well, it finally happened.

[Soylent Brice]

i do not understand music these days.

i never thought i would say it, although i have been secretly thinking it for about 3-4 yrs. i finally admitted it out loud yesterday to my oldest and best friend.

him and his wife had their first baby yesterday, a handsome and alert son. i'm in the room with them and we're just chatting about our lives and looking at how far we've come. i have three kids of my own. he happened to start singing "cold as ice..." because he had heard it when signing in yesterday morning at the nurse's station. we both laughed, and it hit me.

i just don't get today's music.

now, i'm not "old". i'm 30 yrs old. here's the thing though, i have a very large and diverse taste in music. to give you an idea, here's a few things you'll find in my library:

Nine Inch Nails
David Bowie
Hendrix
Doors
Bob Dylan
Mindless Self Indulgence
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Sublime
Johnny Cash
John Coletrane
Tool
Miles Davis
Billie Holiday
Buena Vista Social Club
System of a Down

i could list thousands more, but to give you an idea, i'm all over the map.

i bought a new car recently, a 1995 Toyota Camry. 140,000 plus miles but it's awesome on gas, and no i haven't rearended anyone due to sudden acceleration.

the car has the standard tape deck radio in it still and i'm not in a position to put a CD player in it yet, so i've been in radio hell for about a month or so now.

i turn on the radio and i spend my entire drive back and forth to work just flipping through stations. i'm just in complete awe of how much music these days totally sucks. there's no passion, no political fire, there's no self reflectance. the best way to describe it is how David Cross rips on Stanid/POD/Evanescence. it all just sounds like coporate bullshit shoved out there.

yesterday i finally realized what i had dreaded may happen for years, i am out of touch with today's music. i have to be missing something here. i don't like this feeling. i'm seriously clinging to one tiny slice of hope. the hope is that maybe it's not me and today's music really just completely sucks.

that's my rant, anyways.

[rcrush]

1. I havent listened to the radio in almost 10 years

Its all crap now. Not just you.

[Soylent Brice]

2. that's nice to know. i was starting to think i was beginning to hit my mid-life crisis.

step one - you hate all new music
step two - buy a corvette and a hair piece

it's a slippery slope.


BTW: your sig line cracks me the fuck up.

[rcrush]

3. Thanks

I stole it from a 12 year old!

[Soylent Brice]

10. the next leader of the free world, for sure. lol

[BlueIris]

23. "Midlife Crisis at 30" is the name of an actual book I own.

Those are the stakes for our generation, my friend.

And yes, modern music sucks.

[Crabby Appleton]

4. get one of these adapters if you have an MP3 player or ipod

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001F9DJOO/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0000AOWVC&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=17XGFP4CQJFB6CP4JG3S

[marzipanni]

6. My son and I used one of those in the car with his little <$20.00

Audiovox CD player when he started buying CDs several years ago before we got our current car with a CD player. Now we use it with his ipod.

[Soylent Brice]

8. i actually considered getting an FM tuner for my iPod, but

it's probably cheaper to just buy the CD stereo. also, i haven't owned a CD walkman in almost 8 yrs.

i guess i can't complain if i'm going to be a tightwad.

lol

[rcrush]

11. Those Ipod adapter devices suck

The fm tuner and the cassette cd adapter. Lots of static. If you get a new CD player see if you can get one with an AUX port for an Ipod.

[Soylent Brice]

13. what i've done with other cars in the past 7 yrs is get a

stereo that has the capability to play MP3 CDs. i burn an MP3 CD through iTunes, which allows me to put up to 140-150 songs on each CD, and then i'm set. in my other car i have a 6 disc changer with an MP3 CD in each slot. my wife is driving that car now.

:(

[Kali]

25. that's what I was going to suggest

also how is WAIF? (looks like they do a lot of talk, but maybe there are some music shows too?) Community radio can have some great listening...

http://www.waif883.org/

[MrScorpio]

5. I'm out of touch with today's pop music

That's why I listen to underground.


There's no shortage of it

[Schema Thing]

7. make no mistake, there is great music being made now days

better than ever, imo.

you just won't hear it on for-profit radio stations, for the most part.

[Soylent Brice]

9. can you give me some examples because aside from "Alestorm" i haven't

heard anything recently that really made me say "WOW".

