I was just listening to some tunes while I did some stuff and I was kind of thinking - where does music go now?
What I mean is, just since I've been alive there's been a massive amount of genres invented. Now I know it's really difficult to conceive of something before it's invented, but still I find it really hard to think of what could be done next - within reason that would actually work. Like just in my lifetime punk, death/black/thrash/industrial metal, new romantic, EBM, futurepop, house, techno, power noise, drum'n'bass, IDM, dubstep, grime....on and on and on have all happened. And for a large part they're mutations of existing genres - like dubstep isn't really new music, it's a twist on existing music that created something a bit different. I'm sure music will keep mutating in that way and genres will crossover - like death metal has incorporated jazz and classical. And of course the stuff I've listed is really in the 'pop' family - there's all the world/traditional stuff. That in turn has been blended with pop styles.
I love music, listen to it every day, have I think damaged my hearing a bit because of it (curse you Motorhead!) and the amazing array on offer is one thing I'm glad to be born in this era for. But I find myself wondering, how much more can be done? First you just had analogue synths, but with the advent of digital and sampling we can make pretty much any kind of sound. Atonal is old now and sheer noise has been done a lot. Outside of the mainstream, it's simply incredible the amount of different music you can find.

Where do people think music can go now? Are there any totally original ideas left? In a world that already has Nintendocore we see anything appreciably new?

I challenge you all to invent a new genre. Right here, right now. A proper one - not xylophones made out of fish or something.

dogsmilk wrote:
*tuts*

*scraps blue peter toilet roll discomachine and goes back to the drawing board*

Dogsmilk
You make a very good point. Something I've discussed a lot with people over the years...
Music usually changes with new technological inventions doesn't it? So I'm sure
there will be something new on the horizon (Dream music, Imaginary music lol).

At least we've got centuries of good stuff to wallow in for the time being until
something comes along

We need to fuck with tunings more. Microtonal tunings. Most of the music we here operates within a fixed harmonic series. A guy called Harry Partch broke out of that but it didn't really filter though to popular music.

Good thread, I have also been thinking about where music will go from here over the last few years.

I always wonder if originality is almost gone or all the style's of music are getting used up.

Music is going non-commercial. The music genres will suddenly seem and and also become more diverse. People will ALWAYS emulate others who they feel have a good sound, but this wont happen as much as it did do. The music charts are becoming less and less relevent, leading to music becoming non-commercial All planned IMO.

I would really really really love some sort of new Classical Music... I wish we could have a new Mozart... he was deff the best ever, i reckon.

Imagine a new Mozart somehow... a genius like him ! Wowee... if only.

( all movies nowadays are just re-makes...) but surely music can reach higher and higher... Come back amadeus, we want and need you! Well, i surely want him back or someone as good as him!

Steevo wrote:
I like to just listen to a huge range of diff kinds of music... and sing along and have fun. too much gloom nowadays.

i just want everyone to lift their vibes, man

This is something I've been thinking too... Funny thing is, Auringon Hauta, the the folk metal band in which I play, been since the beginning, was amd is part of new subgenre. Sort of. There are not many folk metal bands who build their own traditional instruments, go bit deeper than surface about traditional stuff, I mean actual ancient stuff as lyrics, on native language, no synth what so ever and song composition is almost solely based on traditional instruments but arranged into heavy metal concept. There's skyforger, Metsatöll and few others who go very close to what we do. Although nobody's got any name for this, for your typical metalhead, we're 'just' folkmetal.

Anyway, where in the heck is music going? I think Dogsmilk sort of answered his own question in the OP... I have long ago gave up thinking that I should make original or world changing music, all this thinking did was that it caused me grey hairs. In a world where everything seems to be invented, maybe it's just wise to gather your own bunch from existing flowermedow and then just mix it all up to look like your own image. This is my philosophy on this, what will the general direction be, I don't know.

