General Music Chat

Next Big things in the eyes of KramerGuy

1970's - disco & funk

1980's - Rock progressed to new wave, with MTV (big thing in itself), pop-rock rose to new levels, heavy metal grew into the biggest music scene in the world.

1990's - Grunge and post-punk styles dominated the 'modern rock' market, replacing the corporate-ruined-metal of the late 80's.

2000's - since 1995, grunge became 'modern rock' and staled out for the next 15 years. Rock bands like Nickelback did zero for the scene, much the same as pop stars like Miley Cyrus. If there ever was a 'musical purgatory', this was it. Down-tempos and depressing styles left over from grunge are dominant this entire period. Towards the later part of the decade, promising rock bands started to rise above the rest, such as Kings of Leon, Killers, Modest Mouse, and the white stripes - to shape the next decade of rock.

2010's - Modern rock finally gave way to more melodic and folk elements, and also with the rise of pop-country gave way to alternate instrumentation in rock such as violins, banjos, etc. Keyboards are making a strong comeback in new ways, dubstep influenced several americanized styles mixed with the rest. More upbeat tempos and "happy" music dominate the scene. Groups like mumford & sons, grouplove, M83, Silversun Pickups, the black keys, Muse, etc.. all making huge leaps in "new" sounds.. with some elements of former styles (isn't that always the case?).

Notably country-pop has also exploded in the last 5 years, although personally I think it's mostly crap.. too corporate and too poppy.

Its all old news... The aforementioned new artists are making the same old soup but juts adding a different grade of pepper in it... Not saying its bad.... But it aint earth shaking... None of those guys will last long.
Anybody ever hear Brett Dennon. He started the happy happy upbeat tempos in the folk scene just 10 years ago... He's gotton buried somewhere ...We wont be seeing him play at the superbowl half time ...anytime soon... Yet he's an extraordinary writer.

Changes in technology are usually the main factors in new musical trends.
Where would the blues be without the Western guitar?
Where would rock & roll be without amplification?
Where would electronic music be without...electronics?
This is partially why music hasn't really changed much in 30 years.
That used to really bother me a lot.
But, I eventually accepted that all anyone can do is just play what they enjoy playing and start from there.

I believe that sound design, using computers to create entirely new sounds, is the future.
I have believed this since the 80's, when I saw a behind-the-scenes documentary of the movie "Dune".
They showed a sound effects designer crossing an actor's voice with a door creak to make his voice sound strange.
Back then, the technology to do this was exorbitantly expensive.
Only a movie studio could afford that kind of hardware.
But, today, software-based versions are more readily available for home studio use.
I am SO THERE, dude!

Who knows?
Maybe some day you'll see me, or someone like me, playing some crazy new form of music at the grammy's.

You never know... But I'd get a kick out of seeing you do it...

BIGGEST SELLING ARTISTS OF ALL TIME (according to Wikipedia)


The Beatles

Elvis Presley

Michael Jackson

Madonna

Led Zeppelin

Queen

Elton John

Mariah Carey

Celine Dion

Pink Floyd

AC/DC

Whitney Houston

The Rolling Stones

Eagles

U2

Billy Joel

Phil Collins

Aerosmith

Genesis

Frank Sinatra

To ensure a highest level of fact checking and editorial control, this list sources sales figures to news organizations and highly regarded music industry related organizations such as MTV, VH1, Billboard and Rolling Stone.

BIGGEST SELLING ARTISTS OF ALL TIME (according to Wikipedia)


The Beatles

Elvis Presley

Michael Jackson

Madonna

Led Zeppelin

Queen

Elton John

Mariah Carey

Celine Dion

Pink Floyd

AC/DC

Whitney Houston

The Rolling Stones

Eagles

U2

Billy Joel

Phil Collins

Aerosmith

Genesis

Frank Sinatra

To ensure a highest level of fact checking and editorial control, this list sources sales figures to news organizations and highly regarded music industry related organizations such as MTV, VH1, Billboard and Rolling Stone.

That List is so small I could count them on just one of my hands...

But seriously, that is a really small list... These guys had more thana just mere talent... They had some special magic in there own right

50% of that list did the opposite of "play it safe"

Boundary pushers, with appealing (or at least palatable) songs.

Biggest selling DOES NOT equal most talented or most deserving. I like some of the artists on that list, and some I do not. But every one of those artists tapped into something the mainstream public could identify with (they "clicked"). A lot of it is luck; meeting the right people at the right time with the right songs.

I love U2. Ive never thought of them as the next big thing.

I feel the edge pushed what was considered standard rock guitar in a totally different direction, and still does. I always thought that after Van Halen, the Edge hit the scene and totally changed the way guitarist look at thier instrument.

U2 has imfluenced a huge group of musicians, but I just dont hold them in the same regard as say Jasckson, the Stones, the Beatles, or Zep.

Just my 2 cents

For me in 1980 there were two guitarists that appeared to be the most influential: Andy Summers and Eddie Van Halen. I never thought of The Edge as being that ground breaking, although I respected him. When Stuart Adamson (Big Country) came on the scene I pretty much forgot about The Edge. Eddie jumped the shark after the third album, and The Police faded after 1984.

