Music memories

This is an article I wrote for one of my first Journalism classes. I found it the other day and I'm putting it here not because I think it's that exceptional, but because it was one of the first. Also I have no where else to put it. :)


Column: Entertainment Weekly
When was the last time you heard a truly good song? Perhaps a good song like "Jeremy" by Pearl Jam or maybe a song that reminded you of the first time you heard "Stairway to Heaven?" One that touches you and moves you to thinking beyond the beat and lyrics and more to what the song means to you. One that touches you on a personal level. When was the last time you thought the band you were listening to one the radio was maybe a musical genius. Not recently.

Music today is flat. It's boring, unimaginative and forced. With people like Nelly, Britney Spears, and The Pussycat Dolls running the show, it's no wonder all the good music is retreating underground. In a world where music is getting more sexed-up and dumbed-down and the artists are getting younger and younger, it's no wonder there's nothing with a soul out there.
In the 1990s, the backlash from the 80s disco era gave way to one of the most influential and brilliant music scenes since the beginning of Rock n Roll via Elvis. The powers that be dubbed it "grunge" but I prefer to simply call it good music. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Green Day, Bush, The Smashing Pumpkins, No Doubt, Red Hot Chili Peppers and more emerged with talent, passion for their art and get this kids: they wrote their own songs!
Lyrics like Britney Spears' "I'm a slave for you (kitty kitty)" rightfully seem trite next to some of Radiohead's declarations about the human condition. And everyone has gone pop. From the "harder" musicians like Good Charlotte with their cutesy punk lyrics "girls don't like boys, girls like cars and money," to the latest in laughable dribble from artists like Ludacris or Lil Bow-wow, everyone's trying to fit into the glam, I-have-more-money-than-you music style. Bigger is not always better and right now it's certainly NOT.
Lines have been smudged, bridges have been burned and really, what does it all mean? What's the point? Where's the heart Britney, where's the heart? No where near the music biz right now. Let's hope it makes a comeback.