Give me a bad review. Oh wait, theres one right here.

Today at work, our clock broke. I winced as they took down the one thing I depend on at my workplace. It's the one thing that is nice and reliable, and its a useful gauge to see how i'm holding up through my shift.
I was going to on a long diatribe about clocks, but i found that i know nothing about them. Well here is something i do know about.

Some tangental musical thoughts here:

Something that keeps rock and roll completely boring and/or pathetically entertaining, is rock journalism. Ok, i'll admit it--I subscribe to Rolling Stone. (At least it's not Spin.) I usually get a kick out of reading the review section and looking at all the three-star records. Take a look next time--every fucking band from the new emo sad sacks to the newest hip-hopper gets three fucking stars. Those reviews are the pinnacle of mediocrity, and some of the descriptions of these (mostly shitty) albums make me want to bomb the headquarters. It's sad when anything that has a 7th chord in it is called "jazz influenced" and anything that has a vocal part that crudely resembles doo-wop harmony "summons up old R&B". It cheapens the real thing.

It seems that the majority of the reviews are of pop acts, or uninteresting indie drivel, bands that only the dyed black hair, scarf wearing, european cigarette smoking fuckoffs like to ask you if you've heard of. I really don't give two shits about some band named The Blood Brothers, so don't fucking ask me, you pretentious louse. Unless theres a good reason for me to check out a band, i won't, because theres plenty of shit to go around that I don't want a part of. Obscurity is not a reason to get into a band.

If you go to the Middle East, if you go to Russia, if you go to the Caribbean, and listen correctly, you will hear music. REAL music. Music that the common person created as an out from their daily lives, as an expression of their culture. Culture that is thousands of years old, culture that the common person holds dear to them. Here in the US, I don't think the average mixed-ancestry person really cares about American cultural music. All these kinds of people consume is Britney Spears and Evanescence, Metallica and Disturbed, 50 Cent and...you get the idea. It's a bit sad. Jazz is far from popular. REAL blues is not to be found on your radio dial cept for half and hour a week.
Country is such a parody of itself its fucking laughable. It's hard to find something truly American of substance in the music world that John Q. Average is exposed to. People refuse to be challenged. It's all about PRODUCT. Thats another topic for another time though.

Topics for next time:
"No new 'classical' music: Nothing but dead white guys"
"I want to hear Joe Blow's Bitchin Concerto"
"John Mayer or Jack White: Whose gonna get fat first?"
"Women in rock that i actually admire/care about"

Til next time.