A Long Overdue Rant.
As someone who really loves music, it honestly makes me sad to say this "most music these days sounds the same". Especially Hindi film music. I’ve stopped listening to it for years now, and I don’t even remember the last time I enjoyed an entire album, except for a few songs here and there.
Recently, I found out that the sequel to the movie Life in a... Metro is releasing, and the same director and music director (Pritam) are involved in the music. So I thought, why not give it a listen?
I played the first single, “Zamana Lage,” from Metro In Dino, and I couldn’t even tell when Arijit Singh stopped singing and the other singer, Shashwat Singh, started. Their voices sounded so processed and robotic. I thought maybe their voices are just naturally similar, so I went back and played “Wat Wat Wat” from Tamasha, which they also sang together. And there, the difference was very clear. In that song, both singers had their own unique sound. Their voices had character and emotion. But in “Zamana Lage,” the way the vocals were mixed made them sound almost the same. It felt like all the natural soul in their voices was removed by over tuning.
To be clear, I’m not saying that song is badly written or composed. And songs like this are still well made. My problem is with how they sound when we listen to them. These days, everything is made to fit into one kind of sound. The vocals are so processed that every singer ends up sounding like they’ve been put through the same machine.
Why is this happening? I think music producers do know this is a problem. But maybe they’re doing it because of pressure from record labels or just following trends. They believe that louder music sells better. This is part of something called the “Loudness War,” (google it) where songs are made super loud using compression, but they lose their dynamic range and sound flat. On top of that, streaming platforms also apply volume normalizers so every song plays at the same loudness.
The result is songs that might sound okay on phone speakers but feel empty and emotionless when you really listen.
Even older albums like the original Life in a... Metro had studio polish, but it was done with care. You could still hear little things like breathing, cracks, grains (which is natural), and instrument separation. It wasn’t perfect, but it felt real.
Now, everything sounds too clean and too flat. The warmth, the ups and downs, the small flaws that make music feel human — they are all missing. What we get instead is a loud and forgettable sound made more for algorithms and quick plays than real listeners.
I’m just asking for music that has feeling. For space in the sound. For real voices. Music should make you feel something, not just be background noise with a catchy beats.
Can we please start mixing and mastering music with heart again? I am no expert in this field, but as a music lover and avid listener, I can tell it’s bad.
Talking product sense with Ridhi
9 min AI interview5 questions
This whole "music lover" is a charade. It's fake, unless one can either sing or play a musical instrument, or learn/have knowledge on music notations.
People who claim " to be music lover" are simply filling the silence with noise. Or for style purposes.
I do agree with the point that music nowadays are shitty. When bollywood music became the replacement of classical music it was the death bell. Music unless it is native to the land will always feel alien. Bollywood music killed itself by copying tunes that has nothing to do with india.
One can appreciate art without practicing it.
Exactly, like I don't have time to learn Beatbox. But I am an avid watcher, so I can clearly tell who does it good because I have been watching for last 7-8 years
@Migfa I can't disagree, dude. I was born in '90, and my music taste is heavily influenced by A.R. Rahman. While I have a much bigger playlist and enjoy music outside of his. That said, I’m about to share an unpopular opinion, and I’m ready for any hate messages if I hurt your feelings. Since 2012, I feel like we’ve only had Arijit Singh. I love his singing style, but aside from a few songs, his style tends to remain the same across all his tracks. I don’t consider him a versatile singer. Have you heard Shreya Ghoshal, Sonu Nigam, KK, or Sukhwinder Singh? What do we have today in comparison?
In the past, we had amazing artists and composers like A.R. Rahman, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, and Pritam at their peak. Nowadays, it seems like we’re left with artists like Badshah, the Kakkar siblings, and others who struggle to perform live without messing up.
Even before our era, legendary singers and composers like Pancham Da, Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Rafi, Mukesh, and Manna Dey produced incredible music. I really enjoy music from those times.
What I’m struggling to enjoy is the last decade of music.
Maybe we could create a group to crowdsource a few playlists. Please add me to any group you have, or I can start one. If you like the idea, feel free to DM me!
