1. Music's Not As Good As It Used To Be!
There will come a time when the Justin Bieber and JLS fans of today will look upon the charts and weep. Everything will sound trite and manufactured to them, and they'll yearn for the glory days when you could turn on any radio or walk into any shop and hear an impending David Guetta-influenced drop. If it's really the case that music's been getting steadily worse, then why is it that every generation has, at one point, made the same complaint? I miss the days when bright, catchy, happy and well-constructed songs appeared in the charts. The days of the Spice Girls, B*Witched and All Saints. But there were certainly those who looked at such music with scorn. They'll have been yearning for the days when the charts were full of the likes of Adam Ant, The Human League and ABC. But even as those synthpop mavericks were having their day, hateful eyes looked on and wished for ABBA. And so on, and so on. The point is, music progresses. It constantly shifts as new fads come and go. But one thing is certain so long as music's being made, then there will always be good music. What did I do when the charts suddenly proved lacking? I went alternative! But The Libertines, Strokes and White Stripes of the early noughties doubtlessly did nothing for those who had come of age with Blur, Oasis and Pulp - who again were probably thought of as charlatans by those weaned on a healthy diet of Joy Division and The Jam. I might be coming from a position that's strongly biased in favour of pop and rock here, but that's only because such music has always done it for me. For you see, music will
never reach a state whereby all acknowledge that it's seen better days. I rather believe that the older you get, the deeper you must dig for music that ticks your specific boxes. And where do you look? Well, we have this thing called the internet now. If you genuinely want to find original music that's being produced in 2013, those with internet access have no excuse to make the tedious music isn't as good as it used to be argument. If it's out there, you'll find it. And it
is out there, so you
will find it. So the next time you find yourself missing the days when you could actually relate to the songs you heard on the radio, know that it's not the case that music's lost its way. More likely, you've come of age, and it's time to find your kicks elsewhere. Happy hunting!