Have you ever had the feeling that you have reached the age where you can honestly, and wholeheartedly reveal that you really do know more about music than your younger counterpart’s. I may be just an old fart for saying this (I’m 32), but I honestly feel that the ‘Y’ generation will listen to anything and say that it’s ‘good’ music. Even if it sounds like a guy has taken a keyboard, recorded himself a few times to see if he sounds ‘alright’, then added a drum beat to tie it all together. I mean, The Presets did it didn’t they?
Yes, it seems to me that today’s music scene is slowly adrift in a sea of crap, with not one paddle to help it along. The poor creature has to stick his leg out into the excrement-infused muck and swish around as best he can to navigate his way towards decency, a land, seemingly far, far away. So far away even, that he has had to travel back in time many a time to steal a great deal of the past to try and blend it with the present, to make it sound kind of like the future. Poor old music is just struggling hard to pull it off. Now where the hell is the shore?
I hope that this beautiful creature we call ‘music’ will one day bring itself back to fruition, and ignite the same frenzy it once had back in the day. I know that there is far more competition out there these days, and plenty of fine musicians trying their hardest to make a go of it in this musically chaotic mash-up of a world we have. I just wish there was more originality, and cleanliness in the world of music.
By saying ‘cleanliness’ I do not mean this as a literal term, more like a metaphor for musicians being able to play their instruments to in the finest possible way, with no hints of ‘dirt’. Kind of like the way musicians of the past once played their instruments, more like an extension of their bodies, than an individual accompaniment. Guitarists like Slash (Gn’R, Velvet Revolver etc), Dave Navaro (Janes Addiction, Chilli Peppers etc), Tom Morello (Rage, Audioslave), drummer’s like Jon Bonham (Led Zep), Bill Ward (Black Sabbath), Igor Cavalera (Sepultura), and vocalists like Iggy Pop, Ozzy, Axl, and Freddie Mercury. All of these musicians had (and still have in most cases) such passion for their music, and instruments that it holds influence over even the people who aren’t a fan of said musicians band.
By saying all of this, I don’t mean to say that there are no present, or upcoming bands that do not possess any of the qualities, or passion that some of the greats had, or still have. I am merely expressing the fact that there is so much musical competition out there, that there may be not enough ears to listen to it all. If it does reach the ears of the listener, then how long will it take before the song/band is forgotten and there is new music to fill the void? Not long I would have to say. Longevity in the music world is a hard building to break into. Especially when it looks exactly like the building next door.
Is it because there is so much music flooding the airwaves/internet/music stores, that people living in generation now are becoming so adjusted with this style of band ‘juggling’, that is becoming so prevalent? Things do change as is the way of the world, so will this problem only get worse before/if it becomes better? What will be the next new and improved ways of gaining access to music, and which new path will we be led down? Who knows, and who will say if it will be either better, or more disruptive to the world as we know it. Quite possibly both.
Either way the world of music is forever changing and giving us more and more new bands, and new musicians, all fighting for space in an already cramped musical world. Good luck to all those who succeed in breaking into it, and to all those who don’t, I wouldn’t worry too much, just change your style slightly, and give it another crack. Maybe listen to some of those old successful bands that are still pulling crowds, even though they are almost carrying Zimmer frames onto stage with them, and try and learn from what they have to offer. I’m not saying steal their music or imitate it, because that is lame in itself, and get’s very tiring to the ears, just listen, respect, admire, and try to play your own beautifully original music.