I hate every single modern song and I can’t put my finger on why!

[CherriesAndBerries5]

(To start, this isn’t me trying to be ‘edgy’ I just genuinely don’t understand!)

I’m 28 and I love music. I listen to a huge range of music. I like indie and rock and also dance and fun songs.
I also have some awful dance and pop songs that I absolutely love! I know there were some really cheesy pop songs in the 10s and some I absolutely love. There are some rap songs that I enjoy too.

However… there’s not a popular song out there right now that I don’t absolutely despise. Most songs I have to turn off when they come on. And I don’t understand why because is it really much different to some of the songs in the 10s that I was indifferent to?

What I don’t understand is how all my friends are loving and singing along to all of it?

Lose control by teddy swims? God awful.
Beautiful things by benson Boone? I have to turn it off.
Too sweet by Hozier? One of the most dull and boring songs I’ve ever heard.
Tipsy? Fucking irritating.
Pink pony club? The most bang average song I’ve ever heard, why is everyone raving about it???

I’m not sure I can put my finger on it, I am open to listening to all sorts and I’ve always liked most songs but why do I hate every single one now (and why does everyone love them)??

Well, I'm a lot older than you OP, but I have stopped listening to new music. I think it's significant that music used in advertising is often 30-40 years old. That would be the equivalent to them using Vera Lynn songs when I was your age.

I feel the same about books and the new novels everyone raves about.

I don't think it is just getting old though. None of the teens I know like much of the current music either. They're currently raiding my grunge and blues collections!

Yes, but what did you listen to as a teen? I remember being obsessed with The Doors and Jefferson Airplane in the 90s. I think eschewing mainstream is part of being a teenager!

That’s the most ludicrous generalisation, there is SO much great music out there. Literally in your hand.
The stuff that’s popular isn’t for you if you’re over 25. But there are so many other avenues of music, my kids have introduced me to some excellent stuff, as has YouTube.
As for old songs on radio 1, they’ve always played old things occasionally, but music is consumed different these days to the 70/80/90/00, with the advent of streaming apps and tiktok old stuff often comes up for a new generation. One of the most popular songs on TikTok at the moment is a Connie Francis song from 1962!

I think it entirely depends on what kind of music you like. There have been countless new indie releases this year alone that avoid the ‘bland’ trap that SOME chart music can fall in to. I don’t say that to dismiss chart music just to mention that there is way more out there. Maybe pick up a copy of ‘uncut’ magazine or check out some tour dates near you for inspiration. I’m going to see Horsegirl in London tonight (3 young women from Chicago) and I’m really looking forward to it. I’m late 40s - don’t give up!

Is it because there aren’t any decent new bands any more? Everyone in the charts seems to be a singer/songwriter these days so you don’t really get a balanced range of music being played, especially since some have 2 or 3 songs in the charts at the same time - and let’s face it, they are no “Bowie’s” (ie. every song different!)

Back in the day, you would have all sorts of bands, interspersed with the occasional solo singer, like this chart from the mid 1990’s:
https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19950528/7501/

True, I was listening to blues, punk and grunge, and Kurt Cobain was a good few years dead by then, but there were also plenty fo kids who loved the popular chart stuff. I'm not seeing that with the kids in my life today, and I think today's popular music is comparatively worse than any other time period I know much about!

Never heard this but I absolutely agree and I know it has happened to me.

When we are kids we only have access to our parents music (I was brought up on electronic 80’s and 90’s dance - both of which I love) then once we’re at school with peers we start to be exposed to the current music - parties, what people are singing at school, we start to listen to the radio etc and hear new things and we’re receptive to it and like it.

For me that continued into my 20’s, I would listen to the radio on way to work etc, be very current and know what was in the charts.

Then once I got into my 30’s I was more and more reluctant to listen to the radio. I think in part it was to do with how easy Spotify became to listen to. I’ve had it since 2007, but it was PC only back in the day. I started to reminisce more and listen to quite a bit of noughties music as it reminds me of growing up and feels comfortable to me. If I ask Alexa for a radio station it’s always Kisstory, Heart dance, Heart noughties etc.

I like to listen to music I know and like, and I don’t have to capacity now to choose to listen to something I don’t know. I tend to find my new music from Netflix shows, occasionally hearing something in a shop and Shazamming it, Spotify suggestions etc. so when it takes me by surprise!

They were still playing 80s music on the radio in the 00s, even on Radio 1. I think the issue is that once music is about 20+ years old they have stopped playing the mediocre stuff and also the tracks that everyone got sick of because they were overplayed and what remains are the true classics from that era. So it's easy to think how brilliant the 80s/00s music was compared with today, because you're seeing the "greatest hits" rather than the full range.

Also completely agree with Perhapsanothertime's analysis of how our music taste/exposure changes.

My 16yr old plays bass guitar and is into mostly rock music but listens to all sorts of genres. However, he also hates all the formulaic modern stuff and thinks it’s absolutely crap.

He listens to music from the 1930’s onwards and probably stops around 2005. 🤣

I struggle to even name current artists...I hear songs but have no idea who sings them...unless my dc specifically tell me. I think top of the pops and listening to the charts kept a lot of people in the loop...now I know nothing.

Yes this! 'Pop' is probably geared to younger people anyway (there's probably a formula). Your tastes will change as you get older. Also you might find you can relate more to artists of a similar age to you. A good song is angood song, but it can feel different sung by anteenager vs a 40 year old. There is LOADS of great new alternative music out there at the moment - I recommend Big Thief and Bon Iver (brilliant new album), Cameron Winter, CMAT etc Just because it's new doesn't mean you should discount it.

You need to listen to the stuff that's not "popular". There's so much great music out there if you look for it.

I’m 35 and like most of the new music I hear on Capital. I like a wide range of old music too.

I’m 100% with you on Pink pony club. Just… why? It’s so boring.

Pink Pony Club is terrible and seems to appeal to middle-aged men from what I can see.

I can’t believe how much young people seem to love pop-dance one hit wonders from the 90s! I never thought that songs that were pretty cheesy and throwaway at the time would still be a thing 30 years later 😁

I like the odd new pop song but everything seems to be designed to be backing music for some kind of social media video. I blame Ed Sheeran as he seemed to be the first person to make loads of bland songs that are designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator whilst also releasing in 20 formats so they filled up the charts.

Can’t stand the autotune that seems to be thrown on loads of stuff. Probably some over engineering to digitally make things sound more in-time and less natural.

There hasn’t been a big change in a long long time now - we need the new punk/grunge/house to shake everything up

You've just become an old fogey who hates what 'kids these days' are into. It sneaks up on some people. Commiserations!

It’s because you are listening to ‘popular music’. It’s music by numbers in that genre

We were just discussing this ther other night whilst watching old episodes of Top of the Pops - DH and I look at the 80s with rose tinted glasses but we only remember the good stuff and not the bad stuff!

It was also quite striking how much variety there was in the charts then compared to now.

I like rock music and newer rock stuff doesn't do it for me - something about the production recently, everything seems to have a really muddy sound with the guitars and the drums all blending together and the same effects on the vocals - even when I can tell I might like the song itself I just can't get on with the way it's made to sound if that makes sense!

Music used to be art, now it's business. There is a lack of soul in modern music IMO.

Definitely the auto tune and tinny production.

I think there is some very good pop, but also quite a lot of songs that sound like a lot of slick production in search of an actual song.

I quite like some of the 'hyperpop' Charlie XCX type stuff but it is very 'dense' and deliberately overproduced and I can imagine it easily feeling like too damn much.