Where have all the good songwriters and songs gone?

I think that the people who can actually write great songs through their life experiences and emotions just can not get into the record industry anymore. The record industry looks for easily marketable, ready made songs from well known writers, meaning everything ends up sounding the same (to an extent). I have heard some of the best tunes and lyrics from small completely unknown bands playing in local, small venues however it is such a big step to get your song out there and seen above all the pre-structured, impersonal rubbish that is out there. Try listening to local bands, I have no idea what they will be like in your area but the songs are usually original. the problem then occurs is that the instrumental skill and ability of sound technicians dont tend to be so good so the actual music quality doesnt usually match to the song writing ability. These kind of singer/songwriters seem to always want to be the ones on stage, I think more people should be encouraged to write their music and not worry so much about the patent protection etc, only alowing themselves to play their own songs. When the songwriting talent matches the performing talent is when songs go massive. most people I have seen perform cant do both well. Its one or the other and sadly most people will strive to be the one on stage even if it is not necessarily their forté.
I will always listen to certain albums, to me I find it hard to think of anyone being able to write albums better than bob marley -Legend, Van Morrison – Moondance and Bonnie Raitt -Road tested.
but maybe im wrong and just not listening out hard enough.

I think what you’re complaining about is what I call “consumer music”.

Music is now a huge business, raking in more cash than I can fathom, but they’re not selling music – they’re selling a sexy pop star, the fantasy that goes with him/her, the perceived lifestyle one can attain if only they could get there themselves, not to mention the merchandise, etc. This “Consumer music” has a melody written by one person, accompaniment by another, lyrics by another, then the pop star records it, and a slew of other people work diligently to make that non-musical pop star sound like they have some talent beyond perpetuating a myth.

There is plenty of good music out there. Unfortunately you have to turn off your radio to find it.

They still exist. They just aren’t “popular” anymore.

we got the BOOM BOOM POW these days. @seek kolinahr is exactly right. It’s about the rock star, Beyonce, JLO

BTW, I love Black Eyed Peas

Bongo, you are “the man”. an excellent answer. john

Seek, also a great answer. i see your point of the focusing being on the “star” and not actually the song they are singing. never thought of it this way. i know you are correct, but that does not mean we have to like it, right? your other point was a five-star answer, concerning turn off the radio and dig out the music we really would like to hear. very good.

Check this, and this, and this! You will not hear this on the radio, but he’s worth searching for.

I am not a fan of Shania Twain. if you listen carefully to her singing, you will discover that she cannot sing. Shania Twain is all about focusing on her and not her singing. if you listen carefully, the background music attempts to coverup her off-key singing. Seek. good point.

Trillian, i listened, i learned, i agree.

@john65pennington

I tend to take it even further. I won’t support bands that use guitar riffs that come from underground music. I laughed with glee when a court awarded a nobody musician $60 million for the song that was stolen from him without permission and recorded by The Offspring. It should happen much more often than that. Nothing makes me more mad when bands like “Lamb of God” gain more renown for the music they didn’t write than the people who did the real work.

I love the music of Van Morrison. i am sorry he is not still around to give us more of his style of singing. now, this is one person that could really sing and you find yourself listening to every word he is singing. this is what i am talking about. a song that you really get into, because of the effects the song has on you.

@john65pennington I tried to find a link for Into the Mystic, and all I could find were covers. All-time best VM song, IMO!

@john65pennington Thankyou! Van Morrison is around, I saw him on St. Patricks Day a few years ago playing at the Birmingham Symphony Hall. Hes releasing an album soon i hear but i think its just a live cd of his old tracks. I think he plays more around Europe mind.
@Trillian Into the mystic is my favourite song of all time. its not worth searching for it it is definately worth buying the album moondance. it is a must-have for everyone.

I don’t know but I wish they’d make a comeback. The “music’ of today is lot of loud noise with one lone repetitive sentence.

Honestly, popular music (this term is used to distinguish between other genres such as jazz or orchestral and not in terms of the music being well-known or well-liked) is made by youngish people for other youngish people. If you did not grow up in the rock era, there are very few people writing music to fit your taste. If you grew up in the rock era, and are one of those people who never bothered to listen to music past the 70’s, you don’t even know modern popular music, from which all subsequent music derives. Musicians are now influenced by Radiohead and Jack White not the Beatles and Dylan.

Music is the best it’s been in decades. The “oughties” might even have better music than the 60’s.

Sorry to say, but maybe you just don’t get it.

I love music and I have ever evolving tastes. I listen to great music all the time, and I’m a little oldish myself.

I’m 24. I was born five days before the beginning of 1986. The music that’s being made now is being made for my age group.

It sucks.

If you have to run our voice through 47 filters, and hire someone to write songs for you, you’re not a talented musician and not worth my time.

Also…

Dear Country Music star whose name I can’t remember at the moment:
I attended your concert with my younger sister, and I have one piece of advice. If you’re going to pretend to play a guitar on stage, you might want to have someone show you what a chord looks like, and just for realism’s sake – plug it into something.

@Seek_Kolinahr You said there was good music out today. Did I miss something?

@Seek_Kolinahr How funny. I don’t even have anything to say to that, but my son references some girl all the time,ah Simpson! Her name is Something Simpson who apparently was lip synch-ing and the record skipped and she did some dance sideways off the stage. One would think that the roadies or someone would prepare for these little anomalies…

There is. It’s not popular music.

Loreena McKennitt, for example. I would never – ever – have been exposed to her if I hadn’t traded my Rent soundtrack for a stack of CDs to a kid in high school. She is my absolute favourite musician. She plays harp, piano, accordion, etc., sings, writes her own music, and employs musicians that play everything from the electric guitar to bagpipes to the Hurdy-Gurdy to get a unique sound.

@Trillian Ashlee Simpson. Ah, yes. Pulled a total Milli Vanilli, that one. I heard the same thing happened to Abba once. Can anyone confirm that?

I know her music. I liked it a lot when I was in my early 20’s. Her music is more popular than you think. Many movies have used her music in their soundtracks.

I don’t think that the all the noteworthy singer/songwriters are gone. I couple that come to my mind would be:

Michael Buble delivers many classics and ballads with an incredible talent, and he is also a songwriter. See here , here and here

Sebastian Pigott sings a song co-written by himself and his brother for a Canadian television series, Being Erica, here .

Interesting that both of these artists are Canadian.

Up on Cripple Creek?
Under The Boardwalk?
South Of The Border?

There is a ton of good music out today, in my opinion, but you won’t hear any of it on the radio and it would not be classified into the same genre as King Harvest and bands like that. I love oldies and classic rock and 80s music too but if you’re looking for something that sounds like that, I haven’t heard anything recently. But that doesn’t mean there’s no good music. In fact there are loads and loads of it! Find just ONE you like and put on a Pandora station. I bet you’ll find about 10 more by the time the day is over :)