to be careful that the shared experience of the venue is under threat. I can see it in Cardiff, it's happening in London. Flats and developers creep in to an area and then somehow, because of messed up planning and development rules, once a new flat pops up next to an established music venue, the tenant can complain and get the volume turned down. It suits the developers to put 'apartments' in to edgy (cheap) areas. It suits the authorities to then be able to close down or severely restrict the perceived trouble of a noisy venue. But yeah, other than that caveat about venues, now is pretty good.

I see your argument and raise you Ed Sheeren ... That his bland form of music can dominate music charts means this decade has no right to any claim of greatness regardless of innovation elsewhere 

Edited March 17, 2017 by tonyh29

[chrisp65]

Just now, tonyh29 said:

I see your argument and raise you Ed Sheeren ... That his bland form of music can dominate music charts means this decade has no right to any claim of greatness regardless of innovation elsewhere 

Sorry, don't know anything much about him, due to all the options available I've mostly avoided 'The Voice' and similar - but I suspect that for today's Ed Sheeran every decade had a Take That, Wet Wet Wet, Julio Iglesias, Mud, Wizzard, Queen etc..

but I have got tickets to see Tinariwen, and I've also got a ticket for Merthyr Rising (Stereo MC's / Tenpole Tudor / Alabama 3) 

So, what a time to be alive. Pissed in Merthyr town square, celebrating the creation of the red flag, pretending to remember the words to 'Swords of a thousand men'.

[mjmooney]

How dare you slag off Wizzard! 

[NoelVilla]

On January 20, 2016 at 23:18, lapal_fan said:

90s because Oasis existed.

Is the right answer to the question

[tonyh29]

1 hour ago, NoelVilla said:

Is the right answer to the question

On that logic it has to be the 60's as Oasis are just a Beatles tribute band

 

[maqroll]

1965-1975. An explosion of creativity across genres and around the world.

[Rugeley Villa]

There is an endless list of bands from 65-75 that do it for me.