The future of music

[BonsaiK]

The question is though, will future music be mainstream?

Depends what you mean by "future music". The way I look at it, any music made in the future is "future music" regardless of sonic content.

Touché. Technically, that means all possible kinds of music will eventually come into being, and that is true. When I'm talking about 'future music' I'm thinking about what will A) become mainstream/the next big thing, B) happen to current bands ("will they turn into modern versions of Mozart?"-example) and C) what kind of new styles do you think will be popping up within 100, say 500 years.

a. Country and metal will get together and do very well. Soul music and soul-flavoured R&B will get big. 1950s rock and also swing from before the rock era will be reappropriated into modern styles. Post-rock will become massive beyond what it is now. "Nerdcore" rap will become completely mainstream.

b. The Beatles is currently studied at University in much the same way Mozart is, I know this because I did courses on both when I was a Uni student doing my music degree. Rap will be the next musical form to be seriously studied, because unlike rock, metal, pop, country etc it functions using different sets of rules to both classical and modernist principles. Expect to see serious academic works emerging on what constitutes good "rap flow" both lyrically and in terms of meter, and the words of MCs with superior flow picked apart and analysed completely. Also the work of The Bomb Squad, Dr. Dre and other big producers will be put under the musical microscope. On the other hand metal will continue to be completely ignored by academia simply because the same harmonic and structural rules that govern heavy metal also govern classical music so there's no need to study both, and there's already mountains of text on classical music.

c. This depends on how society changes. Forecasting more than a couple decades ahead is virtually impossible. In the very long term, the reaction to climate concerns and issues to do with planetary resource management (fossil fuels and plastic being inevitably replaced with other energy and fabrication sources, for example) will change everything about how we live, mostly for the better, and this includes how music is created. However, there will still be music, and there will still be a music industry, and it will probably function a lot better than it does now. Our grandchildren will be listening to some amazing stuff, although we'll probably hate it and whine about it like the old farts that we'll be.

Most music sub-genres don't actually exist in any meaningful way. They certainly don't exist on any ethnomusicological level, which is the real test of any genre's validity. Most of this stuff is just made up by overenthusiastic fans of their little "pet style". Bottom-line - if you don't see it filed that way in a music store, it's probably not a real sub-genre.

I'm either mistaking your post, or I think you're wrong. As I see it, a (sub-)genre is a 'label' given to a specific band. You can't say "that genre doesn't exist". If there is a band that I call that way, the genre obviously does exist (because I'm using it). Hence my reply to cleverlymadeup; I've seen plenty of people whine about the fact that for example Finntroll is called "Trollmetal". They scream and cuss saying that it's actually Vikingmetal>Folkmetal. While that's true, shouting about it is completely pointless. Finntroll is named Trollmetal because it does a better job at distinguishing the band from Vikingmetal while still retaining obvious ties to it. Simply said, it's a better way of describing what Finntroll is rather than just saying "Finntroll is Folkmetal" (or even "Finntroll is metal") - which doesn't give you any information at all but just throws it on a massive heap of other bands.

I don't know what trollmetal is though, so the term means nothing to me and is useless as a genre label. The function of genres isn't to prove to the world how unique and special your favourite band is. The purpose of genres in the real world of music industry, music academia and music fans is to categorise music so it can be grouped together for the purposes of selling it, writing about it, discussing it etc. You can call something "teletubbies metal" if you really want but if there isn't a broad understand of what the hell you're on about then you're wasting everyone's time. Of course bands LOVE to say "oh we're pirate metal" or whatever because it makes them feel all cozy and special and "look we've just invented a new genre, aren't we good, please buy our album" but those bands have not done anyrthing of the sort - in the case of pirate metal they're just combining heavy metal and folk music and being a little bit cartoony about it...

 

[Urgh76]

well, it's basically like the evolution of man and the fashion changes also, over time people's likes and dislikes change. For example, isn't there at least one food that you liked as a kid but hate now?

 

[Erja_Perttu]

Whilst I think the style of music that is popular might change, I think that mainstream music will always be simple and base, too appeal to a mass market, and make more profit.

