Cure For What, Exactly?

In the strange idle hours of the early morning, I have found myself perusing the slowly-darkening hallways of the MySpace "social" network - both my band accounts and my personal account riddled with the expected spam mail (which, oddly, mostly comes directly from MySpace) and friend requests from struggling musicians such as myself.

Oh, I noticed that Toyota and MySpace are giving away a record deal. Enough said.

I'm starting to question if this is the kind of industry I want to get myself into - a world of power and money in the worst way (at least politicians start with a cold purpose). I read endless messages that echo within me: Check out our new songs! Buy our new record! Come to our show (in select areas*)! Support local artists!

No wonder people stopped buying music and turned to get-it-quick software like Napster and LimeWire - it's because they simply stopped caring about it altogether. It has all fallen to the wayside; fallen to background static and white noise. It is something to distract us and keep our ears and minds over-stimulated (god forbid we experience some sort of pure silence in all of this noisy shit). Even with Apple hanging onto the ropes - the iTunes Store throwing punches left and right with lower pricing, DRM-free music, and soon the entire Beatles catalog (next, the world!) - and a handful of artists and labels still dedicated to fighting the good fight...

It's become routine. Simple. Boring.

There are six weasels in this picture.

I woke up this morning in a world that caters to Brokencyde. Enough said.

Within the journeys of the Space, I ended up looking a little deeper into a new group from Fort Collins, Colorado called Cure For Madeline (if you know me, you know I'm a sucker for bands with colorful female names in them - damn yous Brett Detar). I felt my stomach drop as the page loaded in front of me. More victims to the system - complete with Twitter feeds, a SonicBids EPK, an AudioLife account, and (the icing) a BroadTexter widget. 15,928 friends. 118,064 total plays. 1 song. This was a joke, right?

I listened to the song ("Killing Time"); noticed they were completing their debut EP in July 2009. I even went so far to go to their EPK and listen to a second track. Their blog entries and biography read like something out of some sort of "start-a-band" textbook. On top of their extremely fake image, (WARNING: Open opinions from a blogger who obviously doesn't give a fuck what you think) they reflect quite perfectly that same glaring inadequacy in music I mentioned earlier: Routine. Simple. Boring.

Wow, let me tell you how boring. Or, if you'd like: http://www.myspace.com/cureformadeline.

Repetitive instrumentation. Progressions going nowhere. Weak and unstructured vocals (from a singer who is obviously trying too hard). Some unsettling combination of Bat For Lashes and Pearl Jam (only with WAY less Natasha Khan hotness). What an aural gangfuck of what's been redone, resung, rehashed, and eventually...? Trashed like all the rest. Yawn.

Turn off the Clear Channel, turn on the Rollo Tomassi, and free your minds, yo.

I don't see an immediate solution to bands like Cure For Madeline, record labels like Epitaph, faces like Miley Cyrus, or people like Pete Wentz - I don't have any quick fix for 3OH!3, The Flobots (what does that even mean...?), and other things resembling talentless drool - and I certainly don't see any shining light that will bring us forward into a world where Green Day finally calls it quits, no one remembers Katy Perry, and someone kills Paul Oakenfold.

The only advice I have is to...well, I guess...run. As fast as you can. In the other direction.

In that other direction lies the second part of my blog, in a place where these fiery rivers of lava (liquid rock!) have not touched. A peaceful place where musician and active listener share borders. On June 29th, The Ghost And The Grace (exactly 1/2 of the band Idiot Pilot) will release "Behold! A Pale Horse" - a 13-track American epic spanning the chaos of religion, the magic of science, and the inevitability of death. It looks like we're running in the right direction now. Stay tuned for my complete review of the album as it finds its way to my waiting hands.

"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him." - Revelations 6:8

This Is Not A Test.

Blah blah blah blah. The gate to infinity is wide open! Bright, blinding, and full of stupid optimism! We all have to start, so we might as well start somewhere. I've decided to start with something I know - words. Words on a few things. The Internet. Truth. The World. The Human Race. The Future. You know - scary things. Okay, so we'll throw in a few comforts in as well - Music. Movies. Books. Entertainment. Distraction. We all need a little distraction to keep us from not killing each other - I'm willing to provide that proverbial outlet. Lend me your ears, you eyes, and your bleeding, severed hearts, and I promise you - it'll all be okay. Someday.