5 great things that are awesome about music right now.

Posted by Michael at 20:55 on February 6th, 2011.

It seems like I read at least one thing every day about how the music industry is dying, about how it's not like it was in the good ol' days or whatever, nobody's making any money... seriously, the internet has got to cheer the hell up.

I was sitting on the toilet just now thinking about how fortunate I actually am to be living and making music in these times. Think about it!

1. The sky really, really is the limit

I first started out recording on a cassette player with a 'record' button. Then my awesome brother Rob figured he could take out the little mechanism that wiped the tape when you re-recorded over something, and BAM! We could record overdubs. Then I bought a 4 track, which meant I could record drums, bass, and a rhythm guitar part, then bounce all that down to the 4th track (in mono), then record vocals and extra guitars. I can't remember how, but I once managed to get a 3 part vocal harmony happening on one song.
Now, I can do whatever I want. Some of the Toehider stuff easily has 100 tracks. Now more than ever, the only limit is your imagination. And that's awesome. Plus we've got home studios that cost pretty much nothing!! Amazing.

2. There's no defining 'sound' of the 00's.

When I was in highschool I remember asking this one kid what kind of bands he was into, and he said "Nirvana", but there was something about the way he said it, like it was a stock answer and he was afraid he'd get bashed if he didn't say Nirvana or something.
It seems like now, no one style of music rules the roost. There is no defining sound that sums up the era in which we're living. And that's AWESOME! Variety is the spice of life and all that, and it's great to hear kids getting into such a wide variety of music, irrespective of a 'scene' or whatever.

3. There is so much to be 'inspired' by (read: rip off).

Aussie radio station Triple J put out a "Hottest 100", and every year everybody has a cry about how terrible some of the stuff on there is. To be honest, I don't listen to very much radio that isn't a classical music station or community radio, so I sat down and listened to this year's top 20. I could have easily just been all like "pfft, sucks, lousy hipster shit", but instead I asked myself the question "what do I like about this?". The harder I listened, the more I liked, the more amazing ideas I heard that I could incoporate into my own music.
Plus, my friends and people I follow on facebook and twitter are constantly linking to songs and artists, and there's always at least 4 or 5 ideas in everything I hear that're worth stealing haha. Some people say that we're over-exposed, there's too much choice. I personally think its a good thing, and I'm excited to hear how that ongoingly affects the artform.

4. There's like a million sub-genres.

My observation is that there loads of rabid music lovers out there. Some might be snobby elitists who only listen to 'postprog-neo80s-cartoonthemecore' (actually I pioneered that sub-genre). But see, that's awesome. It proves that music means something to them (take note of the italics in the previous sentence). It means that music is important to them. Surface-level music 'fans' will go along just enjoying whatever's on the radio and TV (nothing wrong with that of course), and then the deeper set music enthusiasts will talk (or write) for hours about how shit commercial music is. And that's awesome! Arguing is cool, it's born from having a passion, and seeing worth in something...
Also, the fact alone that there's a genre named 'djent' (which I assume is named after the sound of a detuned, palm-muted power chord 'djent djent djent djent djent djent djent DJENT djent djent djent...') proves how RAD 21st century music is.

5. The 80's are a little bit back.

I never really dug the 90's music hey. I mean, it was alright, but for the most part it seemed so depressing and took itself way too seriously. Plus I'm coloured blind so I need music videos to be full of prominant crazy colours splashing around everywhere and shit. Now in 2011 it seems that girls just want to have fun again, there's people with expressions on their faces that DON'T say "I want to kill myself", and everyone has big hair and bangles and it's totally acceptable to have a rocking keytar solo in a song if you want. Music is fun, and funny again. And that's AWESOME. Imagine if Mika landed in 1995!

Anyway, just look around you. Listen around you. Even TV commercials have amazing, moving, innovative music. Video game music is simply astounding (I was playing Red Dead Redemption yesterday and its Morricone-esque soundtrack MAKES the game for me). I can find 5 great things in everything I listen to. Can you?

Individual track downloads finally. »

« What's going on in toehider?

Hey Mike, spot on! After being at this years BDO, everything Ive felt about the Australian music scene lately was confirmed and its the fact that it is flourishing with some great bands and some great talent from every genre of music.

I find that as I go along my tastes in music expand more and more, and the reason for that is that my appreciation for music, all music, continues to grow. Music is a form of expression and seeing people like you exploring different styles, techniques and themes is really pleasing to see. Complete disregard for labels, just creating music. Gary Moores passing today is a timely reminder of what makes a true legend in the music industry. He was someone that wasnt satisfied to pidgeonhole himself into a single genre, but explored many outlets, with a myriad of different musicians from all walks of life.

I think theres definitely new and better ways to get music out there and be a successful artist and I know what you have done with Toehider has been a great example of that. I was at a music conference last year for music promoters and independent bands, and amongst all the talk of the need for managers and distribution and marketing companies, I frequently cited Toehider as an example of making a band achieve a fast-growing cult following through independent means.

So yes, I think what Im trying to say here is... youre a genius? Keep up the great work!