Back then we didn’t waste our time on social media. “The voice”, “got talent”, “who wants to be a bachelor on love island while ‘producing’”… Nobody was brainwashed into thinking that they had to stream the popular kids playlist 24h a day; you couldn’t. Not with a pager anyway.
Now it gets marketed every second of the day. Mass media tells kids what they like, the kids facebook it, artists panic and jump on board, Beiber is a god… and all before you’ve had little lunch.
Sorry, but I’m waiting on a PSA result from my doctor.
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In the last few months I’ve seen
Cygnus
HIDE
Bathhouse
Convextion/E.R.P.
Grun Wasser
Boy Harsher
Chromatics
Desire
Black Taffy
MNDSGN
SRSQ
Drab Majesty
There might have been a peak in the 90’s, but it’s not stifling the current peak
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I think anything that James Shinra, EOD / CN, or Microlith has done in the past few years, stands up to the old school very well. It actually sounds like it was pulled directly from that era. It didn’t die, it went underground in a sense. Even in the 2000s and forward you had some great electronic musicians that had / have some great sounding material (Wisp, Proem, Arovane, Cepia, Funckarma, Kettel, Secede, Shigeto, Jodey Kendrick)
Might be a pet peeve of mine, but I hate when I tell the average person I make electronic music and they start listing off all the big name EDM guys (Avicci, Calvin Harris, Marshmello) I can’t blame em, they don’t know, but I’ve never been a fan of that style.
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The last albums that I’ve enjoyed greatly were by Demdike Stare and Mark Ernestus & Ndagga rhythm force (IIRC). Oh yeah and that Made up Sound album was also killer
Good music is still around, and lots of it, but good albums have indeed become a more rare sight, at least in my crate diggings. But, admittedly, I’ve been cratedigging a lot less these days so maybe I’m just missing out on them album gems.
I don’t really think its an age thing - its more about “killing your darlings” and venturing into the unknown in the hopes of finding new, this form of adventure seeking might be something that a person grows out of as years go by though. In my personal case, its becoming bored with the status quo that keeps me looking for new constantly. I dont want to think that the 90s was a musical pinnacle, heard most of them tunes so many time they don’t really do much to me anymore, they are “just someone I used to know” 
(off topic rant but anyways) Also maybe I’m less into recorded music in general nowadays? My most memorable musical experiences now involve making music and jamming with friends, creating the moods in the moment, being in the zone with whoever I’m jamming with at the time… recorded music feels like a byproduct of all that, and actually feels less special to me now. The music has already died and the notes have already rung out long before the music product is out in the world, nahmean?
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There is a documented phenomenon that addresses the fact that the music you listen to in your formative years has a way of sticking with you. There’s good music coming out now, but it’s not necessarily tied to the brain development (and maybe hormone surges) of those carefree years. Enjoy the nostalgia as well as the new!
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in terms of innovation — yes, it did.
in 1990s and early/mid 2000s innovations gave higher chances to be rewarded.
in late 2000s and 2010s, innovations do the opposite, music is rather conservative. looking closer at highly demanded music, we can see that nothing new was invented this period — it all has been around for years and decades (rap, techno, whatever).
i suspect there’s some undiscovered cycle behind it, so the rules of the game can change again at some moment.
I’ve been on a bit of a Rhythm and Stealth (Leftfield) tip for a while. Still sounds amazing, and full of pre milenial tension.
I’m in my 40s.
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What he said.
People seem to have a built in tendency for nostalgia. Everything was always better before. ”The kids today don’t know shit.” In 30 years time the kids of today will be saying the same thing of the future teenagers and nostalgizing on Swedish House Mafia etc.
I spent my youth in the 90s too and I tend to gravitate to my old favorites from those years. I’ll never get enough of Maxinquaye, Dummy or Blue Lines, but in the recent years I’ve still been able to find albums that have become just as important to me. Oneohtrix Point Never, Lorn, Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Panda Bear etc.
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So I took the time to google those artists in your list I didn’t know, cause those I in it heared of were alright, Murcof among others. Wow, what a discovery! Thank you!
Make more of those lists mate (;
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Pretty much sums it up
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It’s very good indeed! So were the latest outputs of Aphex, Ae and Clark imo 
While I agree that late 90s/early 2000s had some groundbreaking releases, I certainly agree to this
I discovered so many great musicians on youtube, bandcamp etc no one ever heard of. The kind of music I like is not in the mainstream, but it’s certainly still there.
I’m quite nostalgic and sceptical with a lot of new music styles, too (seems like this is an unavoidable consequence of getting older ) but there is still tons of stuff coming out in the style I love.
I also can’t stand trap but hip hop didn’t die with the 90s, many great “boom bap” records were released in recent years
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by the way, 40+ age argument is totally invalid in this discussion.
just because late 2000s and all 2010s did not born any new significant genre, only adapted what has been around before to newer production standards.
so telling 40+ people that they are just nostalgic, stuck in their youth and thus too old to accept newer music is silly — because there is no newer music, just newer production standards for same old music.
and by the way too, current state of technology can confirm this. what’s most highly demanded on the electronic music gear market? replicas, clones and software emulations of 35–45 years old machines 
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I have to disagree there.
There was simply nothing comparable to for example Oneohtrix Point Never in the 80s or 90s. It’s a whole new ballgame. Mainstream is another thing, but even there popular or electronic music has evolved heaps since the nineties.
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I think dubstep should be mentioned. It started off in 04-05, but it definitely grew and evolved into something different in the following years. Not to mention future garage and UK techno that a lot of artists moved on to after dubstep went mainstream, although I agree that these are more of the old but with new production values.
As far as albums go, Burial’s Untrue is widely regarded as a masterpiece.
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that’s because those old people finally have some monies.
hahahaha 
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too old to ableton, too young to die 
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Well, I’m a bit north of 40 and I don’t think so, most of those albums listed IMO are overrated and over hyped, some of them definitely not originators either.
“Firestarter”:
Although these days I’m not buying as much music as in that time period, I generally tend to like the stuff I’m buying now more than most of the music I bought in the 90’s, I’m not saying that there wasn’t some great music in that period, but you can say the same for any period in time - always good and bad music being made.
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I personally don’t buy the nostalgia thing, I think the groundbreaking stuff was getting into the charts 20 years ago, now the charts are just full of Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber etc, yes there’s some good new music in the genres that people on here like but I think it’s become very niche and a lot of it to wade through, and a lot of it sounds very similar
People are gonna look back at footwork as a major genre. Even AFX has been influenced by it.
Just a few classics from the last 10 years or so.
DJ Rashad - Just a Taste
Burial - untrue
John Hopkins - immunity
Oneohtrix point never - Returnal/r plus 7
Arca - Mutant
The Bug - London zoo
Skepta - konnichiwa
Jlin - Dark energy
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I always found it funny that there is a constantly recurring pattern with the old generation not understanding the younger generations and thinking that everything went too shit after them. In my opinion it’s just a matter of perspective which is heavily influenced by us coming of age in our teenage years and early 20ies.
I am 33 now which is an odd age because for early-20s people I am an old man who listens to obsolete music and to 40+ year old people I am still one of those young whipper snappers that destroyed their music genre and will never understand because I wasnt there when their golden times happened.
For myself I have made the conscious desision to try to not become of those people being bitter about younger generations and instead try to embrace the present and try to stay curious and open-minded about new stuff.
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