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just sat listening the Elvis Costello This years model album. simply fantastic.
but what a 10 year for great music. some cracking memories brought back by music.
for me, absolutely yes, the sounds of my formative years...
I quite like the mid to late nineties too.
The best years for a certain type of music. Too much good stuff still to come from other styles and genres.
The Jam and The Clash stand out. But my main going out years were the early 90s, so rave and Roses.
Nope. Missed by at least 6yrs. See other thread.
Ah, The Rezillos.
Great for the variety. Punk, new wave, two tone, early electronica etc. Count myself lucky to have those as my formative years.
First single I bought was Gangsters by the Specials. Doesn't get much better than that
Formative years for me and a great variety of music and a lot of innovation. However if you look at the charts for that era there was a lot of dross as well
I started with metal and rock in the mid 70s, found the clash and that led me to reggae. twotone blew me away. Then got into soul
Next time of a real change was the rave generation - now that was also transformative
Here is a chart from when I was 17!
https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19780305/7501/
No such thing as a best time for music - if you lost your passion for discovering new stuff back in the mid 80s, that's pretty sad, but there is just more and more new stuff coming out all the time. There's no mainstream, like there was back then, the depth and breadth of music available now is incredible, but you have to do your own discovering. Plus, all the old stuff is still there, so now we've got that and billions of other things, so how could it have been "better"??
Although the 80's should be my era I think earlier. Once computers became a thing in music that freed non-musical instrument players to create music I think most music wasn't as good.
I think musicians that can play instruments make better music - and therefore the earlier stuff tends to be better IMO.
80's was the end of mass-awesome and the beginning of encroaching chod.
Not to say nobody has done anything brilliant since - they clearly have. But the best years for music were before we put creation in the hands of people who hadn't earned their chops on an instrument.
AI will no doubt create amazing music, no humans involved. And most people won't care whilst the record labels will rake it in because they won't have to pay actual artists any more.
Live music is where it's at nowadays IMO. Seeing actual people in actual bands playing actual music still is the best 🙂
Chevy - Daft punk random access memories?
Great music comes from the great associations it has. First disco/concert you went to, first boy/girl you kissed, university if you went, first car stereo, things you did with your partner, kids arrive etc.
I can't put start or end dates on "best years". Some great music was being made before I was born and it still is today.
Not to say nobody has done anything brilliant since – they clearly have.
@edukator:
Great music comes from the great associations it has
Not for me at all actually. I don't really associate any music with any particular period of my life. I like music that I like for no other reason than it's musical asthetics tbh.
At any given time there will be loads of great music around and even more utter dross. It has always been thus.
I think your taste is (unsurprisingly) coloured by the soundtrack to your ‘best’ years. I was 18 and living in Manchester when the whole Madchester then acid house scene exploded.
Looking back now, musically I won the bloody lottery! Talk about right place, right time! The gigs, clubs and warehouse parties we went to at one of the most creative periods of music ever were unreal. There was so much going on, we seemed to be at one or the other every night
I can fully understand why other people feel completely the same about other periods
I still love discovering new stuff. Having teenage daughters who are really into their new music helps immensely on this score
I kind of agree with Ed but also not - absolutely on the association and memories but some of the music that stirs my greatest memories is by bands that can barely play in the grand scheme of things, so whether it can really be described as great music. IDK.
But does also mean that I disagree with Chevy, you don't have to be a musical maestro to make hugely important, relevant and memorable music. There's a busker in my local high street, by most standards he's an amazing player of guitar but I can only assume he's barely had a creative idea in his life, hence why he's playing other people's songs for coins in a hat.
Fair enough chevy - sorry!
