Over the past few years, I have noticed an unfortunate trend in the music community: The downfall of the good, popular rock band and the rise of the
awful, overrated rock band. What was once a mighty and revered position has  been outdated and replaced with figureheads rather than musicians. It is
widely acknowledged that Britney Spears is more of a celebrity than an actual musician, which she herself has alluded to several times. Hip-hop
artist 50 cent is famous only for his ability to survive nine bullet wounds, which had to pass through a car before hitting him, and not his sub-par
rapping. When searching for decent rock on the radio, (which is controlled by tycoons who purposely sing the same, boring material repeatedly in an
effort to collect royalties), all I was offered was the Nirvana rip-off band Puddle of Mudd. For a second, I actually thought they had found an unknown
Nirvana song. But then, much to my dismay, I found that it was a no-talent group of ingrates blatantly stealing the style of the great Kurt Cobain, who
is surely, metaphorically, spinning in his grave.

I, and I hope many others, are insulted by the lack of quality and decency on the radio and any music channels on cable (which I don’t even have access to, so luckily I don’t have to put up with that). What happened to the days when someone could pick up an instrument and make something great come out of it? You didn’t have to have skill, like the Ramones, or even all the know-how, but the fact that you were trying to be unique was enough. But that has become inefficient and unprofitable in the mainstream music scene. Talent has become secondary to image. That alone should make any lover of real music cry out for revolution.

But where are our heroes? Where is our Jimi Hendrix, using his reversed-strung and slightly out-of-tune guitar to cut through the airwaves like a samurai cutting an unworthy foe? Where is our Jim Morrison, using his out-of-control and almost assuredly intoxicated ways to fight "The Man" while making dynamite music? Have Led Zeppelin given up their dominance over this great country, which they took using only pure musical talent and the occasional act of debauchery? By the sound of that horrid noise box that some call radio, I would say they have been forced to. The end is near, but not here yet. I call on any fan of actual music, whether it’s rock, classical, good hip-hop or any other kind, to follow the ways of America’s proud civil rights protesters and completely boycott any form of media that you feel puts entertainment before music (unless that’s their job, like the news or "Access Hollywood"). Remember, the corporations can’t feed you anything unless you eat it.

PS, I know I left out a large number of amazing bands. I’ll get to them sometime later. Until then, follow the instructions and, if absolutely necessary, ask Jesse Wilson or me for advice on such musical issues.