went to a soul night last night which mainly plays classic oldies and is considered one of the best dance venues, was thinking to myself how (since I came back onto the scene in the 90s ) much the music has changed, even say the last 5-10 years and music that is played out now at what are considered oldies venues is very different imo to that which was being played then, and thought that if a lot of the tracks which are played now and accepted would have been greeted with blank looks and the comment wtf is this,

suppose its always been like this and to me just seems like a natural way to go , where we have the progressive venues playing new music and what is good is filtered down to what I consider the mainstream venues (oldies venues for want of a better word) and being accepted by again what I consider the majority of soul music lovers,

so why all this grief about different types/genres of music and venues because in a relatively short period the best of the new music becomes mainstream .

just thinking aloud ,

cheers b

ps new music includes rare and underplayed as well as newly discovered oldies

Edited April 17, 201015 yr by barney

went to a soul night last night which mainly plays classic oldies and is considered one of the best dance venues, was thinking to myself how (since I came back onto the scene in the 90s ) much the music has changed, even say the last 5-10 years and music that is played out now at what are considered oldies venues is very different imo to that which was being played then, and thought that if a lot of the tracks which are played now and accepted would have been greeted with blank looks and the comment wtf is this,

suppose its always been like this and to me just seems like a natural way to go , where we have the progressive venues playing new music and what is good is filtered down to what I consider the mainstream venues (oldies venues for want of a better word) and being accepted by again what I consider the majority of soul music lovers,

so why all this grief about different types/genres of music and venues because in a relatively short period the best of the new music becomes mainstream .

just thinking aloud ,

cheers b

ps new music includes rare and underplayed as well as newly discovered oldies

Most of what you say is true Barney, but by the time these sounds become played at oldies venues, the rest of us have moved on. That's the problem, oldies venues (by definition) will always be nostalgic. Nothing wrong with that i suppose, but personally i'd like to hear what's being played out now, not what was being played at upfront venues five years ago. I don't agree that it's true that only the best stuff filters through either, popular doesn't always equal good in my book. What's filtered through is usually what DJs think will go down well with an oldies crowd, most likely similiar to the stuff they've been listening too for the last 30 years because 'playing to the floor' is the number one rule at oldies venues, with no challenges to the dancers to try something new.

If i went to oldies nights all the time (or stayed in the main room at nighters) i'd never hear half the stuff i do at the minute, well maybe i would, in 2015. And then again it would only be what had been picked up by mainstream DJs as worthy of being played out.

The trouble with evolution of course is that it takes a long time and it's very slow.

Edited April 17, 201015 yr by Matt Male

Most of what you say is true Barney, but by the time these sounds become played at oldies venues, the rest of us have moved on. That's the problem, oldies venues (by definition) will always be nostalgic. Nothing wrong with that i suppose, but personally i'd like to hear what's being played out now, not what was being played at upfront venues five years ago. I don't agree that it's true that only the best stuff filters through either, popular doesn't always equal good in my book. What's filtered through is usually what DJs think will go down well with an oldies crowd, most likely similiar to the stuff they've been listening too for the last 30 years because 'playing to the floor' is the number one rule at oldies venues, with no challenges to the dancers to try something new.

If i went to oldies nights all the time (or stayed in the main room at nighters) i'd never hear half the stuff i do at the minute, well maybe i would, in 2015. And then again it would only be what had been picked up by mainstream DJs as worthy of being played out.

The trouble with evolution of course is that it takes a long time and it's very slow.

thanks for the reply matt

you seem to be falling into the them and us trap , quite a lot of people attend what you call upfront nights / niters , but they also go to oldies nites and whether they dj or are just punters they will mention /recommend and if they dj play contemporary upfront sounds,

have many friends who go to upfront venues some of whom will pass on cds with current sounds on. and will listen to these, also been to an upfront niter early this year, raved about on here but wasnt my cup of tea, heard some intrestin music ,some I like, but different yes , but not what I could describe as being suitable to be played out at a mainstream venue at this present time ,

yes matt evolution can be a slow process, but for me Im happy with the great plethora of music that is played at mainstream venues and will never tire of hearing some of the great sounds on offer and like to hear the new sounds if they fit, great if I hear something new and like it ,not disapointed if I dont.

suppose its comes from being 50 plus ,, happy and content with my life,

cheers b

went to a soul night last night which mainly plays classic oldies and is considered one of the best dance venues, was thinking to myself how (since I came back onto the scene in the 90s ) much the music has changed, even say the last 5-10 years and music that is played out now at what are considered oldies venues is very different imo to that which was being played then, and thought that if a lot of the tracks which are played now and accepted would have been greeted with blank looks and the comment wtf is this,

suppose its always been like this and to me just seems like a natural way to go , where we have the progressive venues playing new music and what is good is filtered down to what I consider the mainstream venues (oldies venues for want of a better word) and being accepted by again what I consider the majority of soul music lovers,

so why all this grief about different types/genres of music and venues because in a relatively short period the best of the new music becomes mainstream .

just thinking aloud ,

cheers b

ps new music includes rare and underplayed as well as newly discovered oldies

I think that is a pretty fair description Barney its been the way since the scene began.......nice to keep things fresh & exciting, but I also appreciate that 'newies' are not everyones cup o char either, but just the exceptance that the scene did, does & will continue to evolve is a breath of fresh air to read actually, as sometimes there seems to be an intolerence, almost denial that this is the case by some who refuse to understand that this is what the NS scene is actually all about.

Russ

thanks for the reply matt

you seem to be falling into the them and us trap , quite a lot of people attend what you call upfront nights / niters , but they also go to oldies nites and whether they dj or are just punters they will mention /recommend and if they dj play contemporary upfront sounds,

have many friends who go to upfront venues some of whom will pass on cds with current sounds on. and will listen to these, also been to an upfront niter early this year, raved about on here but wasnt my cup of tea, heard some intrestin music ,some I like, but different yes , but not what I could describe as being suitable to be played out at a mainstream venue at this present time ,

yes matt evolution can be a slow process, but for me Im happy with the great plethora of music that is played at mainstream venues and will never tire of hearing some of the great sounds on offer and like to hear the new sounds if they fit, great if I hear something new and like it ,not disapointed if I dont.

suppose its comes from being 50 plus ,, happy and content with my life,

cheers b

Well i'm 44 but i'm not dead yet

You're right, lots of people do both oldies nights and rare soul nights, and i'm one of them. I'm not arguing with much in either of your posts but i don't think i'm not falling into any trap Barney, there is a definate them and us as can be seen from threads on here and the comments i hear both at oldies nights and from people who turn up at rare soul nights and moan that there's no northern.

There are many people on the scene who refuse to listen to anything but the same things they've been listening to for the last forty years. That's fair enough, it's a free country and i've got no problems with people sticking solely with oldies, but for those same people to then argue that such and such a sound doesn't belong in a mainstream room or belong at a northern venue is to be honest meaningless to me. They don't have my respect, and no legitimate argument in my opinion. I love oldies, but i love the northern soul scene as well and it really makes me sick that it is standing still thesedays in most places after the brilliant energy of the 60s 70s and 80s.

I'm glad you're still listening and giving different venues a chance mate, that was the way everyone was at one time, now very few think that way unfortunately. There's the northern soul scene i joined in 1978 and then there's this bizarre nostalgia scene that's grown up over the last fifteen or so years. I prefer the former.

Edited April 17, 201015 yr by Matt Male