They’re a band who rebelled against certain politics during the bloody sunday and the forever fighting Ireland, but U2 are possibly one of the last iconic band to hit the world stage. With the last flame from the Foo Fighters burning away, have we lost touch with what music really stands for, or have we all become a saturated nation in computerised nonsense? Since the world of technology took off in the 80s and 90s, we saw the beginning of a new era in everything. Computers suddenly became highly sophisticated machines and the software dramatically improved. Into the new millennium and this was key to the creation of new music, and experiments with different sounds began. But has all of this experimenting taken away the pride of instruments?

If the likes of Freddie Mercury and Kurt Cobain were still alive, what would they think of all this electro-pop?

You could say then, that we’ve entered a new era of the music industry. An era where live guitars and large drum sounds are rare, and unless you look like you’re from Hollywood you have no chance of even touching the charts? And that’s true. Unfortunately, in today’s industry the music isn’t the first deciding factor of a band. It’s not even second. It’s stuck behind the sell factor, where as I just mentioned, you need to be thin and have a nice smile to get a number one single. And of course you only get one shot to do that, because as soon as it’s out, you’re done. The next week, somebody else is out doing the same thing and knocks you off the throne and you’re forgotten.

To prove my point, if you counted how many different artists get a single in the charts today against how many different artists reached the charts thirty or forty years ago, you’d see that today’s number would be much higher.

Is this any surprise though? We live in a society where everybody is saturated in music on a daily basis. From the alarm on your phone to wake you up each morning, to the soundtrack of the news bulletin on the television. As you do your shopping or even walk down your local high street. Music is everywhere now and so, just like the rest of the world, it needs to keep up with the ever going changes. It’s an explanation into what’s happened, but can it also shed light into how things are going to pan out for the future of music? Is it going to be used more scientifically to interfere with our minds? I say more, because it already is. Certain shops will play certain styles of music because it may stimulate a certain mood on the consumer. It could relax the consumer and almost bully them into making purchases, or excite them to buying a drink at a bar. It sounds a little far-fetched, but it’s true. A team in America have built a driver-less car. That’s also far-fetched, but it’s also true. Music has a massive mark on the human race and this is just another one ‘stand out’ moments in the entirety of the industry that follows the famous 70′s disco, grunge metal era and that of political rock. Or as a parent may say, “it’s just another little phase…”

So have we lost touch with music? My answer is no – it’s just trying to keep up with the rest of us.