Originally Posted by bhutocracy

I agree. Elvis was shit.

No it's not the same as saying the Beatles were pretty faces AT ALL. Unlike Elvis, the Beatles actually wrote their own music which has more than stood the test of time. Their few years of creativity pushed pop music forward (along with Brian Wilson) into places it hadn't been before. Charisma is just another way of saying pretty boy. Elvis was just a puppet real musicians and artists fed their songs through.

What's available in the media? You mean the 10,000 music blogs? Since when has MTV EVER been a representation of good music? It's been almost 25 years since the Dead Kennedy's shouted "MTV Get off the Air!" and you're STILL pointing to it and asking why it's crap?

Here's the top 40 from the whole year of '95 the last year of "good music" according to you.

01. Gangsta's Paradise » Coolio
02. Waterfalls » TLC
03. Creep » TLC
04. Kiss From A Rose » Seal
05. On Bended Knee » Boyz II Men
06. Another Night » Real McCoy
07. Fantasy » Mariah Carey
08. Take A Bow » Madonna
09. Don't Take It Personal (Just One Of Dem Days) » Monica
10. This Is How We Do It » Montell Jordan
11. I Know » Dionne Farris
12. Water Runs Dry » Boyz II Men
13. Freak Like Me » Adina Howard
14. Run-Around » Blues Traveler
15. I Can Love You Like That » All-4-One
16. Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman? » Bryan Adams
17. Always » Bon Jovi
18. Boombastic / In The Summertime » Shaggy
19. Total Eclipse Of The Heart » Nicki French
20. You Gotta Be » Des'ree
21. You Are Not Alone » Michael Jackson
22. Hold My Hand » Hootie & The Blowfish
23. One More Chance-Stay With Me » Notorious B.I.G.
24. Here Comes The Hotstepper » Ini Kamoze
25. Candy Rain » Soul For Real
26. Let Her Cry » Hootie & The Blowfish
27. I Believe » Blessid Union Of Souls
28. Red Light Special » TLC
29. Runaway » Janet Jackson
30. Strong Enough » Sheryl Crow
31. Colors Of The Wind » Vanessa Williams
32. Someone To Love » Jon B.
33. Only Wanna Be With You » Hootie & The Blowfish
34. If You Love Me » Brownstone
35. In The House Of Stone And Light » Martin Page
36. I Got 5 On It » Luniz
37. Baby » Brandy
38. Run Away » Real McCoy
39. As I Lay Me Down » Sophie B. Hawkins
40. He's Mine » Mokenstef


What a fucking shit fest.

Here's 1975:

01. Love Will Keep Us Together » Captain & Tennille
02. Rhinestone Cowboy » Glen Campbell
03. Philadelphia Freedom » Elton John
04. Before The Next Teardrop Falls » Freddy Fender
05. My Eyes Adored You » Frankie Valli
06. Shining Star » Earth, Wind & Fire
07. Fame » David Bowie
08. Laughter In The Rain » Neil Sedaka
09. One Of These Nights » Eagles
10. Thank God I'm A Country Boy » John Denver
11. Jive Talkin' » Bee Gees
12. Best Of My Love » Eagles
13. Lovin' You » Minnie Riperton
14. Kung Fu Fighting » Carl Douglas
15. Black Water » Doobie Brothers
16. Ballroom Blitz » Sweet
17. (Hey Wont You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song » B.J. Thomas
18. He Don't Love You (Like I Love You) » Tony Orlando & Dawn
19. At Seventeen » Janis Ian
20. Pick Up The Pieces » Average White Band
21. The Hustle » Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony
22. Lady Marmalade » Labelle
23. Why Can't We Be Friends? » War
24. Love Wont Let Me Wait » Major Harris
25. Boogie On Reggae Woman » Stevie Wonder
26. Wasted Days And Wasted Nights » Freddy Fender
27. Fight The Power, Pt. 1 » Isley Brothers
28. Angie Baby » Helen Reddy
29. Jackie Blue » Ozark Mountain Daredevil
30. Fire » Ohio Players
31. Magic » Pilot
32. Please Mr. Postman » Carpenters
33. Sister Golden Hair » America
34. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds » Elton John
35. Mandy » Barry Manilow
36. Have You Never Been Mellow » Olivia Newton-John
37. Could It Be Magic » Barry Manilow
38. Cat's In The Cradle » Harry Chapin
39. Wildfire » Michael Murphy
40. I'm Not Lisa » Jessi Colter

Another fucking shitfest excepting Bowie.

The top 40 is ALWAYS at least 80-90% shit even on those rare occasions where you have a few big bands releasing good stuff at the same time. Even during a "movement" year people have a tendency to remember say, Nirvana's Nevermind and forget that Boyz 2 Men, Kriss Kross's "Jump", Right Said fred's "I'm too Sexy", Billy Ray Cyrus's "Achy Breaky Heart" all beat the shit out of it in the charts.

So once again.. it's a selection bias, remembering the good, forgetting the bad. There is always good music out there. You just can't rely on the tv to bring it to you... Just like you haven't been able to for decades so there is absolutely no point complaining because all it does is show your apathy to do anything other than be force fed (in which case you deserve the top 40) and ignorance of what is actually out there.