What happened to quality music? Pretty much every genre of music used to be top notch, but since the late 90’s, the quality of music has been on a decline. Songs used to have real meaning to them. Now all of these wanna be whiny pop and rock stars are emerging out of nowhere, and become famous for songs that are essentially ear torture.

We went from great musicians such as Tool,  Motley Crue, Michael Jackson, soundgarden, Depeche Mode, and many other highly talented groups to crap like Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Daughtry. Whiny metal wannabe’s like Bring Me The Horizon, and Black Veil Brides. The good music you have come to love is slowly dying around you and becoming a corporate mess. They don’t seem to care about making meaningful tracks these days, just taking your money.

I’m open myself to music from nearly any genre, though I do heavily prefer rock, metal, and alternative the most.  I’ve given a lot of new music a try, but most of it doesn’t hit me the right way. More so, a lot of it is rubbish that’s essentially launching an assault of agony upon my ears. I swear every new pop album that comes out has a goal of dumbing down their audience further, and increasing profits.

I’m not just going to just dis pop, as lame as it is. Rock went pretty down hill too. I listen to a lot of newer rock music, and I’m not impressed. I see a lot of lack of talent and they’re trying  to sound like everyone else instead of being inventive. Even some of my favorite bands that have been around for awhile have been releasing trash music.

Linkin Park for instance used to be great! First 3 albums were solid. Then…they took a turn for a more electronic sound with the next 2 albums. I mean, I like a few songs from both of those albums. But overall, they’re disappointing. Their latest album ‘The Hunting Party’ would be a fair comeback to the rock scene though. I could hear a lot more of their classic sound in it.

Green Day did the same thing. All of their albums were solid until Uno, Dos, and Tres came out. Uno had some pretty fair tunes, but still was lacking compared to their last 2 Grammy winning rock opera style albums. Dos and Tres didn’t have really any songs I cared for at all, and were rubbish. These two bands are showing perfect examples of why modern music is declining (don’t get me wrong, I’m still a fan of both bands). I understand some bands like experimenting. They just need to be careful with it so they don’t produce terrible albums repeatedly.

As for rap, it’s the same thing that’s happening to pop. I’m not really a rap fan at all, but I can still recognize talented artists when I hear them. Though I may not like the genre much, I can still tell that they’re writing songs to define their genre more, instead of mocking it. Country falls in this same category. I detest country music, but I can still tell that some of the artists do have skills musically (though I feel it’s wasted some by choosing to record in this genre).

Full on electronic music, is pretty much some shit that came from someone having too much ecstasy one night, and decided that a bunch of random sounds they made with their computer was music. Other people (most likely also on drugs) must have thought that it was music as well, and soon ‘artists’ like Skrillex and Deadmau5 were considered legit music. Well then… have fun with that. Moving on!

Overall, the genre that seems to actually be on a creative rise is: alternative. I’ve actually been the most impressed with the newer alternative music coming out (for the most part) than any other genre. With original bands including the likes of Silversun Pickup’s, and Cage The Elephant; as well as veterans to the genre such as Foo Fighters and Muse. These type of bands add constant ingenuity to their genre; they’re like the spark out there that’s keeping good music alive.

Regardless, older music always seems to be what I turn back to. It’s solid, and hard to go wrong with. There’s also so much of it out there, I have yet to discover so many artists that may have disappeared year’s ago, but left the gift of their music behind. I’d rather find ‘new’ old songs I’ve never heard before, than listen to most of the dribble that 2015 so ‘generously’ offers us.

Thanks for reading! Agree or disagree? Tell me why in the comments below.

~J. A. Ross