"I dare you to throw something at me, and I’ll fucking kill you."
December 22, 2023 7:35 AM Subscribe
The 8 Worst Music Trends of 2023 (slStereogum)
TIL that LimeWire is now a place where you can... use AI to make NFTs, and then LimeWire gets 10% of the profits, and also LimeWire has its own cryptocurrency?
If you have a better word to describe all that, I'm listening.
(I also learned that LimeWire 5.5.10 is somehow still operational.)
posted by box at 8:10 AM on December 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
If you have a better word to describe all that, I'm listening.
(I also learned that LimeWire 5.5.10 is somehow still operational.)
posted by box at 8:10 AM on December 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
Count me among the people amazed the LimeWire is still a thing.
Overall a pretty weak list. I agree that people throwing things at artists, ludicrous concert ticket prices and poor concert safety are really bad. Kiss on a farewell hologram tour? Not so much. I mean, I'm not going, and I'm not a fan of Kiss, but hating on a band for still being able to sell tickets is weird. The "collapse of music tech" is wildly overstated, or more accurately wildly misrepresents the breadth of what "music tech" is. It most certainly isn't limited to streaming services! Plugin makers, synth makers et al are still pumping out amazing stuff at a rapid pace. Hating on Taylor Swift by proxy is super tired. And weird album covers are cool! Some people just hate masks, I guess.
TL;DR: Listicles gonna listicle.
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:44 AM on December 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Overall a pretty weak list. I agree that people throwing things at artists, ludicrous concert ticket prices and poor concert safety are really bad. Kiss on a farewell hologram tour? Not so much. I mean, I'm not going, and I'm not a fan of Kiss, but hating on a band for still being able to sell tickets is weird. The "collapse of music tech" is wildly overstated, or more accurately wildly misrepresents the breadth of what "music tech" is. It most certainly isn't limited to streaming services! Plugin makers, synth makers et al are still pumping out amazing stuff at a rapid pace. Hating on Taylor Swift by proxy is super tired. And weird album covers are cool! Some people just hate masks, I guess.
TL;DR: Listicles gonna listicle.
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:44 AM on December 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
That website on my iPad is pile of see are a pee…
posted by njohnson23 at 8:48 AM on December 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by njohnson23 at 8:48 AM on December 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
misinterpreted that as CARP...
also, damn Adele, daaaaamn.
posted by supermedusa at 9:06 AM on December 22, 2023
also, damn Adele, daaaaamn.
posted by supermedusa at 9:06 AM on December 22, 2023
Maybe the real enshittification is the listicles we met along the way.
posted by Claude Hoeper at 9:28 AM on December 22, 2023 [20 favorites]
posted by Claude Hoeper at 9:28 AM on December 22, 2023 [20 favorites]
Not to derail, but one festival is a pretty obvious omission from the "unsafe festivals" list. The one in Israel that kicked off the current genocidal horror show.
posted by Ansible at 9:38 AM on December 22, 2023
posted by Ansible at 9:38 AM on December 22, 2023
The throwing stuff on stage reminds me of an anecdote from 70s Alice Cooper (recounted by Bob Greene in his book Billion Dollar Baby, for my money still the best book about a rock tour); when they took the tour to Toledo, they were pelted with stuff from the opening notes of "Hello Hurray" and left the stage during the second number. It hadn't happened in any other show, the objects seemed to be picked to hurt (as compared to the Beatles getting jelly beans thrown at them because they said that they liked Jelly Babies, not really the same thing but anyway), and there was no obvious instigating prior factor like some DJ urging people to do that or whatever. The Seventies, like now, was a pretty unstable time societally.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:43 AM on December 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:43 AM on December 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Instead of “Culture Warriors Send Artists to No. 1” I wish they had highlighted the whole genre of what I think of as “country rap”. There may be another name for it, but it consists of guys in cowboy hats who can’t sing shouting Trumpist lyrics over generic backing music. The worst I have been exposed to is FAFO, but there are probably others even worse out there.
posted by TedW at 10:57 AM on December 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by TedW at 10:57 AM on December 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
Literally zero of these are actual music trends, as opposed to (purported) music industry trends?
posted by kickingtheground at 10:58 AM on December 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by kickingtheground at 10:58 AM on December 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
4. MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS AND LOCAL ESTABLISHMENTS GET INTO A SWIFTIE-PLEASING ARMS RACE
I hope this ends soon, Taylor said swiftly.
posted by TedW at 10:59 AM on December 22, 2023 [7 favorites]
I hope this ends soon, Taylor said swiftly.
posted by TedW at 10:59 AM on December 22, 2023 [7 favorites]
Back in the '80's, I saw Oingo Boingo play a set at Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA, USA. If you're old enough to know who Oingo Boingo is, you're probably old enough to know the movie This Is Spinal Tap (the venue was in the movie, where the band got second billing to Puppet Show, and played a free-form jazz odyssey...but I digress). Small amphitheater, bench seats...
