Everyday we hear the repetitive, bland, and overly banal barre chord laden tripe produced by The Artic Monkeys, The Pigeon Detectives, The Kaiser Chiefs, and Franz Ferdinand et al. This music has no originality WHATSOEVER*, it in no way pushes the musical envelope of today's music scene forward, if anything its dragging it backwards. But why is this happening? Who's feet do we lay the blame at? The record companies striving to accumulate as much money as possible, or the musicians themselves and their inability to step out of the C chord/G chord trap of 'easy music'?
What do you think?
*Muse are the exception (But are labelled as Metal by Radio 1 for some reason)
Why is the UK music scene so bland?
I agree with you, but you've got the wrong bands!!! lol. Arctic monkeys are so far ahead anything else around its incredible. They are outstanding and original. Franz Ferdinand nailed the electro-rock sound a few years back and were great (but dont contribute much today so thats consistent with your point). Kaiser Cheifs arnt groundbreaking but have done a few decent tunes.
The bilge today in the form of Pigeon Detectives, Scouting for Girls and The Wombats which produce appauling regurgitated nonesense. I agree with you on that, piss poor mate.
Reply:It is bland because it's overtaxed, and therefore lacks the brutal incentive necessary to create. And the music distribution system is in shambles.
1.) Buy music.
2.) Pay cover charges.
3.) Frequent you favorite bands website.
4.) Buy music.
Record companies do what is necessary to make money. That means they respond to what we're willing to pay for.
Works on both sides of the pond. And yes, it's dry over here right now too; got some great swing retro bands, and the rest is for the friggin' TV audience.
I've got a couple guitars. If you've got enough ale, let's jam and have at it!
Reply:It's bland (to you) because you're being closed-minded and not getting out there enough. If you want to see talent, trawl Myspace, go to little gigs at little venues, like your local pubs and clubs. There is a wealth of UK talent emerging and already out there in the fore. Just look a little harder.
Reply:All the bands you mentioned are shite,however you can still find good tunes if you know where to look,chart music is for the
masses,people who wouldn't know a tune if you battered them
to death with it.I love electronic music,its just getting better,
but you have to sift through the shite,to find the good.This is
true of all genres,and of course the music industry releases
rubbish for a profit,cos it pays to do so!
Reply:All the best music has already been composed. I think with the limited number of notes available to the would-be songwriter it must be impossible now to create something fresh and original.
Reply:it isnt getting bland u are obvoiusly just too old to appreciate it now
Reply:You answered your own question - "record companies striving to accumulate as much money as possible"
There is lots of great music out there on small record labels that does get released and sells in much smaller quantities. Look around, you'll find them everywhere.
Reply:It isn't if you get out there and see some live new bands. If you sit on your backside and listen to what the radio and TV serve up to you, you deserve to suffer.
Reply:Because the record companies made it so. Bastards.
Reply:I completely disagree with what you are saying, but I can't be bothered to argue because no one will win. I think people should be allowed to make whatever music they like, and that their success should depend on whether other people like it. I think we should give credit to originality but not discredit that which sounds good.
Reply:i think the whole music scene is pretty bland right now... not just in the UK... the entertainment industry goes through lulls every few years... its normal.
i agree with you most songs are stolen from original artists now and there is nothing of substance that is original. This was also evident at the Oscars last night... even movies suck these days.
Reply:I agree with you and i think its the hungry money record companies...they know if they sign bands that have a similar sound that people will like them and buy their stuff,,,does my head in!
I think there is some genuine talent though and u cant disagree. some uk artists are producing some really touching fantastic material...im a fan of newton fawlkner for that..hes also not your typical pretty boy which is good...and is a majorly talented guitarist!
Reply:I saw this question and went to answer "GOD NO" and list a load of good things about British music. But then I had a little think and your totally right man. The thing that clinched it was that one of the answers says look at the past, the point is that's all we've got we're a nation on the decline and music is no exception, gone are the days when people had British bands on the tip of their tongues (sp?) but now we have nothing in the mainstream that's original everyone is happy to just hear the same chord like you say or the same beep noise or a sickening thumpy dance tune.
Myself I blame us the consumer. As a nation its not talent we lack its the scope to recognise it, this is a culture that frowns on the alternativeor anything a little edgy and interesting (I love MUSE lol) and we like a formula that we recognise, so that the same useless song ends up on the charts for 18 weeks in a row.
(Damn good question like)
Reply:Because indie rock has turned into indie money-making pop. Look at bands like the Feeling and the Hoosiers. I'm sick of indie pop bands with the word 'the' before them. It's getting annoying. I've stopped listening to crap like Kaiser Chiefs and Arctic Monkeys. You're right, it is too bland. The 21st century's rock equivalent to Led Zeppelin and great guitarist/songwriting can be found in metal. With metal music, there's expression of emotion, theres real live concerts which are mindblowing and blazing guitar solos and generally great songs made.
Start listening to old bands like the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zep etc if you want to listen to GOOD music - just cos its old doesnt mean its crap. Its way better than the **** music in the charts today. I think that if a band is in the charts then its not worth listening to - its gonna be irritating, samey, repetitive and boring. If you want new bands to listen to look to metal. Metallica are good. listen to them.
Reply:Right, here goes ...
