Tiger1 started a "Whatcha listenin to" thread in Broun Hall and it got me thinking about a long discussion I had with a friend of mine the other day concerning today's music. We somehow got on the topic of the Super Bowl and The Who being the halftime show. Even though I thought that was a strange selection, I thought they put on a pretty good show. Be that as it may, I was arguing that they should have come up with someone a lot more current and relevant. His answer to that was, "That may be true but there is no talent with the "artisits" today and they don't actually play." I thought about that and came to the conclusion that he is 100% correct. In my opinion, we are in the worst possible era of all time when it comes to mainstream music. I rarely listen to it anyway but I have 2 kids so it's impossible to avoid being subjected to the absolute GARBAGE that's filling the airwaves.
It appears that to make a song today for pop or mainstream listeners, all you need is one person on a keyboard with all the bells and whistles to mix a beat and sound....and one no talent individual to sing into a device that will change his/her voice to sound like a fucking robot. As someone who has played the guitar all my life and played in bands, I find this shit nothing short of repulsive. And the kids just eat it up. (He says shaking his fist from the front porch) Several weeks ago, I was in Orlando and popped over to Universal Studios for an outside concert by 3 Doors Down. May or may not be your cup of tea but it was great to stand there with an ice cold $8.00 beer and watch 5 guys on stage with no elaborate stage show, just strap on their guitars and rock the house. No one sang into some piece of shit voice changing thingy and nobody flipped switches and mixed some techno crap sound on a mega computer keyboard. Just the music being played by talented, hard working musicians.
Now, I fully understand there are 1000 alternatives to mainstream pop crap and my purpose here is two-fold. First, just a commentary on the state of one particular type of music, which happens to be the most popular. Second, to get some input on some of those bands that many of you have been discussing in other threads. Admittedly, while my iPod is filled with a wide array of artists and music, from David Alan Coe to Megadeth, I have no idea who many of these bands are that people are talking about. Wes can't stop playing one CD over and over and I'm going, who the fuck is that? If you were to group the music I have into categories, I think you'd find that 80% or more of it always comes back to straightforward, hard, guitar driven rock and roll. I love the heavy, bass driven riffs of Saliva. I like the early G & R with the distinct Gibson Les Paul slashing style of Slash. Early Aerosmith and anything AC/DC from Highway to Hell forward. I also look for bands that understand that if you're gonna play rock and roll, you gotta' have a lead guitarist and fucking use him.
Again, rock & roll is my first love but like many, I have a wide array of tastes. Went to Faulkner State in Montgomery several years back and watched Nickel Creek in concert. Was able to walk right up to the stage and stand in awe while 4 people (Stand up bass in the back) walked out, tuned up and just played. Incredibly talented people. Huge fan of the guitar work of John Mayer. Always been into a lot of old southern rock...Blackfoot, 1st Molly Hatchet etc. Saving Abel's 1st album rocks from start to finish. Even love me some Hoobastank from time to time.
I'm always open to trying out new stuff but there's so much of it, it's hard to know where to start and what kind of music a band plays. Always hard to tell from one cut on the radio what kind of music a band really plays. Old, but good example in the band Extreme. Years ago, they put out a couple of hits on the radio, More Than Words and Wholehearted. They had about 4-5 albums and those were the only 2 songs they ever did even close to that. Otherwise, very hard driving, innovative rock. I'm open to stepping into your musical world. What do you like and what separates it from the rest for you. Also, recommendations for concert? Who can bring it on stage and is not what you would think from just listening to their music?
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