The Boring State of Music

I know I said I'm busy, but I just have to get this off my chest. Today's music really sucks.

I've been working to fill my iPod, and it should just be a lot easier. I haven't liked the pop chart since I was in sixth grade, and the Go-Go's were waterskiing their way into my heart. But then I discovered the Beatles, who spoke to my soul, and ever since then I've craved music that had a bit more than a good beat and a catchy refrain.

High school was U2, Alphaville, The Smiths, REM. College was more of the same. During grunge I was in heaven; that was the only time my taste appeared on the big charts. But now ... the top songs on iTunes are:

Maroon 5
Carrie Underwood
T-Pain (?)
Kelly Clarkson
Avril Lavigne
Ne-Yo (?)
Bon Jovi (am I having 80's flashbacks?)
Timbaland (?)
Huey (?)
Carrie Underwood

The ?'s are for bands I am totally clueless about. Perhaps the "Alternative" top ten would suite me better:

White Stripes
Fall Out Boy (a pop band if I ever heard one)
Dashboard Confessional
Plain White T's
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Green Day
Fall Out Boy (again)
The Killers
Snow Patrol
Hellowgoodbye

I'll admit, I *do* have a Dashboard Confessional song (or three) on my iPod, but really once you have a few, you kinda have them all. But the alternative list (and entire top 100 chart) is mostly boring, uninspired pop-drival. Blue October is the only band on the top 100 that even makes me pause and consider buying a song or two. The top 100 alternative list, to show you how shallow the offerings are, even has Nirvana on it. Kurt Cobain is how many years dead?

Now, I am certainly open to ANY musical recommendations because my 30 GB iPod ain't gonna fill itself. To give you a feel for what I've recently purchased, my last ten iPod downloads are:

"Blue", A Perfect Circle
"3 Libras", A Perfect Circle
"Faint", Linkin Park
"A Decade" (album), by Our Lady Peace
"The Outsider", A Perfect Circle
"Uncertain Smile", The The
"Small Blue Think", Suzanne Vega
"Love, Reign O'er Me", Pearl Jam
"The Spirit Of Radio", Rush
"Freewill", Rush

So, there you have it.