I'm realizing how a lot of 60's music really sucked...

[Archae]

Watching a PBS special (begathon time) and they are showing singers and groups from 1965-1967.

So much of that music SUCKED!

"Up Up And Away"

"The Letter"

"Groovin' On A Sunday Afternoon"

[jakeXT]

1. I wonder what would happen if you could show someone in the 1960s music from the 90s

[Archae]

2. Better yet...

[Joe Shlabotnik]

3. Regardless of era,

if its popular: its probably shit. You always have to look for the good stuff.

[Archae]

4. Yeah, "Fortunate Son" wasn't #1...

"Yummy Yummy Yummy" was in 1969!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

5. What was wrong with The Letter?

I thought the melody and chord changes were pretty good. It was pretty bluesy and I wish I could have written that song. And Joe Cocker did a fantastic cover. I know it's just my opinion and taste but Kind Of A Drag was so-so, but The Letter? Really?

[Arugula Latte]

8. Wasn't Alex Chilton, like, 16 or something when he sang that?

[DFW]

19. A friend of mine from memphis knew Chilton

He says Chilton was 15 !!

[Arugula Latte]

21. Wow. Amazing!

[elleng]

6. OH GEE, Archae,

you and I disagree about SO MUCH! TOO BAD, but I still don't hold it against you!

[kwassa]

7. "The Letter" is a great song, and historically important.

The lead singer for the Box Tops on the song was Alex Chilton, who later founded the band Big Star. They were a hugely influential indie group.

Although Big Star's first era came to an end in 1974, the band acquired a cult following in the 1980s when new acts began to acknowledge the early material's significance.[66] R.E.M.'s Peter Buck admitted, "We've sort of flirted with greatness, but we've yet to make a record as good as Revolver or Highway 61 Revisited or Exile on Main Street or Big Star's Third. I don't know what it'll take to push us on to that level, but I think we've got it in us."[67] Chilton, however, told an interviewer in 1992, "I'm constantly surprised that people fall for Big Star the way they do... People say Big Star made some of the best rock 'n roll albums ever. And I say they're wrong."[68]

Today, critics cite Big Star's first three albums as a profound influence on subsequent musicians. Rolling Stone notes that Big Star "created a seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations of rockers, from the power-pop revivalists of the late 1970s to alternative rockers at the end of the century to the indie rock nation in the new millennium".[1] Jason Ankeny, music critic for Allmusic, identifies Big Star as "one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll", whose "impact on subsequent generations of indie bands on both sides of the Atlantic is surpassed only by that of the Velvet Underground".[2] Ankeny describes Big Star's second album, Radio City, as "their masterpiece—ragged and raw guitar-pop infused with remarkable intensity and spontaneity".[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Star

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

10. Music is very subjective

and I would agree with the OP that Up, UP, and Away and Groovin' On A Sunday Afternoon didn't really do anything for me. But I thought The Letter was a special tune. But I know musical tastes vary and I don't expect everyone to like what I like. But just from the perspective of someone who admires a well-crafted hit tune, I have to say I admire The Letter and wish I could have written it when I was a kid in a rock band in the 60s and tried to write cool songs. People I guess can judge for themselves:

[pipi_k]

15. And then there was

[KMOD]

9. Wait..... this isn't sarcasm?

1965 brought us

King of the Road
My Girl
8 Days a Week
Ticket to Ride
Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)
Help
Yesterday
Get off My Cloud
Turn, Turn, Turn
and many Supreme's songs

1966 brought us

The Sounds of Silence
We can Work it Out
These Boots are Made for Walking
Monday, Monday
When a Man Loves a Woman
Paint it Black
Wild Thing
You Can't Hurry Love
Reach Out, I'll Be There
Good Vibrations

1967 brought us

Ruby Tuesday
Happy Together
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Light My Fire
All You Need Is Love
Ode to Billy Joe
To Sir With Love

[elleng]

11. SHOULD be

!!!

[TM99]

12. No Shit!

Last edited Sun Dec 7, 2014, 09:56 AM - Edit history (1)

Three classic Moody Blue's albums - Days of Future Past, In Search of the Lost Chord, and On The Threshold of a Dream - were released in 1967, 1968, and 1969 respectively.

King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King was released in 1969, and David Bowie released Space Oddity (David Bowie) that same year.

There was a lot of great music from the 1950's through the early 2000's as long as it wasn't corporate pop trash. The problem today is that even genres like Hip Hop and Country are now inundated with corporate shit like Auto-tune, the 'loudness wars', and horrid remasterings of one time classic albums just to make a buck.

I can't tell the difference between a Katy Perry song, a Lady Gaga one, or a Taylor Swift as they all sound the same no matter what the genre. And Kanye West is no RZA or Dr. Dre.

[HereSince1628]

14. Question! Why do we NEVER get an answer?

[TM99]

26. Great song.

And the lyrics are as relevant today as they were then, aren't they?

[HereSince1628]

27. yes... especially with slight substitutions:

And If you could see what it's meant to me
To lose the LEFT I knew
Would safely see us through...

...You'd know the secret of my soul.

