I was a teenager in the 90’s. Music was different 20 years ago. It was the era of Spin Magazine, Goth and Industrial were exploding, Punk and Ska were hurdling back into the mainstream, Gangster Rap was at its most dangerous, and there was a brief but fun period where everyone was swing dancing. General mayhem when it came to music was the norm. It was a rogues gallery of artists who wanted to “fuck you like and animal” and “fuck the police” it seemed that there was a lot of fucking going on. There were just girls “living in captivity” and “semi-charmed” lives. While I may risk sounding like an old man that has crossed over in to thinking nostalgia is the same as quality when it comes to creative output, I think they had something that seems to be missing from music now. I genuinely think there is some amazing music out there and even though the top 40 pop hits seem to be the catchiest songs your’ve ever heard, it all seems manufactured and packaged to simply be a really catchy song. Commerce has crept in to the music industry as never before. The piracy wars of the early ot’s left music execs scrambling and they slowly began to erode the creativity and spontaneity of music. Even though bands like “Vampire Weekend” (who I love BTW) are excellent songwriters who can craft an album that might qualify as the most fun, raucous and enjoyable collection of songs from the last 5 years, I can’t help but feel that something is missing. It is almost visceral when I try to describe it, which may be the best clear indication that I am definitely an old man who longs for something that can only be had as a 16 year old listening to a song in a room brooding for hours. I will clumsily describe this lost element as passion. When I listen to Smells Like Teen Spirit or Ok Computer it feels deep. There is something in the souls and minds of the songwriters and musicians that rises up to reach out and grab that same thing from deep within me. It shakes me and when the song is over it stays with me. We as a society have devalued the musical process. We interact with it as if we are owed the efforts of those taking their time write and perform and record these songs for us. For every song in the world we now pay less per month than an entire album would have cost. For the price of 12 songs we now get millions, and while there is the benefit of greater exposure and easier access to lesser known acts etc... The cultural shift has caused us to treat musical output less as an artistic expression and more of a commodity. Execs are facilitating the creation of songs to appeal to the widest audience, which creates a lowest common denominator target. This isn’t to say that the audiences have gotten less intelligent they simply expect less from their music. They expect a rhythmic beat, simple coherent lyrics that are easy to memorize and a hook with a melody they can hum to themselves while they ride around town on their bikes. It exists in all forms and genres, and while there are bright spots it is much less the norm than when Janis Joplin called out “Cry Baby” until she was hoarse. When an artist can hit that note of making us not only bob our heads or bust out on the dance floor but truly and deeply feel something it is magical. Adele caused an entire generation to look at the Facebook profiles of whatever Ex got away and the runaway success of that song shows that a modern audience can experience that passion and connect with it. With the current state of the music biz it seems artists should be taking more risks and sharing a vulnerability that we can all relate to but it won’t happen until audiences are ready to give those artists the time and attention and plays and sales that make it worth their while. I realize fully that my perspective is skewed by my age status and my gross generalization about the history / state of the music industry. But spend 2 hours listening to top 40 radio and tell me how often you not only drum on your steering wheel or desk, but how many times you stop what you’re doing to reflect on what the artist is trying to tell you. Then go back to any top forty list from 1996 and do the same. If you don’t notice a difference in how you feel. Please say so in the comments section, or if any of the 5-9 people I expect to read this in the next 20 years know of any new artist that might prove me wrong, please let me know. Good day!