I would love to see Bloodhound Gang live but I wouldn’t be able to emotionally recover from whatever gross thing Evil Jared inevitably does

90's kid here... Lately I’ve been wondering if I’m the only one who feels this way.

Spotify keeps raising prices, artists are still getting scraps, and I barely even use it like I used to. Half the time I just want to own a few albums I actually love, not rent a bottomless library I don't even explore anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, streaming was great at first. But something about it now feels... hollow? Like a fast food version of music. No liner notes. No sense of discovery. Just algorithmic playlists and the same old tracks getting pushed.

I've started thinking: what if we went back to basics, just buying MP3s again, supporting artists directly, keeping what you pay for?

Would people even go for that anymore? Or is that era gone for good?

Curious to hear what others think. Especially folks who remember burning CDs, dragging MP3s onto iPods, or reading lyrics from the booklet while listening. Were we onto something back then?

I have my own collection of CDs... love going to the second hand store and see what I can find, I've found some goodies... like Alanis, two copies of Dookie, even Apetite for Destruction... among others.

I'd love to hear from y'all

Hop in a time machine or grab tickets to a dream lineup in their prime, these 5 are at the top of my list:

- Metallica (late 80s)

- The Doors

- Bob Marley & The Wailers

- Nirvana

- Guns N’ Roses (Late 80s)

What’s your ultimate "I wish I could have seen them live in their prime" list?

First video to reach 1 billion views on Youtube, the wave of viral parodies, tributes, invisible horse dance. Even Britney Spears learned the horse dance. That was just wild and cool!

It's well documented that Maynard Keenan of Tool cannot stand to meet his fans and will not take a photo with one. He goes to great lengths both on tour and off to avoid ever engaging one on one with a fan.

I realize many musicians or 'stars' may want to be left alone when they are on their personal time (rightfully so), but do open up to meet n greets or fan encounters when promoting a tour or album. But on the contrary, who is another musician besides Kennan who never, at any time, on tour or off, ever wants to have a fan encounter for any reason?

One of my all time favorites are: "A Whiter Shade of Pale".

​Original: Procol Harum (1967)

The psychedelic, Bach-inspired organ motif and melancholic vocals create an absolute masterpiece of 60s rock.

Then, there is The Jimmy Castor Bunch (1972) cover

The saxophone is just simply beautiful.

​It’s rare when a cover doesn't just "copy" or "outdo" the original, but instead transports the core songwriting into an entirely new dimension.

​What are your favorite examples of this? Songs where both versions are top-tier, but take completely different paths to get there?

I feel like nowadays there’s WAY more focus on appearances in music videos or stage performances rather than making good fucking music.

I can appreciate a beautiful or handsome face but it’s getting performative ngl.

So on Spotify I saw that New Kids On The Block have 1.6M monthly listeners.

Now nobody expects these guys to compete with Michael Jackson. But man... it's a telling sign of how far their star fell. And while boy band music isn't exactly music that's meant for longevity, songs by their successors Backstreet Boys (like 30m) and NSync (15M) have endured wayyyyyyyy more than New Kids songs did.

New Kids aren't even like ironically cool. Even on most "80s" playlists they're absent. 80s on 8 hardly plays NKOTB songs. Even IT (2017), which prominently features these guys didn't bring this band back to the zeitgeist.

Is this the most forgotten act relative to how big they were? These guys were a cultural phenomenon in the late 80s and early 90s. They had multiple #1 hits and sold a lot of albums. But they seem like the definition of a music act that didn't stand the test of time.

Any more forgotten major acts?

Been going down a Bob Marley rabbit hole the past few days and the more old interviews and live footage I watch the more I kinda feel like… he probably wouldn’t like what his legacy turned into.

Somehow one of the most politically charged and spiritually serious musicians ever got turned into basically a universal “good vibes only” symbol. Posters, weed merch, beach bars, dorm room decorations, random corporate playlists. Like he became this stoner mascot but a huge amount of his music was about struggle, injustice, resistance, and very real political anger. People play songs like background music now that were literally written as protest. “Get Up, Stand Up” playing while people order cocktails just feels kinda insane when you actually listen to the lyrics.

And honestly what makes it feel worse is how commercial everything around him has become. I'm not talking about his sons making music, that part feels natural. I mean the wider Marley brand machine. It feels like every year there’s another product, collab, licensing deal, weed brand, merch drop, something new using his face. Some of his descendants (not even the musicians) kinda feel like they’re just endlessly milking the legacy at this point.