Anyway, Danny Elfman paused the show in between songs, and he basically said this (I'm not getting it verbatim, as it was a looooong time ago):
"We're all here to have a good time, but just now, someone threw a penny at the stage. It came inches away from hitting me in the eye. Do me a favor, will you? If you see some asshole throwing coins, or anything, at the band, turn around and punch them in the face. Knock them the fuck out!"
and then they played Violent Love.
I also was at a Jane's Addiction show in Hollywood. During the show, when the band did the intro to Ocean Size, and just before the "Three Four!," Perry Farrell just walked off. Someone threw a shoe at him. Previously in the show, he had said, "Oh, there's that same asshole again. I thought it would never come to this. But the guy threw a Birkenstock! I mean this guy is a real moron. He doesn't even understand fashion!" - so, after the second shoe hit him, he walked off. (The Pixies and Primus opened that show...damn, what a night)
posted by Chuffy at 11:08 AM on December 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
Anyway, Danny Elfman paused the show in between songs, and he basically said this (I'm not getting it verbatim, as it was a looooong time ago):
"We're all here to have a good time, but just now, someone threw a penny at the stage. It came inches away from hitting me in the eye. Do me a favor, will you? If you see some asshole throwing coins, or anything, at the band, turn around and punch them in the face. Knock them the fuck out!"
and then they played Violent Love.
I also was at a Jane's Addiction show in Hollywood. During the show, when the band did the intro to Ocean Size, and just before the "Three Four!," Perry Farrell just walked off. Someone threw a shoe at him. Previously in the show, he had said, "Oh, there's that same asshole again. I thought it would never come to this. But the guy threw a Birkenstock! I mean this guy is a real moron. He doesn't even understand fashion!" - so, after the second shoe hit him, he walked off. (The Pixies and Primus opened that show...damn, what a night)
posted by Chuffy at 11:08 AM on December 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
Also, too...
A big part of the enshitifcation is the poor quality of music - the whole, Pro Tools sound, drum machines, loops and boringness of songs. I know this is going to piss people off, but an example is when I listen to some of the newer hip hop artists and it's all the same, mumbling, monotone...boring stuff. You can barely tell one song from another. And the autotune, and the missing licks, hooks and chorus. A lot of newer songs are just...bad. Everything sounds so artificial, or like it was made at home on a computer.
Not all music. Not all artists...
posted by Chuffy at 11:15 AM on December 22, 2023 [11 favorites]
A big part of the enshitifcation is the poor quality of music - the whole, Pro Tools sound, drum machines, loops and boringness of songs. I know this is going to piss people off, but an example is when I listen to some of the newer hip hop artists and it's all the same, mumbling, monotone...boring stuff. You can barely tell one song from another. And the autotune, and the missing licks, hooks and chorus. A lot of newer songs are just...bad. Everything sounds so artificial, or like it was made at home on a computer.
Not all music. Not all artists...
posted by Chuffy at 11:15 AM on December 22, 2023 [11 favorites]
A big part of the enshitifcation is the poor quality of music - the whole, Pro Tools sound, drum machines, loops and boringness of songs. I know this is going to piss people off, but an example is when I listen to some of the newer hip hop artists and it's all the same, mumbling, monotone...boring stuff. You can barely tell one song from another. And the autotune, and the missing licks, hooks and chorus. A lot of newer songs are just...bad. Everything sounds so artificial, or like it was made at home on a computer.
100% agree. I know these complaints have been made before by previous generations but whatever that type of stuff is today is total shit.
posted by Liquidwolf at 11:43 AM on December 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
100% agree. I know these complaints have been made before by previous generations but whatever that type of stuff is today is total shit.
posted by Liquidwolf at 11:43 AM on December 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Current music is excellent and exciting.
posted by Hermione Dies at 12:00 PM on December 22, 2023 [15 favorites]
posted by Hermione Dies at 12:00 PM on December 22, 2023 [15 favorites]
whatever that type of stuff is today is total shit
There is no "type of stuff" that is today. There is an enormous universe of new music in a wide variety of styles that is very easy to make available online, so sorting through it takes effort and time. If you're just listening to the radio - or Sirius XM - or "hot stuff right now" on Spotify - you're missing out.
posted by grumpybear69 at 12:31 PM on December 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
There is no "type of stuff" that is today. There is an enormous universe of new music in a wide variety of styles that is very easy to make available online, so sorting through it takes effort and time. If you're just listening to the radio - or Sirius XM - or "hot stuff right now" on Spotify - you're missing out.
posted by grumpybear69 at 12:31 PM on December 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
Enshitification is going to be the word of the decade, eh? Doctrow just made that happen and I'm very very impressed.
