Is today's music worse than before?

It seems that many musicians think a lot of the current music they hear today pales in comparison to what they heard at some point before. We had an office in Hollywood from 1969 to 1995 and I spoke to thousands of musicians in person over those 26 years. Here's what I remember many of them said:

Musicians in the 70's told me that the music currently on the radio was crap, and they thought 50's tunes were better. Musicians in the 80's said the current hits sucked, and longed for 60's instead. Musicians in the 90's told me the present music was stale and that 70's music was great. And in the early 2000's people said tunes on the radio were terrible and that 80's songs were much better! Do you see a pattern here?

As people age, they clearly remember their fond memories of the "good old days" but tend to forget the bad stuff that happened. Naturally they are more prone to remember the songs they loved, as opposed to the ones they disliked, just like any other memory from their distant past.

So, is today's music worse than in previous generations? Isn't "good music" or "bad music" your opinion, not a fact, much like the old adage "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"??

Rock on!

---