A note from the editor…

Just when you think music’s headed in the right direction, it changes on you again.  I mean, here we are with great artists ranging from Regina Spektor to Howie Day to the Killers, and things are looking pretty good in the music industry.  Now all of a sudden…Backstreet’s Back?  Alright.

            I recently saw two very different shows.  One was Buddy Guy and the other, Jordan Knight of New Kids on the Block.  Let me explain.  Buddy Guy is a legend to all.  Jordan Knight…he’s more of a legend to my 8-year-old self.  Buddy Guy put on an amazing show.  Jordan Knight, not so much.

            During Guy’s set, he chatted with the crowd a little bit about music and how it is changing.  He talked about John Lee Hooker and Jimi Hendrix and that back then there was always good music, but people just didn’t always know about it.  It was there, of course, but it wasn’t as accessible.  Which is the same as today.  There is definitely a ton of good music out there, it’s just a little harder to find.  Kids today are being raised on TRL—that’s all they’re getting for music.  They listen to whatever is being pumped into their ears, and I gotta tell you, it’s not always quality.  Take Gwen Stefani, for example. I was once a No Doubt fan, but I’m still a little in shock over her latest single, “Hollaback Girl." It’s beyond anything Velveeta could ever put out and quite honestly,it drives me B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

            On to Jordan Knight…I’ll admit it, he was on my pillowcase.  I said “goodnight” to him before I went to sleep, so when I heard he was playing a show nearby, we thought it would be fun and nostalgic to go see him.  (Please note, this was a free show).  Unfortunately, I found myself laughing through most of the set.  Of course, it was entertaining to hear him do some of the old New Kids On the Block hits, but that was also part of the problem.  Even with some of his new songs, he pranced around like he was still part of the boy band that I associate most of my early years with.  Sometimes, you just have to know when to move on.  Though I feel I have, I worry he hasn’t.

            So maybe that’s the difference.  Maybe if this were fifteen years ago, I would have thought his show was the best thing ever.  I would have appreciated it a lot more.  But I’m glad to say that now, I appreciate artists like Buddy Guy more.  There’s real talent there, but I doubt that when I was younger I could have recognized that.  It’s a real pleasure to see “good” music out there now—things that kids can have the opportunity to hear and like.  There are real musicians with real instruments and without backing tracks.  Granted, they will still be force-fed things like JoJo and the Backsteet Boys, but that’s always a given, because that stuff does appeal to kids more.  But the more accessible quality music is, the more opportunity kids will have to understand it.  There is a world outside Top 40, and that will always be there.  It is nice to see that world is now making it’s own presence on the music scene.

Thanks for tuning in!

Until next month…

    Nicole  Roberge

    nicoleroberge@tunedinmusic.com