General Most Loved/Hated Music

Big Ron said:
I'm guessing you've taken that 30m figure from Spotify alone - there are also Apple, Deezer, Amazon, Youtube, Tik Tok, Instagram, Bandcamp, Soundcloud and loads of localised streaming services. You can also add physical sales in the specialist genres - look at the likes of Ride who actively out making PAs and signing records last week.

I believe The Reytons also have some decent figures in what is called 'sync' ie putting music in ads, films and TV. The likes of Spotify and iTunes are not wholly reflective of what 'young' people are listening to, it's a broad guide at best but there is so much going on outside that. They are actually struggling to engage with the younger market in terms of subscribing and a whole generation who believe they should have everything for nothing.

I know of acts with minimal streaming figures who can sell 2/3,000 capacity venues on a regular basis and who simply focus on slowly growing and activating their fanbases.
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Also - a) presumably Coldplay have even more streams than Cardi-B or whoever, does that mean the act most popular in the mainstream is the best? and b) who cares what young people are doing?
 
I actually think @MustardYellow makes a good point, in a way.

I reckon I'm a bit older than Mustard (late 20s) but I don't really 'look forward' to new music coming out anymore. I find "grime/trap" music absolutely cringeworthy, and even worse the lifestyle lots of them promote. Kids where I live go around dressed in these weird semi-balaclava things to immitate these "artists". I'm probably all "old man yells at cloud" about it, I know, but the song most popular with the kids around my age these days has the lyrics.

1712671863109.png

It's even cringier when you get kids from the suburbs with middle-class backgrounds doing their 2024 impression of Ali G.

I used to be more into new music, I remember being really excited for AM to come out in 2013, and it really delivered. I used to really like The Rifles, Hard-FI, White Lies, Ian Brown (solo albums), Klaxons, Kooks to name a few off the top of my head.

If me and my friends put some music on to chill in the summer, it's going to be stuff from the past than any current stuff. Whenever I hear music on the main radio stations I cringe at how generic, autotuned, bland, rinse and repeat it is. Obviously, music is so subjective and it's just my opinion, I'm sure I could hunt out some new bands I'm into, I'm just not in the know. I reckon @SteMerritt is correct that guitar musics taken a bit of backseat but maybe one day it will be "cool" again. I do wonder if there's been so many different riffs over the years, making new music that doesn't get you in copyright battles is very difficult?
 
Big Ron said:
I believe The Reytons also have some decent figures in what is called 'sync' ie putting music in ads, films and TV
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This is something that Shed Seven have managed exceptionally well with their new album, I've been hearing tracks all over the place, even being used by the BBC for their snooker coverage.
 
Big Ron said:
I work for a fairly large record and publishing company, albeit mostly catalogue (Kinks, Sabbath, Madness, Super Furries, Supergrass, Ash, etc) with a bit of added Kylie and big US country label, and it's really interesting to see bands like The Reytons who tend to own and release their own records and make most of their money from touring. They don't need companies like mine - they build and work their fanbase and are very cute about it but seem to go under the mainstream radar.

It's the same across the specialist genres - rock, jazz, rap/grime, blues, reggae - there is loads of brilliant new music and acts not signed to the major record labels, hard though it is to make decent money from streaming. If you look at the charts, they tend to be the preserve of Universal, Sony and Warner (the 'majors') and a lot less interesting. I've seen the usual Taylor Swift criticism and I can't pretend to listen to her music but I don't have any problem with her - she writes her own material, is a good live act and knows her market.

I'm no spring chicken, along with many of the posters here, but it's a shame a lot of people here seem to have stopped looking forward at some point (in Mustard Yellow's case when he was about 18!)- there's so much music to be discovered.
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Agree @Big Ron ... you just have to look harder to find it in more recent times. Supporting touring bands touring their first or second single by getting along to live shows in the perennial 'toilet' venues* is one of many ways to do just that.

