2000: Another
dismal year for music?
12-04-00
Holiday
My vote for the best of 2000? It’s
not Gore, and it’s not Bush, and it’s not even Nader. It’s not even
an album. It’s the spirit of the industry. The kids have exploded
this year, the rocking masses have awakened, and there’s rock to be had
finally again for anyone who wants it. Styles, fads and genre names
come and go, but rock and roll is always there, and lately we haven’t had
to even dig for it.
On my trips to the record store over the
past few years, I have been finding myself more and more going back to
just fill in the gaps in my record collection, rather than purchasing many
new releases. The “thug” rock that’s been dominating the scene for
the last three years, while some of it is good, just doesn’t always connect
with me. (Don’t even get me started on the Britney Spears’ and boy
bands of the world. ) I am a white blonde skinny assed chick from
the Midwest who listens to the “Pretty in Pink” soundtrack in its entirety
at least once every two weeks.....still. I love and adore metal,
don’t get me wrong, but I can’t even begin to step into Fred Durst’s shoes
and even have a smidgen of a clue of where he’s coming from. He’s
found his niche, and filled it well. Kudos to him. Say it’s
because I’m a girl, whatever, I don’t care. I am just not crazy about
it.
Bands like Monster Magnet, Type O Negative,
the Foo Fighters and Collective Soul were the only thing that the mass
media was giving me that was on the front rack for me in the nineties.
Everything else, well, I had to order it myself. I know I could order
it off of the internet, but I have this little thing about supporting the
local stores that service my area, no matter how lame they may be.
Still, there’s something wrong about getting laughed at when you show up
at the counter at your local record store, and the guy behind the counter
with fifteen piercings and a mohawk, says “Whoa, who listens to this???”.
That’s the music industry’s attitude towards good rock right there, and
it’s just plain sad. Take a good look around your local Musicland
or Sam Goody. They don’t care if you have taste. They just
want your money. What else would the industry have me buy?
Oooh, I am a girl. Maybe I should have checked out Mariah Carey.
Maybe a nice Celine Dion album. Oooh, there was a festival just for
me, Lilith Fair. PULEASE. I was and still am so insulted.
I want to rock too, and with none of the ©rap! I was really
beginning to wonder if those in the industry knew that there was more to
rock than Creed. Hey, music industry idiots! I already own
several Creed-sounding albums, they’re called “Vitalogy” and “Dirt”.
I didn’t feel like spending my hard-earned money on new ones that sounded
the same, and I am one of those few who actually can’t bring herself to
download much of anything on Napster, and even when I do, I always go out
and buy it. I can’t help it. I feel guilty—because I am a girl.
Doh.
I honestly can’t remember the last time
I heard of five new band’s albums that I just HAD TO GET. I was off
on a tangent discovering the European and NYC techno club scene this year,
(Montreal is rock and roll HELL to give you an idea), and what do I come
back to but a plethora of new bands trying to bring back “the rock.”
A Perfect Circle, Finger Eleven, Incubus, Disturbed, 3 Doors Down, Nickelback,
Papa Roach, are all prime examples of guys (and girls) going out there
and just rocking their asses off. They’re making music for what it
is—music. It’s not an easily packageable thing, no matter how many
labels the industry gives them, but each of them have been doing their
own thing and—for the first time in years—selling. They’re
not trying to be gangstas, they’re not trying to be Kiss, they’re not trying
to put on airs of being “above it”, nor are they trying to depress the
hell out of us. They just want to make good music so we can buy it
and listen to it in our cars, our houses, our parking lots, our malls,
wherever. That’s all we really want of our bands, isn’t it?
Isn’t that part of the American dream?
So rock on, kids—they’re handing it to
you. No matter who’s president for the next four years, no matter
where our economy goes, one thing will be for certain, rock will be there
for you. We’ll be listening. I will continue to do what I have
always done, and vote for my bands the good old fashioned way, by walking
down to the store and casting my ballot with the folks at Visa.
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