I totally agree, I've been a musician for nearly 30 years and this is my take on it. Lack of originality.. A perfect example is ALL of the artists that simply take "samples" from older songs and rework the melody lines (basically rehashing) to make new "hit" songs out of them. Do you notice how so many of the new hit songs are actually just reworked versions of songs that were hits years ago? It's because new artists (not all, but many) aren't original enough to be able to write their own music. They just rely on taking old songs and using them as their own. How can music move forward if people are just looking towards the past?
all the new hits are based on the music of yesterday. todays artists suck so bad they have to remake and copy all the hits from the last century. gimme some Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin any day.
the songs we have now depicts from the songs back then, but the essence is not there anymore. Although they may be a hit but for me still the good oldies is the best.