music 201

alright listen up yall, take off those headphones, shut the ipod. Lend me your ears and attention for we are about to embark on a journey of discovery (or so I hope). today's topic shall centre on why each and every one of us places such importance on music and conversely, how we are important to the continued proliferation of good music.

firstly let me restate the manifesto that we all know so well. indie is the new pop. indie is in. because indie just seems so much more real to the average person. you hear indie songs being covered by live bands at timbre, your friendly neighbourhood garage band jams to the exact same sounds, heck you could even imagine yourself playing some of the songs that you so love. Once you can relate to something, you find yourself in tune with it. Contrast this to the normal pop fluff which has been done to death, over and over again. How many pop-rock-chicks have we seen broken out of the same mould as Avril Lavigne circa 2002? Hilary Duff, Ashlee Simpson, Kelly Clarkson blah blah and so on and blah blah somemore. but couldn't the same logic apply to indie music as well? aren't there a large pile of bands all sounding the same and trying to appeal to the same crowd?

as tastes change, so will the tactics of the record companies evolve to grab as much of consumers' dollars out there. they are not blind to the changing trends. one reason why indie as we know it is successful is also due to shrewd marketing. the age of beautiful boybands and power vocalists has died, replaced with an edgier, more angst-y dynamic. the four, five piece rock band is in vogue again, together with band names that make absolutely no sense whatsoever. Next thing you know we'll have bands called Big Serial Bow of Cornflakes or The Wooden Chairs or whatever. One thing you can count on though, is that they will all purport to make raw, energetic music that represents what everyone really wants to say inside. You will hear them on radio (perhaps even get an early heads up from this blog) go to the record store, get their album, chase them round when they visit town for a gig, and drop them like a hot potato when the next big thing comes around. So goes the vicious cycle of music.

The moral of the story? Just **** it all and listen to what catches your fancy. worrying over whether something is legit or representative of true musical value won't get you far before you slam face-first into the commercial music machinery that this industry grinds upon. listen to what you like, listen to what we tell you to like, right here, same time same channel same irreverent blog

peace, out.