Preface to the new Everett’s Music; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Reviews and personal insight of music series

In this new series I will review and discuss albums, the state of music, the business of music and my general analysis of the industry. Today’s popular music industry puts so much energy into the single and with the invention of Napster and the explosion of I tunes I fear the album is dying. I fear that songwriters and putting so much energy into making a “hit” the creation of a solid album is falling by the wayside. Sure some of the most classic albums of all time do not have 100% hits but those songs that aren’t on the charts between the hits were not always filler, they were songs that brought the album together. One of my favorite albums Guns and Roses Appetite for Destruction had a lot of hits, Paradise City, Sweet Child but it also had amazing staple songs such as Think About You and Anything Goes, which held the album together.

Throughout this series I am bound to ramble and address some things that are not always universally agreed upon but these are things I see, hear, dislike and appreciate in the music industry. I give an amazing amount of respect to anybody who has the courage and strength to perform, record and share their music and their art form. I recognize that there are many areas of the music industry and not every genre is for me but I do understand that they are all for someone. I would never say any music that had good intentions, heart and work ethic behind it was bad, but music that is produced for massive sale without the hunger and heart of an up and coming musician I will criticize.

Musicians get lumped into these categories, competitions and charts and this lends an amazing amount of influence on what is popular. I hope that my children and anyone who is a music fan like myself will look past the idea of musical competition and find an appreciation for the art in music, the art in pop hits and the amazing human and spiritual (not religious spirit) experiment that is music.  In a recent interview on CBC’s Q Jian Ghomeshi asked Chris Martin of Coldplay “Do you still want to be the best band in the world?” Martin responded, “There’s no point in running a race unless you want to win it” This answer has plagued me for days. What race is he running? What race are Coldplay trying to win and is music out there for the winning? I can respect anyone who wants to excel their craft, in business, art and sports people strive to improve but the idea of their being a “Best” band in the world takes my thoughts to a worry about perversion of music.

For my first article coming Wednesday I will discuss corporate music, the Machine that is bands being business. Also I will discuss Nickelback’s new album and why I think they are the most popular band that nobody listens to, why is it so cool to hate Nickelback? 

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