Okay I'm posting this back here, because all the cool people seem to hang out in the Backroom. Plus, if I really really get on a roll (bourbon willing) this could turn into an ugly rant.

I want to ask a question to all the Orgahs out there: is it just me, or does it seem like all the best music has already been recorded?

Think about it seriously. When is the last time that you saw/heard someone with the same honest feverish energy as Otis Redding, or Jimi Hendrix, or Janis Joplin? When is the last time you heard someone with the same musical talent as The Electric Flag or (**** you, Gawain, for you were right... ) the Beatles? Sure, there are plenty of bands that make it as "pop" bands, but none of them seem to have... that. Whatever THAT is. That thing that hits so hard when you listen to it, in the same way that the right selection of classical music can. That thing that brings tears to your eyes.

What is it that is keeping us from making good music these days? The best answer I can come up with is MTV. Their constant omnipresent control over America's youth means that whatever they present will become a prevailing force. But that isn't the end-all, be-all answer: MTV gave Stevie Ray Vaughn his debut, unless I am mistaken, and you have to admit, he was DAMN good. Michael Jackson too, deserves plenty of the blame; unless I am sorely mistaken, most of today's pop can trace its roots back to that human monstrosity. So maybe it's him. Or maybe it is simply the increasingly frenetic attitude of modern Western culture. We are completely obsessed with the newest and the best these days, and there's no use denying it. Even in the 70's and 80's, we still respected, for the greater part, the work of earlier musicians. Not so today.

And so, as I sit in my dorm room, committing various activities which my most prestigious university frowns down upon, I feel moved to ask the opinions of the Org as to why popular music no longer encompasses any bands who may have any lasting musical value. Hell, is it really all in my head? Am I some atavistic fool, clinging to a past that I should have lived in? Or are we really going through a musical crisis?

For your consideration, I submit six of my favorite live performances previously posted (in a strongly reactionary manner) in a "worst music videos" thread:

The MC5: Kick Out the Jams

The Jefferson Airplane: The House at Pooneil Corners

The Pink Floyd: Interstellar Overdrive

"Big Mama" Thornton: Hound Dog

Otis Redding: Satisfaction

Queen Janis: Cry Baby

If you know of someone as good as these guys who has ht it big recently, please do post them here. I could use a little encouragement.

OK
Zorba
(Reverend Gonzo)