But does also mean that I disagree with Chevy, you don’t have to be a musical maestro to make hugely important, relevant and memorable music
I remember seeing Derek May interviewed about people now playing his Chicago house classics with full orchestras and he said that that was the way him and his contemporaries always wanted to do it in the first place. They couldn’t obviously, because they were skint, living in the Chicago projects and barely able to afford an 808 and a four track
He’s hugely influential, but certainly no musical maestro in the traditional sense. I don’t think you can dismiss such huge creativity and invention
I have music I love because of the associations with it - and music that was important to me in my formative years that I now find unlistenable. I also have music that I love just because I love it
I also discover new music allthe time. I recently met up with an old pal that I used to go to gigs with back in the 70s. He introduced me to some new music now!
I listen to a huge range of music - I hardly watch telly and have music on most of the time.
this is the latest strand of music I have found - my pal Jim led me to it. A sort of fusion of trad scottish music and dance! Or something. Ive only listened to a bit. they even have a cover of cafe del mar!
Seeing Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson at clubs in London in the early 90s were probably the best live music experiences I've had.
Technical ability and creativity are not and have never been the same thing. There's plenty of absolute wizards shredding away in their bedrooms (and now on Instagram and YouTube) who can do literally anything to a guitar or bass or piano or whatever. They're never going to make any music that anyone wants to listen to for fun.
Pretending music can only be made by people who can do blistering, irritating noodling is just snobby gatekeeping.
without stuff like this, the 90's would have been a take that / boyzone / westlife reach round.
stuff like this created the 90's............... ;o)
It's largely down to your age isn't it? For me it would be 1966 to 1976 (ish). That's not to say there isn't brilliant music from before and after that period.
'73 was the peak year. 76 was when it all started going to shit.
for new stuff, and rediscovering old stuff, I find Spotify brilliant, I came across Niteworks too but it was something bikepacking related, a blog or YouTube vid that included it and so I checked it out. I guess that's something easily done now that we didn't have back in the day...
Here is a chart from when I was 17!
Some great stuff in there - but also Rod Stewart and the Nottingham Forest squad...
73 was the peak year. 76 was when it all started going to shit.
Not a rap fan?
Careful. TJ very much models himself on Rod, particularly the hair and the tight leopardskin pants during his ‘do you think I’m sexy’ phase
They also share the same love of football and both have a full size pitch in the grounds of their stately homes
’73 was the peak year. 76 was when it all started going to shit.
76? the song of the summer that year was "boys are back in town" a classic of british rock
And the year Hotel California was released, Songs in the key of life...
But also the Bay City Rollers were quite big.
Nah I can go back to folk songs hundreds of years old or really raw live rhythm and blues trip-hop Americana JuJu music and forward to something new I might hear in 5 years time or in the next 5 minutes.
The best years for music are from puberty to university-leaving age.
If that theory I've literally just made up on the spot is true, I'm guessing the OP is about 60?
The best years for music are from puberty to university-leaving age.
Yep, that is how it works. When you are new to a lot of it with a big appetite and listened to and enjoyed it the most. I am 55 so 1978 to 1990 was good for me (indie stuff rather than pop stuff - John Peel every night).
People tend to then get stuck on music of that period and music before and after is all rubbish.
Puberty to leaving Uni you say… Hmmmm. I more or less agree that this time period formed a large part of my music exposure, but it’s only early rave, EDM and, more specifically Prodigy, that steered me into what I continue to turn to now.
I’m not denying bands like The Stranglers, Pink Floyd, Queen or Madness their rightful (and continued) places in my listening, but EDM is number one on speed dial for me, and all that started with a mix tape in ‘92 and then came in a wave in ‘99.
There’s a busker in my local high street, by most standards he’s an amazing player of guitar but I can only assume he’s barely had a creative idea in his life, hence why he’s playing other people’s songs for coins in a hat.
He might have a fantastic repetoire of his own songs but knows that doing covers brings in the cash. I never play my own songs when I "busk". It's not really busking because there's no hat and I don't take money. However I've written the lyrics to all but two of the songs in the bands current set list and we do zero covers. The melodies are more collective and thankfully we're not famous like Ed Sheran because someone somewhere on the planet has no doubt done something similar before - it's generic ska, reggae, rap, rock, funk... .
