Which decade had the best music?

[Rico]

This one. More new music is available than ever before. So many good live acts to see for under $20 at your local clubs. The net has changed the way we are exposed to music for the better.

Kids today are talented, and have more tools at their disposal than ever.

This is a joke, right?

[red321]

I think a lot of it depends on when you grew up. But reality is there was fantastic music in every decade (Maybe 2000-2010 excluded). In WWII time you had some amazing jazz and blues. In the 50's you had the start of rock and roll. Go find old Lightening Hopkin's records, Fats Waller, original Elvis or Buddy Holly. Just amazing stuff. Sixties and Seventies weren't my thing, but I can see where people who grew up in that era would think so. I "grew up" in the 80's, so obviously I'm drawn to that.

 

And I would agree with the statement that there is some amazing music out there right now. Not the stuff you heard played on the radio, or mass marketed...but there is some serious talent out there. Bands like Trombone Shorty, Shaky Graves, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Nick Waterhouse, etc. I regularly hear new stuff on channels like The Loft on Sirius that I jot down.

[mrwicked]

1780s: Mozart released Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni within a two year span.

 

Second place would be the 1980s because Depeche Mode and Tony Basil. 

Edited February 18, 2015 by mrwicked

[cez]

1780s: Mozart released Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni within a two year span.

 

 

homey put out a prodigious amount of work for his entire short life.

 

he wrote a few pieces as a very young kid, but most of his 600 works were composed over the course of 22-23 years.  you do the math, and remember that operas and masses count as double, triple, or quadruple works compared to concertos and even symphonies.  

 

i'm a mozart fanatic....memorized both his clarinet quintet and clarinet concerto in high school, and jump at any opportunity to play anything by him.  

Edited February 18, 2015 by cezero

[Tank]

1780s: Mozart released Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni within a two year span.

 

Second place would be the 1980s because Depeche Mode and Tony Basil. 

 

this is weird. i always figured you to be a "oh mickey, you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind HEY MICKEY" kind of guy.

[Ray McKigney]

Whichever decade produced Creed.

 

[nate]

Didn't that one dude off himself?

[1nutkruk]

Didn't that one dude off himself?

I would have after taking that picture.

[HeavenlyHalos]

i'm a big arcade fire fan, too.  they're like david bowie/philip glass/brian eno for the 2000s-10s.  love it.  i dream of seeing them in concert some day. 

 

also a big believer in of monsters and men, and have been since before people knew who they were.

 

that said, i don't think it's fair to lump gaga in with azalea and beyonce.  gaga is a real musician. a classically trained vocalist who also plays, performs, and composes on an instrument (piano) very well, and writes just about all of her own music.  it's not token "writing" credits like beyonce or azalea get for writing some lame lyric in the middle of a chorus or something.

Fair enough. I saw Arcade Fire in Dublin this year and it really was the best concert I have ever been to. Both William and Regine play a ton of instruments and seem to be constantly switching among them.

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

I'll stick with Gregorian chant.

[Lou]

Whichever decade produced Creed.

 

i think they'll bounce back and have a super year

[ELEVEN]

Interesting... Which current bands do you like? Personally, I think Arcade Fire is phenomenal and probably the best live act I have seen. The Black Keys are also quite good and deliver a very "classic rock-esque" sound. Other groups I like right now are: Of Monsters and Men, The Head and the Heart, The Black Angels, Architecture in Helsinki, and Band of Horses. Of course, that list is more of a "groups that started this millennium" rather than exclusively this decade.

With that said, my problem is that those bands don't tend to dominate the top of the billboard charts, where we are more likely to see Katy Perry, Iggy Azalea, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, etc..

Lots of em. I saw the White Buffalo last night in Santa Ana and he was great.

Loved the Black Keys before Dangermouse steered them away from blues. They are still pretty interesting tho. Looking fwd to Drive By Truckers in April.

Jason Isbell

Two Gallants

Israel Nash

Southern Comfort On The Skids

North Miss All Stars

Anders Osborne

Glen David Andrews

Dragon Smoke

Dirty Birds

Tab Benoit

Ian Segal

Emily Armstrong

Beth Hart

Dayna Kurtz

Jonah Tolchin

The Flatlanders

Shooter Jennings

Forest Rangers

There are probably a couple hundred more. I see as many live shows as ballgames. Keeps me going.

[ELEVEN]

That should be Southern Culture On The Skids.

What was I drinking?

[ELEVEN]

That should be thinking.

[JAHV76]

The British Invasion of the 60's influenced many of the rock bands of the 70's, 80's and 90's. You had the Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Black Sabbath, The Yardbirds, to name a few. If you're a fan of rock music these bands and others were the pioneers.

[Sully151]

The British Invasion of the 60's influenced many of the rock bands of the 70's, 80's and 90's. You had the Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Black Sabbath, The Yardbirds, to name a few. If you're a fan of rock music these bands and others were the pioneers.

Well they were influenced by Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash who were influenced my Muddy Waters, BB King, Robert Johnson, Lighting Hopkins etc.

Edited February 22, 2015 by Sully151

[cez]

Well they were influenced by Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash who were influenced my Muddy Waters, BB King, Robert Johnson, Lighting Hopkins etc.

true

 

and you can just keep going back

 

for every great composer, there was a group of composers before them that paved the way form them to be groundbreaking...which really comes down to breaking rules.  

 

and there are also composers who were contemporaries who influenced and pushed each other to create a new sound... just like the Beatles and Beach Boys (and of course Harry Nilsson, who everybody always forgets) influenced each other as they all tried to find a new sound. 

[NJHalo]

Have to go with the 80s for the following reason: Milli Vanilli

There has been no one like them, and no one would dare copying them.

Edited February 22, 2015 by NJHalo

[cez]

Have to go with the 80s for the following reason: Milli Vanilli

There has been no one like them, and no one would dare copying them.

Neither Milli nor Vanilli actually sang.  That's well known thanks to the lip sync disaster.

 

 

If you watch the video carefully, you'll see that they also drum beat machine synced, which is even more unforgivable to me. 

 

The amazing dancing almost makes up for all of it, though. 

[ELEVEN]

Everyone knows Milli had the real talent and Vanilli only got by through copying him.

[Taylor]

Well they were influenced by Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash who were influenced my Muddy Waters, BB King, Robert Johnson, Lighting Hopkins etc.

 

Who were influenced by ... mid-600s Gregorian chants.

[cez]

Fair enough. I saw Arcade Fire in Dublin this year and it really was the best concert I have ever been to. Both William and Regine play a ton of instruments and seem to be constantly switching among them.

Just saw Gaga's performance at the Oscars on Twitter. 

 

She proved my point about her.  Excellent musician. 

[Spencer]

I saw a few people on Facebook post about having attended this:  http://holyship.com/

 

This is my nightmare.  

Stuck on a boat in the middle of the sea, surrounded hipsters and ravers, being subjected to non-stop house music.

[NJHalo]

Well they were influenced by Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash who were influenced my Muddy Waters, BB King, Robert Johnson, Lighting Hopkins etc.

Yes, every time I listen to Milli Vanilli, I can hear the Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash influence.

Edited February 23, 2015 by NJHalo

[ELEVEN]

Yes, every time I listen to Milli Vanilli, I can hear the Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash influence.

I didn't hear Carl Perkins either. Wierd.