wow

[iago]

It's not really my style either.  The production is flaky, and in the cover, it comes off as frivolously emotional and indulgent, to the point where it could be seen as acting more than music.  But it certainly has redeeming aspects, and it's not nearly as bad in those ways as most modern music.  Most music that people listen to is 95% acting and production, 5% musical content.

I think you're being too generous when you say 5%.

I think he's being too generous when he says "musical" :)

[leet_muffin]

We're kind of at a musical standstill right now... It's happened quite a few times in the past, but it's lasting a bit longer this time. Mostly, whenever we come to this sort of standstill, a bunch of improvements are made on the production end of things, as well as the mediums, but nothing really revolutionary happens, and the music becomes much more based upon emotion and quality, and much less upon talent and new ideas. Usually, it's the new medium that sparks the new style or the new ideas, and the musical standstill basically ends, but we've had a few musical revolutions, and nothing's really changing. I thought that Radiohead's new album release style and it's popularity was pretty defining of this, since they really didn't do anything new musically (basically just a newer version of the Beatles) but they released an album in an entirely new way, and it had amazing success.

[iago]

Usually, it's the new medium that sparks the new style or the new ideas, and the musical standstill basically ends, but we've had a few musical revolutions, and nothing's really changing.

Well, I get the impression that the new revolution revolves around the Internet, the free trade of ideas/music, and the collaboration of artists rather than the competition. However, record companies are fighting tooth and nail to keep the old metaphor, the one where they make money. :)