One thing's for sure, since music business is changing quickly, album making and record sales are not going to generate much income in future, I'm quite certain that live music will be THE thing of the future, this because live music can't be downloaded and live performance generates income and interest. Also I think there will be some sort of raise in analog/acoustic stuff, most musicians who I know are BORED with overly produced digital sound of today and they want something fresh and 'real' from their sound, so I believe anything analog and acoustic will be the thing for many.

Hexhammer wrote:
I certainly agree with you about live music. And about analoguge and acoustic - I guess the only thing is digital technology has become cheap and using the 'classic' alternatives can be more expensive for people who are just regular people who want to make some music.

Is this you then?



You are clearly a very talented bunch.

A very good question.

I think since so much of music looks to the past for inspiration and so it is hard to define what you class as original. If I hear a remix of a cover version and they have done something with it then to me that is "original" and shows talent. Of course other people will say that is not original and shows zero talent. As you already said we have gone through many waves of music that are really just something else taken down a road. Go down the techno road and reach various types of techno etc etc. I sometimes out of being lazy watch a song on youtube and then just read the fights that go on about what genre the song falls into. It is of course pointless. Music is music.

As for the comment somebody made about movies being remade. That happens a lot and is obviously done for money purposes on one level but a remake(song or movie) can also be a chance to explore the original idea differently.

There are also some videos on youtube of people like Mike Patton doing voice performances that some people claim is just a guy screaming or whatever. Then you have things like Panasonic which just sound like static and pips in the speakers, real minimal stuff.
I am sure you know all this but you can explore all these genres and mix them up endlessly in my mind. Then of course there is the mash up. As far as totally new genre that would be tough to impossible to say. I mean all the new genres you mentioned or hear about are as you said really just variations on already existing genres.

On the topic of live music I remember in the movie Vanilla Sky people play live holograms of dead singers. Perhaps the future will go into that or maybe multimedia dream music videos that you create with your mind. Who really knows. Maybe we will go back to basics and just write music on a piano or something, or further back and hit on things.

I think that is the great thing about the past. Things like punk have opened up music so now there is something for everybody. So much out there that still excites me. Mostly it is just about the sounds and the words that people can make for me. People with things to say or emotions to make sonic.

I certainly hope that vinyl endures though or something that reproduces the sound as well as that.

With digital recording equipment I think we have developed the ability to harmonize contrasting human voices into a melodic and tuneful movement, you could record two people arguing and form a backing track to both voices whispiring to each other about why they're angry, it'd be recording sounds in a noisy place where lot's of people are talking and then chopping and distorting the different and conflicting "instruments" into a coherent whole, using things like football chants or religious preaching. All people verbally communicating, digitally altered, no instruments at all, whaddya think?

This is an excellent question.

As unoriginal as it may sound; I personally suspect that the human potential for musical genius has been either hijacked or severely hindered (maybe both) by how the music industry and scene are so tied up to profit. Same can be said of other crafts/arts and invention in general.
At the moment all that [really] matters is: what can I come up with that would make money, ideally tones of money.
You can’t cajole things like; invention, inspiration, creativity, you can’t give parameters to these things. When you do, you limit their scope and that’s why you end up getting more or less the same products/outcomes.

We need a new renaissance.

How about.... emo rap? Or did Eminem already do that? xD

I'm always excited about what new genres and developments will happen in music.

This isn't a new genre or anything,just a really nice song,so I'll leave it here

Guevarista wrote:
I think that's a really good idea. Though it also wouldn't surprise me if it's already been done in that 'pure' form. there's a track I have where the first part is samples of people arguing overlaid on top of each other, but making a collage rather than a tune. Alas, it isn't on youtube.

Also - it does it have to be melodic and tuneful?! Though not a track made purely out of vocal samples, I really like the way this track extensively utilises them rhythmically.

i can definitely see the appeal of that tbh.

Have you seen swedemason?

Guevarista wrote:
I have now.

And it did my head in. In the way I think it wanted to.