I actually got into a lot of the music I listen to from odd sources and similar stores (I also got into the Prisoner TV series because of Steve Harris). Certainly there is something to be said for this. But this looks ridiculously contrived and many of the artists are irrelevent has-beens and lesser rock such as the sadly conceived DMB. He writes his own songs, and that's fine and well, but in the end - so what? Wolfmother write their own songs too, and they're much more fun to listen to. Melt Banana and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum write better songs than either, and surely they don't get a mention.

Stuff like this clouds the real issue, which is not that Jessica Simpson sells records, but rather that so many in our society perfer to be spoonfed in all walks of life and culture in general is slipping away. TV is an all-too-common babysitter and recently I am hearing of kids becoming further detached by their parents' odd obsession with portable devices such as Blackberries. Without that bond, the stuff coming out of the tube, such as TRL, gets that much more attention. There is nothing Dave Matthews could connect us to that is going to change this. As for the older performers, there is no question that they can benefit from a little exposure and the "we were around when music was still great, but now it sucks" strategy. When you can't contribute anymore, the easiest thing to do is find a way to bring the current content down below your level.

Rush just released some live DVD about a 30th anniversary. Most of us are just going to yawn at this here (myself included) but to much of the bands fan base, it's the best thing to come out in 10 years. They weren't looking for what we can find, and they barely even try; every time they turned on the radio they didn't like what they heard, so they switched to classic rock or put an old Rush CD on. MTV plays bad music, so therefore all of the music is bad and Rush are going to salvage the year with this release.

What would have been more beneficial is someone going and finding the beter artists of today, to tell kids there is something out there beyond their normal avenues, which you could surely say have regressed over the years, and yeah if you want to throw DM in front on it (perhaps he's a Tom Waits fan? A Mike Patton fan? An Isis fan?) for fan connection, then fine. Having a bunch of people tell you what we supposedly no longer have, especially when it is right at our fingertips, is going to do little more than line a few wallets.

Man. Who CARES who is in it? It shows some interesting stuff regarding how they create pop stars from nothing using computers and a balding white, beer-bellied songwriter! It's interesting, but I guess the level of cynicism and snobbery poured into this thread makes it not even worthy of paying attention to. LOL!!! Fine.

They're talking about the other link, dude.

JFH is spot on with my intro to jazz through flea. he's most definitely a transitionary musician for fans who are looking for more than just radio rock. (he's also where i first heard of fela kuti).

i think the zola hits the nail on the head with his comment about actually having footage of the masters added in with comments by artists kids still connect with.

It's not incredibly newsworthy, this story on how pop music and the frontmen/frontwomen come into existence. Again, I stand by my belief that this would have been better if they had at least paired it with a look at some of the great music that no one gets to hear without some effort beyond turning on MTV/VH1/radio stations owned by corporations. As it is, we have a bunch of has-beens telling us about the good old days.

Music is far from "dying"

Yeah, I don't see what the big crisis is, really.

It seems like some cause-of-the-month thing to me. Eventually they will go back to boycotting KFC and things will be normal again.

Hmmm...well, at least Dave Matthews actually has some talent (I like his stuff, really)...I think I would agree that what we've lost is a music industry that ever had the slightest commitment to music as an art form. There never was all that much commitment, really, but the short-lived cultural rennaisance that occured at the mid-point of the 20th century was hard-hitting enough to continue sending ripples for 50 years before totally vanishing away.

There's always going to be great music, and some of it will manage to crop up on major labels (if "major labels" even survive the onslaught of all this new technology), but it's going to be like the days before the Beatles again. If you want great music, you're going to have to dig for it. That's OK with me, 'cause I enjoy digging.

Digging can be a little tiresome, but I enjoy it as well. I think it is great that we can all conceivably have very individual tastes. The course of events over the years regarding the industry can indeed be viewed as a positive in this aspect. An inconvenient positive, perhaps, if there is such a thing

I saw this film a few days ago.

I doubt I'm the only one that has a hard time explaining why very little mainstream music is worthwhile these days. I was not blessed with the gift of gab. This film, particularly the interviews, can help articulate the problems associated with mainstream music. The film focuses on American music and traces through the history of blues, rock, and jazz and how the invention of radio + TV changed everything. Other major topics include: ClearChannel and the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Although the title of the film is "Before the Music Dies," none of the content actually makes the claim that music is "dying." They obviously selected it for some easy attention. The film's objective was to illustrate the mainstream music industry's tactics of harvesting musicians for money rather than music.

One missing element of the film is that it doesn't really put any responsibility on the listeners. The film's villain is big business.

In terms of the music in the film, its not up to Radiomute standards of "excellence," but the vast majority of the clips and ambience is far better than anything you'd hear on MTV.

Regardless of whether you agree with the writer's or artist's opinions in the film or not, its interesting to hear what people are saying about music.

P.S. I agree with Reverend Rock that Dave Matthews has talent.

P.P.S. I also enjoy digging, but as of late, I haven't had much time to do so.