*fewer around in Oxford these days sadly , but there are still a handful
 
SteMerritt said:
This is something that Shed Seven have managed exceptionally well with their new album, I've been hearing tracks all over the place, even being used by the BBC for their snooker coverage.
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Steve, that's a great example. They have a very loyal fanbase and have managed to engage those people incredibly well - I think the album actually got to number one which was I believe the longest time period between initially charting and eventually topping the sales charts.
 
Wandering Yellow said:
I actually think @MustardYellow makes a good point, in a way.

I reckon I'm a bit older than Mustard (late 20s) but I don't really 'look forward' to new music coming out anymore. I find "grime/trap" music absolutely cringeworthy, and even worse the lifestyle lots of them promote. Kids where I live go around dressed in these weird semi-balaclava things to immitate these "artists". I'm probably all "old man yells at cloud" about it, I know, but the song most popular with the kids around my age these days has the lyrics.

View attachment 18784

It's even cringier when you get kids from the suburbs with middle-class backgrounds doing their 2024 impression of Ali G.

I used to be more into new music, I remember being really excited for AM to come out in 2013, and it really delivered. I used to really like The Rifles, Hard-FI, White Lies, Ian Brown (solo albums), Klaxons, Kooks to name a few off the top of my head.

If me and my friends put some music on to chill in the summer, it's going to be stuff from the past than any current stuff. Whenever I hear music on the main radio stations I cringe at how generic, autotuned, bland, rinse and repeat it is. Obviously, music is so subjective and it's just my opinion, I'm sure I could hunt out some new bands I'm into, I'm just not in the know. I reckon @SteMerritt is correct that guitar musics taken a bit of backseat but maybe one day it will be "cool" again. I do wonder if there's been so many different riffs over the years, making new music that doesn't get you in copyright battles is very difficult?
Click to expand...
In terms of guitar music have you heard Fontaines DC? Quite punky and gritty but with a soulful edge.
 
People who know about these things, is it true it's hard to invent a truly new "riff" these days, because combinations of possible ones are limited?

Our forums beloved Ed Sheeran seems to have got himself into legal disputed quite a bit: https://www.nytimes.com/article/ed-...ched music,had created his song independently.

Loosely, it reminds me of my favourite podcast episode of all time https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/o2h8bx, @SteMerritt if you ever get the chance to listen to this, give it a go, amazing story.
 
werthersoriginal said:
Bit vulgar! But what's the tune like?
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Not my kind of thing :ROFLMAO: Hugely popular song though, especially amongst girls!

There's a whole sexual dance that goes with part of the song which helped with it's popularity. A couple of years ago social media was just full of girls doing it. Silver linings and all 🫣:ROFLMAO:
 
SteMerritt said:
Yeah this is exactly the point. Why it is being suggested that this kind of music is something new is just wide of the mark.
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Lloydie and The Lowbites , Prince Buster and later Judge Dread to a lesser degree ( in the main suggestive as opposed to blatant lyrics most of the time) for example , were releasing 'rude reggae' tracks back in 60s - Im guessing now ( @Big Ron can enlighten) but I believe there's a compilation CD box set titled X rated reggae available currently, with prime examples of that sub genre from way back in the day?

there ain't nothing new , its all recycled and represented innit
 
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SteMerritt said:
If we are recommending newer bands for @Wandering Yellow, then perhaps he should check out October Drift and Oxfords' own Kanadia.
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Thanks Ste and @werthersoriginal, I haven't heard of Fontaines DC but I will give them a listen.

I listened to October Drift, (dont give me a hope), and, no doubt about it, it's a good tune. Probably an age thing, but I haven't heard of a lot of the songs it people's loved lists. Some of them are very good for sure.

Shamefully, I'd never even heard of Ride. I listened to OX4 this morning and enjoyed it!

All of my friends have stopped going to gigs so this is probably why I'm so estranged from new music. Just have my trusty Spotify playlists I go back to time and time again. The main reason I have spotify premium is for my beloved history podcasts.

Trying not to go off topic any more - but @SteMerritt/others, do you still listen to music radio? We had a thread about XFM recently and that's 100% music I would have enjoyed, but has anything replaced it for "alternative/indie" music? I don't listen to the radio at all unless the Ashes is on (the cricket not the Bowie track)
 
Wandering Yellow said:
I actually think @MustardYellow makes a good point, in a way.