Alestorm (if you don't know already) is pirate metal - highly amusing and totally rocks out.

[Schema Thing]

12. heh, just checked out Alestorm. Amusing indeed.

I've just never been able to handle metal of any kind for more than a few minutes... but if you're gonna do it, pirate/folk-metal would be the way to go :) I'm liking a genre that is loosely punk/folk/americana lately myself.

my biggest "wow" of late; is the Avett Brothers.

A couple others that I've found having nice success as musicians (able to have a nice career, but not gonna be on the radio most likely):

Bob Schneider

The Low Anthem (check out the cellphone theremin used at the end of "This goddamn House" and the punk/folk jangle of "the Horizon is a Beltway")

Josh Ritter

And tons more exist who aren't able to be full time musicians, but are making songs as good as anyone, ever. I think one trick is to find bands you like, locally especially, and then find out who their friends are.

I'm hoping these guys find enough of a following to make it a career: The Beaten Sea http://www.myspace.com/thebeatensea , They will be playing SXSW so they'll get some good exposure.

In fact, just read up on the bands playing SXSW and start listening to what appeals to you.

[Soylent Brice]

15. thanks for all the suggestions!

here's a local band you may enjoy if you like reggae or punk/ska at all:

www.myspace.com/duppyjamba
www.facebook.com/pages/duppy-a-jamba/7796490492
citybeat.zipscene.com/bands/.../5099-duppy-jamba-punk-ska

the bongo player is a good friend of mine.

i'll check those guys out also!

[unpossibles]

14. ok. I love music, and shun the radio because of it

Based on what you said you liked, check out the following current bands:

Firewater (and the singer's former band, "Cop Shoot Cop")
Antony And the Johnsons (may not like; kind of cabaret but a lot of my Bowie-fan friends like it)
Beirut
Calexico
Elysian Fields (probably my favorite band right now; sexy noir rock with jazz influences)
Frank Black (formerly of the Pixies)
French Kicks (more pop than what you listed but good writing)
The Walkmen
Spoon
Bedouin Soundclash (reggae-alternative)
TV on the Radio (kind of weird, but give it a couple of listens before you decide - I prefer the album Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes)
Cinematic Orchestra (kind of mellow and jazzy but beautiful)
Antibalas (afrobeat; if you like reggae you may like this high-energy, horn-driven funky afropop)
Andrew Bird (great writer, hard to describe)
The Dirtbombs (may not like; kind of dirtier/sloppier than what you list, but really good high-energy soulful punk - or punk soul)
M. Ward (great writer)
Peter Bjorn & John
Slightly Stoopid (very Sublime-ish)


Also, don't forget the world of older music which you may not know! I highly recommend:
* The Joe Jackson Band's Look Sharp! album. It's jaw-dropping if for no other reason than the bass playing and the fact that this guy did not get more known.
* Faith No More (so much better than their hit; I recommend King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime and Album of the Year
* Mr Bungle's California - darkly beautiful, like if the Beach Boys wrote about the good old days that never were after taking some drugs
* the soundtrack for Hedwig &The Angry Inch is the best fictional album I've ever heard
* Jimmy Cliff and Toots & The Maytals (old school funky reggae at its best)
* Morphine's Cure For pain
* Roxy Music - the first 2 or 3 albums especially.
* Spacehog - very Bowie-esque
* Billy Bragg Back to Basics

I also recommend checking out last.fm and pandora.com and other internet radio. They will suggest things based on artists/songs you like and you can either rate it up or down, so it gets "smarter" as it goes.

[Soylent Brice]

16. i actually have the soundtrack for Hedwig. saw the movie in Clifton here in Cincinnati

when it premiered. the wife and i both fell in love instantly.
Sugar Daddy is a personal favorite.

there's enough here to keep me busy for a while!

i'll have to check these out. thank you for all the suggestions!


"...six inches long, five inches back, i got an angry inch!!"

lol

[SteppingRazor]

17. I like a lot of the stuff you like. Here are some of my favorite contemporary bands:

The Hold Steady (Especially! These guys are absolutely amazing), The White Stripes (plus Jack White's side bands, The Raconteurs and the Dead Weather), Spoon, Animal Collective, Four Tet, Drive-By Truckers, New Pornographers (not to mention Neko Case's solo work) ... gosh, I could go on all day. Schema Thing is right. There is just a ton of great music out there. You've just got to spend a little more time looking for it. It's not contemporary music that you don't like, it's modern radio.

