re: Clambake Joe Goes To The Lake....

Scott,

>1. The music business has become more business than music. The money
>that today's bands make has clogged up the abilty to write and perform
>truly inspirational music.

I can sort of agree with this, to a point. However, IMO, there have been=
 some pretty rich Rock musicians that have written and performed some great=
 music. U2 (before Zooropa), REM and Pearl Jam (just to name a few) all have=
 loads of cash in the bank and have still been able to write and perform=
 credible music.

>2. MTV. They have narrowed young people's attention spans so much that
>a new band has to either recreate itself every 6 months or suffer low
>album sales. Can you imagine having to to a video to sell albums?

You know, I was just thinking about this today. Today, as it happens, is the=
 15th anniversary of the first MTV show. I loved MTV for the first year or=
 two. In a sense it was the "Alternative Radio" of it's day. Bands like=
 Modern English, the Plimsouls, et al, were never played on the radio where=
 I grew up. MTV gave us the opportunity to listen to (and see) something=
 new. The MTV of today, however, has narrowed it's view of what's worth=
 playing. That is, to my dismay, the exact reason that MTV has been able to=
 stay on the air. MTV narrowed it's playlist to that which would appeal to=
 the younger kids. And it's worked.
As far as *having* to do videos to sell an album is concerned, I'd have to=
 agree. This certainly does seem to be a requirement on the road to success=
 these days. Especially for the younger, less established, bands. Pearl Jam=
 happen to be one of the very few popular bands that has not had to make=
 videos to gain popularity.

>3. There is nothing new under the sun. Groups like the Who were the
>last great inovators of rock music and everything we hear today is
>just a rehash of what we heard 30 years ago.

Well, the Sex Pistols, Ramones and The Clash all came along well after the=
 WHO gained popularity. And I'd have to say that if you were going to pick=
 50 of the most innovative bands in rock history, you would have to include=
 all three. Well... at least the Pistols and the Ramones. IMO, the Pistols=
 and Ramones were a major reason, maybe THE reason, that rock music was able=
 to pull itself out of the shitter (formerly known as music in the mid to=
 late 70's). I also cannot forget to mention U2 (again, pre-Zooropa!) and=
 REM as bands that have, for better or worse, remained innovative.

Don