Is the music industry headed in a new direction
September 20, 2001 11:37 AM   Subscribe

Is the music industry headed in a new direction after the events of last week? And I'm not talking about the release of the new Jay-Z album.
posted by saladin (27 comments total)
 
This point's been made quite a bit in the last week, that America's going to grow up all of a sudden and cast aside shallow entertainment in light of our current situation.

I don't know, I don't buy that. Yes, things will be subdued for quite some time, but folks will still need escapist diversions, maybe even more than before in the weeks, months, years ahead. Besides, never underestimate the tastes of the average consumer, no matter the current state of affairs.
posted by ice_cream_motor at 11:47 AM on September 20, 2001


it's a nice, idealistic sentiment of mr. smith ... but, personally, i don't feel like the events of last week will change how people buy their music. i really don't. if you buy angry music, it's a good possibility that you have some anger to vent. and, really, what's wrong with that? for that reason, i just don't see people giving up music which, for them, may well be therapy.
posted by moz at 11:47 AM on September 20, 2001


If the Village Voice is right, then music is definetly headed for a future which is considerably brighter than the current state of [entertainment] affairs.
posted by tomorama at 11:48 AM on September 20, 2001


Sounds like a whole lot of wishful thinking to me-- I imagine the Village Voice has been predicting the death of nu-metal for at least a year and a half now. But what's the deal with saying that System of a Down is done for? I figured that their dramatic, politicized Rage-style vibe would keep them going... I hadn't heard anything about the free-concert riot alluded to in the article.
posted by monosyllabic at 11:51 AM on September 20, 2001


We need Rage more than ever now. They'll be back as this all unfolds.
posted by crasspastor at 11:53 AM on September 20, 2001


Look at the Gracenote/CDDB charts from this week.
Didn't change much from last week or the week before.

People aren't listening to any less Slipknot, despite the the authors wishes. In the long term, who knows, but in the long term, nobody ever knows.

I hate it when people extrapolate trends like this and then just sit there smugly like they're the only ones that this is clear too, cause obviously everyone of the thousands of people in the music publishing industry are dumb as posts.

The prediction that "music that is selling now will not be selling in the years to come" is a pretty safe bet.. So what's his point?
posted by Leonard at 11:54 AM on September 20, 2001


Oh, I don't know that all those bands/performers will die off so easily. The column read more like a note scribbled in a coffee shop while joking with friends than a serious analysis of the collective mindset of the buying public.

Sure, some of the the doom-and-gloom, let's kill'em all bands will fall from populrity, but I think most 12-year-olds are going to want their pop to stay brainless -- that way they don't have to think about what happened, if they comprehend it fully at all. However, I would expect to hear more ballads and pseudopatriotic songs out of the boy- and girl-bands next album cycle.
posted by me3dia at 12:02 PM on September 20, 2001


Is Sgt. Barry Sadler still alive?
posted by jfuller at 12:02 PM on September 20, 2001


The article struck me as an excuse for this guy to slag the mainstream music scene. Yes, we all know everything that sells really, really sucks and how could we be such sheep to listen to it.

As one who listens to "angry" music, I do look at it as a way to vent. I'd rather get my aggressions out by listening to angry music than beating the snot outta someone.
posted by melissa at 12:07 PM on September 20, 2001


By the way, did anybody receive an email listing some 150 songs banned by ClearChannel from their radio stations because of "questionable lyrics." I'll post it if you're interested, or email me for it. (I do not vouch for its authenticity; it was coupled with some sort of Rage Against the Machine fan propaganda.)
posted by me3dia at 12:11 PM on September 20, 2001


jfuller: My thoughts exactly.
posted by bjgeiger at 12:13 PM on September 20, 2001


me3dia, I saw the list online, but it was being reported on some music news site, so the article was fairly unbiased.

Half of the songs on the list didn't make sense.