Jimmy I still love Achtung, by U2, to me at that point the Edge had really gotten his sound down to a lot more than thier early stuff.

I never was a huge Police fan, I like thier music, but I guess at the time I was so deep into Iron Maiden and Priest that I couldnt listen to the Police! LOL

I mean this stuff is all subjective anyway

"The Next Big Thing" is a temporary title, and in many cases seals your fate in the long run. And, every decade seems to have a musical theme, and some artists get thrown out when the decade is done:

50's - Rock & Roll and Doo Wop
60's - The British Invasion and Motown
70's - Prog Rock (and at the end Disco and Punk)
80's - New Wave (and Hair Metal if you were a youngster)
90's - Grunge and Alternative
00's - Electronic Dance and Indie
10's - World and Singer/Songwriter

A simple thought occurred to me last night...

Why don't we hear anything new in blues? I mean SRV kinda brought a new level of tone and playing, but he didn't really re-invent the 1-4-5 wheel or anything. If nothing else, he just invented a better way to play the SoS.

I honestly believe there's nothing left for blues, it's all been done to death and I see nothing inventive in anything since the early 80's.. possibly even the mid 70s-- nothing much is coming to mind.

So the thought was: How is R&R any different? As far as "hard rock" is concerned.. did Led Zep, VH, G&R, Nirvana, etc.. wring out the last true inventiveness of the genre? Is it like the blues, where every possible combination has been done, and all that's left are just different tones and delivery methods?

This is one reason why I don't mind folk, bluegrass, and other influences to permeate in modern rock- it needs something else in order to evolve into the next big thing. I'm just thinking out loud more than making a factual statement.

A simple thought occurred to me last night...

Why don't we hear anything new in blues? I mean SRV kinda brought a new level of tone and playing, but he didn't really re-invent the 1-4-5 wheel or anything. If nothing else, he just invented a better way to play the SoS.

I honestly believe there's nothing left for blues, it's all been done to death and I see nothing inventive in anything since the early 80's.. possibly even the mid 70s-- nothing much is coming to mind.

So the thought was: How is R&R any different? As far as "hard rock" is concerned.. did Led Zep, VH, G&R, Nirvana, etc.. wring out the last true inventiveness of the genre? Is it like the blues, where every possible combination has been done, and all that's left are just different tones and delivery methods?

This is one reason why I don't mind folk, bluegrass, and other influences to permeate in modern rock- it needs something else in order to evolve into the next big thing. I'm just thinking out loud more than making a factual statement.

Very Good Question re Blues. I try to think of it like this: Blues format and structure has, to music, the durability that a good pair of Dockers has to the Pants-wearing community. The old '1, 4, 5' , etc.
But if you ever noticed...some folks look great in Dockers, whilst others do not. Then, of all the greats, no two wear the same size. Additionally, no two stylize...(That rhymes!) the same way. In fact, Despite the standard format of Dockers design, no two people ever look exactly the same. That's kinda how blues is... When John Lee Hooker belts out boom boom boom... It s far superior in rendition, than if i were to belt it out... However, I can still wear it...
If you think about it, Blues has a defined scope, whereas Love ballads can be all over the map.
So, here is the million dollar question: How many possible ways can one express blues, and how many possible ways can a screamo metalist express anger...? Food for thought?

Good thoughts P-dog. Probably why I never liked screamo much. I was a metalhead in the 80's and by the late 80's I was sick of it- it got monotonous to say the least. The industry cheese factor didn't help, but even the 'new' metal after it seemed to lack invention, so I might even summarize that like blues, it's now formulaic and with exception to screamo and downtuning, the genre has been flat-lined for years.

A couple of bands have kept it alive, like SOAD on the heavy side and Dream Theater on the prog side, but I wonder if those aren't the last of the giants- as GTZip points out, there's not much heavy stuff out there anymore, and none of it is getting much national recognition.

I'm not sure I even have a preferred genre for listening anymore, I've more or less been cherry-picking what I consider to be "good" music from several genres.

I was listening to 10cc last night. Musically speaking, rock music peaked in the 70's and has been highly derivative and predictable ever since. The advent of disco and punk signaled the beginning of the de-evolution we are now witnessing. And if you aren't familiar with 10cc, you should make an effort to, fantastic group.

I was listening to 10cc last night. Musically speaking, rock music peaked in the 70's and has been highly derivative and predictable ever since. The advent of disco and punk signaled the beginning of the de-evolution we are now witnessing. And if you aren't familiar with 10cc, you should make an effort to, fantastic group.

10cc a GREAT band and innovators in the recording industry! Music is cyclicle and your favorite (insert style here) music will be back around for you to enjoy with new artist that WILL carry the baton! Thats What I like about rock & roll it is youthful music made by youthful musicians. Classic Rock is my favorite and those songs from the 50's 60's & 70's are timeless songs and music. They are a template that the ones coming up will always use to learn from! JMO!

10cc song from 1974:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kShTUmYRyCw