Dated music. What's the deal?

I hear a lot of times someone saying that a piece of music sounds dated, mostly when 80s music is mentioned. Anyway, I wonder if that music is really any more dated than any other music, and is being dated all that bad? Regarding point 1, I would say that most music is dated, in that upon hearing it, one can deduce what time period it is from. People's most beloved bands here are rather dated. It seems to me, then, that when someone says something is dated, he or she basically means "I don't like it."

I don't find anything necessarily wrong with being dated. Every song comes from a particular time and a particular context. I also think most people say that about 80s music because of the synthesizers, about which many people are biased.

I guess I mostly want to hear people's reasons for why being dated in one case is bad and in another case is not. Or if you can make a good case for why certain older music is actually not dated (a harder prospect), I'm also all ears.

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=h_ICl20EJjY
youtube.com/watch?v=8Hg7M8qI5m8
twitter.com/NSFWRedditVideo

when something gets beat to death the sounds that inspired them sounds unoriginal and bland even if not many things sounded like it when it came out because of the unlimited derivations dated is a word that fits well
and i guess dead genres that used to be something big like acid house

I think people refer to think sounding dated when things that where highly popular in a period now is out of vogue. Take dubstep for example. Anyone who will use or have used elements of dubstep in their music, mainly two step drum patterns and a wubwub bassline will sound horribly outdated.

But it's mainly used about music where this was used in poor taste or utilized poorly where when this was popular it sounded passable, but doesnt hold up when the zeitgeist has passed.

At one point, dated turns into old, retro, vintage and is no longer compared to contemporary music but is isolated to that time and period.

How long is that? 10 years? 20? 30?.

We had a 80's retro wave a couple of years back and we have alot of early 90's retro elements popping up (vhs look, vaporwave so around 25-30 years would be my bet.

are you fucking retarded?
the 80's drum machine sound is dated AF. i love ct but its so obvious how much they relied on that one fucking patternyoutube.com/watch?v=h_ICl20EJjY

I think "dated" applies to music that's not only old but even generic for it's time. There always classic artists who were really innovative or just all around good, then there's the artists who possibly weren't that good nor were they unique. I think "dated" applies to these types.

Good question.

Most recordings provide some clue as to when they were made--the production, playing style, arrangements, singing style, etc. In the case of 80s music in particular, it's mostly the synths and drum sounds. For contrast, a guy playing unaccompanied acoustic guitar would be harder to date. So such a recording might be timeless, provided the lyrics don't date it.

Every period of modern music has its favorite harmonies, arrangements, synth settings, drum samples and mastering. Music sounds dated when these are starkly different from the current trend. For example the '90s are now far enough away and differently enough from current music that popular music from the era is becoming distinctively '90s.

I don't think most people would even use the term negatively, it's just meant to express the difference from current music. Of course then there are some people who only pay regards to current music.

For me, "dated music" means certain tracks, namely Top 40 hits, that were hot in their day but they have not stood the test of time very well. Often these are tracks tied by subject matter to then current trends or fades of the time. Once these trends or fads are gone or forgotten, the hit loses it's public appeal, often, even as an oldie. Conversely, there are some tracks, because of their subject matter, that remain almost timeless as their lyrics and messages "feel" as relevant today as the day they were released regardless of the time period. To me, this is what dated means..

Think Pearl Jam--Ten. That album is very dated due to its hair metal-style production. Also a lot of 80s Rush sounds dated.

Take something like Disraeli Wheels. That album is just too fucking tied into the late 60s to transcend that era. It's good music and all, but sonically and stylistically it can't exist outside of its time. Just like 80s hair metal.

Similarly, Enema of the State sounds like 1999, there's no getting around it.

I'd have a difficult time finding any piece of recorded music that doesn't sound like the time it was made.

90s hip hop is so of its time that it's easy to hear all the cliches. But it's also right at the beginning of being "rediscovered" and revived in a big way.

this is dated music
youtube.com/watch?v=8Hg7M8qI5m8

most dated music (and there is a lot of it) is so horribly dated that you would only ever hear it if there was a freak accident

but people get a bit too liberal with these terms, same as with other lazy crits like 'boring'

This!

a work of art feels dated when appreciation of it is partially or wholly dependent on the cultural zeitgeist at the time of creation

Connie Francis. Nobody sings like that anymore. In fact her singing style became instantly obsolete in 1963 thanks to Leslie Gore and Skeeter Davis double tracking their vocals.

