Defining Musical/Artistic Movements of the '00s?

The "Rock Peaked" thread got me thinking about something I've discussed with friends.

Most decades have seen a profound musical evolution or stylistic movement that has defined them. The 90's had grunge and Alt-Rock. The 80's had synth-pop, MTV, hair-bands, etc. The 70's had disco, funk, and anthem rock. The 60's had hippies, the rise of rock and roll, etc. 50's had a bunch of do-wop and the beginnings of Rock and Roll. The 40's had some good big band stuff and crooners. And we can go on.

What is the defining musical movement of the '00s? I really can't pick one out. We have some minor trends, like emo, but I don't know what this decade has really produced to radically alter the musical landscape.

Is this just the decade of the retro/fusion?

whatever indy rock is i think we have had some of that.

00's?

Country and Pop merged together.

I think we'll need the benefit of hindsight to say. Maybe the 00s will be the win a talent show on tv, become a star era - error?

Rap became a parody of itself?

Defining? What about all those stupid "reality" shows? Sure, they had them before, but they've become effin huge! From broadway acts to singers to dancing and even cooking, everything is now a "reality" show.

Bryce

Rock is in a freakin dead zone right now. Most of the mainstream stuff is industrial rock which all sounds the same and sometimes hard to tell what band is on the radio.

You've got bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Godsmack who are similar to Metallica in their ways, but nothing in terms of trend setting. Emo by far is the defining rock genre of the 00s, I hate to say it but it's what has dominated the past few years.

Rap/Pop/Hip Hop, I think just plain out sucks right now. The trend is whoever can make the biggest ass of themself.

grtechguy wrote: 00's? Country and Pop merged together.

+1. And its getting hard to find real country. I do like Rascal Flatts. But not as a country band.

This era is no different than any other... most of what gets played on the radio is pretty bad. The only difference is they stopped playing the serious garbage from the other eras and have been long forgotten.

I'm sure most of what I listen to, others would consider garbage... Do Make Say Think, Explosions in the Sky, Shark Quest, Sigur Ros, The Album Leaf. However, I'm sure it will be a little while before we can stand back and define the "characteristic" bands of the decade. With the way that music is distributed nowadays, where the radio dictates to a lesser degree what people listen, I'm curious if it will mean there aren't as many mega-hits as in the past. Time will tell.

There's also been some big changes in the way we listen to music. Growing up (I know, I sound old) we only had a handful of rock stations, and I was lucky to be in the New York metro market. Today we have Internet radio, satellite, iPods, Music Choice, etc.

We also used to have these things called record stores. You'd go in, see what was big, and buy it. When's the last time anyone visited one of those?

Also, MTV used to be a big influence. Again, when is the last time they showed a video? I think even MTV2 has gone away from videos. It's like we watched this big industry build itself up and then crumble down to nothing.

Aside from NPR every now and then, I can't remember the last time I listed to broadcast radio. Probably back when we still had Stern. At home we listen to Music Choice via our cable TV. No commercials, no DJs, and stations that cater to exactly what we want. In the car, it's either CDs, iPod or satellite depending on the vehicle. When in front of the computer, it's iTunes.

aircooled wrote: Rap became a parody of itself?

Sad, but true.

grtechguy wrote: 00's? Country and Pop merged together.

That really started in the early 1970s - the Eagles, Poco, America, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and others. There was a time when EVERYone was walking around in cowboy boots and hats.

Hah, I'm wearing a pair of cowboy boots that were my dad's. He wasn't a cowboy, and neither was I, but we lived in Texas, which is pretty much the same thing (as far as any Floridan is concerned).

Dave, I'm with you on NPR. The station in Jacksonville has a few good music programs at night, too.

American Routes is a good program on NPR if you can find it.

"Country Noir" is a small-scale movement right now, kinda folky country that's more back to the roots. Check out Gillian Welch, Neko Case, Jackie Greene.

Indie Rock/Pop is huge now too, New Pornographers, Arcade Fire, White Stripes, Wilco, etc etc

I'm out of the loop though, so really Disney pop is the big story of the decade.

MitchellC wrote: Hah, I'm wearing a pair of cowboy boots that were my dad's. He wasn't a cowboy, and neither was I, but we lived in Texas, which is pretty much the same thing (as far as any Floridan is concerned). Dave, I'm with you on NPR. The station in Jacksonville has a few good music programs at night, too.

I have two pairs of cowboy boots. I always wear one of the two if I am wearing jeans. Mostly just to be different.

Mine were rather uncomfortable at first--fit to someone else's feet, and fit a size too small, but they gave in after a few weeks. Red Wing Pecos.

Bastomatic, I'm a huuuuuge fan of Neko Case, so I'll have to listen to some of those others you recommended. I enjoy Wilco, but don't listen to them much. Do you like Old Crow?

Can't say I'm a huge Wilco fan actually, and Old Crow is new to me.

I saw Neko live a few times and she put on one helluva show. Definitely give Gillian Welch a listen - her voice is incredible, even if it's not huge like Neko's. Her newest album is crazy good, but they're all good. Also getting into Aimee Mann at the moment, but she's not quite country.

Real country? Trigger5.com. Start there. (Yeah, it's my band.)

Alt.country (more mid- late-nineties around here, but we were the hotbed, even though it was before my time). Indie rock. Emo.

And retro. What was old is new again. Yes, I'm guilty of that myself. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I think our culture's in a period of looking back in order to define itself. Quite interesting, really.

DirtyBird, there's a lot of good rock out there, but it's not in the mainstream. Black Mountain and The Hold Steady spring to mind. Lots more examples escape me at this late hour.

Let's not forget about the soul/funk revival that's happening. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, The Dynamites, the Budos Band, James Hunter - all of these folks are carrying the torch and bringing the sound to a new generation.

I'm just waiting for the "blind faith" "blind patriotism" "white trash pride" subject matter to run its coarse in country, till then I am more than happy to stick with Alabama.

A veriation of this thread is the fact that in Gen Y, for lack of a better term, we have nothing distictive. We are a lost generation just sadly copying off of previous gens with nothing original. Plus many having this bull E36 M3 sence of self-entitlement. I hate my generaton.

David S. Wallens wrote: There's also been some big changes in the way we listen to music. Growing up (I know, I sound old) we only had a handful of rock stations, and I was lucky to be in the New York metro market. Today we have Internet radio, satellite, iPods, Music Choice, etc.

That was back when New York had lots of different stations instead of the same crap in so many bags. I agree that the internet is the place for music now. I'm a fan of country music but what plays on commercial radio is just pop with a funny accent. Thanks to XM and the web I listen to music I would never hear on the radio here.

Sadly I think it would have to be emo...the only really different new form of music that's wildly popular (somehow)

Hopefully something new will come out and overshadow it so that this decade won't be remembered as such a sad and lame time.

GameboyRMH wrote: Sadly I think it would have to be emo...the only really different new form of music that's wildly popular (somehow) Hopefully something new will come out and overshadow it so that this decade won't be remembered as such a sad and lame time.

The decade is almost over, so it probably won't be overshadowed. but I'm actually starting to dislike the term, as emo is short for emotional, and any good art should evoke emotion.

And I've actually found I like a few of the bands on the edge of that genre, like 30 Seconds to Mars. And on their tour, they fuel the busses with veggie oil...

I think indy rock has been bigger than emo.... i could be wrong though.

ACarlson, saw the hold steady in concert..... to be nice thats all i will say about them.

OK, I'm old & out of touch...I've never heard of "emo". Any examples of the genre?