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2016 - The Year The Music Died?


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Old 30-12-2016, 21:12
Neil_N
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2016 has to be perhaps one of the worst years ever for commercial music. We've gone from a hub of creativity, to an identikit industry of many similar soundings and the "electro death march" aka the tropical dance craze that seems to have spread like a cancer in the industry.

It seems the industry has hit a creative recession. Don't get me started on the need to express female sexuality by going round like a tart - it's time female sexuality was shown without the need to expose yourself. It's cheap, nasty and tawdry - I do feel music now is being aimed to the lowest common denominiator. Streaming has killed the UK singles chart, and it's time limits were imposed - ie accounts / IP adress blocked for excessive streaming.

On the flip side - so many icons this year have passed. The likes of Bowie, Michael, Prince have a lasting legacy and to this day their songs are remembered and will always live on. This has been a huge blow and seems as if those legends have died way too soon.

As for 2017 - I can see a rejection of the mainstream industry. You'll have the charts boycotted, music channels boycotted and artists who have sold out to join the "trollope pop" and tropical craze even boycotted. I can not see the next Bowie, Prince, George Michael coming out of the current crop. It's disposable music by numbers.
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Old 30-12-2016, 21:47
Ænima
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Pop music has always been 99% crap to me, for as long as I can remember, I don't think this year has been any worse.

If you were talking about all music though, not just chart, I'd say the heyday for most of what I listen to was probably mid to late 90's/ early 00's, but then none of it is pop. Doesn't stop me finding the odd new surprising band though, you just have to look for it.
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Old 30-12-2016, 23:07
mgvsmith
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I beg to differ.

I thought it was a great year for pop music...great albums from The 1975, Twenty One Pilots, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Drake, The Weeknd, Bruno Mars, Little Mix, Frank Ocean, David Bowie....plus there was a lot less 'trollop pop' (rather sexist term) than you suggest.
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Old 31-12-2016, 00:54
digitalspyfan1
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I've heard some fantastic pop songs this year but..

hardly any made the top 40 or even top 100 chart. Spotify showcase about 50 new songs each week. I listen to them all and usually find one, two, or three I like. Multiply that by 52 weeks and that's a lot of songs. About five percent or less make it into the top 40.

But if I judged 2016's pop music by the combined streaming/sales chart I would argue it's the worst year I've ever heard (and I was a teenager in the 1980s so I've heard a lot of pop as well as stuff going back into the 70s, 60s, 50s!). 2016 worst chart year I've ever heard. But there's still good/great pop music out there (accepting what's good is very subjective). If you love chart music, fair enough. It's all down to personal taste!

And the best pop song of the year

Heathrow by Catfish And The Bottlemen.

A song so awesome it's illegal to host the original version! It's not online. Here is a great cover:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6-dehZq-t4

Instant classic (the original is even better!)

The second best song of the year is this:

Christina Aguilera - Telepathy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfemfQMg-1c

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Old 31-12-2016, 02:58
SweetHeartHolly
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To me, a good deal of it went last year. I just didn't know it until it had already gone, I love my late beautiful precious Billy Joe Royal SO much!!!

God bless you and his family always!!!

Holly
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Old 31-12-2016, 03:12
RoseAnne
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I've heard some fantastic pop songs this year but..

hardly any made the top 40 or even top 100 chart. Spotify showcase about 50 new songs each week. I listen to them all and usually find one, two, or three I like. Multiply that by 52 weeks and that's a lot of songs. About five percent or less make it into the top 40.

But if I judged 2016's pop music by the combined streaming/sales chart I would argue it's the worst year I've ever heard (and I was a teenager in the 1980s so I've heard a lot of pop as well as stuff going back into the 70s, 60s, 50s!). 2016 worst chart year I've ever heard. But there's still good/great pop music out there (accepting what's good is very subjective). If you love chart music, fair enough. It's all down to personal taste!

And the best pop song of the year

Heathrow by Catfish And The Bottlemen.

A song so awesome it's illegal to host the original version! It's not online. Here is a great cover:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6-dehZq-t4

Instant classic (the original is even better!)