A lot of 80s rock hasn't held up well. I mean, I used to think Motley Crue, Scorpions, and AC/DC were cool when I was 15, but man, I just can't listen to the stuff now. The lyrics are so juvenile and over-the-top misogynistic. And I used to play that stuff when I was with girlfriends.

two step patterns are a part of trap as well
not saying they are not dated but as a reggae staple they are more established than just being a dubstep element

>Connie Francis. Nobody sings like that anymore
Same with Diana Ross.

But there are a lot of retro singers who sound like DR. Nobody in their right mind would try to do Who's Sorry Now today.

So, Christgau was right about hairspray metal being stupid sexist dreck?

I'd Rather Jack was dated and crap when it came out... even by PWL standards it was extremely backwards and I don't know how they thought it with its degraded 1983 sound sounded even like New Jack Swing (compare it to This Time I Know It's For Real released the same year)

Most early to mid 1970s popular (and I mean singles charts, pre-punk) music has dated beyond horribly in every way imaginable, way more than the 1960s equivalents and not just production wise like later decades. Seriously awful garbage. You're So Vain has survived the quality test but very little else

K-pop from before BIG BANG/Wonder Girls sounds like completely dated and amateur crap in general with horrible production values

At least AC/DC have a sense of humor. Whitesnake actually take themselves seriously.

agree about early sevs but 10cc came out of it ok

Actually I think Connie Francis would sound much fresher without that awful late 50s-early 60s production. Reminds me of Christgau pointing out how her contemporary Patsy Cline is infinitely better in live recordings where she loses the do bah do dah backing vocals and other period studio gimmicks.

This is a cop out for people that can't cope with art

The Moody Blues' "essential seven" albums sound extremely dated to me, both in terms of lyrics, themes and sounds (the electronic organs in particular). But I still enjoy them and play them regularly.

I love Prince, but I'm not gonna lie that a huge chunk of his stuff sounds very dated.

You're right on about Synthesizers. Because those sorts of sound emulation were in their infancy, they all sound like dogshit - they were still adapted however because of convenience and people wanting to experiment. Just listen to any 80's string sample (drums too) - or any of Kraftwerk's music for instance.

i think kraftwerk's drums sound better than acoustic drums
sometimes emulation isn't why people use synths

>Most early to mid 1970s popular (and I mean singles charts, pre-punk) music has dated beyond horribly in every way imaginable, way more than the 1960s equivalents and not just production wise like later decades. Seriously awful garbage. You're So Vain has survived the quality test but very little else
You mean stuff like the Carpenters.

I think laziness that relies on a gimmic is what sounds dated.
A lot of early 90s sampler stuff is appalling, much worse than what is just early synth stuff.

No I mean everything that could be called pop music during that time period.

Carpenters weren't even the worst by a long shot. It's pretty telling that people only remember them, ABBA, Bowie and 10cc as whole acts when there were a lot more prominent acts back then who are just forgotten. Debby Boone had the biggest song of the 1970s for example

I love Prince too, but man a lot of his production choices really do not hold up to modern ears. I've tried to play a lot of his work to my 20 something friends, and a lot of them honestly can't get past the production.

Think Cher "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves". Now that is one fucking dated song.

Even early 2010s stuff like Ke$ha and LMFAO sounds dated now.

I'd agree with you regarding most synthesizer use in the mid to late 80's, but Kraftwerk does not belong there. They were going for a very specific synthetic sound that still sounds like the future to me (not counting anything they did after computer world).

See this Christgau column from 1974 where he bitches about the absolutely dire albums coming out at that time.

And he was complaining about that music when it was brand-new. Now imagine listening to Dobie Gray over 40 years later.

>that Bowie review
Ok, this is not acceptable.

That Ashford & Simpson album is exactly what I mean by horribly dated shit.

Yeh it has that typical 70s Quaalude/lounge lizard sound that sounds extremely dated.

Pin-Ups sucks though.