Tom Friedman labors his whole career trying to coin turns of phrase and see them catch on in the lexicon, and nothing ever takes. Doctorow writes a blog post and boom. If Friedman ever succeeds, it would be so fetch.
posted by ocschwar at 12:50 PM on December 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Tom Friedman labors his whole career trying to coin turns of phrase and see them catch on in the lexicon, and nothing ever takes. Doctorow writes a blog post and boom. If Friedman ever succeeds, it would be so fetch.
posted by ocschwar at 12:50 PM on December 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
There is no "type of stuff" that is today. There is an enormous universe of new music in a wide variety of styles that is very easy to make available online, so sorting through it takes effort and time. If you're just listening to the radio - or Sirius XM - or "hot stuff right now" on Spotify - you're missing out.
Yeah I'm well aware. I don't rely on radio or Spotify to get my music. I was agreeing with what Chuffy posted- that's the "type of stuff" I mean, which is a trend of style on regular mainstream radio today. Not all music.
Of course there's good always music being made out there if you dig for it.
posted by Liquidwolf at 12:53 PM on December 22, 2023
Yeah I'm well aware. I don't rely on radio or Spotify to get my music. I was agreeing with what Chuffy posted- that's the "type of stuff" I mean, which is a trend of style on regular mainstream radio today. Not all music.
Of course there's good always music being made out there if you dig for it.
posted by Liquidwolf at 12:53 PM on December 22, 2023
If Friedman ever succeeds, it would be so fetch.
Unlikely, he's always been streets behind.
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:01 PM on December 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Unlikely, he's always been streets behind.
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:01 PM on December 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
The "today's music sucks" mentality is just survival bias in action. I remember Mambo #5, who let the dogs out, and Limp Bizkit.
posted by cmfletcher at 3:11 PM on December 22, 2023 [17 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 3:11 PM on December 22, 2023 [17 favorites]
Current music is excellent and exciting.
Amazing music is being made today in many genres including pop. But often what gets the most attention and presence (airplay used to be the word) is the least interesting out of what is being created.
posted by ovvl at 4:19 PM on December 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
Amazing music is being made today in many genres including pop. But often what gets the most attention and presence (airplay used to be the word) is the least interesting out of what is being created.
posted by ovvl at 4:19 PM on December 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
But often what gets the most attention and presence (airplay used to be the word) is the least interesting out of what is being created.
This.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 4:29 PM on December 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
This.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 4:29 PM on December 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
That's always been true. If you recall a time when it wasn't, you recall a time when the least interesting music is all you knew about.
posted by destructive cactus at 5:45 PM on December 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by destructive cactus at 5:45 PM on December 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
That's always been true. If you recall a time when it wasn't, you recall a time when the least interesting music is all you knew about.
Back in olden times, AM radio was diverse, those were the days, my friend.
posted by ovvl at 6:57 PM on December 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Back in olden times, AM radio was diverse, those were the days, my friend.
posted by ovvl at 6:57 PM on December 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
The best music service of the early 2020s is Youtube.
posted by bonehead at 7:02 PM on December 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by bonehead at 7:02 PM on December 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Fitting content for exhibition of the worst website trends of 2023.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:15 AM on December 23, 2023
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:15 AM on December 23, 2023
The "today's music sucks" mentality is just survival bias in action. I remember Mambo #5, who let the dogs out, and Limp Bizkit.
Well, there's part of the problem. We've been trying to get everyone in the world to forget those for years, but not everyone will GET WITH THE PROGRAM.
posted by delfin at 3:04 PM on December 23, 2023
Well, there's part of the problem. We've been trying to get everyone in the world to forget those for years, but not everyone will GET WITH THE PROGRAM.
posted by delfin at 3:04 PM on December 23, 2023
not everyone will GET WITH THE PROGRAM.
They may be down with the sickness.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:37 PM on December 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
They may be down with the sickness.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:37 PM on December 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
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