[pipi_k]

16. Oh yeah

I can't tell the difference between a Katy Perry song, a Lady Gaga one, or a Taylor Swift as they all sound the same no matter what the genre.

It all sounds the same to me, too.

Sometimes I wonder if it sounds the same because it's trash, or because I don't listen to it and my ears (and mind) aren't geared toward recognizing differences.

Back when I was a teenager, the differences were apparent, and the songs didn't all sound the same.

[TM99]

29. There used to be a lot of different effects and mixing options

in recording studios. Two analog units of the same piece of equipment would still not sound exactly the same due to the nature of the electronics involved. Even when things went more digital, there was still uniqueness and differences. The Eventide H3000 was ubiquitous in studios worldwide, but the amount of freedom to program it led to countless unique sounds and effects.

For me the advent of Auto-Tune is what is killing things very quickly. You don't have to even be a singer. Just throw some vocals at it and they sound magically 'in tune' except of course with the weird robotic after taste. All of them sound alike because they are recorded, produced, and processes alike. I could go on for hours about other changes that are fucking up music today, but I will refrain.

[arcane1]

51. Used to be a lot more actual musicians playing actual instruments, too

And the finished product would actually sound like musicians playing instruments!

[TM99]

53. I definitely agree on that point as well.

While I do love electronic music production tools like VSTi's and VSTfx's and work a lot in DAW's like FL Studio, Ableton, and Reason, I still have an extensive collection in my project studio of now vintage analog and digital synths, samplers, and drum machines. I also use a lot of vintage pedals and out board effects units which yes, just can't be 'sampled' and recreated on computers.

[KamaAina]

41. The difference is that Gaga actually has talent

You wouldn't catch Tony Bennett singing duets with Perry or Swift, now would you?

[TM99]

44. We will have to agree to disagree on the question of talent. nt

[bobclark86]

46. You can't deny she's got pipes...

[IBEWVET]

48. I like sixties music, but..

Gaga can sing!!!

[bobclark86]

45. You want sad?

I can't tell the difference between a Katy Perry song, a Lady Gaga one, or a Taylor Swift as they all sound the same no matter what the genre.

I feel the same way about the Monkees, Steve Miller Band and the Beatles. For the longest time, I thought Daydream Believer and Fly Like an Eagle were the Beatles, and Come Together was the Monkees

Pop music always does that. This isn't a new phenomena.

[Archae]

13. Most of these were good tunes, I agree.

But there was so much absolute crap during those years too.
Especially the "bubble gum" music.

Just like now.

[LiberalElite]

20. You were doin' great till

To Sir with Love - (GAG) you lost me there! LOL

[KMOD]

30. hahahaha

I had to add it. I had a little crush on Sidney when I was young.

[chrisa]

17. Every era has tons of music that sucked. We only think oldies were better b/c of survivor bias.

[Arugula Latte]

22. I agree. There has always been a mix of greatness and dreck being produced.

The 80s get a bad rap. There was brilliance there (especially on "college radio" -- later called alternative radio), but it was drowned out by the dumbassery of the hair bands and the annoying fluff that got played on Top 40 radio incessantly.

I'm not far from 50, but I absolutely LOVE a lot of the new music being made. (Not the Beyonce/Katy Perry stuff, but there is oodles of great stuff besides the glitz pop that gets all the attention.)

[Joe Shlabotnik]

32. +1

Despite a slightly inflammatory OP, DU is showing its age demographic. Nothing more.

Any music (ever) that is created to be popular to the masses is going to exclude hard core audiophiles, aspiring talented musicians, and those who enjoy niche music. Popularity is the bland cream of the crop of the mediocre masses, because unfortunately mass marketed music is designed to be enjoyed and then disposed of, when the next 'thing' comes along.

Some just choose to hold on, and celebrate their generation's music, because it represents a sentimental segment of their personal identity.

[pinboy3niner]

18. 'The Letter' was still popular with the troops when I was in Vietnam in '69-'70

Not as popular as 'We Gotta Get Out of This Place,' but with the importance of mail and the going home theme, it was still way up there.

[RebelOne]

23. Sorry to differ, but I love '60s music.

That was from my time. In fact, I have a CD with all '60s music.

[elleng]

24. Oh RIGHT, REALLY sucked!

[edgineered]

28. tx, nice flashbacks !!! nt

[orleans]

33. thanks for the videos. i love the fast/slow-mo dance moments in aquarius. n/t

[MrScorpio]

39. Thanks for the Galt MacDermot break

He's the BOSS!

[Kaleva]

25. Most pop music from any decade sucks.

[begin_within]

31. Pop singles of the 1960s are still far better than the pop singles of today.

No comparison, really. I'd much rather listen to the pop of the 1960s than the dreck that hits the charts these days.

[nirvana555]

34. was the op sarcasm? IMHO.(I'm 57 y.o) no other

Decade comes close to the brilliance of 60's music.Disco in the 70's was a travesty. I can count on one hand the bands or musicians since the 60's that have truly inspired me (Nirvana, Green Day, )

[necso]

35. Some art (entertainment) seem to "age" well;

but other art does not. And some art really needs an understanding of context to be appreciated (like maybe it represented something new; and it's this change that makes it special, although perhaps not especially appealing to todays tastes).