However, as long as random underground performers and classical music are still around, I know there'll be something I like.

 

[IckleMissMayhem]

It will be motion controlled

Theremins all the way!

Coolest. Instrument. EVER!!!

 

[Lord George]

I'm pretty sure postmodernist punk is the next big thing.

Any type of punk, postmodern or otherwise, is dead commercially and will definitely not be the "next big thing". As a music industry insider I can tell you first-hand that labels aren't caring about new punk bands of any kind. Even hybrids of punk and other styles aren't doing that well. It's all as unpopular right now as glam metal was in 1995. If you're starting or thinking of starting a new punk band in the next ten years my advice is that you should go for it if that's what turns you on, but I hope you're happy with just playing to your friends and people in other bands.

Punk was never meant to be commercial in the first place, but I find in my area Postmodernist Punk is getting quite popular especially with the recession and our government going to shit alongside many people not wanting to hear pop or punk going on about how rich/fabulous life is. Alongside Indie its becoming a brilliant way for people to express themselves. I also hear its gaining prominence in the middle east in countries like Argentina which could lead it coming back over here with some new styles and influences. It might not sell but its becoming more popular and emerging more from the underground scene which is cool and hopefully this time it won't get suffocated and killed by labels and America .

 

[O277]

More like the past. Merzbow has at least 50 albums that sound more of less like that, but he obviously got bored and has gotten a litte more melodic these days (at least by his standards). White-noise is almost kind of 'retro' now.

Sir you win +10 points for this reference.

 

[ThePantomimeThief]

What interests me the most is how the music industry is going to change alongside technological advancements. For instance, piracy and leaking of material seems to be a huge issue for both labels and artists. Most bands don't make the most of their money from record sales but from continuous touring. Will most bands put their record up for download and stay away from label influence entirely?

In terms of music: I'd like to see industrial and postrock change a little bit, interbreed and come up with some crazy, experimental shit. It will be cult following at best but I'd like to see people taking a risk with their music and I see them as the two places most likely to push out.

 

[Mozared]

I don't know what trollmetal is though, so the term means nothing to me and is useless as a genre label. The function of genres isn't to prove to the world how unique and special your favourite band is. The purpose of genres in the real world of music industry, music academia and music fans is to categorise music so it can be grouped together for the purposes of selling it, writing about it, discussing it etc. You can call something "teletubbies metal" if you really want but if there isn't a broad understand of what the hell you're on about then you're wasting everyone's time. Of course bands LOVE to say "oh we're pirate metal" or whatever because it makes them feel all cozy and special and "look we've just invented a new genre, aren't we good, please buy our album" but those bands have not done anyrthing of the sort - in the case of pirate metal they're just combining heavy metal and folk music and being a little bit cartoony about it...

Trollmetal is just what is says; metal about trolls. The purpose you're giving labels here is already filled by the word "metal" in the genre. And in this case it's not about bands trying to make themselves look unique, but me (and others) using the new label to give a more clear indication of what the band's about.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

if you want to see some real Avantgarde bands then check out stuff like :Zoviet France:, Die Form, Fantomas, Coil, Merbow, Mr Bungle or Hemophiliac

for the most part stuff like Avantgarde is a very misunderstood term and i think that people abuse it too much in order to sound cool and edgy

Am I right in what I posted about Avant-garde, though? If not, will you enlighten me? Regardless of whether I was or not, it doesn't change the topic of discussion, but if you think Avant-garde means something different than I do I'd love to hear it.

