Is Synthpop Dead?

[~Ninthwaver]

Okay, so this is sort of a bait, but I am honestly thinking about this question.
Is "traditional" Modern Sytnhpop ala Iris / DeVision/Cosmicity dead? Where are the new Cosmicitys? The new Blue Ocotbers?

Am I just jaded or behind the times.....

-Dave

[~DJfuligin]

I don't think its dead, although its changing and evolving, for better or worse depending on where you stand. And Synthpop is much healthier than it was 10 years ago or so. All I'd say is if the music wasn't evolving, it would just end up being the same stuff from 20 years ago. Its one of the things that I don't like about most new Goth bands. I can listen to the old ones and get the exact same feelings, themes, etc.

[~NullDevice]

IMHO, the best stuff in any genre comes from those who defy the genre in the first place and bring in a lot of outside influences. There's a lot of good new synthpop out there, although we wouldn't necessarily classify it as "synthpop."

Of course, I'm currently pre-morning-coffee and can't think of anything, but you know what I mean.

[~cliffwalk]

Why do what IRIS/Cosmicity/Devision do?
Why do yet another DM RipOff?
Or another PSB?

Dave, I think the point is that call it what it will Electronic Music is still growing... What we want/need is TALENT to utilize the instrumentation choices/sonic landscapes that appeal to this audience's ears. More Synthpop? What's synthpop anyways? Yet another in a long series of diversions to avoid actually making music by replacing it with the task of classifying it.

Whether it falls into the mold of how Mark Nicholas (for instance) sees music... well... why would we want another Mark Nicholas? We want ANOTHER GREAT SONGWRITER MAKING ELECTRONIC MUSIC (period). I mean for starters, one Mark is plenty, I'm sure he wouldn't like 5 of himself running around... I mean to have that discussion that all people who have had themselves cloned have to have:

Dude, did you sleep with my woman?

Sorry, wierd mood today.

[~arronc]

I think that to an extent, synthpop was always a product of certain technologies.

Classic early Human league DM, soft cell, PSB etc was about how to make a song with a steptime sequencer, a limited drum drum machine and a single vocalist.

As these limitations are no longer there technically, it seems unlikely that the sound of these early recording would continue to exist, in the same way that mono recordings dont.

However if you are talking about synthpop as in Pop music made with synthesizers, which includes dance music, britney spears, boy bands etc, I would say there is plenty of it about.

As an attitude, this group proves its alive and well.

As the flexibility of technology has advanced, the divergence of style has also.

As phil Oakey said in 81 of Dare : "One day all records will be made this way".

[~Hajas]

Synthpop will never die.

Now he is only sleeping out of the midia.

Maybe one day he can return to reach the top charts again like was in the 80's.

Freddy

[7red7]

Synthpop dead??? No...As long as theres bands emerging that enjoy working with synthesizers, and fans willing to buy the albums and enjoy the music, I don't see it being able to die off any time soon :)

[NoirTech]

I don't think Synthpop is dead. I see it as a genre like Jazz. It's not out in the open and popular like a lot of pop music, but it has fan support. Jazz is still growing and expanding...and I'm sure some of them also say "Is Jazz dead?" ....
...but then again...they didn't have a Synthpop Decade like we did in the '80s....
so I might be totally wrong.

[~pop]

If it doesn't change, it will die....
It is evolving and that's the reason it still lives...

[~COloquialist]

Originally posted by NoirTech
...but then again...they didn't have a Synthpop Decade like we did in the '80s....

Jazz had its hey-day, bruddah man. late 1940s, and early '50s.

~We will solve all our problems with: INTERPRETIVE JAZZ DANCING!
~Brian D.

[~jetjaguar15]

It seems that things are kinda quiet right now.. but I don't think the scene is dead.. just quiet at the moment.

[NoirTech]

Originally posted by COloquialist


Jazz had its hey-day, bruddah man. late 1940s, and early '50s.

~We will solve all our problems with: INTERPRETIVE JAZZ DANCING!
~Brian D.

hehehe.
Thanks for correcting me Brian. I knew I was wrong...but was unsure of what decade. :)

...and now....
....we dance!

[~MidiRipper]

I personally don't think synthpop is dead. I think there is a wealth of new artists (good ones too) available than there were a couple of years back. Many of which are listed right here in Electrogarden, and many more which are not.

Perhaps it is dying to the general public (or perhaps it's always been dead since the end of the 80s), but I feel that with so many new bands emerging and so many seasoned ones still creating, maybe the law of averages will put synthpop into the limelight once again.

'Ripper

[~cliffwalk]

Jazz had its hey-day, bruddah man. late 1940s, and early '50s.
----
No Jazz has hey days all the time. Too many people are caught up in MASS popularity that they fail to see that it's OK NOT TO BE MASS MARKETABLE. Granted, it's not as financially viable, but I assure you.... Jazz may be done as the dance music of choice but it still THRIVES.... big time... trust me on this.

As for the relation to Synth(POP)... what's the end-game? Mass popularity? Hitting the charts? Getting signed to a major label?

Well... listen to the stinkin radio and mimic someone. That will get you there. <OR> just HAPPEN to be at the right place, right time, and have someone choose to market you based barely at all on your music.

