The great music from the 60’s and early 70’s was great because it was alright to join a band and create music. Thus, there were thousands of bands and many were quite good. Nowadays you seldom hear of kids forming a band and trying to make a go out of it wo thus with little supply there are less decent bands.
There were a number of things that made the bands of the 60s and 70s good. First, many of the artists had a formal music education. Second, they were at their core dedicated musicians. They played the garage band/night club circuit because they loved their craft. Sure, it was nice to land the record label, but it was the love of the music that got them there. Finally, they had to be good. It was the marketplace at work. Yes, there was some crap and there always will be crap. But the real talented acts endured and stood out because they had talent.
It is my opinion that MTV killed this. After MTV, any ass**** with a video camera could, and did, get on TV with their crap video. Musical talent went from being a necessity to being optional. Also, the music video destroyed the concept of the Rock Band. If you were to take a poll of the posters on this thread, what do you think the number would be who could name all of the performers for The Who, The Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, etc...? It's probably pretty high.
MTV killed the Rock Band because it became all about the vocalist. The singer with the giant ego and little talent. The diva was born, the band died. Who plays bass for Mariah Carey? Who is the drummer for Britney Spears? The real musicians, the talented guys (and gals) who play for the love of the music have been shoved to the background. Now the singer rules, and incidentally, they really don't have to be good. They just have to be connected.
Dank als fur nichts, MTV.