On a sidenote, Mr. Bungle and Fantômas are actually mentioned in the 'list of notable avant-garde metal artists' on wikipedia, which is where I got my information and bands in the opening post from.

well for Mr Bungle, calling them metal is VERY wrong, they are one of the few that really defy a musical classification, so they get put in Avant-garde for that reason. if you really had to boil it down, they'd get put in the Experimental Jazz but Avant-garde fits just as well.

i think i'd put them more in the progressive side of it and most of them in the progressive side. for Dillinger Escape Plan, i think someone heard their cd with Mike Patton and thought that's what they sounded like. the Fantomas if anything would be an Avant-garde metal band, they are a bit hard to classify from time to time but if anything they'd be that, i actually call them heavy metal scat.

to put it this way, you should actually translate what Avant-garde, it is the french word for "vanguard" which is the front line of soldiers. however in this meaning it's something on the forefront of the genre, ie trying something new, different and interesting. so really the Fantomas would fit into that type of classification.

the issue is that a lot of people don't have a very broad listening pool of music. i'm one of those odd people who listens to most anything and has a cd collection that on random can go from Miles Davis to Skinny Puppy to Cannibal Corpse to Bob Marley to something totally different. i've got a cd collection that makes people think i'm a dj and music stores enjoy when i walk into the store, one finds it odd if i spend under $100 when i visit but really i just love music and all it's variations. the funnier part is as i get older i find my tastes getting more varied and wider.

 

[Emperor Inferno]

In a hundred years, music won't even exist anymore.

 

[Raven's Nest]

In my opinion, there's only so many revivals we can handle, Punk doesn't need to come back at all. Boybands looked like they might for a while but thankfully not. I think they'll be lots of "ethnic" music to come. More eastern european styles will creep into mainstream pop.

I need to note here that something like punk will never die, though. Punk is the sound of someone spitting in the face of his alledged "superior". I think people will always want the raw noise of protest, no matter how much music changes. Maybe in the future instead of overdriven electric guitars we'll have overfluxed hypocapacitators, but noise in protest won't ever vanish. It might go more underground if our society changes for the better (which I'm thinking and hoping it will), but it won't die out. Whether it'll come back as heavy as in the ~80's is another question though.

Oh I've got no problem with the philosophy of punk. Just the noise it makes, and possibly all the crap you hear that is claiming to be punk. That and I never like the sex pistols the first time round. I don't need to hear it all again... Stick it to the man by all means, just do it quietly...

 

[ethaninja]

Thats so weird, I'm listening to Dream Theater just now =D

Heh, I'm listening to "A Change of Seasons" right now =D

OT: I think that mainstream music might change, but there willl always be music for everyone.

Lets hope so because I hate mainstream music. Which brings up another question? Is everyone turning into techno heads these days?

 

[BonsaiK]

More like the past. Merzbow has at least 50 albums that sound more of less like that, but he obviously got bored and has gotten a litte more melodic these days (at least by his standards). White-noise is almost kind of 'retro' now.

Sir you win +10 points for this reference.

Oh cheers. Where can I spend my points and cash them in for something useful?

I don't know what trollmetal is though, so the term means nothing to me and is useless as a genre label. The function of genres isn't to prove to the world how unique and special your favourite band is. The purpose of genres in the real world of music industry, music academia and music fans is to categorise music so it can be grouped together for the purposes of selling it, writing about it, discussing it etc. You can call something "teletubbies metal" if you really want but if there isn't a broad understand of what the hell you're on about then you're wasting everyone's time. Of course bands LOVE to say "oh we're pirate metal" or whatever because it makes them feel all cozy and special and "look we've just invented a new genre, aren't we good, please buy our album" but those bands have not done anyrthing of the sort - in the case of pirate metal they're just combining heavy metal and folk music and being a little bit cartoony about it...

Trollmetal is just what is says; metal about trolls. The purpose you're giving labels here is already filled by the word "metal" in the genre. And in this case it's not about bands trying to make themselves look unique, but me (and others) using the new label to give a more clear indication of what the band's about.

Using subgenres based on lyrical content is just plain silly. Do we call pop music "love pop" when pop musicians tend to solely write songs about love?

 

[Mozared]

Using subgenres based on lyrical content is just plain silly. Do we call pop music "love pop" when pop musicians tend to solely write songs about love?

