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"Indie Rock" is dead.

Not that it ever really lived, but that stuff what folks have been referring to by that name is done.

I didn't write this blog entry to say that. It's just kind of an afterthought - and I thought I'd let you know, so that you may be as finely-tuned into the music pulse as I.

What's that you say? Why do I make such a statement? Well, I'll get to that.

See, here's the thing. I like music. I like to listen to all kinds of stuff. Mostly up-tempo melodic jangly stuff, but all kinds of music nonetheless. I enjoy Silver Apples (really, 76), Codeine, Mazzy Star and bands like Dub Tractor (who I just learned about), but for the most part, the people that make that kind of music are talent-less, and they think they can mask that by playing a form of slow music that shuns melody. (I'm on to them.)

And despite what folks may think, I like modern music. I don't just listen to old country, rockabilly and various 50s music. That's probably 10% of my listening. It really is. There was a time when I enjoyed lots and LOTS of that stuff, but that time has passed. See, I move on to new stuff. I've spent the last couple of years enjoying a lot of soul (60s), some garage, 60s Pop and even a bit of "psych."

Thing is, I'm getting pretty sick of that. I feel like I've heard most of it. Not "most" of it, because there's endless recordings out there I'll never experience, but most of what it has to offer. I like to mix it up.

I got into the music blog world (I know I just changed topics, follow me here. The threads tie together.) thorugh sites like Music for Robots and FluxBlog. New, Indie stuff. A lot of it I hated (the retro computer bloop-bleep, faux-dance crap), but I discovered a lot of great music on those kind of sites. Moving on, I discovered a world of 60s music, which has fueled my listening for the last couple of years. However, it seems now when I visit the modern music sites I used to enjoy, I find almost ALL of the music sucking badly.

I mean sucking a LOT.

I have news for any band that would appear on FluxBlog, MFR, Scenestars, etc... The Sam Beam thing is done to death. So is Ladytron, The Strokes, Death Cab and Arcade Fire. It's done. Those are good bands (OK, Arcade Fire is), but they all appeared five years ago, and you can't take your meager talent and try to cop their sound. You just make shitty music that way. And you've killed "Indie Rock."

Those bands were good because they had talent (some of them) and they stuck it out for a long time (OK, some of them). They learned the hard way. They weren't just third generation photocopies.

I'm seriously upset at the state of new music. A few years ago, I genuinely like a lot of it, even though I thought the "scene" was ridiculous and full of itself. Now the music is horrible, leaving just a puffed-up sense of overvaluation.

And for God's sake, guys. If you were going to rip off a band, why not rip off Belle and Sebastian? I know some of you tried. Maybe the fact that they wrote songs was daunting? Maybe the fact they tried new things was confusing?

Seriously - no more Gentle acoustic ballads from 17-year olds who barely know how to sign a receipt, let alone write a song. No more Bleepin' and bloopin', just because you were able to find a copy of Reason and Acid on a torrent. And for fuck's sake, no more mixing the two!

Assholes, I demand you get out there, strap on a guitar, turn the amp up (if you own one) and start writing songs! I demand it! And write songs with a melody! I mean it! And don't copy The Strokes. Even The Strokes don't like how The Strokes sound. (And that doesn't mean to copy The Killers, either. They're as dead as dead can be. See - I know how you dumbasses think!)

The rush for the next trend is officially on. Let's make GOOD SONGS the next big thing. Make me some good new music! I'm bored of what we've got now.

(P.S. There is no music link here. I thoguht of finding ONE good new song and posting it as an example, but I'm refusing out of disgust.)