What do you hate about modern records?

[MichaelAlan]

Heh...auto tune...now anyone can be a singer. Imagine if Bob dylan or john fogerty had it...

Hmmmm..............Bob's voice has it's shortcomings, but I always thought he could nail the pitch ok. But, to your point, if they had tried to use Autotune with Bob -- what a personality-suck that would have been. We enjoy Bob for his utter uniqueness. Evidently it's that uniqueness that is in short supply these days, eh?

Now, John Fogerty I must take issue with. Not only is he spot on pitch-wise, but he's one of the most soulfull singers we've had. But, perhaps again, to your point -- if it had been available, they might have used Autotune in a kneejerk kind of way, and the results would have been unfortunate, indeed. I wonder how much Autotune is used as a kind of security blanket now when not even necessary?

Guess I should have made my point clearer...

Both singers' style would have been sapped instantly had there been auto-tune at the time. And it would have ben tragic. I think you get me though so I'm not arguing or anything. As for their pitch, It's good, but it's the subtleties of our voices, including small pitch problems, that auto-tune completely erases. And with it, erases the uniqueness and character. As for the security blanket you mentioned, I hear auto tune mainly during harmonies in songs. NO ONE can sing as perfectly as these auto tuned robot-voices are represented on CD today. I think it's mainly used today because the market expects peoples voices to sound this way, so they use it on good singers even though it is unnecessary.

Listen to "someday never comes" by creedence, and you'll notice some pitch probs...but it's still my favorite creedence song.


Has anyone else noticed that all drums sound the same these days. Mainly, they don't even sound like drums. Just smacky..boomy...sounds. That is if you can hear them at all. I hate MTV.


Mike

[takeout]

The "lyrics". And I use the term loosely.

[scarygroover]

Mark my words Auto tune will be the gated snare of the 2000's

And spock-like hipster bowl haircuts will be the mullets of the 2000's

[JASIII]

I hate the imitation "radio voice" vocal sound on records these days.

I hate the way keyboard bass is used lately

I hate the way background vocals in general sound on recent records

[jeddypoo]

The fact that records now sound like a bunch of people playing music in a studio instead of a record. I really dislike the emphasis on making everything pristine and dry and "good".

The lack of interesting drum sounds.

I personally think that there's close (not quite, but close) the same crap/genius ratio in pop music that there's been since about 1970, but at least crap then still had neat production values.

Also, the fact that the digital revolution has made famous millionaires out of talentless club kids with enough pretension to believe that they're "musicians".

Also, Modern R&B. Suck suck suck. Unfortunately that's where the most interesting production goes on these days.[/i]

[radiantbrian]

1. the tendency to make every single sound IN YOUR FUCKIN FACE!!

2. 'mandatory' click tracks

3. 'pumping' on everything, though this ties into number 1 so i guess i'll say..

mesa boogie triple rectifiers

[Rigsby]

Listen to "someday never comes" by creedence, and you'll notice some pitch probs...but it's still my favorite creedence song.

On my list of goodies too, probably just topping that is 'long as i can see the light', and there's no way that 'put a candle in my windowwowowowow...' would have survived autotune. I don't ness think it's wrong, just better without ...that way all vocalists would stand on their strengths and weaknesses and non-audio people could more easily sort the wheat from the chaff.

[JGriffin]

Modern "punk" music that's just pop music plus piercings and tats and marketing, sung in an affected-snottty way. As much bullshit as Ashlee Simpson.

Come to think of it, the Pistols were just marketing, so...all punk, pretty much.

Nah, that ain't true. I like X and LiLiPut.

[YOUR KONG]

Those damn young kids. 19 years old, singing about their broken hearts and society. What the hell do they know?! Especially with the R&B divas - you can just hear that they THINK they know what they're singing about, but the words are so empty and bereft of meaning. There's no meaning behind them, no "soul," if you will.

It doesn't compare to Mahalia Jackson or Aretha Franklin, or someone who has actually LIVED a little and gotten scuffed up (like we all do).

Bah, where's the nurse with my medication...

[chris harris]

"I hate Auto-Tune" is the new "we don't use effects"

[Marcus H.]

It doesn't compare to Mahalia Jackson or Aretha Franklin, or someone who has actually LIVED a little and gotten scuffed up (like we all do).

so true....but wih the advent our friend the visual stimuli device, it's easy to see how/why the transition happened.

I wonder what people used to imagine artists looked like, before there was a time when everyone knew what "everyone" looked like.

[MichaelAlan]

Word. That's agood point. All the punk groups that were underground when I was in highscool, who have now made guest appearences, music videos, or otherwise appeared on TV look nothing like I pictured. I like when you don't know what the artist looks like. I didn't know what Maynard James Keenan looked like for like 6 years.

Not that I'm into Slipknot, Mudvayne or Mushroomhead....by the way. I hate MTV.

[V W]

How would one achieve a "modern sound" that is contemporary, but also does not become dated? I find the records that stay with me most are those that do not have a dated sound. At least I think that .. maybe it is not true.

I don't hate any one particular method or sound or autotune. Maybe though what I hate is when production overtakes the actual song content.

A great song shines through and usually doesn't need much in the way of production, a great song produces itself. Same for a truly great singer.

So why do we (we as in audience) allow the "hated techniques" to be broadcast? Why can't we be mad as hell and not take it anymore?

Are any of the techniques that people have listed above really that bad? Or is it an accumulation ?

[V W]

I keep looking and waiting for a new record that is " fun "

Sure, I love the deep emotion and the seriousness of the weight of the world that is on the shoulders of everyone. On the other hand, fluff is fluff.

But I keep waiting for a record that is " fun " and has some variety.

The last fun record I can think of . . . . was . . um, . . . well it was .. wait, I'm sure the last fun record I heard was . . . well, maybe Summerteeth by Wilco. That was a fun record. So was Madonna's Ray of Light. That was a fun record. And maybe one by Cheryl Crow.

No, they ain't gonna win no awards, but they were fun.
Is it wrong to produce a fun-sounding record ?

[JASIII]

Good point. I would add that the Polyphonic Spree albums are "fun" albums IMO