I've talked about it on my own site in the last few days (sorry for the virtual self-link), including the link to the list itself, cuz stuff like this just really gets on my nerves.
posted by melissa at 12:19 PM on September 20, 2001


Maybe it's just me, but the article seemed almost like something from Jackie Harvey's "Outside Scoop" minus the humor.
posted by ttrendel at 12:26 PM on September 20, 2001


melissa, I agree completely. "99 Red Balloons? ""Obla Di, Obla Da?" "Bridge Over Troubled Water?"
Many of the songs on the list seemed more inspirational than questionable. I can understand not playing, say, "Fist Full of Shells," but how often do you hear that on the radio, anyway?

Here's a link to the list (courtesy of Melissa's site) for those of you who don't know what we're talking about.
posted by me3dia at 12:30 PM on September 20, 2001


That's a sham list, guys. Check snopes.com.

Wait, wait.. excuse me for being impolite. Here's the link.

Anyway, September 11th was supposed to be the day the world rejoiced over the new Dylan album Love and Theft. Incredible record, but the release was unfortunately timed, as it's always going to be connected in a lot of people's minds with the tragedy. Mine, at least.
posted by Hildago at 12:46 PM on September 20, 2001


the list was covered on monday.
posted by modge at 12:50 PM on September 20, 2001


D'oh! Don't I feel silly. My apologies to all for beating a dead horse.

(Oh, and I didn't see the original thread about the list, so again apologies.)
posted by melissa at 12:57 PM on September 20, 2001


my apologies, too, for hijacking the thread.
(oops! I shouldn't use such questionable language. Sorry)
posted by me3dia at 1:02 PM on September 20, 2001


Is Sgt. Barry Sadler still alive?

No, but his death makes for interesting reading.
posted by aaron at 1:21 PM on September 20, 2001



speaking as someone who works in a music store, i haven't seen any significant drop in the sales of slipknot, system of a down, the new j lo rerelease with the ja rule mix on it, bone thugz n harmony, jay z, juvenile, etc, etc, etc. this guy just wishes.
posted by sugarfish at 1:35 PM on September 20, 2001


So Tool will be a constant, but Rage Against the Machine is well stuck in the brambles. That was an easy call.

Pfft! Shows what Mr. Smith knows! Zach DeLaRocha quit RATM quite a while ago, and the remainder of the band is recording with ex-Soundgardener Chris Cornell, but they will not be called RATM anymore. We'll probably still have Zach and his political rage, but the machine no longer has an archenemy.
posted by starvingartist at 1:39 PM on September 20, 2001


Astonishingly stupid article from the Village Voice. Shame - I always thought I was the kind of groovy bohemian who might read the Village Voice. If anything, I should imagine an impending war would eventually foster more political and anti-government sentiment of the kind that System of A Down and RATM are famous for.
posted by skylar at 2:02 PM on September 20, 2001


I doubt much will change in the long run. Unfortunately I think the shallowness, at least of this nation (USA), runs pretty deep.
posted by liam at 2:53 PM on September 20, 2001


Hmm, I didn't know Cornell was recording with the old Ragers... I'm interested, where'd you read this?
posted by mmesker at 3:04 PM on September 20, 2001


check ratm.com, its true, so i'm sure its on there somewhere.
posted by whoshotwho at 3:57 PM on September 20, 2001


I was reading the Voice's music section on a regular basis for Christgau's column. He's a bit of a gasbag, but at least he knows music. I was disappointed in his colleagues, and this link didn't change my mind. The idea that any event would change peoples' tastes is amazing naive.

People listen to music because they like it (you could question how much is "I like this" and how much is "Someone cooler than I likes this," at any age group, but let's ignore that). I was a teenager once. I can't conceive of any event that would have caused me to slap my forehead and say, "What am I doing with my life? Iron Maiden? This doesn't speak to anything important in the world today. I should really get a job and turn on an Adult Contemporary station. No, wait. That wouldn't be cool either. Jesus."

Smaller music questions have been bugging me in light of Tuesday. Specifically, will The Strokes album still come out next week with "NYC Cops" on it ("They ain't too smart")? And will Ryan Adams' kinda mediocre new album do better than his super-cool last album on the strength of the one great song, "New York, New York?"
posted by yerfatma at 5:42 PM on September 20, 2001


Ok, so I'm giving myself mad props for this call.
posted by yerfatma at 10:10 AM on September 25, 2001


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