Maroon 5 - I gotta vent

jornthedrummer

Silver Member
Maroon 5 is constantly on the radio here in Malaysia. No point to change the channel because they are likely to be on the next one too.

Their first album was a great pop/rock album. Good songs, real guys playing, real drums, not too much sequencing or autotune.

Now it all sounds like its been TPained, compressed, beat detected and sequenced to death. The melodies are still strong, but predictable.

I am not disputing they are making money, but for the love of God please give us the old Maroon 5 back!
 
I do hear what you say. I have their first big album but pretty much hated everything since. It is worth noting that (to my uneducated knowledge) the original drummer was a primary arranger in the band and he left after the first album. Coincidence?
 
I couldn't agree more. I was really excited about these guys after they hit the scene with their debut. But I think Adam Levine's celebrity trumps any notion of a band at this point, hence the brutal production values on everything since.

It's a shame.
 
They always sucked.

The problem is you're listening to radio.
 
I thought the first record was a great pop/commercial album,and I enjoyed playing the grooves to alot of it,I also found it interesting when I saw that the original drummer left and the rest of the catalouge was pretty forgetable.
 
Yea can't agree more, though I kindda like the groove from One more Night.

I prefer One Republic than Maroon 5 .
 
If it's an American band who's debut album came out with-in the past 11 years, chances are they're going to suck.

It's all so cookie cutter sound alike, play by the numbers. I don't get it.
 
I don't think that's ever gonna happen.​
Yeah, agreed. Get yourself a CD player, or an iPod, in the car.​

Don't worry I have plenty of nice music on my iPhone and a Spotify subscription.
I would never have known Maroon 5 in the first place if I did not listen to the radio -)


My rant is the direction this band have taken and I will say it again I don't dispute they are making money.

I saw them live about 3 - 4 years ago and it was an excellent concert. They can really play and Adam Levine sang really well too.

Why not make use of all this talent?

thx

jorn
 
Much snobbery (for want of a better word) in this thread.

Not even close. While that can certainly be a criticism of some of the threads here I really don't see it. I don't think it snobbish to dislike the popular muic. Because it is written and produced to appeal to the largest group possible it lacks the unique artistic element that could make it subversive.

You want to see snobbery go look at one of the threads where people talk about their Joyful Noise snares.

I actually liked the early Maroon 5 stuff. Haven't heard the new songs though.
 
i liked maroon 5 when they came out with this love. their new stuff is very recycled i agree. and that lead singer dude seems like a huge douche
 
I liked the earlier Maroon 5 stuff, too. Good pop songwriting and a tight band. I see no point in tuning a really good vocal or snapping drums to the grid in pro Tools that are already very well-played. All these production tricks just suck the soul and musicianship right out of the recording. Pop & rock would sound a lot better with less production and more instrument bleed, but I'm old like that. :)
 
Much snobbery (for want of a better word) in this thread.
It is snobbery, but it's probably warranted. Pop music is generally awful- background distraction noise for model consumers. Once marketing and a&r gets their dirty hands on it, it's "all over".
 
IMO, the original post can be seen two ways:

1) The new Maroon 5 is not near as good as the old Maroon 5 or just plain bad, period.
2) Radio is not any good and irritating (especially in Malaysia)

I can't address Maroon 5's history in detail but more on M5 later.

Personally, if I have a choice I won't listen to (new term I heard used recently) "terrestrial radio", i.e. traditional AM/FM. It's just irritating and tends to put me in a worse mood than I have before listening to it. Therefore I prefer silence over trad. radio if no other choices are available. Having said that, I have a young daughter who isn't into gangster rap or music that has an 'Explicit.." label attached who I usually let have free reign over car radio. This results in the sometimes maddening button pushing but always resulting in either Radio Disney or some other pop/rock selection. I have asked her to change the channel when songs that truly annoy me come on. Two examples would be the recent Justin Timberlake hit (whatever that is) in mega-heavy rotation (especially on Disney) but also some beaten to death classic rock like "Old Time Rock and Roll". I have my reasons for both requests although different.

Bottom line is that I just can't enjoy radio in the car except for maybe every 30-100th song played. One of those that gets a nod may be "This Love" by Maroon 5. But driving this morning with her I heard some of the new M5 and it sounded like some of the other accurate but depressing descriptions in this post. So be it. Not an Adam Levine or 'The Voice' fan so no love lost.

When alone in the car, I have come up with a solution that works at least for me. I have Pandora on my iPhone with at least 20 different "stations" I've created. Even personalized, style/artist/song directed stations can have duds for my ears, so having the "thumbs down/up" feature helps me to tailor those stations. Also being able to advance to the next song or switch stations frees me from the tyranny of the trad. radio playlist and programming. It's also available when in front of my computer so it works OK.
Actually, my recent iTunes purchases have all been from listening to Pandora stations, hearing some new music, making a note and then buying the song or album. I know there are issues like the ads or that artists don't make as much on Pandora plays as trad. radio. Still it's heads and tails above trad. radio.
The truth is that barring some major change, trad. radio is dead to me and I'll avoid it when there are alternatives like Pandora or my own collection of portable music via iPhone or iPod. Or podcasts. Or audio books. Or silence.

I don't know what solution there is for M5 not retaining a favorable direction. That's their choice and as much as I don't like their current music, I like the fact that in America you can make whatever musical or business choices you want and get paid respectively via money, satisfaction or even that lousy feeling when you've sold out (no experience with that personally BTW).

I also don't know how or if internet based radio stations or services like Pandora or Spotify are available in Malaysia. If they are, the OP is in luck and shouldn't spend one more minute listening to bad music while supporting their advertisers. Get on an internet device and start listening to music more in line with your ears.

If it's not available.....start planning your trip (immigration?) to the U.S. :)

Jim
 
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