Simple facts: The 1980′s saw a time in music that was just empty. Sure, The Police, Michael Jackson and Madonna redefined Pop, but they didn’t stop music dead in its tracks, derail it, and throw it in a new direction. In fact, the 80′s were nothing short of Big Hair Metal mixed with Androgynous Pop Stars, mixed with a swirl of gutter-punk left-overs from the 70′s.

Then, what seemed to be all at once, popular music exploded with revolution. Deathrow Records and Bad Boy records came out swinging, solidifying the popularization of gangster rap. Alice In Chains and Nirvana dethroned arena giants to the likes of Poison, Bon Jovi and Motley Crue. Finally, from what seemed to be from nowhere, Royal Crown Revue and Big Bad Records swung up to rise as the thirst for jump-blues saturated lovers of all things big band.

It was a hell of a decade, and was followed up with the utterly sad 00′s. The music industry was crapping themselves over the creation of the Mp3 file format, mixed with the wider spread of high speed Internet. It saw junk rock bands, like Staind, and the birth of the absolutely terrible “genre”, Emo. Somehow, being a sobbing mess with a microphone and a pair of your sister’s jeans straddling your teensy manhood was all the rage. Not to mention, the lack luster artistry of hip hop, country and pop – all together. The entire decade was formulaic — minus a select dozen (or less) artists that rose from nowhere and went just as far.

Now, in light of the 53rd Annual Grammy’s, which I did not watch, but I’ve done some postmortem research… I finally see artists that spark some new fuel into the popular masses, and it might just stick.

Actual musicians. Actual singers. Actual song-writers.

Holy crap! I mean, these people aren’t sobbing messes in their sister’s pants, they’re not formula-powered song regurgitation machines. Cee Lo Green, Esperanza Spalding and Bruno Mars, I’m hoping, are just the beginning of a music industry shift. I’m hoping other “real music” genres come out of hibernation. I’m hoping for true music impact, to once again, take hold of sales and attention.

The 90′s were a monumental time for the music of my generation. To see it followed up with vapid pop artists, dreary emo three-cord rock bands, and formulaic rap & hip-hop acts for the decade after was boring and a waste. I’m excited to see what the next few years does to our nation’s music, and I can’t wait to see more come out of all the tools and platforms we have in place today to bring rise to our real musicians.

That said, I’m so damned happy Bieber wasn’t awarded a Grammy for his drivel. I don’t give a damn if he’s just a boy, or liked for reasons other than his musical prowess… He’s terrible for music.

02.18.11 • posted in: Entertainment