The second best song of the year is this:

Christina Aguilera - Telepathy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfemfQMg-1c

Agree about Spotify and the chart. Going by the chart it's been rubbish for me this year but I've found songs on the new music section on Spotify which haven't gone near the chart. Here are two which I really liked this year and are totally different in style.

"I Can See It" by Lisa Shaw, a great dance track and good vocal
https://youtu.be/xbzDRmT3VlM

"Nothin'" by North Downs, remind me of The Cure in style
https://youtu.be/o0gi8QCU4m0
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Old 31-12-2016, 05:04
Kid B
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You're rather optimistic. It died a long time before now.
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Old 31-12-2016, 07:54
mushymanrob
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no... pop music didnt die in 2016.

its been on the slide for a decade now but there are still some decent pop songs about.

has the chart always been 90% shite?.... well yes it probably has - if by shite you mean music you dont like... but at least it was original shite, created by aspiring artists who by and large made their own musical shite.
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Old 31-12-2016, 08:00
JasonWatkins
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2016 has to be perhaps one of the worst years ever for commercial music. We've gone from a hub of creativity, to an identikit industry of many similar soundings and the "electro death march" aka the tropical dance craze that seems to have spread like a cancer in the industry.

It seems the industry has hit a creative recession. Don't get me started on the need to express female sexuality by going round like a tart - it's time female sexuality was shown without the need to expose yourself. It's cheap, nasty and tawdry - I do feel music now is being aimed to the lowest common denominiator. Streaming has killed the UK singles chart, and it's time limits were imposed - ie accounts / IP adress blocked for excessive streaming.

On the flip side - so many icons this year have passed. The likes of Bowie, Michael, Prince have a lasting legacy and to this day their songs are remembered and will always live on. This has been a huge blow and seems as if those legends have died way too soon.

As for 2017 - I can see a rejection of the mainstream industry. You'll have the charts boycotted, music channels boycotted and artists who have sold out to join the "trollope pop" and tropical craze even boycotted. I can not see the next Bowie, Prince, George Michael coming out of the current crop. It's disposable music by numbers.
What a load of pretentious twaddle ..
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Old 31-12-2016, 10:02
David_Flett1
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2016 has to be perhaps one of the worst years ever for commercial music. We've gone from a hub of creativity, to an identikit industry of many similar soundings and the "electro death march" aka the tropical dance craze that seems to have spread like a cancer in the industry.

It seems the industry has hit a creative recession. Don't get me started on the need to express female sexuality by going round like a tart - it's time female sexuality was shown without the need to expose yourself. It's cheap, nasty and tawdry - I do feel music now is being aimed to the lowest common denominiator. Streaming has killed the UK singles chart, and it's time limits were imposed - ie accounts / IP adress blocked for excessive streaming.

On the flip side - so many icons this year have passed. The likes of Bowie, Michael, Prince have a lasting legacy and to this day their songs are remembered and will always live on. This has been a huge blow and seems as if those legends have died way too soon.

As for 2017 - I can see a rejection of the mainstream industry. You'll have the charts boycotted, music channels boycotted and artists who have sold out to join the "trollope pop" and tropical craze even boycotted. I can not see the next Bowie, Prince, George Michael coming out of the current crop. It's disposable music by numbers.
Don't listen to mainstream music then, there is plenty of brilliant music out there just broaden your horizons.
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Old 31-12-2016, 10:19
koantemplation
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Stock Aitken and Waterman killed music, and Simon Cowell dug the grave.
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Old 31-12-2016, 11:18
stud u like
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Sia, Shawn Mendes, Charlie Puth, Ward Thomas, John Newman and Julian Ovenden have been my favourites this year.
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Old 31-12-2016, 11:27
Thorney
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As long as I can still hear hundreds of new songs I like every year , I am happy , this year I made a top 200 some years I need a top 400 to list them all and that will do for me, if the songs I like chart even better but that's getting less and less likely
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Old 31-12-2016, 12:00
Blondie X
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Don't listen to mainstream music then, there is plenty of brilliant music out there just broaden your horizons.
Absolutely. I wouldn't know most chart hits if they bit me on the arse and yet I manage to find loads of brilliant new songs and artists every year without even really trying very hard.
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Old 31-12-2016, 12:36
Neil_N
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I won't deny there is a tonne of new artists out there and I've made some discoveries via Youtube and Spotify which have impressed me greatly. Much better than the cheapo commercial crap.