There are a myriad of reasons for this problem, but first it is worth pointing out that there is still good music out there, it is just that you have to make the effort to look for it!
The music "business" has to shift units. It is currently trying to compete against illegal downloads and is (obviously) poverty stricken (another argument).
Music is art. Specific works of art appeal to individuals or smaller groups of people. To broaden its appeal it needs to be watered down. The more it is watered down, the blander it gets and the broader its appeal to those who aren't particularly or especially music lovers. Hence the more units the music industry shifts and everybody is happy. Except true music lovers... But they'll make the effort to seek out the good stuff anyway...
Programmes such as the "X Factor" and tossers like Simon Cowell don't help at all. The X Factor is a complete irony. You cannot create something with X Factor, it happens and it happens rarely. As Hank Williams once said; "you gotta have lived it" in order to be truly innovative. That's why people still rate Hank as one of the greatest country artists and why Garth Brooks might shift millions of units, but he'll never truly be fit to lick Hanks cowboy boots...
Reply:You're totally right and I look back on years gone by that bring such warm memories to my heart. I think it's because people will buy whatever these bands produce is one of the reasons and another being laziness. I was watching a music channel yesterday and actually had to turn it off as it was so loud, no tune, and the lyrics were truly awful. Music is my life and it pains me to see something so special fade away into repetition, there's hardly anything original left. I can remember the days when you used to look forward to hearing what a band would bring out next, sadly not now. I look back on the punk scene of the 70s with so much pride, The Clash amongst others spring to mind for just getting out there and doing there own thing.
Thank you :)
For me this is real music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB1FKh-Q0...
Reply:The Arctic Monkeys are actually good.
But whilst i agree that we get spoon fed a lot of sh*te, that's precisely it, you're spoon fed.
Stop taking it and look for other music, there's plenty out there but it's your responsibility to look. That way i bet you'd enjoy it more.
Reply:u no nothin bout music its like wat The Beatle God Sir Paul Mccartney said all the best music comes from Britain and the people u say are not bland and do not sound the same the Arctic Monkeys are one of the best bands around if not the best like Jack Penate says u can not find one thing rong with them or their music
wat bout the klaxons with nu-rave we here on this little island invent music
If u rele wanna hear gd music search
Hadouken! and Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip on myspace theres some gd music not as gd as the other but british and gd
Reply:If there's anyone to blame, I'll blame the NME.
Reply:You answered your own question record companies striving to accumulate as much money as possible.I agree but there are good UK bands.You just have look for them and not on the charts or on the radio.Try the Internet sites like pandora.com and myspace.com.Try local pubs,local record stores and local shows
Reply:i agree with you. i think the main problem weve ran out of things to do musically. there are so may ways you can play songs and without being stupid they have all been done. That indie at the moment is just a fashion. The peaople listening to it before 2002 were into the spice girls and wrist bands. one day we may heqar somthing worth while!
Reply:It's bland everywhere even in India. Don't worry, it'll pick up.
Reply:Exactly, not a day goes by when I con't turn on the radio and listen to some real rock, unless it's radio 1 and THIRTYSECONDSTOMARS is playing (which is a rarity in it's own) , damn all these british bands with their cockney accents and non-understandable lyrics.
As a lot of people have said that there aren't any definable british band right now, I think that it's due to the record companies' sterotypical veiw on music genres and the popularity stakes with most people/celebrities.
You brought up a good issue, well done.
Reply:It hasn't been the same since I was around. Buy some of my back catalogue. You'll thank me for it.
Reply:You have clearly not done much research and approaching a subject with an 'everything is rubbish' frame of mind and/or with rose-tinted spectacle is pointless. If you judge an entire music scene just by what you hear on the radio or see on TV then you'll get nowhere.
Try buying a music magazine that isn't mainstream or search on the internet. You'll find a goldmine of brilliant bands. Most rock and metal bands aren't signed to big record companies so can't afford to have their music played on the radio or TV. All you need to do is scratch the surface. I did, thanks to my sister's enthusiasm for rock and melodic metal, and I've found so many great bands that I'll probably never get to listen to all their music.
Give it a try, you'll be glad.
Reply:I agree, and don't know the answer to your question, but think its the governments fault probably. But i dont know for sure.
I dont listen to any of that music, because you are right, they are so unoriginal and I hate blandness. Blah
Reply:it isnt bland there were good singers who won the britz
Reply:I prefer the UK music scene to any other.
I think Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) is a fantastic lyricist, I would challenge you to come up with 5 better.
We also have the Amy's doing there thing:
Amy Winehouse - Amazing song writer, great singer
Amy Duffy - another great singer
Amy MacDonald - makes good music
In the "urban" music scene we have Kano, Skinny Man, Dizzee Rascal, Tinchy Stryder, Chipmunk all doing big things.
If you can't move on from Led Zep, Pink Floyd or whoever you listen to then I suggest you turn off the radio and play your Cd's full of 'good' music.
Reply:because the English love to imitate other countries music rather than creating their own.
the community nor government take music seriously, they concerntrate on other events.. arts and sports
and any good musicians we do have tend to go to USA to make it big rather than trying to make it here.. so we just end up hearing about the crap music
Reply:it really isnt look at phil collins past
Reply:i don't listen to those bands. i listen to uk grime and its good
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