What State is this Country In Musically?

October 9, 3:28 PMOrlando Music ExaminerWestley Valentin

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Orlando Music Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

As we begin the ending of this first decade of the new millennium, I wonder:  In what state is this country musically? In the fifties we were blessed with legends like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and countless others.  In the sixties we had Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and again, countless others.  In the seventies we had Aerosmith, Marvin Gaye and The Jackson 5.  In the eighties we had Michael Jackson, Run-D.M.C, Afrika Bambaataa, Rakim, and KRS-One.  In the nineties we had Nirvana, 2Pac, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, the Wu-Tang Clan, and I would need not only my fingers and toes but yours also to count the legends.  Besides Eminem in this decade, who is there?

Now I don’t want to be misunderstood.  I support every musical venture whether local, national, or worldwide as long as they are ventures that are pure in heart.  But where are the legends? Where are the artists that take the burden of leading the country creatively and molding the generation growing up now? Is Screamo that cause? Is Emo that cause?

Because as far as I can see, there is no band or artist in any genre, that is ‘bringing the game to another level’ so to speak.  Why is that? Has corporate America finally infiltrated the music industry to the point of standardizing the craft? Or is there just no inspiration for artists to build a stockpile of material from?

Rock & Roll was the child of a post-war generation of rebellious teenagers.  The sixties spawned the most original music in this nation’s history, which was inspired by the civil and women’s rights movement as well as the perils of the Vietnam War.  The 80’s Hip Hop explosion was formulated by the malignant state of inner-city dysfunction, and so on.

The past eight years have been a stagnant wading pool of social acts unimportant to the growth of the human race.  One would think the attacks of the World Trade Center would have sparked a social awakening that effected musical conscious; but it hasn’t.  And even though some artists have tried to be that beacon of light in this gray world, most artists (and I use that term loosely) have turned a blind eye to ‘conscious music.’

Negatives aside however, I am hopeful.  Because despite the fact that we have suffered through this decade with listless music, and although we have hit rock bottom artistically, there is only one way to go from here.  That direction is up.  The next decade, or what I like to call ‘the teens,’ seems to be promising of concentrative issues that are going to affect everyone on a conscious level. 

So in closing, subscribe to my articles, give me feedback; because with your input, we will flourish as an artistic community.  And as I always say, that’s just me; make up your own mind, peace…