The Death of Music Genres

In this episode, I try to answer the question, "What Musical Era Are We In Today?"

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[PrinceVeganin]

I like that the media and record labels don’t get to decide what we should be listening to, but I do miss the shared experience we used to have 🤷‍♂️

[knuteboy]

It's not just music. It's everything around us that lacks a discernible era. I went into a grocery store the other day that I first walked into 20 years when it was brand new. They have never refurbished or renovated it, yet it looks exactly like every modern grocery store today, even brand new ones. Now think about the difference between a grocery store in the 70's vs. just ten years later into the 80's. A complete change in appearance. This is why I think "vintage" eras are so cherished now. Because they were distinctive and I think people hunger for that.

[benja]

Now we are in the “playlist” era, and the music genres now are like “shower music” “funeral music” “music to drink” “music to listen at the gym” etc…

[Silvrleaf]

As a younger person who listens to basically anything, I’ve found that you can kind of teach yourself to like a genre. My dad always played rock songs when i was younger, and it is my go to genre, but most of my friends listen to rap and hip hop. I didn’t really get it at first, but there were a couple of songs that i enjoyed and started listening to. Now I can appreciate rap as much as i can appreciate other things, but if i was just listening on the radio or mtv I would’ve never expanded what i listen to. The main playlist I listen to now has everything from reggae to irish drinking songs, hip hop to Mongolian throat singing rock.

[helenespaulding]

I am of two minds here: The ability to curate your own individual playlists is very cool and feels freeing. HOWEVER, the sense of a shared experience and cohesion that we all felt in the 60's and 70's, where all of us knew the words to those songs....that was something special and important. I don't think young people can really know what that felt like....to feel like you were all connected and joined together by a common experience. It created a sense of "generational cohesion". It felt right....and comforting. Perhaps "Swifties" have that now..

[marguit]

Rick - I’m 73 years old and have lived through many of the genres you mentioned. I find your videos and your introspective look at the music industry so fascinating. Always enjoy listening to your insights and your wonderful interviews.

[Digital.Done.Right.]

Learned this from my kids in 7th grade literature class. "You cannot know what ers you are in while living it. Eras are assigned after they are over."

[supersquirrell]

Rick. Thank you for all of your hard work and helpful lessons, interviews and perspectives. You have enriched my life. May God bless you and yours this Christmas and always.

[davecrechiola]

I miss the old days. I grew up in the 90s and I miss the new album buzz. I miss going to record stores. Change is inevitable but I'm old enough to have some serious nostalgia.

[johnbjorkman]

I was ready to say, "we're not in a musical era, it's now a musical error". But you are correct - just like your "post-genre" idea, I find myself exploring all kinds of music on the internet that I simply can't find on the radio. It's both refreshing and freeing.

[emeraldina_music]

I am 17. Trust me, in most karaoke parties, the hardest thing is to choose a song that everybody knows and loves by heart. There is no particular piece of music that gives everyone shivers. There's no particular style of a band/artist in a music gig or a video that everybody wants to copy. Even on internet, people fight over a song being typed as a wrong sub-sub-subgenre of a subgenre; I literally saw big fanbases splitting into pieces because of it.
Post-genre era sounds cool and free, but I don't think it is as cool as music being the way of unity for the generation living in a particular era. In a short span of time, I got to discover lots of music, genres and movements happened before me, and I am quite jealous that I cannot see how music can provided a sense of union now as much as they did back then. What hurts the most is there's not many people of my generation that agree with me.

[olivarionline]

We're basically curating our own echo chamber - not just music but movies, TV series, news, politics, people we follow and many other aspects of our lives. It's why everything has become so divisive and distant from people in our own families and people sitting side by side on the bus or at work.

[bemimu]

Rick, you should start a series where you dissect different genres of music and discuss their histories, key bands, etc. Would be very interesting

[wonder]

We're simply experiencing the chaos and depression of overabundance. Saturation. Satiety. When Elvis or the Beatles appeared seemingly out of nowhere, there was a relative scarcity of artists offering music and breaking social barriers, and the world was hungry for this. 6 or 7 decades of technological revolution and mass consumerism later, there seem to be almost more artists than listeners and most doors and ceilings have been broken and flung wide open. Where we go from here is anyone's guess...

[gunsort]

It seems that we're in the Discovery Era. Kids are listening to their parent's and grandparent's music. If the #1 album this year is Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, that says it all.

[ziff_]

I'm still in the 70's with Floyd, Yes, Rush, LZ, etc. Y'all have fun in 2024!

[OriginalRaveParty]

We're just in a content era now. Everything competes for attention. Streamers, Video Makers, Musicians, Gaming, Makers, Educators, Vloggers, Writers, Films, and even old media like Television and Radio (remember them?)

[jonathanbradshaw]

This fits in with the increasing withdrawal of people, living linked to their mobile phones or gaming computer/console. It is about individualism rather than the communal experience as experienced by earlier decades where “genre” music and joint experiences were enjoyed together (community). It conjured a feeling shared struggles and not being the only one having growing pains. A lot of teens also sought comfort/meaning/refuge in lyrics.

You could argue that this has also played a part in mental health where people no longer feel part of a group sharing the same issues and concerns. A problem shared is a problem halved.

[Re_ac_tor]

I'm 57, with 3 daughters in their 20's. We are a music family. They appreciate everything from 1920's/30's blues, to jazz, to rock to electronic and everything in between. In turn, I appreciate the stuff they are listening to these days; they have turned me on to some great, new stuff.

There are a lot of great bands these days making really great "real" music. I have noticed something happening over the last 5 years. There is a really strong punk resurgence happening, with kids making raw, politically and socially charged music. And clubs are filled with young kids dancing and moshing. It fills me with joy. There are also bands and singer/songwriters like Waxahatchee, Courtney Barnett, M.J. Lenderman, Kurt Vile, and many, many others. They're out there, it just takes a little effort to find them. Lastly, there are a lot of bands flying under the radar with incredibly strong followings of young fans. One in particular is The Garden. This audience may not like or appreciate their sound but they have a rabid fan base spanning generations. Go to one of their shows and the level of energy is incredible. I love seeing kids lining the sidewalk before their shows, all decked out in makeup and homemade outfits. It feels pure and it gives me hope that live music lives on.

I feel we're about to see a change, maybe as an by product of the current political and social environment.

[carloscabrera]

Congratulations! You've successfully entered the Old Man Yelling at Clouds phase of your life.