BY MIKEY MIGO
We all love music or other wise why did you click this link? We all have our personal tastes in music and opinions. For over two years now, I've written just about every week about random topics; top whatever lists, and just spewed my view all over your faces. I never looked down on the reader and I pride myself as being real as possible with you. I'm not going to shovel shit at you for the hell of it. I basically pick apart my brain and ramble about music in the same way I would if YOU were sitting here with me sharing a bottle of booze.
Call this a comp out, but today I'm going to celebrate my 25th Birthday a little early. As I officially enter the second half of my twenties, I am a bit optimistic about the landscape of music. The emo trend is dieing down and sadly the indie bore-rock is still floating around thanks to other websites who cater to their plaid shirts and VANS shoes. Still, I'm optimistic. The face of music has changed so much over the past quarter century that the next will only be more rapidly evolved. I'm not going to ramble about anything in particular. I'm not going to give you a chance to tell me I should check my facts before writing. I'm NOT a journalist. I'm a fan of music with a column. I guess "columnist" is the best way to go about it. If I am sometimes wrong, so be it. I'm here to enjoy music and learn more about it. So today I'm going to take it easy.
As I said before, I'm still optimistic about the face of music. To celebrate my twenty five years on this rock we call Earth, I'm going to share some of my personal Birthday wishes. I'm not going to bore you with "I hope my family does okay" because that's a given. Same with success, love, and wanting a zombie Jimi Hendrix to show up and play "The Wind Cries Mary" at my future-never-going-to-happen wedding.
In no particular order:
25. A new Rage Against The Machine album.
They've been doing tons of shows and selling out many venues across the country. It makes sense that they'd get in a new album about the results of Bush's reign and/or the historical impact that Obama can and will have.
24. Better theme music for WWE.
There was a small time frame where WWE was in touch with the current music trends. Instead we now get generic rock songs and horrible tracks from horrible bands. The opening of a show or the entrance of a wrestler provides the company a chance to spark interest and gain attention. Good music can help get across what they're going for. Saliva, POD, and Drowning Pool aren't cutting edge. They play third rate venues in major cities. That's definitely going to get them some cross over attention.
23. A new U2 album to shut up the snobs and elitists.
The constant nitpicking about Bono has gotten stale. He does WAY more good than bad, but who cares about that riiiight? U2 has provided some of the best anthems and overall music of the past thirty years. They can and easily will continue to do so if we let them.
22. Trent Reznor + Thom York = Greatest Collaboration EVER.
These two have seemingly similar points of view in music, business, and art.
21. A New Music Network.
MTV is dead. MTV 2 is dead. Fuse isn't as available as it should be and mostly plays the same stuff MTV plays when they do play stuff OR it's a lot of emo and "Warped Tour" love. I want a channel with music videos all day. A variety.
20. David Byrne to get the announced album with Brian Eno done ASAP and get on the road.
I'm excited about the album, but an even more excited about the prospect of Byrne getting on the road.
19. The end of major labels.
This will NOT happen no matter how much we all hope and no matter how many artists give away their music for free. The need for a label is always going to be there in a capitalist world. Still, the thought of it is great!
18. Realization as to what Nas meant.
There as so many people who disregard Nas's original album title to be something ignorant or blatantly offensive. Try LISTENING TO THE ALBUM before putting on your pointy white hood and belittling the man's intelligence.
17. The end of American Idol.
I know it's me vs. a few million people, but I hate this show and I still consider it a cancer to the art of music.
16. Marilyn Manson to be scary again.
He sorta just looks like a mannequin of himself now. I saw him twice on tour as he supported "Eat Me, Drink Me" and it was NOT a good first impression. I've seen the videos, bootleg tour VHS tapes, and have heard the crazy stories about how insane he was. He's gotten too comfortable with himself and that's scary for completely other reasons.
15. A revival of electronic rock.
I'm not saying a full on world take over, but I'd love to hear some more nu-wave influenced artists emerge on the scene. In the 90's they tried with bands like Orgy, Deadsys, and even some Moby. It'd be really cool to have a few bands like that come around these days. I've heard a few electronic bands out there, but the vocals are too barky and cyber sounding. I'm sure it's just me. Comasoft out of Chicago is one really good electronic rock band that I can get behind.