MUSIC DOESN'T DIE AND MAY FORMS CONTINUE TO EVOLVE.

THiS IS A GOOD THING.

IT'S NOT A PROFITABLE THING.

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE CHARTS.

YOU CAN'T DECLARE A PARTICULAR "GENRE" OF MUSIC "DEAD", THAT'S IGNORANCE.

Argh. Sorry, there are so many mainstream-centric mentalities on here for a place that's supposed to understand that this is the "Underground" as in "Independant" as in choosing to find creative ways to be able to create less than mass-marketable music.

Dave

[~MidiRipper]

See, now you got Cliffwalk Dave started ;)

'Ripper

[~gordonctrl]

Originally posted by Ninthwaver
Okay, so this is sort of a bait, but I am honestly thinking about this question.
Is "traditional" Modern Sytnhpop ala Iris / DeVision/Cosmicity dead? Where are the new Cosmicitys? The new Blue Ocotbers?

Am I just jaded or behind the times.....

-Dave

I would not go so far to say that it has died, I would say evolved. I think everybody as an individual goes through a time when they think music is dead. I thought Electronic Music was dead between 1992-1996. but it wasn't dead, just nothing jumped out and grabbed me. Also there are a ton of bands...literally a ton. everybody with a synth and the will to record has a band and there is a lot of material to sit through, a lot more than a few years ago, which makes it harder to find those diamonds in the rough

but they are out there
Brad MacAllister

[Avil]

Then we are back to the discussion about genres again.
Is synthpop dead? Then the question is, what is synthpop?
If you use a guitarr in a song, are you still in the synthpop genre.

But if you wanna talk about bands like De/Vision etc...
How did that band sound 5 years ago? How does it sound today? Not very similar heh? They evolve. Just like the whole musicstyle.

I would be bored to death if every new electronic band sounded like DM or Iris. Not that they aren´t good, but because I want some change in life...If everything is going to sound just like the other, then what´s the matter with discovering new artists?

Synthpop, electronic music will never die.
Just because you don´t see it on the charts anymore doesn´t mean that it´s going to dissapear (if we are talking about a whole style...a single band can be something else)
But just because Alphaville (hoho) dissapeared from the charts after their big hits in the 80´s didn´t mean that they have split, stopped making music, died or whatever...
See what I mean?

[~pop]

Synthpop - electronic pop music with synth elements...
Diversification within synthpop only make things more popular....
Fork the classification.....
Don't like the charts...
Start requesting... Start making compilation of your *NEW* (WE DON'T WANT TO BE PART OF THE 80S MOVEMENT) favorite artists and start giving away to all the college DJs and club DJs that you know!!!!

[~COloquialist]

Originally posted by cliffwalk
Sorry, there are so many mainstream-centric mentalities on here for a place that's supposed to understand that this is the "Underground" as in "Independant" as in choosing to find creative ways to be able to create less than mass-marketable music.
Dave

I agree with you Jazz is still alive and kicking. I see the jazz clubs here in Vegas all the time. Pay-Per-View has a spcial once-a-month showing of the "Las Vegas bet on Jazz" which is a filming of some great Jazz acts who play in the lounges in the Casinos here.

I meant by "heyday" that Jazz is no longer the dance music of choice. It is no longer incredibly popular or amazingly profitable. In reply to the concept of saying that synthpop is no longer the dance music of choice nor the music that is incredibly popular.

Saying Synthpop or Jazz is dead is like saying that Choir has gone the way of the Do-do, and orchestral music was killed in 'Nam. It aint true, I got the Cds and ticket stubs and choral background to prove it.

I do have one difference of opinion to register with ya cliff-walk. ;)

I WANT ALL THE BANDS I LISTEN TO TO SELL MILLIONS OF COPIES. I feel Cosmicity's "Pure" Album was fantastic. Wave In Head's "I began to hope" Rawked my world. All of Color Theory's albums spank my bottom and call me shirley because they kicked so much booty! I'm tired of seeing the artists I listen to suffer, and work thier butts off for measly gains and mediochre returns.

I've said it before. I say it now. I will say it in the future:
I WANT ALL THE ARTISTS I LISTEN TO TO BE ABLE TO QUIT THIER DAY JOB AND FOCUS ON THIER MUSIC. How does this happen? they sell out venues, and sell albums to the main-stream populace.

So yes, I do have a mainstream mentality: I want all the bands I listen to right now to move into the mainstream and take it over. I want to be able to turn the radio on and hear something good on the "contemporary top 40" station, instead of waiting 30 minutes listening to the eighties station. I'm tired of paying 20 bucks a Cd to get stuff mail ordered to me. I want to pay 12-15 dollars a Cd to buy it at my Local Where-House Music, or (heaven forbid I find the music section here) - a Super Wal-Mart. I want to be able to see the shows that come to My home-town, instead of driving the six or seven hours to LA, or Pheonix, or SLC , to see the bands I like in concert at a piss-ant venue when I know they are capable, and worthy of so much more.
Yes I have a mainstream mentality, because I've become jaded with the underground mentality.

