i hate to admit it but i'm hitting into that demographic a bit. it's not that i'm against new stuff it's that i'm too busy making ends meet to really give a crap about sifting through so much of the stuff being peddled out there. i KNOW there's great music out there and i know it's up to me to find it. but it's like i mentinoned earlier in this thread, the shift to a download method of distribution has been having an adverse effect on my music listening tendencies. then again i've never been driven to be number one but instead to be happy with what i have.

i think a lot of it has to do with what your exposed to and what you expect from what you like. it's like when you're a teenager the music you hear is really speaking to you (because it's marketed that way) but once you hit your 20s it often becomes less of a factor mainly due to real life issues like rent or groceries. at which point i'd assume those who stagnate in their 20s would have found the best versions of what they originally liked. (like going from soundgarden to kyuss to qotsa).

but going back to the whole net thing. i really don't feel like sifting through myspace page after myspace page hoping to find something that doesn't suck emo punk balls or happens to be more than just homemade electronic tracks for the sake of a math formula, clicks, and bleeps.

what i'm finding as i get older isn't that i don't like new music as much, it's that there's less new music that i find interesting. something that's more than just another reiteration of something i've already heard.

here's hoping the new squarepusher rocks. hehehe

A key question may be, has there ever been a time when the majority of music that was promoted heavily worthy of being listened to? My whole listening life (30+ years) has ALWAYS had me having to dig out the majority of music that appealed to me... Oh sure there were many times when the music I like was also popular (Zeppelin, Nirvana, etc), but for the most part the music I ended up loving were either deeper cuts from well known artists or stuff by artists that got little to no promotion... I also found myself liking a lot of music that came before I was of listening age (most 60's and 50's music)...

I guess the big difference now is that rock music (the main genre I like) is no longer the most popular format for promotion... So it has become harder to find the stuff I like over the last 15 years or so... Luckily there seems to be an endless amount of recorded music in the styles I like yet to be discovered form virtually every decade since the mid 50's... And the resources these days (internet, books) are amazing compared to the options of 20+ years ago...

So, while I do listen to some of the same music I have since I was 12, I also delight in listening to the seemingly endless supply of new stuff that I keep discovering...

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This conversation is exactly why I like to shop at a used CD store as my primary means of getting new music. Because the focus of the shopping is not what you're looking for, but what's there.

@ Just Blaze: you really thought that highly of their Bonaroo set this year? I heard it and its good, but honestly i could hook you up with 10+ shows that are better. Back in 2000-2001 they were in a pretty good groove, bringing the heat every night, but then in 2005 they got a new drummer which kinda brought them back to square one. Their fall tour stuff is starting to pick up, so maybe they are getting back in this 'groove' with their new drummer. Its kinda ironic because, having listened to alot of their shows from 99 to 06, they were a much better in 2001 then they are now, but their fan base has grown exponentially as they lose steam. I guess this is true of most jambands, the prime example being Phish. But anyways, like i said, they seem to be improving every show so i would say give it some time and they will be at the top of the jamband scene.

a couple more points that i ought to comment on:

Im really starting to dig this new 'electronic' element that is makign its way into the jamband scene. Bisco really opened my eyes with Magner's crazy keyboard effects, and the occasional drum machine beats they throw in. It really seems like this is going to be a major staple in 'jam' music from here on out, especially when you check out hot new bands like STS9 and The New Deal (seriously, give them a listen).

Also, to whoever was talking about Umphreys ealier; i used to be pretty into them, but then i realized that they arent even a jamband. They DO play 10-15 minute songs, but they are entirely scripted. If you listen to a song like 'All in Time' or 'In the Kitchen' from one show, it will be 95% similiar to the next time they play that song. And this is one aspect of jam music that draws me to it; evertime i hear song, it should be new and different from the last time i heard it.

The entire 1950s.

oh man that had to be a hard thing to hear.

The funny thing, as much as I hate Boston, I don't find it too disturbing that someone would like to listen to them from time to time. Foreigner and Journey, I am more or less neutral to. Granted I was around and attentive when all these bands were cranking out their hit material, so I can relate to the context of when they were relevent. 30 years later, if someone wants to hear "Cold As Ice" again, well ok. I am probably a litle more understanding about this than most others here.

Of course, when you are listing these as major bands in this kind of conversation, I mean man...someone get that guy a CD player. Or even a cassette player, seeing as all of those bands were once availiable on 8-tracks. One of my favorite time periods, musically anyway, is the mid-80's (83-86). I don't keep reliving that year over and over again.

Still, the only truly embarrassing thing about this...is that he mentioned Night Ranger. That band was the epitome of uncool during their heyday! One level above Survivor in the wuss-factor, and many, many levels below anything associated with Tommy Shaw (the fact that Ted Nugent actually let Shaw and Jack Blades work together, and even played along, is a worse offense than any of his NRA bullshit these days). Don Dokken and Joe Lynn Turner were both more manly than any one member of the entire band. Ye gods.

My real problem is not with the bands themselves, but that he considered them to be different sounds. The whole point of the conversation I had with him was about different styles of music that one might listen to. To me those are all exactly the same.

And they are, pretty much. Even back then, they were not considered light years away from each other - if you liked one, you probably liked the other two (again, we are not counting Night Ranger). It is interesting how, over time, you look back at an era and see bands as more similar than they really were at the time. But yeah, back then, while not indistiguishable, they were hardly different from each other. Kansas, Styx, and REO Speedwagon could be added there. I guess some people liked both kinds of music: rock and roll

Kansas, in my opinion, is the best that group has to offer. I enjoy some of their stuff and find their first album likeable.

I should mention a couple other facts about him, more for my own twisted enjoyment then adding anything to the conversation.

1. He did mention Survivor
2. His favorite band is Petra.