What Can You Predict About the Future of the Music Industry?

To be honest, I have absolutely no clue as to what the future will hold for music in general. It seems that music in general has sucked for so long now. I haven’t been excited about new music since 2010! The barrage of below par pop music and hiphop annoys me like nothing else can. How the standard of music is dropped astonishes me.

Insane lyrics and repetitive music does not impress me or make me want to listen to it. While the 2000s and the 2010s were bad as well, it seems to have gone even more downhill. It is now in a blue hole in the ocean. Luckily for us some of the classic artists from the 70, 80s & 90s are still around but making much new music doesn’t seem to worth much to them. CD sales are a far cry from what it used to be and live performances and tours are where they make most of their money from.

While there are a couple of bands that are new and excite me, I lean more towards the back catalog of my favourite bands and singers/musicians. That brings me a whole of comfort and still makes me want to sing along.

Prompt from The Learning Network at The New York Times at The New York Times

Mr. Big said farewell with its The Big Finish tour, which wrapped up Aug. 23 at Romania’s Way Too Far Rock festival and is documented on The Big Finish Live album and DVD coming out Friday, Sept. 6. The group plans to make an actual finish next February, with a couple of shows in Japan. But if frontman Eric Martin has his way, the “To Be With You” quartet may well be with us again in the future. Talking to Billboard via Zoom from his home in San Rafael, CA, Martin admits to having second thoughts about packing the band in 35 years after its debut album.

That’s the plan, however, after what are being billed as the final two shows – Feb. 22 in Osaka and Feb. 25 at the Budokan in Tokyo, where The Big Finish Live was recorded last July 26. But Martin says that if Mr. Big’s days as a touring or even a live act are indeed over, he doesn’t think the band has to stop completely. He is open to having Zoom calls to write songs and release them. Martin formed Mr. Big in Los Angeles during 1988 with bassist Billy Sheehan, adding guitarist Paul Gilbert, his chief songwriting partner, and drummer Pat Torpey.

The group broke big with its second album, 1991’s platinum Lean Into it — which Mr. Big performed in its entirety throughout the farewell tour; it contained Mr. Big’s biggest single, the chart topping ballad “To Be With You.” The band went through some lineup changes before breaking up in 2002, resuming seven years later and working sporadically since. Torpey, who Martin calls “the band’s referee,” passed away in 2018 of complications from Parkinson’s disease; Nick D’Virgilio from Spock’s Beard, and other bands was Mr. Big’s final drummer. Martin says he was gratified that Mr. Big recorded the Ten album — which was also a contractual obligation — even if it doesn’t rock quite as hard as he or Sheehan might have preferred.

The Big Finish Live album and film, meanwhile, was decided upon not too long before last summer’s Budokan shows — just six days after the 13-month tour began. The 26 songs include the entirety of the Lean Into It album, as well as covers of Humble Pie’s “30 Days in the Hole,” the Olympics’ “Good Lovin’” with the band members on different instruments and the Who’s “Baba O’Riley.” It also features a five-song acoustic section capped by Cat Stevens’ “Wild World.”

Martin doesn’t have too much time to spend mourning Mr. Big’s conclusion, however. He, along with Night Ranger’s Jack Blades, is about to head back to Japan to tour with the Tak Matsumoto Group, which he started with 20 years ago and which reformed and released a new album earlier this year. He’s anticipating some solo shows after that, on his own acoustically and possibly with a backing band.

Let’s start our list with a song with “September” in the title. Earth Wind & Fire‘s entry is one of the most iconic songs about this particular month. “September” is a classic funk and disco hit that celebrates the joy and love of “the 21st night of September.” The song’s infectious beat emphasizes a carefree “live in the moment” mindset. At the same time, the lyrics reflect on fond memories from the past and are capped off by the meaningless “ba dee ya,” a placeholder lyric that was never changed and contributed to the song’s status as a singalong classic.The catchy chorus hints at a particular time that was important to the singer. But the real meaning of the lyrics is left up to the listener’s imagination.

Our next song, “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” is a rock ballad from Green Day‘s 2004 album American Idiot. The song’s lyrics express the grief and pain of losing a loved one. It’s a tough time for the singer, and he wishes that days would go by past September. Apparently, the month reminds him of his loss. The band’s lead vocalist, Billie Joe Armstrong, penned the song after his father died from esophageal cancer. The song was also a tribute to the casualties of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Yet another song to add to this category is Natalie Imbruglia‘s “Come September” from her 2001 album White Lilies Island. This song is a melancholy ballad that describes the physical and emotional pain of heartbreak. The singer’s world falls apart even as she searches for a way to cope and find hope. Despite her difficult situation, the song also offers a glimmer of hope. It suggests that everything will be all right in the end, come September. The month signals the changing of the season, and it symbolizes a new start for her.

Up next is The Bangles‘ “September Gurls,” a power-pop song originally by the rock band Big Star. The song is about a man’s infatuation with a girl born in September and how he cannot resist her charm and beauty. Despite being aware of the heartbreak that may come with loving her, he declares his love for her anyway. And he still ends up broken-hearted, saying, “December boy’s got it bad.”

Aerosmith is retiring from touring. On Friday, the band announced their “heartbreaking and difficult” decision to retire from touring in a statement shared on their website and social media accounts, citing 76-year-old lead singer Steven Tyler’s vocal injury, which he sustained during a show in September 2023.

“It has been the honor of our lives to have our music become part of yours,” the band said in their statement. “In every club, on every massive tour and at moments grand and private you have given us a place in the soundtrack of your lives.” “We’ve always wanted to blow your mind when performing,” the statement continued. “As you know, Steven’s voice is an instrument like no other. He has spent months tirelessly working on getting his voice to where it was before his injury. We’ve seen him struggling despite having the best medical team by his side.” “Sadly, it is clear, that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible,” the statement further said. “We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision – as a band of brothers – to retire from the touring stage.”

The band also previously canceled several Las Vegas shows in 2022 due to an undisclosed illness of Tyler.