RIP – Music is Dead

Music is Dead

Lately I have been haunted by a soundtrack of the worlds shittiest songs stuck in my head..  It’s as if my mind has somehow latched onto the most craptastic songs it can remember recently and decided that this was going to be my new theme music.  I even wake up in the middle of the night just to hum a few bars of some no-name-song from some one-hit-wonder band who reigns supreme on every station proving that one sort of “blow” or the other still will sway a DJ -  Least that hasn’t changed.
But music as a whole has changed.

I write a lot about the RIAA and online piracy and I really believe that quality of product impacts online piracy and why Apple nailed it with serving a la carte music to the masses.  I don’t want to spend $16 bucks to listen to some asshole wail out-of-tune lyrics about how his girl is a dick-magnet (you really describe your woman like that?) or how this same asshole takes pride in hating his life and spends a whole three minutes bitching about his problems.  I mean come on, its not like Mr. Rockstar is suffering as the record companies throw money, pussy and drugs at this loser to come out and pretend he identifies with the common “joe” who is struggling during this constipated economy.  I have a Theory for this guy…  I posit to you, dear artist that you sound like a string bean being pulled through a chapped ass, and regardless of popular belief, tattoos are not magical and do not grant talent.  Spend some of those buckets of cash on some singing lessons and hire better people to write your  music.  That’s my Theory, and I am sticking to it.

Let me put it this way, when was the last time you bought an album and the whole album, in it’s entirety had more then 3 songs on it you liked?  I am not saying it can’t happen, or it don’t happen, but it is becoming more and more rare.  Think about this, if you were limited to choosing three albums that were released in the last decade, and ONLY three albums to listen to for the rest of your life, could you find three you could live with?

Ever wonder why there were so many more great bands in the ’60′s and do you really think the bands of today will be looked back on with the same fondness?  I suspect that the bands of the 60′s were “closeted” away in hiding because at the time rock & roll was virgin territory and these bad boy rockers were waiting for the chastity belt of the 50′s to unlock and countless years of musical repression to let it’s hair down.  Rock & roll found a collective voice to stand up make statements of change while giving the collective finger “to the man.”  The gauntlet was dropped and these musicians were not afraid to make political statements with their music, regarding war, politics, and current events.  This music helped the people of that generation navigate through the times of war and gave political opposition to the government and effected change.

I mean honestly, with all of the crap we have gone through in the last decade, including two wars, I can’t think of any bands not named Rage Against the Machine, who has made any statements at all.  And that is the problem; and not just with music, but the America that my generation has inherited.  We are a generation of mutes who sit and watch, like sadistic voyeurs, with no collective voice to stand up and demand change.  We see shit happening we don’t necessarily agree with and do nothing but come online and bitch about it while the ship slowly sinks.

We are now left with a depleted talent pool who is just as lost as the rest of us.  One that has no passion and conviction.  I am not saying that making political statements somehow magically gives you talent, I am however pointing out that music used to be an avenue musicians used to voice their passions and beliefs.  Music had a message.  If nothing else, current events were a source of material for them to expound upon.  Whether the message was peace, love, or do more drugs, the musicians then were trying to say something.  Today’s musicians don’t seem to carry that same passion and that message has been lost by their good looks.  I really believe that is what keeps Rap going.  Young, angry kids are making statements that people identify with.

I have a hard time identifying with my chick being a dick magnet.

I think from top to bottom the Industry needs to change.  From how bands are discovered to the outdated business model that the Recording Industry adheres to.  The time when you could pack an albums worth of great music into one record are done.  The well is dried up and the talent is gone.  I am fairly certain the Recording Industry recognizes the depleted talent pool too.  Notice the Industry now spends it’s efforts searching through places like youtube for the next “big thing.”  All of the “So-So-Has Talent” shows supports this theory and the Entertainment Industry spends millions meticulously combing through society searching for the keys to bring music back to it’s glory day.  Until the current cycle of shit music kills itself we are stuck with what we have.

I guess though, at the end of the night what I am hoping for is someone to step up and be a true “bard” of this decade.  Write and sing music that has a message and innovate. The Recording Industry, shame on you for playing it safe and giving these kids free rides to the top.  Stop fabricating music and selling pretty faces when what we desire is talent and people who are passionate about their talent.  Selling me one song for $16 bucks is going to continue to doom your industry and keep these shitty songs stuck in my head.