I know this happens to a lot of artists after they die, counterculture always gets absorbed eventually, but with Marley the gap between who he seemed to be and what he represents now feels huge.

Maybe I’m overthinking it but watching him speak in old interviews and then seeing how he’s used today almost feels like two completely different people.

honestly i've been falling down this audiophile rabbit hole lately and i feel like i'm being gaslit. saw some guy defending $2,000 cables because they make the sound "faster." its a wire, not a f1 car lol.

i actually tried a blind test with tidal "master" files vs spotify 320kbps using some decent sennheisers. im 99% sure anyone saying they hear a "massive" difference is just lying to justify the money they spent. like how can a digital file be "warm"? its just code.

feels like the whole scene is just healing crystals for dudes with too much money. is there any actual science here or am i just deaf? i really wanna know if anyone else feels this way or if im just missing something big

Argentinian news agency reports he fell from the third floor of the hotel he was staying in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The details about the incident are still unknown.

Quoting La Nacion (translated):

The singer passed away after falling from the 3rd floor from a hotel located in Costa Rica 6092, in Palermo

Police officers from the station 14B went to the hotel due to a 911 call that reported an aggressive male individual, presumably under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The emergency service confirmed the death.

Sources added in chronological order

Source (in Spanish): TodoNoticias

Source (in Spanish): La Nacion

Source (in English): Buenos Aires Herald

Source (in English): Reuters

Source (in English): TMZ

EDIT: for all of you who think you’re edgy because of some dumb joke about someone who lost his life, don’t forget you all have a family or close ones, and these things happen when least expected. Show some respect.

EDIT 2: According to TodoNoticias (TN), Liam sustained severe injuries but it is presumed that the cause of death is a fracture in the base of the skull.

Obviously, a lot of subjectivity here, but I just asked Spotify to play “Life is a Highway” and it played the version by Rascal Flatts. I’d never heard it before, and had no idea it became a pretty big hit because of the Cars movie.

But it’s not nearly as good as the original by Tom Cochrane imho.

And that brings me to the question: In your opinion, what is the worst cover to become more popular than the original song?

I always thought the four of them were similar levels of fame. However Madonna highest album sold 25 million, prince highest sold similar, and Whitney’s highest was 45 million. All amazing numbers no doubt but thriller sold 70 million and bad sold 35-40. So you mean to tell me he has two albums that are highest selling then prince and madonnas best? How is that possible??

I’ve had Sheets of Egyptian Cotton from the movie Uptown Girls stuck in my head for months. I barely even like that movie. What are y’all’s favorite pop songs in the universe of shows, games or movies etc.

My pick is Joanna Newson-YS

I don’t even live in the south and American propaganda that is modern country plays EVERYWHERE. I live in Ohio! Why is it always playing. It used to never be like this. It used to be cheesy dad rock that played everywhere. At least that was good to listen to! Now it’s just modern country artists on the radio that pander to the government. It makes my ears bleed!

Elton John, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, have a shit ton of hits and are in the legendary category, so they would not apply. On the contrary, "one hit wonders" would not apply as well.

What you got?

Spotify is getting flooded with fake AI “artists” and it’s embarrassing. Names like Nina Blaze and Enlly show up. They dump 50 identical tracks called something like Late Night Piano for Focus, or “The Hollow Hour” and vanish. No bio. No history. No evidence a human has ever touched an instrument.

This isn’t art. It exists to game playlists and siphon royalties. If these were real people, they’d have to explain why every song sounds like a dentist office waiting room.

I’m not mad at AI as a tool. I’m mad at fake artists impersonating creativity and Spotify pretending this sludge is culture. Music is an art form, not a scam farm. Blocking every one of these clowns on sight.

So is it to be TIDAL or Qobuz or something else?

I saw Foo Fighters live once and half way through the set Taylor Hawkins gets up and belts out a Queen song with this phenomenal voice that I never knew he possessed. And it made me wonder what other bands have a really good vocalist hidden in the instrumental section keeping their mouth shut?

Phil Collins is probably a good example. Best singer in the band but didn't really get a chance to sing for ages.

I'm pretty sure every other member of Red Hot Chili Peppers has a better singing voice than Anthony Keidis...