Well, first of all, in Finntroll's case it's not solely about the lyrics. It's the whole philosophy behind their bands - that they're Trolls making music. Aside from that, what's silly about calling the beast by it's name? If there's a pop artist who solely writes songs about love, then calling his genre "lovepop" to me will give me a pretty good idea about what kind of music it is, even if I've never heard about the artist before. If I'd hate pop music but be really into songs about love, then calling the band in question "pop" would mean I'd be a lot less likely to discover it while calling it "lovepop" activates a small alarm in my head.

 

[iamthehorde]

listen to animal collective. they are on the next level shit.

what he said

wow. thread´s officially over now i guess...

 

[BonsaiK]

Using subgenres based on lyrical content is just plain silly. Do we call pop music "love pop" when pop musicians tend to solely write songs about love?

Well, first of all, in Finntroll's case it's not solely about the lyrics. It's the whole philosophy behind their bands - that they're Trolls making music. Aside from that, what's silly about calling the beast by it's name? If there's a pop artist who solely writes songs about love, then calling his genre "lovepop" to me will give me a pretty good idea about what kind of music it is, even if I've never heard about the artist before. If I'd hate pop music but be really into songs about love, then calling the band in question "pop" would mean I'd be a lot less likely to discover it while calling it "lovepop" activates a small alarm in my head.

It's still meaningless as a genre term. If that pop artist who sings about love writes a song about, say, having a party, are they now "party pop"? Have they "changed genres"? If Britney Spears' new album has five songs about love, three about sex, two about partying and one about the environment, is she "genre mixing"? Of course she bloody isn't. It's still just pop music. Likewise "troll metal" is a useless genre to have, because there's probably only a few bands in it. Instead of saying "I listen to troll metal" just say "I listen to Finntroll" and that way you can cut out the middle-man. Then if someone cares enough to ask, you can say "...and they have this whole troll concept where they sing about trolls and think they're trolls or whatever gimmicky bullshit". But saying "this is the trollmetal genre"... no, sorry. Wouldn't cut it in a uni thesis.

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

In 100 years, the music today that we consider total crap will become classics, therefore dumbing down music even more. Music in 100 years WILL BE MORE TERRIBLE THAN WE CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE!

 

[Mozared]

It's still meaningless as a genre term. If that pop artist who sings about love writes a song about, say, having a party, are they now "party pop"? Have they "changed genres"? If Britney Spears' new album has five songs about love, three about sex, two about partying and one about the environment, is she "genre mixing"? Of course she bloody isn't. It's still just pop music.

No, in this case the whole concept wouldn't apply. Nobody would call Finntroll Trollmetal if they just made 3 songs about trolls and the rest about something else. That's the whole point; it only applies if we're talking about a grand majority of songs on a specific subject overal. There's no point in creating a new genre for every song.

Likewise "troll metal" is a useless genre to have, because there's probably only a few bands in it. Instead of saying "I listen to troll metal" just say "I listen to Finntroll" and that way you can cut out the middle-man.

But that's where we disagree - "just a few bands" is hours of sound worth listening too. Plenty of time to specifically distinguish.

But saying "this is the trollmetal genre"... no, sorry. Wouldn't cut it in a uni thesis.

This just left me both confused and saying "... so?". What are you trying to say? That something cannot be called in a specific way unless the "experts" who teach musical studies on universities agree on it? If that's what you mean, explain to me how they have 'patents' on definitions, and who they are to define "what the future is going to be" rather than letting genre-names run their course and see what pops up?

 

[SonicKoala]

In 100 years, the music today that we consider total crap will become classics, therefore dumbing down music even more. Music in 100 years WILL BE MORE TERRIBLE THAN WE CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE!

I strongly disagree with that. Music today that we consider "classic" was just as loved back then as it was now. Look at the 1980s, for example. There was a TON of shit from that decade, and you notice how you almost NEVER hear music from the 80s on the radio? It's the same thing as popular music today - it is boring, bland, and forgettable. When actually GOOD music comes along, then that will be remembered. Humans are very critical when it comes to what they choose to remember, and I'll be damned if the human race is still listening to Katy Perry 100 years down the road.

As for the OP, I have no idea. I just hope that musicians with actual talent and originality start being accepted by the mainstream - everything just seems so boring these days.