ONLY one... ?!?
Nah, dude, you're not the only one. But is this not what we all aspire to? When people ask me if I watch reality tv, I tell 'em no, my life IS reality, what the f**k do I need reality tv for? My reality is, I've spent the better part of the musical portion of my life letting my talent & abilities stagnate to the point that I know I won't ever be able to make a living from my (limited) skills, but that doesn't stop me from trying. I just listened to the link where the Nickelback songs are transposed on top of each other, & although the effect is hilarious for what it proves about getting lazy when you get famous, it's also pitiful, to me, that such obviously talented, driven musicians have gotten so full of themselves that they've decided to cheat not only themselves, but me as well by not stretching themselves to create & play outside of their chosen "formulat" (formula + format= formulat!). I would love to hear what they would sound like playing a country song, or even a jazz-type tune. It doesn't have to be perfect, or complicated, but at least TRY. I prefer the Southern Blues-rock style of music, a la Skynyrd, Bad Co., Allmans, etc., but I'm also a big fan of classic country such as Willie, Waylon, Conway, George, Hank Sr. & Jr., etc. I also don't want to forget the blues, which country & rock are descended from. I've written rock songs, country songs, ballads, smokin' blues-based songs, etc., but the point is that I'm trying to keep myself fresh by NOT staying in just one style. ZZ Top is ultimately cool, & I love their music, but they stay within a particular formula in their writing, which I'm guessing is why the time period between albums seems to be getting longer & longer. I mean, there's just so many ways you can write the type of songs they write, & stay fresh. I'm sure age is also a factor. This brings me back around (finally!) to my point, which is: Nickelback have chosen rock as their genre, & within that genre is a formula for success. Songs are 3-4 minutes in length; they tend to deal with certain subject matter (love, sex, lust, alcohol/drug use/abuse, etc.); the songs are written within certain tempos & chord progressions. I'm sure it's a little more complicated than this, but this seems to me to be the basics of it all. American Idol seems to me to be a contradiction of what the music business is all about. The contestants all seem to have to be able sing in multiple styles/genres of music, but I don't hear Nickelback singing country or R&B tunes... Just my opinion, crap as it is...