~So in essence, I think your a big poopy head, ;) (j/k)
~Brian D.

[~KissTheStar]

What the hell .... lets just make and listen to good music respectively. Does it really matter what the hell anyone calls it? Electronic music is not dead ... it just needs some personality. Some one to turn over some desks, chew off a bat head or torch a hotel room. Break the mold and be what you feel not what you see.

~Craig

[~spi]

I feel that synthpop will never die. At least I hope it never does otherwise what CDs will I be able to spend my hard earned money on?

A few new bands I am really looking forward to getting music from include:

Sweep
Intuition
Provision

There are many new bands out there, just open your eyes and look around. :)

Synthpop continues,
-steve

[NoirTech]

Korn rules!

yeah...
That's the ticket. I think we should all just give up and listen to Korn.
or better yet....you all give me your synthpop CDs, and switch over to ...uhm...what's popular today...uhm....oh yeah...Papa Roach, or..Jimmy Eat World..or Creed.

[~pop]

Someone became bitter with this scene....
How come?

[NoirTech]

Originally posted by djstargazerX
whats your address?

i'll overnight them

wooo! gimme gimme
heh.
If only this were true. :P

[~Bornslippy]

Yeahhh let's trade our Synthpop Cd's for Hip hop cd's.... not...

[~pop]

>>the 80s suck
the 80s suck
depeche mode are worthless
modern music is the only way to go
this is 2002, not 1982
the 80s suck
the 80s suck <<

this part i agree with you....
retro movement is getting bigger by indie rock scene..
philadelphia 17 to 22 club kids love cheezy retro ¤¤¤¤....
like journey, michael jackson, etc....
it's amazing how hot retro has become in past year, but
we should think forward, not backward...

[~Dan1boy]

Originally posted by djstargazerX
repeat after me class

the 80s suck the 80s suck depeche mode are worthless
modern music is the only way to go this is 2002, not 1982
the 80s suck the 80s suck


Joel, you are a true visionary. I couldn't have said it better myself. Class dismissed.

[NoirTech]

Originally posted by Dan1boy



Joel, you are a true visionary. I couldn't have said it better myself. Class dismissed.

HAHAHAHAHAHHA
oh my...my stomach hurts from laughing so hard here at work.

[~cliffwalk]

I've said it before. I say it now. I will say it in the future:
I WANT ALL THE ARTISTS I LISTEN TO TO BE ABLE TO QUIT THIER DAY JOB AND FOCUS ON THIER MUSIC. How does this happen? they sell out venues, and sell albums to the main-stream populace.
----
Word.

However we need to recognize that all top 40 acts have sold more albums in a day than Cosmicity has sold during its entire lifespan.

What I'm saying is that I'm OK with that. I'm pissed that people I respect aren't atleast clearing enough cash to be day-job-free... and there's always that chance... all it takes is one tune to somehow make a breakthrough to the charts by any of the bands on the ADD catalog and you could be talking about millions of dollars...

And ¤¤¤¤, I hope it happens someday as well... but on the same damn terms that they continue being happy selling 1000-2000 piece runs of albums: their own.

My respect wont make anyone rich. But the great ones could care less either way. They just do what they do they way the prefer to do it and have no expectations beyond that. That's being a musician. That's accepting the life. I respect that because to an extent I saw those sacrifices and decided on a different primary concern. Others just found ways to do it and survive AND not compromise.

Dave

[~Bornslippy]

The only thing I hate about the 80's is Kenny G and Barry Manilow.. l.o.l... Other than that, 80's have good porn too j.k.. Ron Jeremy is my hero j.k...

[NoirTech]

Originally posted by Bornslippy
The only thing I hate about the 80's is Kenny G and Barry Manilow.. l.o.l... Other than that, 80's have good porn too j.k.. Ron Jeremy is my hero j.k...

Don't forget Traci Lords.
oh wait...she wasn't legal.
Nevermind.

[Avil]

Synthpop wont be more dead than you believe yourself.
If you do as spi said, open your eyes and look around...
Synthpop was the little baby back in the 80´s...
Over 20 years have passed, you can´t expect to find a baby anymore. You will find something different, something more mature, but still, it´s the same thing.

[~Bornslippy]

l.o.l........@ Noirtech...

[~pop]

>>i do not want to talk about "the scene" or about "the business" with anyone... sorry, i just dont.. its making me hate the music.. actually scratch that.. its making me hate talking about the music... <<

I understand, but we are not here to focus around Joel.
What Joel likes and what Joel wants to hear.
This is open discussion. Just stay away from business and scene topics.
I also like to avoid 80s topic too...
I don't want this scene to appear to public as retro scene.

[~NukleoN]

If synthpop actually were to die, people would wonder where it went and then it'd be all the rage.

As we have seen since the birth of 'electronic music', it doesn't really die, it just changes form.

[~Mike Gjennestad]

oh my, electronic music lives. it is going well. it is not huge, it is not great in the eyes of the world, it IS great in my eyes. compare the modern scene now to 1997 when cosmicity ADD and alt of the bands started coming out. there has been a lot of proggression since then. synthpop is alive and kicking


gjennmike