Are modern musicians really talented?

It’s safe to say that the musicians of today are not what they used to be. The simple riffs, repetitive bass lines and talentless ‘rock beat’ on drums show no talent, if there ever was any. They claim to have had years of experience, well, why are they not showing what they’ve really got? Hegemony is taking over the world; everyone must be just so and sound just like them. They’re scared by sounding different, and maybe for once, mildly talented that they might get negative feedback or lose groupies. Originality is no longer sought after. It is disappearing into thin air, and it’s sad. It’s sad that young musicians are being tempted by the mainstream, fame is taunting them and they’re running after it.

In interviews they list names of great musicians, the likes of Chuck Berry and Hendrix may be influencing their taste in music, but in no way is it influencing the way they play. They care too much of what people think of them, and whether they’d lose fans by trying for a new sound. Aspiring to be the best has been forgotten and aspiring to be the next hit is the new goal for all budding musicians.

The more artists release new material, the more everyone sounds the same. The faster new material is released, the faster it’s happening. Everyone is just craving fame and fortune, not to make history. Hopefully one say a musical revolution will occur. Hopefully, it will be someday soon.

Electrified music just isn’t my thing. Of course it takes a moderate amount of talent, but not the same as spending years of perfecting learning an instrument, putting emotion and passion into it. Pressing a few buttons to make a noise is a pathetic excuse for music, no matter how good it sounds. I’m sure Beethoven would be appalled. Or at the very least, extremely disappointed. I’m sure that almost ALL of the music legends would be frustrated to see what their legacies have turned into. Even Hendrix, who was open to new sound, would be surprised at how lacking in talent some musicians are today.

I’m not going to be completely doom and gloom on new and modern musicians because some of them have genuine talent and to put their heart and soul into creating music that they have a passion for and have spent years of their lives trying to perfect. The bands or artists with the most talent are the not necessarily the most popular. It’s surprising that people haven’t heard of some of the best musicians of this musical generation. For example, have you ever heard of Buckethead? No? Not surprising. But he is a phenomenal guitarist. He was guitarist for one of the most popular bands in the last 30 years; Guns N Roses for four years (2000-2004). They are one of the biggest bands on the rock n roll scene and yet very few people have heard of him. It’s clear that he doesn’t seek fame and fortune; he’s playing to create music that he has a passion for; that’s why he’s not hugely popular. He is widely unknown to the musically uneducated; no one knows his real name apart from those who love him enough to search him on Wikipedia. The sense of mystery is part of his image, the fact he isn’t craving fame and attention. This is what many of the rich and musically famous need to understand. This is the real talent, so talented he wears a bucket on his head, people don’t need to see him airbrushed to like him.

Talent needs to be publicised instead of being hidden, not for money purposes, but to bring passion back into the music industry. The current band rilvalry is so fierce it’s forcing them all to sound the same. The Kook’s brought out a new album, and instead of their usual acoustic/electric combination; they sound surprisingly like the Artic Monkey’s, who were always their main rivals. The Kook’s met at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music, so they obviously have some REAL musical talent, but has to disguise it to keep everyone happy a lot of the time. With easy pleasing music.

Old bands are trying to come back. Trying to reinvent themselves. Take Black Sabbath. I wonder if they'll take the approach everyone has and try to sound like everyone else or maybe they will bring some reputation back to the music scene? I bet that even when they come back they have to collaborate with a younger artist to gain any interest from the musically uneducated adolescents. Maybe they will receive a good reception from parents passing on old records to their kids. We all know the older generation are going to love them reuniting, it will remind them of their wild years, partying and putting off their work. It’s an opportunity for the young people of today to hear what history sounded like, because they certainly made history. I mean everyone knows Ozzy Osbourne today, but do they know Tony Lommi, Geezer Butler or Bill Ward? I think you’ll find that very unlikely.

Even Metallica recently collaborated with a younger artist. Korn aren’t that old, but they made an album with the new and very popular (with the younger generation) Skrillex. If people like it, it’s what they’ll get. No risks taken. No one is in it for the happiness anymore, just the money. It’s hard to tell if the old bands coming back are doing it to create musical history again or just because they’ve ran out of money. Or maybe, even worse, maybe it’s to be ‘hip’ with the younger generations. I’ve got nothing against re-inventing things; it’s worked well with a lot of things in the past- technology for example. However when a band or artist loses their original sound, then it’s time to rethink what you’re actually doing.

Some musicians know how to put talent into what people want to hear. They’re the ones who make it big, fast. Like Ed Sheeran; he has the voice of an angel and can play the guitar, not only is he musically talented but he sings about things that cause concern to him, and obviously other people; like his song about Nandos. I can see a large amount of his fan base loving chicken. It’s people like him that show a glimmer of hope in the music industry, but then other people have started off like him, and deteriorated into either thin air, or have turned mainstream. Let’s just hope for the best.