And what I like changes, so that sometimes I re-like old stuff that I didn't like for a time.

Or, for instance, I like this now:

But would I in twenty or fifty(!) years?

(That form-mail function doesn't seem to even exist anymore (for some, all?). So I guess that's finito.)

[Archae]

37. I hated that song when it first came out.

I still absolutely hate that song.

[GOLGO 13]

36. The 70's had music to rule you all!

We gave you disco (for good or bad) (Bee-Gees/Donna Summer/Village People)

We had arena cock rock (Pink Floyd/Led Zep/Sabbath/Queen/KISS)

We gave you punk (Sex Pistols/Blondie/Clash/Ramones/Misfits)

We gave you funk (Sly & Family/Stevie Wonder/Funkadelic)

We gave you art/prog rock (Roxy Music/Supertramp/ELP/Yes/Tull)

We gave you weirdos that did a little bit of this & that (Bowie/Kraftwerk/Joy Division/Zappa/Stooges)

I think we covered just about every kind of meaningful music category with big records and big, big hits. Check & Mate!!

[Archae]

38. You left out one.

Soft rock.

[RebelOne]

52. You also left out the greatest of the great bands of the '70s.

SANTANA

Here are my two favorites: Black Magic Woman and Oye Como Va

[Mr.Bill]

59. Santana started in the 60s.

[GOLGO 13]

63. <SIGH>

Yeah, her and tons of her contemporaries polluted the airways with Ann Murray like puke. Soft rock was easily overlooked.

[bobclark86]

47. "We gave you disco"

Nobody ever rioted over Justin Beiber. Just saying.

[amandabeech]

49. Is that the infamous Comiskey Field "Death to Disco"

riot and ball game?

[progressoid]

50. If you were in Norway...

[GOLGO 13]

64. <SIGH>

As I said earlier, for good or bad it was there and there was no way to avoid it. We just had to wait for it to flame itself out. The 70's was a crazy, crazy time.

[Mr.Bill]

60. You're naming a handful

of 60s bands in that post. They were popular in the 70s, too, but they came from the 60s

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

61. Correct – Bee Gees 60s, Frank Zappa 60s, Pink Floyd 60s, Jethro Tull 60s, Stevie Wonder early 60s,

Black Sabbath 60s, Led Zeppelin 60s, Sly And The Family Stone 60s,. I won't challenge on David Bowie, Yes, or ELP although Bowie had his first hit in the late 60s and Yes was already formed in the 60s. ELP grew out of the Nice and King Crimson which were popular prog rock 60s bands.

[GOLGO 13]

65. Your are correct sir. However,

IMO their music in the 70's was better, more dynamic and definetly more memorable that their 60's era. Which is what (I believe) what the OP was going for.

[Mr.Bill]

67. Like all opinions about music,

yours is a valid one if it's how you feel. I agree with your opinion for some of those bands.

[Kingofalldems]

40. The first 2 I agree

Groovin' is a classic.

[whistler162]

42. Must be rough being total tone deaf!

[Archae]

43. Yeah, while having "Wolf" Mozart on at the moment...

[Trajan]

54. Sgt Pepper ... Pet Sounds ... Hendrix, Bowie, Dylan, Fripp

Open your mind, and you will hear greatness ...

[Blue_Tires]

55. Go home Archae, you've had too much to drink

[cemaphonic]

56. At my old job, we had these books that were compilations of Billboard records

It's interesting to go through and see how many hit singles were forgettable dreck that nobody cared about even a couple years later, while much of what is now the classic rock canon barely cracked the top 40 a lot of the time. So yeah, there's lots of mediocre music from the 60s.

I don't really understand not liking "The Letter" though, that song is awesome.

[Archae]

58. I think it was overplay.

Like "Stairway To Heaven" or "Freebird."

Just got sick of the song.

[Crewleader]

57. NO WAY!

Love those 60's

[ProfessorGAC]

62. Weird Choices, Arch

The first one i gotta agree. That's a crappy tune. The other two you chose, i don't get your picque. One rocks and the other has a pleasant groove. There was a lot more crappy 60's music than those two songs.

Anything by Herman's Hermits. (Except MAYBE Henry the 8th). The Freddie. Anything else by the 5th Dimension. Walk on By. And those all came to mind in about 10 seconds.

[Archae]

66. Like I said above, I think a lot of it is overplay.

"The Letter" just gets played to death.

And I really hated bubblegum music.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

68. I can understand that

When I was a kid in the latter part of the 60s and playing in bands, every attic, basement, and garage band was playing The Letter. Sunshine Of Your Love was even far more overplayed. Everywhere. You could not get away from Sunshine Of Your Love, on the radio, coming from houses as you were driving down the street, or bands at your high school playing it. Even today I don't really want to hear it anymore. But I don't think it sucked. It doesn't mean that it sucked. I just heard it too much.

[Threedifferentones]

69. Yep

Statements about how much better music was are largely nostalgia imo. People forget about the bad and emphasize the good.