Those years were pretty influential for me too. Probably the biggest influence was TOTP, there were so few outlets for music back then, TOTP, Old Grey Whistle test and John Peel.
Although music fans were really, really tribal back then, everyone got to listen to the other tribes stuff as well.
People tend to then get stuck on music of that period and music before and after is all rubbish.
I was listening to Mozart piano concerti on my commute this morning, so that makes me 250 (ish) years old. That's how it works; right?
without stuff like this, the 90’s would have been a take that / boyzone / westlife reach round.
stuff like this created the 90’s…………… ;o)
The 1990s were amazing for music in spite of the rehashed Britpop shit that I think you're referring to.
So much creativity in dance music chiefly, but also shoegaze, trip-hop, indie - and I suppose there was grunge as well, if you like that sort of thing.
But as above, the "best" is always gonna be subjective. As far as guitar-based rock goes, The Stooges had already split by 1976 and they will always be the best IMO.
😀
“1
sharkattack
Full Member
Technical ability and creativity are not and have never been the same thing. There’s plenty of absolute wizards shredding away in their bedrooms (and now on Instagram and YouTube) who can do literally anything to a guitar or bass or piano or whatever. They’re never going to make any music that anyone wants to listen to for fun.
Pretending music can only be made by people who can do blistering, irritating noodling is just snobby gatekeeping.
Posted 14 hours ago”
Technical ability has never been to the detriment of radio 3.
As an aspiring musician, I enjoy listening to the bedroom shredders.
Besides being fun, it’s an incentive to keep practicing.
Is 85k views sufficiently popular?
As regards whether 76-85 were the best years musically?
I’d say that 88-92 were the most diverse.
It seems that we got explosive periods of psychedelic breakthrough mid-60’s and 88-92, followed by lengthy periods of stagnation, including the fetishisation of boy bands: David Cassidy, boyzone, etc.
By 1976, we were starting to claw our way out of the morass, but it wasn’t particularly varied, at least as it was communicated through the mainstream media.
How this fits in with Terence McKenna’s concept of ‘novelty’ is yet to be explored.
(As an aside, I did notice that during the 2018 World Cup, a period of peak ‘novelty’, France were the only team to maintain any consistent results. Everyone else was all over the shop. It was a proper lottery).
Some of the musicians on radio3 are nearly as competent as the likes of Dave Mustaine😝😝😝
I was listening to Mozart piano concerti on my commute this morning, so that makes me 250 (ish) years old. That’s how it works; right?
So you missed the "tend do". That Mozart stuff not doing much for your comprehension skills 🙂
As an aspiring musician, I enjoy listening to the bedroom shredders.
Besides being fun, it’s an incentive to keep practicing.Is 85k views sufficiently popular?
Are we talking about writing and recording enjoyable music or just showing off for the clicks?
I also play an instrument and have watched a lot of session players and bedroom shredders but it's certainly not what I queue up on Spotify or in the car.
The 90’s for myself are the best due to clubs/raves/big shindigs in the Galloway forest and good drugs, easy money and living week to week/party to party, excellent bands and being in my 20’s throughout the entire decade.
A great time for all kinds of Reggae.
Aye - the variety of Music in those years. Reggae had been around and Marley brought it closer to the mainstream but the Clash liked reggae so reggae became cool for the rest of us.
We had the end of the real heavy metal / prog rock era and the rise of punk ,new wave,new romantics and then two tone - the 2nd era of Ska
Music became political with a bite but you could still dance to it with twotone
Disco still chugged along in the background and metamorphosed into house leading to the rave generation
Every era builds on what went before but the pace of change and the variety of those years was something special
He might have a fantastic repetoire of his own songs but knows that doing covers brings in the cash.
