To Be a Rock and Not to Roll

Why is it that the most talented musicians can't sell any albums? We are over run with gimmick, schlock, and crap. Remember Alternative music? How funny is that classification. It was an alternative to other types of rock and roll. Now, Rock stations play Alternative and call it rock. Pearl Jam and Nirvana are now even played on Classic Rock Stations. Damn, am I that old? What kills me is that there are great musicians that can't get a record deal or put out an album that doesn't sell. As consumers, we have this little capsule of what we like. We'll listen to new things, provided that it fits into that capsule of comfort. Because of our closedmindedness, Slipknot has put out multiple albums. I guess all we need to do is come up with a ridiculous classification and a bunch of groups that sound the same and Slipknot can make a bunch of money, while Vernon Reed is doing session work somewhere because folks don't want to hear someone who actually knows how to play a guitar. Scott Stapp has a solo album!!! If this isn't a travesty, I don't know what is. Now folks are turning to Indies. Independent Labels wet dreams. Someone can do all of the groundwork, they can be scouted, paid, overproduced, and labeled. In most cases, the "indie sound" means cool stuff done to poor musicianship. What pisses me off the most about the present state of music is there hasn't been anything fresh in a while. The technology is there. Folks can put stuff on www.purevolume.com, www.garageband.com, itunes, or a wide variety of other sites. I listen often. Ocassionally I hear something that's pretty cool. Other times I hear stuff like this. Music is one of those things that everyone thinks they are an expert on. I suppose we are each experts on what we like. Those who disagree with me are usually wrong.