h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

todays music is know where near as good as it was in the 60s 70s in fact since the mid 80s there has been a decline .

Depends what your listening too. I've not paid much attention to the UK charts at any point in my life, at the moment theres plenty interesting stuff happening with African groups, and on mainland Europe, though they apparnetly don't suit our music buyign public and don't make it to the UK charts (as far as I can tell)

'Is music dying a slow death?'

No.

No.

Franz Ferdinand
Razorlight
The Kaiser Cheifs
Snow Patrol
Keane
The Bravery
The Killers
Coldplay

And all Brits bar one.

Two, both The Killers and The Bravery are 'mericans, sorry, pedantic about music

There are some great bands out right now, I'm adding the following:

Interpol
Arcade Fire
Bloc Party
Doves
The Zutons
Turin Brakes

ooops

I'm going with 'no' as well, not just on the grounds of what's around now but many bits of the 90s too.

There's always good music around, it's just a matter of whether it's to the fore or whether you have to go looking for it a bit. If you went by what was actually in the official top 20 for most of the 60s and 70s, you'd be glutted with pap.

For me, the worst musical epoch ever was the late 80s, between The Smiths breaking up and The Stone Roses emerging, a roughly two-year gap with only Rick Astley for company. But that's just me: with hindsight, there actually were some good bands around, but they weren't getting any publicity; equally, if you like hip-hop, the same period was a golden age.

Late 80s, good bands, not much publicity - hey, The Mighty Lemon Drops!

There's loads of good stuff around at the moment, as everyone else has said. Plus a good couple of bands that have emerged in the last couple of years like the Strokes and the White Stripes and the now-defunct Libertines.

Whatever happened to the Vines? OK, I mean every song on their first album sounded like they were trying to mimic a different band each time, but it was still quite good. Their singer was a bit of a plank though, wasn't he?

The Thrills weren't bad at Glastonbury either, at least from what I saw of them on my way up to the Police post to try and report my mobile phone as missing...

.....in general music is poor these days, there are exceptions, Alicia Keys for example, who must be the best vocalist at moment, even if you don't like that type of musc.

........sadly, we have just lost Luthor Van Dross, again a fantastic vocalist, particularly in the eighties, when at his peak.

.....wish I could realy like some of the British music at moment....but it doesn't really move me....Placaebo`are quite good (USA)....John Legend isn't too bad either.

the 1970s before Punk reinvigorated things weren't that great for music in many peoples eyes
there is usually something interesting around and ocasionally it breaks through into the mainstream

I see blandness everywhere in music now. But I guess this is because most of the music that's pushed out by record companies is bland. All the TV adverts for music - singles and albums - sound bland to me. I think the music biz's maxim now is 'make it as bland as possible so it doesn't offend anyone'. I heard someone say recently that 'record companies work on the principle of repeatedly telling everyone how good music is and eventually the public are brainwashed into believing it is'. She may have a point. How else do you explain the success of the likes of Westlife or Robbie Williams?

If the groups listed so far are being produced as evidence that music isn't slowly dying - then I'd suggest they are evidence its dying quickly.

And whoever mentioned The Smiths - PURleeeeease.

And one more thing (maam). Would you buy music made by someone ugly? I would. If it's good on my ear. But the chances of an ugling making any roads in the music industry today are slim. Roger Daltrey said that if the Who appeared on the scene today they'd get nowhere because they're all too ugly.

And another thing that annoys me. When people give non-musical reasons for buying a group's/performer's music.

'Why do you like this group?'

'Oh he's so good for his age'

'Oh she's such a good dancer'

'I admire her cos she always gets what she wants'

BS. What's going on eh?

Well, everyone has different musical tastes, but I'd say there's been more activity and fun on the music scene in the past couple of years than say 5 years back. But it goes in cycles...

I'm taking my whole family to a festival in August with Scissor Sisters, Franz Ferdinand, Marroon5 and Jem. Rather unusual to find a line up that all of us, (43, 14 and 11), in my little world, quite like.

Interpol in my personal opionion are a bit "Emperors New Clothes". I can't stand the sound they make. But others seem to think they are the best thing in music these days.

Placebo from the USA???? I thought they were French. The lead singer went to my kids' school in Luxembourg.

Thank god the old fogies don't like our music.

If they did then there really would be something wrong with it!!

I'd get ready to duck, if I were you!

Muse, The Magic Numbers, Motorhead. Ah, hang on...

The Libertines too

You don't *have* to be good looking to succeed, just look a Supergrass.

Arcade Fire aren't too pretty either, quite scary looking actually, but they've got a brilliant album.

Fb *The Arcade Fire promoter, apparently*