Where Have All the Good Tunes Gone?

by Jack Dakin 

Today all you hear on the radio is catchy pop or country songs that have no authenticity. These songs have lyrics that only pander to a young audience and the good old songs created by the great bands are now figuratively dead.  The majority of today’s hits are not composed by the bands and artists that play them, but instead are written by greedy producers hired by a record label. As these record labels turn music into money, they are actually stripping away the art and beauty of music.  

Before music could be copied, one would have to go to a live performance to hear their favorite band play.  However, thanks to Thomas Edison’s invention of the phonograph, the first music recordings occurred in the early 1900’s.  According to Alex Cosper’s article “History of Record Labels and the Music Industry,” by the end of the decade, three major record companies dominated the music industry: Edison, Victor, and Columbia.

After the British Invasion began in 1964, the Beatles and other bands replaced the outdated American doo-wop and Tin Pan Alley style.  After a major consolidation occurred among top record companies, a few huge companies owned the majority of the industry.  This was the beginning of the end of the era of quality and authentic music.

In my opinion, the best decades of music favorite were the late 60’s to the early 90’s.  During this golden age of music, there was classic rock along with various other types of rock music that I fell in love with.  However, during this era the record producers became greedy and used the popularity of this great music to gain as much money as possible.  

In the 90’s, the great musicians began to slowly fade away and by the end of the millennium almost all of the good music was gone. Rock was replaced by the catchy pop and rap that started as disco in the 80’s and has evolved into today’s hits that are loved by the masses.

Fellow classic rock lover Tom Kummer says, “I love rock and roll because it was real. Today all the music that comes out seems fake.  Deep down I hope that there will be a second coming of classic rock. Until that day comes I will stick to listening to my old favorites that are timeless in my opinion.”

My taste in music has evolved a lot in the short time I have been alive, I used to like only hard rock and today’s pop. Although, once I got in middle school I realized how bad new music has become and I was only listening to it because my friends were.  I decided to stop listening to pop music and stay true to the music I love.  

However, many the majority of today’s youth seems to truly enjoy modern music.

“I love the rap and pop music today,” shared senior Vinny Zammiello. “Future is my favorite artist.”

No matter what music you like there is no right or wrong answer.  You have the right to listen to whatever artists you want because no matter how watered down the art is, music is still art.  Even music that may seem tasteless and fake to me, may truly speak to someone else.