I agree that Arijit sounds very repetitive in his singing style but I am sure he can do wonders with his voice if given the opportunity.. for example Binte Dil from Padmavat but producers want only the same repetitive style.
Talking about ARR, albums like Roja, Bombay, Taal, Lagaan, Swades, Rang De Basanti, Slumdog Millionaire are top class masterpieces.. not just from musical pov these are technically strong albums you feel the soul of voices and instruments used.
And I am not a part of any group .. we can create one
You know we could be good friends
Sure! Why not, let's rant together!!
Same here buddy!
english music is also same ..gone are the days of linkin park,eminem,Hoobastank,Seether,Avril , Dusturbed etc
But you gotta admit, the recent Bruno Mars has killed it, will be in timeless spot at least for me!
Few people we have in hindu music also..but surely very very few..bruno mars has been shining light no doubt
That's the problem with people. There's plenty of excellent produced indie music but you want pop / bollywood shit smeared down your throats. Why don't people do the same they did with movies. If you don't like bollywood you find your well made indie/global movies that are thought provoking or somewhat crafted. And don't get me started with the common man bullshit. It's because people like you don't explore promote indie stuff all this garbage is being churned out and indie musicians die starving or quit. Enough of the rant if you wanna listen to innovating music try any of these artists. Pop/indie: Bharat Chauhan,osho jain, local train, sanjith hegde,sid Sriram, Rashmeet Kaur,anand Bhaskar collective
Electronic: Sudan, kimera, blue attic, oaff,achint
RNB: Karun, Krameri, mitraz,
Hip hop: dhanji, uniyal,rawal,Heck even arpit bala
HipHop ka naam bina - Krsna and Seedhe maut ke bina nai lene ka, samjha kya :P JK lol all are good...
I think i have listened to all the artists you mentioned here except a few in hip-hop. My main issue is with the production of music. The way it's been produced, mixed and mastered but not the way it is composed is a separate discussion. Most of the artists you mentioned I can certainly say they produce their own stuff or keep things in their control when some goes out from their end...but still they are succumbing to trends in the industry.
Stick to kishore kumar , Lata, illlaya raja, mohd Rafi,SPB, et all. all songs these days are powered by AI like everything in life. If your company or job doesn't have AI tag and your food without korean flavour then u r outdated
I feel you bro
Good songs have come after that as well cannot simply ignore Atif, KK, Shreya etc. were at least before AI
I know right. I have loved music from my core, and i come from 1995. The music we had, the feeling, the lyrics, the tune, the rhythm, none of it seems present in the current songs.
I remember listening to Tune Mere Jaana, O Bekhabar, Sajde kiye hain laakhon, Ishq ne tere ishq ne. Songs now do not match the variance these had. Every song now feels the same.
96 born here and bro come on you cannot put everything here with ummmm... EMPTINESS? that's a disaster lol😂
Can absolutely relate to this! Though I could make out the difference between the voices of Arijit and Shashwat 🙂. Songs were more or less fine before lockdown but gone are those days 😪.
I think good music is not produced these days because it's not selling well, producers don't want to take any risk and are just tweaking the old songs with added beats and the nonsense raps 🤦🏻♀️, and also because they are not being popularised enough on social media. Nepotism also plays a role here.
More than often, it's the video that becomes a hit more than the song itself.
Unless people (more of the stupid ones on social media who idolize Badshah and other subpar artists) start appreciating genuine talent and good music (I know it's subjective), this problem will remain relevant and in fact, grow more in the coming years.
Bro @Migfa, just feel this line...
Tu Is Tarah Se
Mere Sath Bewafaai Kar
Ki Tere Baad Mujhay
Koi Bewafa Lage
You will get lost in this melody 😍
Lyrics are top notch 👌 but I have problem with how the music is mixed and how it sound on my ears its like every other song i heard in last 10 years
Music is like our field of IT, sometimes we work on new technologies and sometimes legacy. Haha Agree the music is the same though, enjoy bro at least we are getting new lyrics 🤣