Recent "classic" artists and albums that will age horribly

i've been wondering about this since, oh, 1996.

I win.

The Strokes and the vast majority of the more commercial "retro-postpunk" bands won't age very well; they all lack the variety of influences and personal touch that made the original bands "last" until today. I reckon a lot of the postrock bands will come across like boring prog rock in about five years. They already sound that way
to me. As for a lot of the "insurgent country / no depression" stuff that sounds so much like "authentic" old country (as in the way that Freakwater sound
something like the Carter Family) - well the inherent weakness in that stuff seems
to reveal itself everytime I hear it.

The more I think of it, the more I think a lot of this stuff will date poorly. The real question is, what stuff's gonna sound great years from now?

Good period = period when everyone thought he was good.

"Take you to my mansion, can see my gallery
Lots of pretty pictures, all of them of me
We'll sit by the river drinking lemon tea
Eat tiny cucumber sandwiches made by AlexinNYC"

That's a good point. Almost all pop music will be dated at some point in a sense because of its inherently "popular" appeal. What I guess I'm asking is what will be the mos dated to the next few generations.

Also, "Elephant" by The White Stripes.

I like how obvious it is that you got a boner after you typed that.

I'm not sure the word "timeless" belong in any sentence that refers to the Strokes.

I win.

xp: The Strokes are my generation's Modern Lovers and old people should STFU 'bout 'em, thanx.

Hey man, I even like the Strokes, but in the grand scheme of things, they'll be your generation's Britny Fox....at best.

I like the Strokes, but they are not this gen's Modern Lovers.

Most disco music has "dated"/'aged" too. Who cares? who gives a fuck about "timelessness"? What matters is the relevance a listener gives to it – and how she defends her interest.

Me, I don't give a flying fuck whether the Strokes are my generation's Modern Lovers or Psychedelic Furs or whatever. All three make compelling music.

The stuff that's going to age badly is all the laptop cut n paste IDM or whatever you care to call it. Any music that's based primarily on the latest technology is, by definition, trendy. And trendy doesn't age well.

Look at Prodigy. They're the Flock Of Seagulls of the 1990s...they've even got the hair.

But some critic will do a piece or some label will start reissuing IDM (or whatever else) and there will be a craze all over again.

The Bach Revival
After Bach's death he was remembered less as a composer than as an organist and harpsichord player. His frequent tours had ensured his reputation as the greatest organist of the time, but his contrapuntal style of writing sounded old-fashioned to his contemporaries, most of whom preferred the new preclassical styles then coming into fashion, which were more homophonic in texture and less contrapuntal than Bach's music. Consequently, for the next 80 years his music was neglected by the public, although a few musicians admired it, among them Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. A revival of interest in Bach's music occurred in the mid-19th century. The German composer Felix Mendelssohn arranged a performance of the Passion of St. Matthew in 1829, which did much to awaken popular interest in Bach. The Bach Gesellschaft, formed in 1850, devoted itself assiduously to finding, editing, and publishing Bach's works.

(from this site: http://www.mcs.csuhayward.edu/~malek/Musician/Bach.html)

Drum Machine Hip-Hop/Electro ala Grandmaster Flash's The Message, or better yet, "It's Like That" by Run DMC are totally driven by new technology. Hell, even early Prince as it was one of the very first to use the Linndrum.

Sun Ra targeted Dixieland Jazz, but Joshua Rifkin and the Sting soundtrack brought back Ragtime shortly after. Granted, not _exactly_ the same thing, but the point remains.

Scenesters. Academics. Philosophies. Whether it's deemed classic or dud is relevant to the Zeitgiests of the time.

I used Banarama as an example of "shit 80's music", but I love it now, and I need to add the the Cruel Summer C/D thread.

Classic, of course...

I have no idea what to make of this. The Furs were a mediocre singles band, but a memorable albums band, with three consecutive strong releases in 1980-1981-1982, and an arguable return to form in 1989.

If Bloc Party = Furs, does that mean their next album will be a bona fide classic? Because the Furs' second (Talk Talk Talk) holds up pretty f-in well.

anyway, i cant fuckin wait for their next album.

Beck was a bit like the Ray Stevens of the '90s. Or at least Ray Stevens labouring under the illusion that he was Wild Man Fischer.

That's so utterly too kind, really. ("The Devil's Haircut" = "Guitarzan"; Sea Change = "I Need Your Help Barry Manilow")

I R proud to be HERETIC.

I disagree. Trendy doesn't age well in the short term when the new trend first comes along and displaces the old. In the longer term I think the trendiest, most gimmicky uses of technology often hold up far better than safer, more "timeless" records. If you listen to older music to get a flavor of a certain time period or indulge in a feeling of nostalgia then the most dated music is actually the most desirable. Personally, I want my psychedelic music to be the most over-the-top, fuzz, flanging and sitar laden mess possible. When I listen to electro I want to hear the early '80s lazer blips and vocoders in full force. Music that seems more timeless and understated when it's released can end up sounding common and unremarkable in the long term.

[[[...most gimmicky uses of technology often hold up far better than safer, more "timeless" records. If you listen to older music to get a flavor of a certain time period or indulge in a feeling of nostalgia then the most dated music is actually the most desirable...When I listen to electro I want to hear the early '80s lazer blips and vocoders in full force. Music that seems more timeless and understated when it's released can end up sounding common and unremarkable in the long term.]]]

Didn't I recently suggest this on another thread:

t/s Phil Collins vs. Arthur Baker?

OTM

Thusly, whoever nominated Basement Jaxx is a doofus (especially because none of their albums are defined by specific sounds of their period and any they do reference are co-opted into their overall sheen). Actually, this person also nominated Snoop, who's most recent output, singles-wise at least, is either bug-shit weird or deliberately retro, which is hardly a case for the prosecution either!

Alfred is OTM.

Maybe, but Crooked Rain, now..

I'm glad you didn't take offense, actually! I think doofus is jokey enough. I used to frequent a board where one dude upset peeple in their 20s that he disagreed with with "nipple" and "poopie-head".

Going back on point, what worries me is that anyone emulating these guys can only go so far - the Jaxx are pretty varied for a dance group but their style of production is varied and ultimately unique to them - the difference between a Jaxx-influenced artist and the Jaxx themselves would need to be v. sustainable to avoid harsher criticisms.

As for Snoop, heck, rap has this all the time, right? This would be like a populist future counterpart to the way peeps like Jurassic 5 and BEP are viewed (and the Beasties in relation to their own past).

Heh.

I don't know how poorly LCD Soundsystem could date if they fuck with like 3-4 different styles in their repetoire. Hold Steady nominations go straight to the round file. Keith Flint didn't even get the Flock of Seagulls haircut until their third album and everyone will love 'em again once their first two fall under the hardcore-tekno revival in oh say 5 years. I stand by Prefuse, who aged poorly with me after two years.