Of course its not that music has to come from an intricate formula to be considered worthwhile, but its very important for musicians to give their all, in what they feel is acceptable in getting their message across, taking themselves to the next level of creativity.


Its alright for a band to have a sense of humor in this business, but sometimes they tend to let that get in the way their better judgement. I think the question they should be asking themselves is why they got into the business to begin with. And if they can hold onto the core of who they are. throughout financial deals etc, than for the most part they're doing alright. Not just for others, but for themselves.

An example: U2, after the well intentioned but schizophrenic feel of their previous work, their newest album is a record the band needed to make, something they probably should have made a long time ago. But in some ways, I think they were testing not only their audience, and their abilities for the latter part of the 90's. But this band has aged rather well, they know exactly what they want, and their overall message is still very clear.

After listening to U2 at the beginning of a new decade and century, one wonders why all big name rock groups can't age this gracefully. Now for various types of music, and for most bands, its mportant to search for whats important. But I think throughout the process of trying to evolve as not only musicians, but as people, we tend to lose our stepping ground. Not because their record sales aren't as high, but because they lose satisfaction very easily in their accomplishments.

So, for this reason, and many others, I truly think that because there are a lot of musicians today who can't find satisfaction in their music, they're merely trying to find other ways to keep their hopes high. By letting the media, and the growing fickle public to dictate whats right and wrong for them musically. And when its very noticable, thats when they've got a problem.

I just think its all about knowing how to handle success, and not losing your integrity along the way. Ive seen some great local bands up north in Massachusettes, as well as Florida, and these guys and girls have a lot of passion as if theres no tomorrow. When it comes to good music of today,its all about knowing where to look, and to never lose hope that there are still those people who let their hearts guid them. Yes, of course we all have different tastes , but if theres one thing that we can agree on, thats that we all appreciate honesty in the music business. Throoughout the mainstream of rock, a lot of the music is kind of boring. Hopefully, once Chris Cornell's new project comes out this December, it will give us a much needed wake up call, as well as a kick in the arse...

-Joseph