Whenever I talk with friends or family about music, I often hear the same things over and over again: modern music is bad, old music is good. Case in point: I was raised almost entirely on 70’s and 80’s music. My parents didn’t mind some of the newer artists like Britney Spears and Imagine Dragons, but they found almost everything else to be boring or uninspired. It took me quite a few years to realize this, but they were definitely right.

To be clear, there’s a lot of really good artists in this day and age. I’d be lying if I said I was a “Swiftie” or a k-pop fan, but I can definitely see their respective appeals and why they both share large fanbases. I usually teeter towards modern rock than anything else, with Radiohead and Queens of the Stone Age being ones that immediately jump out to me. Heck, In Rainbows is my favorite album of all time, and it isn’t even close. I can’t begin to count how many times I’ve put it on and listened to the entire thing in one sitting, it’s almost like I love it and it loves me. Not literally, of course.

That being said, whenever I turn on the radio to today’s biggest hits, it all feels… underwhelming? I suppose that’s a word I can use. It’s underwhelming in the sense that I really can’t differentiate any of the top songs nowadays. Nothing about the top 25 (or top 50, big difference) has really jumped out at me when I’ve given it a chance. The lyrics all feel the same, the vibes don’t seem any different from song to song, and it all feels manufactured. It’s almost like a good portion of these songs were churned out on a conveyor belt in some factory and not in soundproofed rooms with equipment and microphones. I know some might disagree with me heavily on this, but it is just my opinion.

It also doesn’t help that the average music video (with the exception) doesn’t really add much to the experience. Granted, there are some which have lots going on and they can be fun to watch, but like the songs they represent, they too feel stale upon further inspection. Some of them are one-note, others are overtly sexual for clicks and not much else, and they don’t really provide anything that gives me a sense of wonder.

80’s music gives me that exact sense, and there’s a couple reasons why.

First off, I don’t think it’s controversial to say that the 80’s were really important. Humanity was getting closer and closer to being rid of the Soviet Union, and while all of the politics were happening, we were finally stumbling onto what is now modern culture. My dad once said that the 60’s and 70’s were a time of chaos, and the 80’s and 90’s was when order finally started to blossom. In a way, he was right. It was the most lively and peaceful that the world, and especially America, had felt in a while, and it showed in both entertainment and in quality of life. Everyone felt comfortable in their own skin, and if you watch a random MV from that decade, you can definitely see that.

The visuals are striking, the tone of the video fits well with the music, and they’re almost never boring. Quite often, these videos are also downright weird, and even though they can sometimes fall into being weird for the sake of being weird, they also have a unique charm to them. It all goes back to feeling comfortable in your own skin: these artists had no chains around their necks, and they felt free to express themselves in their own ways. Worries about the threat of nuclear war and authority overstepping their boundaries had begun to take a step back, and it was replaced by the joy of being able to try new things and not being judged for it.

I think the reason I appreciate this so much is because it gives someone like me, who didn’t grow up in the 80’s, a chance to visually experience all of that happening. Sure, I can listen to the same stories I’ve heard from my parents or my relatives over and over again, but being able to see what they were talking about on a screen gives it more meaning. It was a simpler time for everyone, and you can clearly see that.

Secondly, and most importantly, production and entertainment value. When I say this, I’m mainly referring to the vocals and instruments of a song.

Going back to the idea of experimentation and self-expression again, the usage of electronic instruments was definitely a sign that the times were not only changing, but they were also going to be digital very soon. Many saw how technology could be included in music and how it could be used to create new sounds in place of traditional ones, which gave birth to the synth movement.

What a great thing, let me tell you. Traditional instruments are great and all, but there’s something about hearing funky synth in a song that makes my hair stand up. I think a lot of it has to do with how alien it can feel at times. A good song can take you on a journey with a guitar alone or vocals alone, but a synth can elevate that into something even greater. You almost feel compelled to get up and dance whenever it really gets going, and you almost fall into a trance. You’re in uncharted territory, and there’s almost nothing you can do about it. The great part about this is that there are simply so many options with how to make synth sound in a song that I can’t really ever get bored with it. There’s always a new journey out there, waiting for someone to take it. I know that synth is still widely used to this day, but there’s just something about hearing it being put to use for the first time that really feels rewarding to listen to.

The same can be said about some of the vocalists from that era, as well. David Bowie, Prince, Michael Jackson, you name it. All of them had unique, powerful voices that could change average songs into something greater, and they could bring you out of your seat with how energetic they were. They were storytellers, poets, and above all, entertainers.

This is where I feel that modern music really drops the ball. Sure, it may be easier to create entertainment now than it was 40 years ago, but having the ability to do that resting right at our fingers at all times has led to a lot of people who don’t have much in the way of talent trying to become something that they’re not. Case in point, modern rap. Gangsta rap in the 80’s and 90’s may have been filled with the same crude language and depictions of crime that are still heard today, but there was often a story to tell that was important to hear. Verses about getting out of the hood, trying to find a better life, and not doing drugs were scattered everywhere, and they provided good morals to people who needed to hear them.

I wish I could say the same about modern rap. Everywhere I’ve looked, I’ve been met with nearly the same things every single time: songs about unsafe sex, songs about drugs, songs about popping caps, etc. It’s the exact things that many of the old school rappers warned listeners to stay away from, and it’s not only devoid of anything edifying from a Christian standpoint, but it’s also devoid of real production value. Instruments serve as primarily background noise, the beats are so similar at times that it feels like they’ve been plagiarized from each other, and the excessive autotune really gives me the sense that these people are taking the easy way out. Autotune is decent at times, but I feel that there’s many cases of it being used as a crutch to disguise a lack of vocal talent or to make the song sound better than it really is. I’m not saying this didn’t happen in the 80’s, but with how common it is now, it makes so many of these songs sound exactly like how I described them above: fresh off a conveyor belt.

Before I finish, let me make it clear if I haven’t already: I’m not writing all of this to change anyone’s mind. If you happen to like modern music and especially modern rap, then that’s fine. It’s a supposedly free world, and music tastes are largely subjective. You have the right to like what you want, and so do I. I may disagree with you on the overall quality or meaning of a modern song, but I won’t stop you from listening to it.

The great thing about being able to speak freely is that you can have healthy disagreements about things, and in this case, I disagree on the idea of most modern music being good, or even better than how it used to be.

I just hope Radiohead releases a new album soon, it’s been way too long. Hope Thom and the guys are doing well.