+150 The Beatles were popular in the olden days. They were mainstream. Billy Joel was mainstream. Heck, even Mozart was mainstream. There were most likely small, hipster bands back then, but nobody remembers/ cares about them. When we grow older people will only remember Ke$ha and Justin Bieber. All those small, unheard-of bands that we claim are "quality music", whether they are or not, will fade. Twenty years from now they will never be heard of again. Like it or not, it's the big things that last, amirite?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

except for big tits... they sag, and when they sag it's much worse than the little ones.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I don't think Ke$ha was the best example considering this was posted 4 months ago and everybody already forgot about her

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I would like to know of a small hipster band that was a contemporary of Mozart.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Salieri.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Point proven.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Music is always reflective of the political system of its time. Baroque music, used to glorify reigion, was during a time when the church and state were one. Romantic music was during the time of the rising middle class. During our times of global capitalism, it only makes sense that pop songs, made for profit, are the "mainstream"

by Anonymous 11 years ago

We call them pop songs cuz they're popular, not cuz they're made for profit. Besides that, it's not like people weren't making profits before this time. Music isn't always a reflection of the political system either.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Yeah and 2+2 is 4

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and many other famous bands were not mainstream, in fact radios barely played their music, yet I still remember their music the best even though I wasn't around then.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin were still really famous though. It's not like they were only known by a small group of fans.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I think it's all about what YOU remember, not society as a whole. My dad has passed on a lot of music that wasn't necessarily "mainstream" but because he listened to it, I do

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Van Gogh was anything BUT popular during his own lifetime. Yes this is art not music, but I feel the principle still applies (or rather, doesn't).

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Most artist are famous after they die, so I don't think it can apply to that.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

There are bands unknown to most that are loved by others... Kraftwerk was an influential band from the 1970s-1980s, and they are still remembered. And how about Brian Eno?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Mozart is eternally alive in history for many reasons, one of which being music. The Beatles are world renown and widely accepted as the most popular band to ever exist. Kesha has a few popular songs with a key audience of either young girls who think she's entertainment, or less young guys who hope she gets sluttier and sluttier as time goes by. Justin bieber had 15 minutes of shame from a few bad YouTube song covers before he was glorified on the Internet by a wave of hate and gay jokes, he now has to be the poster boy of acne medication just to stay relevant.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Way to stay relevant

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Even if we don't remember "hipster" bands of the past, things will probably different now that the Internet is around to remember everything for us. YouTube alone will help preserve great unknown bands for generations to discover.

by Anonymous 11 years ago