Where has all the great music gone?

Flicking through the music channels in the absence of anything else to watch on TV has always been a favourite pastime for me.  Recently though, I have found myself skipping through the 20 or so music channels and not being able to find a bloomin thing that I want to listen to.  So, in true Grumpy I.T. Bloke tradition, I feel a list coming on.  Here are a few random thoughts about the current state of the music business;

1) Where has all the rock gone?  Why is there not a current equivilent of Bon Jovi?  Do people not want to listen to rock anymore. If not, why not???  I can't really think of a current popular rock band.  Kings of Leon maybe - but they aren't in the same league as a Bon Jovi or a U2 or a Metallica or a Def Leppard shall we say?  Where is all the gravel now?

2) I hate cheerful songs.  Examples; The Kooks - She moves in her own way; and that current one I don't  know the artist but the chorus goes like this; " I don't care what the people may say, what the people may say about me" or something like that anyway!  Anyway, irritatingly cheerful.

3) I hate melancholy songs.  Example; Adele - Getting a bit tired of everyone getting so carried away about her. Enough said!

4) I love rock - did I mention that already?

5) I hate R&B - especially if it involves a collaberation, and especially if the collaberating guest spins around like a twit alot and wears a silly little trilby.  Trilbys were for Grandads to wear with their tweed jackets for goodness sake! :-)

6) Does Rhianna ever not have a single out?  Does she ever have a break between albums?

7) I love a bit of Gangster Rap.  It has to be hardcore though - example; Jay-Z 99 Problems, or a more current example; Wretch (I think he's called) and the song is called Traktor (i'll ignore the bad spelling of tractor as I love the song).

8) Mikka puzzles me. I heard him on that Live Lounge a couple of years ago covering something proper, and the bloke can actually sing, so I wonder - why does he waste his talent by screaming out that novelty rubbish?  I guess it's for the kids? :-)

9) Producers. I don't get why a handful of them are celebrated the same way that artists are.  Example - Mark Ronson and that David Guetta bloke.  Rhianna sings on that David Guetta track but it is still "David Guetta featuring Rhianna".  Why?

10) People who suddenly appear as if out of nowhere.  On the subject of David Guetta - I looked him up and he's a year older than me.  Where has he been all this time? Why now?  Why haven't I heard of him before?

11) Anything other than songs on the music channels.  Why are there films on the music channels?  Why can I also "Keep up with the Kardashians"?  And what the heck is Gonzo?  I thought he was a bloke but suddenly Alexa Chung seems to be Gonzo instead?  I just want music!

10)  Glee.  Don't get me started.  Don't Stop Believin was one of my favourite songs.  It was cool.  It was the last piece of music ever featured on The Sopranos - that's how cool it was. Glee have absolutely ruined it for me, and I don't think i'll ever forgive them. :-)

11) Multiple Collaberations.  It's confusing enough knowing who's song it is when there are two participants, but when it comes to three I just give up.  Why is it necessary to have Timberland, featuring Justin Timberlake, featuring Nelly Furtado, or more recently - Dr Dre, featuring Eminem, featuring some new woman I've never heard of.  Too confusing.

Seriously though, I think what is currently available in the music world is sadly very lacking compared to some great decades gone by - my Father in Law would probably cite Crosby, Stills, & Nash at this juncture and I think he has a point  Where are the likes of Simon and Garfunkel these days too?  To mention some other decades, The 80's wasn't everyones cup of tea i'll admit, but I loved it.  The 90's had some amazing music too.  I would cite some further examples but I would be on all day (maybe that's for another post).

By comparison I just feel that the last decade has been very grey and one dimensional.  If you aren't one of the endless bands called The Fray, The Feel, The Kooks, The whatever else that all sounds the bloomin same, or one of the endless list of participants in R&B trilby wearing collaborations, then it seems there isn't a place for you in music any more, and that makes me a bit sad.

That's all I can think of for the moment! If anything else bothers me I'll let you know! :-)