Yes, I was being provocative and a little unfair probably but it was to address the point espoused elsewhere that unless they've "earned their chops on an instrument." then their music has no merit. Plenty of people have 'earned their chops' but for whatever reason aren't producing music that anyone else really wants to listen to. Just as there are those that can in comparison barely play but are selling out venues all over the world, or are effectively computer programmers, but are producing music that sells (or streams) by the bucketload.
And for sure I know there's more than ability and creativity that determines who makes it or not....
On Joy Division,
Is it just me that thinks Curtis was a weary singer? He's good when he gets going, the end of Transmission there is great. But most of the time he sounds like Bob Dylan on a 45 set to 33.
In a fast German car
I'm amazed that i survived
An airbag saved my life
I was born in 1954, the first piece of music I recall hearing on the radio was ‘Freight Train’, by Nancy Whiskey. It was released in 1957.
Every year from around 1960 until the present has been a great year for music, because every year brings something new and exciting.
If I downloaded everything in my Music library on my phone, I’d probably cause the phone to lock up, it’s a 1Tb phone with around 60,000 tracks, currently showing the music at 559.25 Gb, so I’m hoping the next version will have 2Tb of storage. Especially as I’ve now got Apple Music Classical, and those are bigger files.
Went to a wonderful gig Tuesday night, Gemma Hayes, who I last saw eight years ago, to our mutual surprise chatting afterwards, it didn’t seem even half that, and also discovered a great new singer/songwriter as support, Natalie Holmes, formerly from Bristol, now living In Stroud. Terrific voice, she wrote, recorded and produced her current album, with help from people from as far away as Canada, designed the album artwork, and put together a hardback lyric book with illustrations by herself.
There’s always something new to discover.
And my time is a piece of wax
Falling on a termite,
That's choking on the splinters
Every year from around 1960 until the present has been a great year for music, because every year brings something new and exciting.
Is probably the right answer, though you could start earlier than 1960. Much earlier.
Should be the 90’s for me but that’s just where it started. Loved the Seattle scene which lead me to Neil Young, Creedence, Dead Kennedys, Traffic, Jimi Hendrix etc. That opened up punk, Sabbath (just the early stuff) and that snowballed in to stoner rock with Kyuss, Clutch, Fu Manchu and the whole desert rock thing.
The Beastie Boys and RATM took me to J5, Public Enemy, The Coup, Ugly Duckling and Cypress Hill. That, in turn, introduced me to Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, Funkadelic, Rufus Thomas and Otis Redding.
Growing up listening to my mum sing along to Dolly Parton and Tammy gave me Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Colter Wall and Tyler Childers.
Somewhere along the way it all just became good music and now there’s just too much to listen to. Young Fathers are my current band of choice and I highly recommend them.
Music is my first love and for me yes that period in time was a catalyst for me. It became a life long education!
Until around 79 I'd just watch TOP on a Thursday night with my mum with not much interest in anything that was on it. The odd band on the show peaked my interest, but there was very little that dragged me away from riding my bmx and hanging with my mates.
A few years later my best mate's sister who is 5 years older than us had returned home from her first year at Uni, along with her record box. Going through that box set me on a never ending road of discovery, from that point onwards you'd often find me in the music library hunting out stuff that I'd heard on the John Peel show or read about in the NME. All the bands would be name checking stuff right back to the 50s.
I just love music, old and new
some more proof my theory is correct.
so underrated and a brilliant band.
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=xx37AWqSPU0
If you asked me a couple of years ago I would have said the 88/89 acid house arrival followed by the 90's dance music creativity was absolutely the best period in music.
However I've recently got right back into the house/dance music thing and to be honest some of the latest stuff, if you know where to look, is incredible. Playing some of my old favourites now they seem quite dated. I still love them but I think a lot of the appeal is pure nostalgia.
For any dance music fans try Jump into the Fire (tokyo fan club remix) by Come Closer.
On a loud system obviously!