Guns and Records

The old saying still applies here:

“You know you’re getting old when new music all starts to sound the same.”

I’m sitting here listening to Led Zeppelin’s “BBC Sessions”, and I almost started to cry a couple of times.  Not because the music moved me to tears (even though a Zep song has done that before), but because I know I’ll never hear anything like it again.  When’s the last time you heard a voice like Robert Plant’s in a new band?  Talent like Jimmy Page’s?  Fucking gone.

Don’t misread what I’ve written, there are some great musicians out there (Mike Patton, Tool, Primus, Fishbone).  Goddamn are they hard to find, though.  Faith No More’s broken up, Primus’ last couple of albums have kinda blown, and I think Fishbone’s doing opening slots for bands like Nickelback and Train.  Tool is my last great hope.  I hope they keep it going into their 60s, so I can still give them my money.

Hip-hop is even worse.  I can remember a time when hip-hop had an overwhelming majority of good music, and a few crap albums floating around on the edge.  Most people call this time the “Golden Age of Hip-Hop” when groups like Eric B and Rakim, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, and Boogie Down Productions reigned.  Then, the West Coast got involved and a few years later, the genre had gone entirely the other way.  Now, there’s an overwhelmlingly huge pile of crap albums released every year, with a few good albums floating around the edge.  These are called “underground”.  Look for them.

Finding new and interesting music is a fucking chore.  Usually, you hear about a good new band from a friend or on a specialized internet blog site that has 10 readers (like this one).  A lot of the time, the new and interesting music is some guy playing the pan flute with his asshole.  But once in a while, that gem shines through and you realize all of the searching has finally payed off.

Keep looking for good new music.  Support the bands and groups you like, and tell people about them.  Even if 99 out of 100 people tell you to fuck off, one of them will get it and you’ll help your favorite band to get a new fan.