In Bad Taste

Like ants assembling at a picnic, people line-up daily, follow suit, and attend sub-par alt-rock concerts. These once pure souls drift to the dark side of musical idiocracy. Maybe that’s a little harsh, but it’s hard to deny the debauchery committed in propelling crappy rock bands to success.

You may have heard some of these stellar bands I speak of: Seether, Staind, Breaking Benjamin, Nickelback, Clutch, and Puddle of Mudd. Though the list is endless, like everything it has a beginning and hopefully an end.

The origins of this atypical genre date back to 1995. As the grunge band era faded, musical mediocrity lurked in the shadows. Fueled by extreme depression and suicidal thoughts, Staind pierced main stream society’s heart and needless to say, she loved the sound. The bands most notable song to date is, Mudshovel, off 1997’s album, Dysfunction. As I listen to Mudshovel , front man, Aaron Lewis seems to be filled with angst and energy. All in all, the song isn’t bad. The guitar play is raw and aggressive. And the bass-line is alluring from start to end. However, after Mudshovel, this genre took a shit and died!

I wish I were speaking literally, but to the dismay of many, the alt-rock genre thrives; spawning similar bands regularly. Ever hear of the aforementioned band, Seether? Like Staind, they convey an imagery of the utterly depressed. In addition, there is a stark resemblance between lead singer, Shaun Morgan and Lewis’ voice. Coincidence or copy cat? You be the judge.

The best part about these bands is how they express their lowly emotional state and provided below is a preview of their Grammy Award worthy lyrical content.

“Produce the demons within us
Pointless trials but don't be late
Cause someone's always pissed off
Disrespect me cause I'm ugly
Don't give me your stupid pity.”

It’s as if Seether channeled energy directly from Led Zeppelin’s 1969 debut album to produce this astounding piece of work, right down to the name of the song, “Dazed and Abused.” Now that’s creative! That should be a copyright infringement or something. Seether should examine Led Zeppelin’s song "Dazed and Confused" because it’s apparent that’s exactly what they are, that or just dumb. While they’re at it, they should also try to listen to the composition and orchestration, so they can attempt to enhance their own music.

Leading me to the question, do these bands need to enhance their music? You already know my opinion, but I’ll say it anyway, they should be forced to STOP making music, and fans…please stop contributing to their success! It’s obvious the bands are thriving or have at least had a couple hits on the radio. By no means are they one hit wonders. So what is their recipe for success and why do people love their music? I believe it comes down to a few key components:

1.) Nauseatingly catchy hooks that imprint on your mind, driving some listeners mad (Repetitive airplay doesn’t help either).

2.) Lyrical content: Self loathing, depressing, and at times degrading towards women. An 8th grader could write this stuff.

3.) Simple, plain-bland music with no depth or layers.

Perhaps music like this is similar to writing? Sometimes it’s a good idea to be short and concise with your writing to meet the audience’s needs. You have to be direct and to the point to convey the message, keep it simple right? None of these bands are conveying much of a message though and it’s clear they ARE keeping it simple. No need to dumb it down here. That said, I can’t entirely hate on these bands as they have some sort of music talent. I mean they can play their instruments.

In my opinion, music and writing are one in the same, both are an art. Writing is very technical, intricate, and can be difficult. In addition, there are various tasks and steps one must take before completing a solid piece of work. Music should be the same. Believe it or not, there are many bands out there today that push the boundaries. These bands write technically sound music with depth, layers, and careful orchestration. The problem is…they don’t get the recognition they deserve and probably never will as long bands like Seether and Staind exist, but maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be? So, without further adieu, I give you a highly abstract band of substance and in my opinion, one of a kind: (Refer to Next Post)