Steve Lukather on the industry

[Heritage Softail]

Most fans are thieves. They killed the industry.

Granted the overhyped hair metal era needed killing at a point...

Teenage girls run the music biz. They actually buy. Males normally steal it.

Everyone big getting mentioned here is marketed to teen girls.

 

[RG955TT]

And as far as Toto sucking check out some of their live stuff, very musical, quality songs well crafted and great playing. Very little that is like their hits of the past. Some stuff is really awesome and they are all killer musicians.
For those who dismiss those real musicians (not auto tune cut and paste which is a lot of what is produced these days=half these bands cant even play their songs all the way thru) who have around the block a few times and seen a lot and really have talent and have been in the game long term...well fuck you.. and you can have most of the crap produced today! Respect is a lost term these days as well it seems. I continue to be disgusted by the crap people say these days. Agree, don't agree with him, but he's the real deal and has the credentials to back it up and for that he at least deserves his earned respect and is entitled to his opinions whatever they are. And I agree with him. As far as all this "change" goes, fuck all that too, none of it in my opinion is for the better.

 

[Ventura]

And as far as Toto sucking check out some of their live stuff, very musical, quality songs well crafted and great playing. Very little that is like their hits of the past. Some stuff is really awesome and they are all killer musicians.
For those who dismiss those real musicians (not auto tune cut and paste which is a lot of what is produced these days=half these bands cant even play their songs all the way thru) who have around the block a few times and seen a lot and really have talent and have been in the game long term...well fuck you.. and you can have most of the crap produced today! Respect is a lost term these days as well it seems. I continue to be disgusted by the crap people say these days. Agree, don't agree with him, but he's the real deal and has the credentials to back it up and for that he at least deserves his earned respect and is entitled to his opinions whatever they are. And I agree with him. As far as all this "change" goes, fuck all that too, none of it in my opinion is for the better.

Don't hold back, man

 

[Black Sabbath]

http://mikeec.tumblr.com/post/24172050837/steve-lukather-tells-it-like-it-is

His attitude is similar to what fat people say, “beauty is only skin deep”. Yeah if you’re fat obese and ugly, sure you get the cigar and a diet Pepsi to go with it. Aren’t they the ones at the counter at Mc Donald’s ordering 2 Big Macs, 2 Quarter Ponders with cheese, 2 large fries and a diet Pepsi?

Steve is for the most part out of sight and out of mind. He did a few cool things back in the day, but a real cold sense of reality in the music biz, Steve is all washed up.

 

[Splinterhead]

Musicians who put in the time (many years) don't have the respect they used to.
When I was young if I saw a killer player my jaw dropped and I became inspired.
Most younger kids today when they see a killer player they respond with apathy and say how he doesn't have 1/10th the Youtube hits that _______________ (insert name of soon to be irrelevant pop star) has.
The whole scene/paradigm/attitude has changed.
Most everything is recycled/formulaic/disposable and reminds me of another song.
We gotta dig deep through a lot of shit to find the good stuff.

There is no REAL Zeppelin, Hendrix, Yes, Jethro Tull, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Deep Purple, Traffic, Cream anymore.
What's missing to me is authenticity, craftsmanship and thought as it relates to creating popular music.
...yes I'm raving a bit and I apologize

 

[Atropos_Project]

there are loads of great YOUNG "underground" bands in every genre that are surviving minus the old business model.

By keeping day jobs

Which is fine, as the catch 22 here is that the old model wouldn't really support them either, because it would simply ignore them to begin with, saying they're not current enough, or trendy enough, or the singer doesn't look right, and a myriad of other bullshit excuses.

If anything, the 'good old days' are likely responsible for you NOT hearing some truly good acts, simply because of the relatively narrow scope of bands that would be pushed on a national level at any given time. And being that the same folks who did this also controlled most distribution means, finding 'obscure' bands that weren't local was not all that simple.

Now? If a band is considered obscure, it's simply because a) they're simply not trying, or b)the listener can't be bothered to hit google. This, of course, is both a good and bad thing, as drastically larger selections of music also means inherently shorter 'lifespans' for the average listeners interest in any given work.

How things are now, of course, isn't without flaws by any stretch. We have a culture of music consumers who somehow feel that 8-10 bucks for a cd that cost several thousand (or tens of thousands) to create from start to finish is a rip-off of the highest order, but seem to have no problem paying $60+ bucks for a concert ticket (while handing Ticketmaster money for .. what, exactly?), or spending $40 for a t-shirt that cost about 3 bucks to make.

It really is a bizarre mindset.

 

[petejt]

People forget that there's been crap music, pop music, and payola for decades.
They just remember what they liked.

And for most of civilisation (going back over a millennia), music was a way of life- not a means to earn a lot of money.

 

[Bob Savage]

This thread makes my head hurt.

 

[Black Sabbath]

It really is a bizarre mindset.

AP, man that last effen sentence (if you can call it that) you wrote took me 3 breaths to finish!

As for modern day "whatever that means" rock metal such like, find me one band that lasted over 1 year in the past 15 years that could even come close to writing a fantastic rock song like this?

 

[shgshg]

Given that it's Led Zeppelin, they probably plagiarized it from a smaller artist without giving credit.

 

[Black Sabbath]

Given that it's Led Zeppelin, they probably plagiarized it from a smaller artist without giving credit.

Yeah, but you got to give them some credit for mastering the art of plagiarism, fraud, bigotry, adultery, heroin trafficking, illicit base jumping and even murder.

So get past all that rigmarole and you can’t deny that it sounds bad-ass! Don't ya think?

 

[Splinterhead]

Given that it's Led Zeppelin, they probably plagiarized it from a smaller artist without giving credit.