[Soylent Brice]

18. i have White Stripes and The Raconteurs, but hadn't heard of Dead Weather.

New Pornographers sounds like fun.

I'll have to check these out as well. It's super rare i ever bookmark my own threads, but i have a feeling i'll be coming back to this one a lot.

thanks!!

[myrna minx]

20. I went to HS with Tad from Hold Steady.

:hi: He's a really nice guy.

[caitxrawks]

19. i don't get music either.

I'm 21, I'll be 22 in a few months.

I do love Lady Gaga, but she's pretty much the ONLY completely "in" mainstream artist I listen to. I DESPISE rap shit. Ugh, that's all my little brother and my husband's younger brother and sister listen to.

Bluh.

[Bossy Monkey]

21. Hit the thrift stores. You can find vintage radio shows and books on cassette

for very little. Oh, and you kids stay off my lawn!:P

[Soylent Brice]

22. that's the really sad thing. i used to have TONS of cassettes. threw them all out

a few years ago.

my thinking: "hmph, i'll never use these anymore."

:banghead:

[hippywife]

24. When I don't have any CD's in the car

I listen to NPR or classical when I can't stand listening to the news. Either beats the shit out of listening to loud, obnoxious DJ's playing horrible or even way overplayed music.

:hi:

[JTG of the PRB]

26. Give these guys a try. They're a sort of rap/rock fusion, but they've got political fire for sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLUX0y4EptA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvVO6Y-3CM8&feature=channel

http://vimeo.com/10068800

They're from Denver and they're one of the best bands to come out of this area in a long, long time. Not only that, but they're active with local charities and the like.

[Maine-ah]

27. I am in radio hell all winter long

the cd player in my car hates the cold. Won't play a damn thing.

x(

[darkstar3]

28. 2 things.

1. Staind sucks NOW. Evanescence and POD sucked from their first albums, but Staind's first two albums (Tormented and Dysfunction) were raw, less manufactured, and filled with the passion (dark though it may have been) that you seek.

2. Pandora Radio will find you the music you seek. Thanks to that site, I've found several new groups that I think are very promising in the metal/alt. rock genre.

Your taste runs a little outside of my favorite "wall of noise" type music, but based on NIN, you MIGHT want to give Celldweller or Orgy a try. They're not "new", in fact Orgy was around years ago, but they might be new to you. If you're looking for something with a bit more complexity in the instrumentation, real talent, and deep lyrics, I suggest pretty much any band fronted by Maynard James Keenan (of TOOL fame), but whatever you do, DON'T look up the lyrics if you're "an easy shot."

[Soylent Brice]

31. i have Candyass and the second album they did. always have liked Orgy.

haven't heard of Celldweller, though.

Tool and Perfect Circle are always a viable option. great stuff.
thanks for the heads up!

[XemaSab]

29. I have been feeling the same way for a while

It's sad that I am barely 30 and already I feel like the best music came and went when I was 16. :(

[texanwitch]

30. It is suppose to happen around the age of 30.

I stopped listening to new rock music about that same age.

[JonLP24]

32. There is some good stuff out there

Not much anyways. When there is something good over the radio they overplay it so much you get tired of it so I don't pay much attention to it. Though I may not be very much into the same genre as you based on what you listed but I do like Sublime, Hendrix, Johnny Cash, liked some Peppers songs as well. I think that has something with how I feel about any genre. 95% of it is crap while 5% is really good so you have to really look to find the good stuff.

[JCMach1]

33. There has always been crap and radio has been crap most of that time

You are 30 and I look at a lot of those bands and remember when Chili Peppers were way too 'out there' for mainstream play. So even a lot of those bands didn't get much airplay at first.

There is good music out there... even good rock music.

Placebo has to be one of the hottest live bands going right now...


I won't listen to the radio either... honestly gonna kill somebody if I hear the word 'shorty' again...

Shorty may be like a melody in your freakin' head,
but please please please somebody put out the Shorty fire burnin' on the dance floor!

For the masochistic, here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXxV9g7lsFE&feature=fvst http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTjfFqhDbpg