It’s been a long time since one of the greatest vocal groups of the 90s made a record that would bring them at the top of the charts. If you think about it, most of the great 90s acts that still make music and release it, don’t make it on the charts. Radio stations stopped playing their music. It all started when record companies turned their back on many artists. They used them when they were selling millions and when that stopped happening, they just created new icons, brought new musicians at the front and made the audience forget some great acts. We’re talking about the acts that sold millions and many talked to the heart with their lyrics and music. Well, it’s not all wrong, because we want to listen to new music, meet new musicians, feel the energy that they bring, but in my opinion as an actor matures and plays better roles as he/she grows up, it’s exactly the same with most of the musicians. It’s just the era that we live in which makes it harder for the musicians. With the power of internet , things are changing so fast and it affects the music 100%. Millions can now show their talent , live on internet, whenever and wherever they wish for. That’s good. If we talk about talented people! But the internet is also full of untalented people too. You may be a good plumber but that doesn’t necessarily make you also a good singer, if you upload it on youtube! And get watched by millions. And the record company releases a record with you singing in it. That doens’t make you a musician. It’s called entertainment for fun and not music.
The social internet era brings you choices, let’s you decide whether you like something or not, but it’s a brain and mind changer because it’s full of algorythms that follow your lead, it’s full of paid commercials that guide you what to buy, to wear, to listen, to act, to vote etc. Thinking of this in the music industry that i follow all those years (since the 80s with many music magazines back then, doing what the internet is doing now) it affected them badly. They have to come up all the time with brand new ideas when the it’s all in front of them. You don’t need to reinvent everything because internet is moving so fast. Everybody thinks that music was always like that, meaning they were writing and releasing tunes every single day. The toys that industry put in the game and i mean all the programs that can bring a whole symphony orchestra in your computer , doesn’t make you a musician, if you haven’t studied before. You’re good at playing toys and making sounds , yes i agree on that, once upon a time we played pacman, now we play Pro Tools. Of course there are good players in the game. But music is all about feelings and machines (if you remember) are stuff that our mind made up, not our heart. It’s a different kind of music if you want to speak to the mind and completely different if you want to speak to the heart.
If you ask me how this article is connected to Boyz II Men new release called “Collide” i’ll tell you how it happened. I woke up, made coffee, wanted to write an article about how internet affects our lives and as i started writing i looked up on youtube Boyz II Men (always liked their sound, since their very beggining with ‘Motown Philly’). I agree that i’m a fan, but what makes me stick to their sound is the way they combine their different tones and haven’t stopped doing it since the very beggining in 1991. Perfect synchronism each time! Well the men are back with new tunes and an album full of melodies.
The Sound of Nick Zois 