I think the singles chart will lose all irrelevance very soon - streaming has made it a joke. It does need a return to sales only, or jury votes (5-15% of the outcome) to weed out the long slayers and crap.

Little Mix has proven btw, they are one of the best British pop acts in recent years. Hve improved from strength to strength.
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Old 31-12-2016, 19:02
SummerShudder
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In terms of commercial pop it's been a terrible year for singles.

Cheap Thrills - Sia
Dumbed down Lady GaGa with annoying rapping from Sean Paul.

Rockabye Baby - Clean Bandit
More drivel from them with a Jess Glynn/Adele wannabe singer and Grace Chatto pretending to play the cello.

24K - Bruno Mars
We had Rock Your Body by the Neptunes 15 years ago thanks.

Callum Scott - Dancing On My Own
Oh another X Factor cover...how exciting.

Thank god for The 1975 and Twenty One Pilots who are keeping music going.

EDM is dead, it's on it's knees, every song sounds the same and is so predictable.
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Old 31-12-2016, 20:33
CLL Dodge
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Still plenty of good live music to enjoy.
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Old 01-01-2017, 08:05
Kid B
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What a load of pretentious twaddle ..
No doubt copied form somewhere.
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Old 01-01-2017, 08:06
Kid B
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no... pop music didnt die in 2016.

its been on the slide for a decade now but there are still some decent pop songs about.
This is true of course. Let's just say it's still on a life support machine.
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Old 01-01-2017, 08:48
kirbyreed
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this has actually been one of my favourite years of music. obviously if you're going by the charts then maybe not but it's not hard to find your own music to listen to instead of relying on the top 40.
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Old 03-01-2017, 21:00
Clank007
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The day the music died was the day Simon Cowell first came up with the idea of that X Factor karaoke bilge - he has single headedly ruined British Music output ever since
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Old 03-01-2017, 21:13
Hassaan13
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The day the music died was the day Simon Cowell first came up with the idea of that X Factor karaoke bilge - he has single headedly ruined British Music output ever since
The X Factor was a direct successor to Pop Idol. I suggest you redirect your anger to whoever created that format and it wasn't Simon Cowell. That's where it originated.

I obviously disagree that he has 'ruined music output'. Luckily not everyone is a music snob when it comes to listening to artists whether or not they came from a talent show.
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Old 04-01-2017, 00:20
Pink Knight
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I used to think music had died a while ago, but I listen to 6 music a lot now.
Its just that as with most forms of entertainment, the regular dross is fed and hyped to the masses.
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Old 04-01-2017, 09:14
Glawster2002
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The X Factor was a direct successor to Pop Idol. I suggest you redirect your anger to whoever created that format and it wasn't Simon Cowell. That's where it originated.

I obviously disagree that he has 'ruined music output'. Luckily not everyone is a music snob when it comes to listening to artists whether or not they came from a talent show.
But as it seems the vast majority of their output is simply cover versions of well known songs, so in that regards they are producing nothing new.

I used to think music had died a while ago, but I listen to 6 music a lot now.
Its just that as with most forms of entertainment, the regular dross is fed and hyped to the masses.
But then I would say that 6 Music is nothing like as diverse as it used to be, even 6 Music is far more mainstream now.
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Old 04-01-2017, 09:38
mushymanrob
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The day the music died was the day Simon Cowell first came up with the idea of that X Factor karaoke bilge - he has single headedly ruined British Music output ever since
yet simon cowell acts have not had that much dominance...

the rot started much earlier when manufactured acts become accepted as normal. ie my old argument about pete waterman and s/a/w. old men creating the whole pop package instead of old men facilitating what the young wanted to try...
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