I am of the old school when it comes to music. IMO, there has not been a true musical talent since the late 60's, early 70's. Gone are the day when one needs true talent to sell records and generate a following. We live in a society where looking back a few years, Michael Jackson and Madonna are listed as the greats! Seriously?? Moody blues, Hendrix, Abba, Chubby Checker, Zeppelin, Skinyrd and Floyd....not to mention the big bands is where it was at! What doth thou say?

IMO, The music kids like will always change just as they changed when you were a kid from what your parents liked. My mother was listening to Smokey Robinson, Elvis, Temptations and Bill Withers, those are the greats to her, MJl and madonna were the one's who were the most famous for my era, so to us, they are the greats for our era, just like, and I don't wanna say it, but Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga would be greats to the kids now-a-days. It will change with every decade. The bands you named were great during your era, and many people still like them but I bet your parents didn't.

The issue is, These bands were not of my era, Not totally anyway. I was a music kid of the 80's. Madonna was the big thing. But the music, and all its manipulation lost it's true beginning. There is nothing better than unplugged raw talent. I agree it's a generational thing, but even with that, Music has lost its true soul.

I am not a music nut by any stretch of the imagination, but I did not like having to listen to the music my mother played, and I cannot stand the music my kids like to listen too...so I listen to the oldies but goodies of the 80's...lol

For my fire academy graduation, I put together a DVD of the kids training and ask them to select music for it...I vetoed the first 5 songs presented last year and am cringing with the list being created for this year...my LT told me I was showing my age...lol

Music has lost its true soul.

I agree. Music today is written behind the scenes, spoon fed to the latest fad artist, and they vomit out the songs onto adoring fans who eat it up while it's still warm. The world will never have the likes of Smokey Robinson (Tracks of My Tears, greatest song ever - see the movie Platoon for confirmation on that.), Aerosmith (every album from Get a Grip back, their new stuff is rubbish), and Collective Soul (those guys just keep getting better.)

However, I do have a soft spot for Disturbed and Avenged Sevenfold, they put out some great music for working out.

gears.......i think i speak for the majority of us "older" folk....we have no idea who those bands are.

todays music and todays movies for the most part seem to be remakes of the 80's. especially with the movies. arthur? seriously and dudley moore isn't playing the part? wtf is that?

and i understand that each generation has it's "own" thing.......but screamo music.....isn't that an oxymoron? screamo music? there are a few catchy pop tunes out there....i can go with them. hell i have gaga for my ringtone.......but where does this thug rap come from???? what is the point of it?

Thug rap is describing the life of inner city people. Rappers found the way into the music industry with the likes of Beastie Boys and NWA and took it from there. Early 90's was Tupac, Snoop Dog, the whole east coast/west coast fued. It's just takin over more of the mainstream music now and days. There are those rappers who have absolutely nothing good to say about anything but you do have those who talk about life in poorer inner cities. They may talk vulgar, but they are telling stories, and if ppl listen, they will just keep telling stories. The songs about money, alcohol, women, drugs, well its apparent that they are the $ makers. If you think about it, it's just different people telling similiar stories, just who has the better following, rythm and beat.

I have seen Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Hatebreed, As I Lay Dying, Linkin Park, System o a Down, Alice in Chains, Velvet Revolver, The Moody Blues, Deep Purple, Joe Satriani, Thin Lizzy, Rob Zombie, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Metallica, 38 Special, Brad Paisley, Jake Owen, Trace Adkins, Sugarland... If it's music, I'll see it, listen to it, buy it... It doesn't matter to me... Music 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Colin is the same way! He has everything from Beethoven to Ozzy Ozbourne on his IPOD and he loves all of it!

I have also been to venues of 50 people to venues of thousands! Music is a wonderful thing!

i love music as well. and i have been to more concerts than i can shake a stick at. from the beach boys to tina turner and leann rimes to ac/dc. i have pretty much seen them all. like i said, i have listened to some of the recent stuff.....hard not to with three girls running around here. just a few types of it that make no sense to me at all. our oldest son was a musician before he passed away so goodness knows we heard plenty there as well.

as for the rap thing. i understand the history of rap even better i understand the purpose of rap. when rap first started it was not really anything like what we hear today. i am all for our constitutional rights but i do question when the music is all about violence and b*tches and ho's what kind of message are we sending to our youth. yes, the music of the 80's was all sex, drugs, and rock and roll. i understand.....however as i near as i remember the sex was consentual and the drugs were recreational. not saying that makes it ok.....but the delivery of the message can make a world of difference.

the whole east coast/west coast fued.

That ended in murder! FUN!

The message of music has evolved, but that was inevitable. When the Beatles were singing about holding hands, the parents freaked. You can't hold hands! That's like 3rd base! So, naturally the envelope had to be pushed, and will continue to be pushed. As the years wear on, the outfits will get smaller, and the lyrics will get raunchier. From what I've heard every Lady Gaga song is about sex. Nothing wrong with that, unless you're a 13 year old girl/bot who is getting mixed messages from her parents, the media, retail outlets, etc, etc.

@Jen I recommend you youtube Nightmare and Dear God by Avenged Sevenfold, very catchy! And, Just Stop and 10,000 Fists by Disturbed, equally catchy.

I can't listen to Popular music anymore. I can't listen to the radio anymore - even the 'oldies' stations have betrayed me! As everyone has mentioned, the music today is a brain bleaching experiencing fueled by simple rhythms layered into a 'complex', 'interesting' way. I just can't do it.

I have to go out of my way to find a band, or musician who is saying something refreshing..and it can be hard to find..sometimes I have to look through the dusty vinyl section to find it, and maybe it was written 33 years ago, but hey, I need to listen to SOMETHING of value! But I'm happy to report - there are A LOT of bands and performers out there today making music like this. You'll never hear them on the radio, but that's okay, IMO.

If something is going to destroy modern musical talent, it wil be...autotune!!

I really don't understand a lot of what passes as music these days. For me music has to have meaning. It has to have a positive message or have memories attached to it. Here are a few of my favorite pieces and YouTube links if you want to hear them.

"On the Beach" by Chris Rea,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOhVEqHOgIg (original)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqCi_25_R-4 (extended version) I like this one better.

"It's Probably Me" by Sting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K_pC9Szfxg

"No Woman, No Cry" by Bob Marley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4kpqDF9j6Q

"Riders on the Storm" by The Doors (hands down one of the best)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qRJIBtbc2c

"Nothin' but a Good Time" by Poison
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uywA4F7Pcwk

"Summertime" by Will Smith (this song will always remind me of high school)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr0tTbTbmVA

"When I Fall in Love" by Chris Botti
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWEIPMYfZiI

"Flamenco Sketches" by Miles Davis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3W_alUuFkA

"Freddie Freeloader" by Miles Davis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPfFhfSuUZ4

"What'll I Do" performed by Chris Botti & Paula Cole
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3WXqqwQCkk

"I Never Thought I'd See the Day" by Sade (I first heard this on True Lies when Jamie Lee Curtis enters the hotel suite)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDikGMM62Ok

"Concerto No.1 C Major" by Haydn, Performed by Rostropovich (My grandmother used to take me to the symphony when I was a child and I've loved it ever since)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MCYCvgm3X4

"Jesus Christ is Risen Today" I don't know who it's by, but when I hear this at church played on the pipe organ and sung by the choir it always make me feel closer to God.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMwPEmUMP7U

I also like some Hall & Oates, Poison, Eagles, Pink Floyd, etc.