Back to the Classics

It seems like everyone I have been talking to lately has been saying the same thing...everyone is tired of trying to find new music or tired of listening to new music or basically just exhausted from the whole music scene in general. I understand two things from this information. 1) It is not a great time to be a new up and coming band and 2) I wonder if it is because of the stresses of school or work, or that the holiday season beat the energy out of everyone and we won't return to normal until temperatures above 60 and sunshine replenish our spirits. (naturally this explanation doesn't work with my californian friends but i digress) After talking to all these people I looked at my iPod and saw what had been recently played and it was mostly bands I have liked for several years, i.e. Death Cab, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Postal Service, Depeche Mode, and The Smiths. I have noticed that I have stopped looking on music blogs and reading about new bands in Nylon, I haven't downloaded a new band's album in a while. Why is that? Why is everyone retreating to the comfort of the bands that are constants? My guess is that it isn't necessarily because of the weather, school, or fatigue in general. I think it is because we have been experiencing a huge influx of new bands and the music scene has expanded over other forms of media. After movies like Juno and Nick and Norah where the soundtrack is as much a main character as Ellen Page or Michael Cera, small indie bands have become cool and everyone has started one. Now I don't want to dismiss these movies or the music that is one their soundtracks. These movies are good and the soundtracks highlighted great bands that deserved the recognition (particularly Cat Power, everyone should listen to some Cat Power.) But I think that they sparked a trend that is getting tiresome. No one wants to have to search through all the crap that is coming out to find a genuine band, so instead of spending hours on pandora and seeqpod we just select Strangeways Here We Come, Adore, or Hail to the Thief and lie back for some music we know is quality. I am hoping that with the summer and, hopefully, the dying down of this new indie band trend we can all return to spending hours on the internet searching and listening for something real.