modern music is rubbish

I'm currently reading Rip it Up and Start Again which is, for those of you who don't know, a book about post-punk from the late 70s to 1984. It has confirmed to me what I've been thinking for a while - modern music is rubbish. Now, I know that is a rather broad sweeping statement, and of course there is some good music these days, but there is a lot less of it and, in particular there is a lot less originality. What struck me in this book was that bands could actually rip up what had come before and come up with something groundbreaking. Now it seems that there is hardly anything original left to do. Most current mainstream indie music is just ripping off old bands - The Editors, Franz Ferdinand, et al... and as pleasant and danceable much of this is its not really bringing anything new to the table.

I think this current lack of originality is not so much the case in electronic music and hip hop in comparison to guitar music, perhaps because they are fairly new mediums in comparison. For example, in my opinion, Dizzee Rascal's debut album was one of the most original releases in recent years. When I heard 'fix up look sharp' it was the first time a song from the last 5 years made me think 'wow i've never heard anything like this before'.

I dunno, maybe I'm just too picky...

oh and Rip it Up and Start again is a cracking read by the way, give it a whirl.