I reckon I'm a bit older than Mustard (late 20s) but I don't really 'look forward' to new music coming out anymore. I find "grime/trap" music absolutely cringeworthy, and even worse the lifestyle lots of them promote. Kids where I live go around dressed in these weird semi-balaclava things to immitate these "artists". I'm probably all "old man yells at cloud" about it, I know, but the song most popular with the kids around my age these days has the lyrics.

View attachment 18784

It's even cringier when you get kids from the suburbs with middle-class backgrounds doing their 2024 impression of Ali G.

I used to be more into new music, I remember being really excited for AM to come out in 2013, and it really delivered. I used to really like The Rifles, Hard-FI, White Lies, Ian Brown (solo albums), Klaxons, Kooks to name a few off the top of my head.

If me and my friends put some music on to chill in the summer, it's going to be stuff from the past than any current stuff. Whenever I hear music on the main radio stations I cringe at how generic, autotuned, bland, rinse and repeat it is. Obviously, music is so subjective and it's just my opinion, I'm sure I could hunt out some new bands I'm into, I'm just not in the know. I reckon @SteMerritt is correct that guitar musics taken a bit of backseat but maybe one day it will be "cool" again. I do wonder if there's been so many different riffs over the years, making new music that doesn't get you in copyright battles is very difficult?
Click to expand...

That's the tiktok generation for you, i'm 29 so think it's a bit too old for me, but know of some people my age well into the likes of Central Cee, Digga D + them types, I find that bizarre but each to their own.

DJs are becoming a lot more prominent in the mainstream I'd say and to be fair to them, a lot are producing some great tracks. I saw Fred again in September and it was a great show, with a really mixed aged crowd. Overmono are another good up-and-coming duo, then you still have the likes of Peggy Gou and The Chemical Brothers lighting up british festivals.
 
Wandering Yellow said:
Thanks Ste and @werthersoriginal, I haven't heard of Fontaines DC but I will give them a listen.

I listened to October Drift, (dont give me a hope), and, no doubt about it, it's a good tune. Probably an age thing, but I haven't heard of a lot of the songs it people's loved lists. Some of them are very good for sure.

Shamefully, I'd never even heard of Ride. I listened to OX4 this morning and enjoyed it!

All of my friends have stopped going to gigs so this is probably why I'm so estranged from new music. Just have my trusty Spotify playlists I go back to time and time again. The main reason I have spotify premium is for my beloved history podcasts.

Trying not to go off topic any more - but @SteMerritt/others, do you still listen to music radio? We had a thread about XFM recently and that's 100% music I would have enjoyed, but has anything replaced it for "alternative/indie" music? I don't listen to the radio at all unless the Ashes is on (the cricket not the Bowie track)
Click to expand...
You gotta listen to BBC 6 Music for new indie/alt music. I like Marc Riley and Gideon Coe at 9-11 in evening (tend to listen to it the next day on the Sounds app) but there are different shows with different emphases - some too dancey for me admittedly.
 
SteMerritt said:
How good was their debut album :love: Still play it loads now... Death... To Lose My Life... Fairwell to the Fairground... The Price of Love...

What an LP. Shame they went all electronic afterwards.
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Absolutely awesome, and yet none of their following stuff inspired me which is a shame.

Do you work in music, or just a big fan? I used to think I was really niche liking these kind of bands! Listened to fairwell to the fairground on repeat whilst getting the train up to Stevenage away once, top tune!
 
SteMerritt said:
Yeah this is exactly the point. Why it is being suggested that this kind of music is something new is just wide of the mark.
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And Frankie goes to Hollywood when they released 'Relax' which is overtly sexual, in particular gay sex, as well in a far more 'conservative' time that was 1983:

genius.com

Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Relax

“Relax” is the debut single by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the United Kingdom in 1983. It was written in 1982 after frontman Holly Johnson came up with the basic idea
genius.com genius.com
 
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