Yeah, but you got to give them some credit for mastering the art of plagiarism, fraud, bigotry, adultery, heroin trafficking, illicit base jumping and even murder.

So get past all that rigmarole and you can’t deny that it sounds bad-ass! Don't ya think?

Bad Ass indeed! Physical Graffiti was (I think) the height of their creative powers.
Also a lot of bands have had no problem ripping off Zeppelin.

 

[Bob Savage]

Yeah, Zep stole some stuff but to classify them as just a group of plagiarists is pure, unadulterated ignorance.

 

[Viesczy]

Steve is just old and irrelevant and he can't stand it.

FWIW he hasn't been relevant for 25 years.

Saw him play last year and I still have a smile on my face just thinking about it. I'd KILL to have that sort of "irrelevance".

Bet it was packed too? 40,000 people showed up right? Groupies 200 deep on each side of Steve just dying to tickle him? That is relevance, something that isn't on Steve's side.

Let's face it, Steve Lukather is a talented musician with (I think) 3 solo releases and with Toto by mid to late 80s (with the 7th one) wasn't even making any blips on "popular" music radar. If he had been churning OUT hits up until autotune, then maybe his whining would have more weight, but he wasn't and his complaints only sound like that of every musician from an earlier generation hating the current generation. Always happens, just Steve he is like 2 generations removed!

Anyone recall how Clapton RIPPED shredders like EVH & YJM as playing "only fretboard gymnastics"?

Of course Eric has remained somewhat relevant by having a hit everyone once in a bit and having actually been enormously popular in his heyday.

Derek

 

[Badronald]

Steve is just old and irrelevant and he can't stand it.

FWIW he hasn't been relevant for 25 years.

Saw him play last year and I still have a smile on my face just thinking about it. I'd KILL to have that sort of "irrelevance".

Bet it was packed too? 40,000 people showed up right? Groupies 200 deep on each side of Steve just dying to tickle him? That is relevance, something that isn't on Steve's side.

Let's face it, Steve Lukather is a talented musician with (I think) 3 solo releases and with Toto by mid to late 80s (with the 7th one) wasn't even making any blips on "popular" music radar. If he had been churning OUT hits up until autotune, then maybe his whining would have more weight, but he wasn't and his complaints only sound like that of every musician from an earlier generation hating the current generation. Always happens, just Steve he is like 2 generations removed!

Anyone recall how Clapton RIPPED shredders like EVH & YJM as playing "only fretboard gymnastics"?

Of course Eric has remained somewhat relevant by having a hit everyone once in a bit and having actually been enormously popular in his heyday.

Derek

Eric Clapton will go down in the history of music as a legend for all time. Something not one current pop musician will do.

THAT is relevance.

Steve Lukather is more recorded than any guitar player on the planet. No one will ever touch him.

THAT is relevance.

Try again junior.

 

[SFW]

Call him bitter if you want, but I agree with him.

 

[mentoneman]

i love luke's playing and legacy but he comes across in a way that suggests he feels entitled to live rich and rock lifestyled out forever based on past merits and now that he can't rake it in like before it's the world's fault.

i look at it like he should feel lucky he had a massive career and made serious money when he did.
before the napster paradigm shift turned rock stars from LP selling castle owners to merch peddlers.

i do think entertainers have a hard time letting go when their time has passed ( care for more oxy with that weekly nip and tuck?)
and it's not as if luke's time has definitely passed or that he isn't capable of being relevant. he is massively gifted.

he may just have to become more entrepreneurial and creative.

 

[RG955TT]

If you base or confuse greatness musically with popularity then most of the guys I love should just hang it up right? I mean Allen Holdsworth doesn't play for 40,000 people, neither does Jeff Beck, Stve Vai, or any of countless other great guitarists and musicians. To base their musical relevance on groupies and size of audience is just naïve or plain stupid especially for a musician to say. There is some major ignorance by a few in this thread.

 

[mentoneman]

...and...

if rich rock stars had been more involved in understanding digital technology and copyright law there could have been a stiffer baklash to napster pirates earlier, making digital download pirates way more nervous about their crimes.

why in the world was metallica the voice of the music industry and not warner brothers, or the heaviest hitters in the biz, during the napster case?

http://www.digitaltrends.com/music/appeals-court-denies-piracy-penalty-plea/

Criminal penalties for first-time offenders can be as high as five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
Civil penalties can run into many thousands of dollars in damages and legal fees. The minimum penalty is $750 per song.

Or the copyright holders can sue you for up to $150,000 in statutory damages for each of their copyrighted works that you illegally copy or distribute.

 

[skoora]

He didn't sound bitter just bummed. I agree with him too, especially this part....

"Gone are the days of loving , dissecting, discussing the inner workings of ’AN ALBUM”… sitting in silence while it plays.. looking at the liner notes and the few photo’s IN the studio .. imagining what a magic place it music be to make such music…"

..but that's been over for probably at least 15 years. I wonder if younger people now don't care about that stuff because it's not how they grew up experiencing music. If all you've known is downloading (paid for or not) your music you wouldn't miss this stuff but damn it was fun.

Also this part...

"They make ‘McRecords’ for people who don’t even really listen. It’s background music for people to either find a mate or shake their heads while texting or skyping or doing other things. Environmental noise for the multi-tasker."

Plus the fact they can have music festivals where a few thousand watch a fucking DJ! I don't get it! But I'm 43 and way past relevancy so as long as the thought police won't take away my amp and guitar because I play old timey shit too loud I'll be happy.

I don't agree with his take on the gimmick side of things replacing the music. But we did used to get gimmicks with awesome music ie Alice Cooper etc. Alice would have superglued meat in 1973 if he had actually thought of it.