14. People to accept that Metallica is the ECW of music.
ECW is not the same ECW that Paul E. and Tod Gordon put together in the early 90s. Metallica is not the same Metallica that the long haired metal head freaks put together in the 80's. Neither one will be the same again and are BOLDLY part of a corporation/corporate mentality. Metallica claiming it's next album will be as "brutal" as their older work is going to be like a watered down hardcore match that the announcers are forced to pretend is "extreme".
13. An entire country album for Snoop.
What can I say? I really liked "My Medicine".
12. A Nine Inch Nails Tour Stop in Chicago that's NOT at Lollapalooza.
I LOVE Nine Inch Nails. To the obsessive point where I've considered a tattoo of the logo. I just can not afford the eighty bucks JUST to see NIN for the single day pass or the TWO HUNDRED PLUS DOLLARS that Lolla charges for a Three Day. It hurts to know that I'm going to miss them this time around.
11. A Perfect Circle to reunite.
Really, I'm cool if it's just Maynard and Billy. The other guys, whatever. I love Tool, but I listen to APC more. Ashes Divide is good, but it lacks what Maynard brings to the mic. I've heard rumors that APC isn't done for, but until I'm listening to new music I will not hold my breath.
10. No more celebrity actors attempting to make music.
It's cool you want to express yourself in other artistic mediums, but pay some fucking dues. You might sell box office tickets, but that doesn't mean your music is worth a damn. It's not fair to the REAL musicians who aren't treating it as a hobby to sit in the shadows of a TMZ love fest.
9. Indie Rock to man up.
Plaid shirts, docker pants, VANS shoes, black framed glasses, and all the other thrifty cliché's are done. It's like a Metro Sexual version of grunge. College radio should have more edge and be different. Do you think REM got their indie cred by looking and sounding just like the others around them? No.
8. More Attention on the Chicago music scene.
Unless you're IN Chicago or in the Chicagoland area then you have no idea what you're missing. On the rock stand point you have Fashion Bomb, Disonic, Emisis, and others. For a great electronic band and one helluva live show you have comasoft. On the hip hop/rock/indie/pop stand point you have Fun Club. Fun Club IS the most unique and fun concert experience this writer has ever had. I've seen probably a dozen Fun Club shows now and each of them have been memorable and entertaining for their own reasons.
7. David Bowie on tour.
I hope he's happy in life and I'm sure he is, but for completely selfish reasoning I want to see Bowie in concert. Due to my age, I've missed out on a lot of icons in concert. I don't want Ziggy Stardust to be one of them.
6. Put some melody back into metal.
Does EVERY metal band have to be speed/death metal and full of monster growls? Does melody make someone less "bad ass"? It's not too loud, too fast, or too anything. What it is is too annoying. How is growling a talent? It's not. It's a comp out bands are using instead of getting a real SINGER on the mic.
5. Soundgarden, Faith No More, and Talking Heads reunions.
I'm being selfish here too. All of these bands may be completely happy in life where they are right now. None the less, I'm SURE I'd not be the only person at these reunion concerts and buying their "comeback" albums.
4. The end of Emo.
Emo is to what Disco was to our parents. You either fully embrace it or you hate it and realize how FUCKING LAME it is. Either way, when it's said and done everyone will look back and be embarrassed that at one time their generation was represented by the voices of wrist cutting-tight pant wearing whiners.
3. Tech N9ne to blow up to the level he greatly deserves.
He's getting too big for "the underground". He's more talented than 95% of the hip hop artists out there today. That number is being generous to everyone else. He's built up his empire and has slowly gotten himself into bigger venues and then even bigger venues with each map covering tour. His music, style, and passion is unmatched and the only thing holding him back is YOU not going directly to the store and picking up his album.
2. The end of Ring Tone Rap.
Yes. I said ring tone "rap" because there's nothing "hip hop" about it. Thirty second choruses that are catchy to little girls and boys who shop at Abercrombie or whatever trendy urban store everyone wastes their money at. Hip Hop is supposed to be reflective of society. Thirty second nursery rhymes is NOT what NWA, Biggie, Pac, LL, and others had in mind when they helped carry the torch.
1. A new music revolution.
I've heard grumblings from others about this, but we need a change and we need it yesterday. Grunge wasn't a trend, it was a movement. The hippies can be parodied and mocked, but they stood for something. We need music that does just that. Music that stands for something. We are the lost child in the mall and this is the call over the loud speakers. Save us from this bland mediocrity. It feels like the very early 90's before groups like Arrested Development and Nirvana changed the way we looked at music and even more importantly, ourselves.
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