More Like Part 1.5

Ok, screw that, i'm not making another part to that entry. here's basically what i was going to say:
the rock that is on MTV right now isn't really rock. We all know that it's terrible. All i was going to say, in effect, was that the only place to find good music now is on the internet.

perhaps i'll keep a little sidebar with links to good music.

I Love the 90s! But Not That Much. Part One of Two. Maybe More.

The 90s are often looked upon as the peak of alternative rock. It was played all the time on channels such as MTV, bands like the Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana sold millions of records, and, above all, it produced a lot of great music. Around 1997, and continuing through about 2001, these bands gradually broke up. For instance, Nirvana, of course, broke up in 1994 following Kurt Cobain's death, and the Pumpkins broke up in 2000.
The 90s were dead; the music was looked back upon with nostalgia, but there was excitement about what the new millenium would bring.
The hard-rocking free world was not ready for what would come. Rap and hip-hop dominated, with rock relegated to almost a novelty act on popular music radio and TV. A few leftover bands stayed successful, but there was not much to be happy about.
To remedy this, many 90s bands reunited (or, in a few cases, redid their image and/or sound), thinking the rock world would like nothing better. After the initial excitement, though, it was realized that this was clearly a bad idea. The Smashing Pumpkins announced they were reuniting. . .without guitarist James Iha. Oasis, who was really only a Beatles cover band in the first place, has never had a permanent lineup besides Liam and Noel Gallagher, but they seemed to lose their touch for writing great songs, 90s-style, such as "Wonderwall" or "Don't Look Back in Anger." Weezer, a power-pop powerhouse in the mid-90s, disappeared from 1996 through 2000. They appeared on the Warped Tour in 2000, and were given a great response. So frontman Rivers Cuomo, author of such catchy hits "Buddy Holly" and "Undone-The Sweater Song," as well as 8-minute epic "Only in Dreams" and the low-down punk of Pinkerton, sat down to write a new album. He only ended up coming up with one new song, but managed to divide it into ten parts and made it into the bland Weezer (The Green Album). He branched out into metal with 2002's Maladroit, with less-than-great results. Finally, in 2005, Weezer released Make Believe, the biggest proof that bands from the 90s should stay in the 90s. Bad melodies, terrible lyrics, the album showed that the generation has grown into plain old 35-to-40-year-old men, and just doesn't have that magic for composing anymore. Rock, by which I mean good rock (more on that in my next entry), looks to be relegated to the internet and to fans who search for it for awhile.

Weezer's hiatus spawns new Relationship

For a few months now, Weezer guitarist Brian Bell had been teasing fans. Bell said repeatedly in interviews and the like that he had a new project coming along, known as The Relationship, but he refused to reveal more.
Well, the time has come, and Bell has released the first song from this project, "You Rock My Heart", on the band's new MySpace (myspace.com/therelationship), along with some additional information. Along with Bell, members of The Relationship include Luther Russell, Nate Shaw, and Jamie Reidling, none of whom I have heard of.
When seeing the title for the first time, a fan of Bell's might be disappointed. Sure, his first band, The Space Twins (spacetwins.com) was quirky, but it was also very good, in that psychadelic, 60's-revivalist sort of way. "You Rock My Heart," unlike Space Twins titles such as "Rust Colored Sun," "Rings of Saturn," and "Birds in the Street," sounded like a song written by the All-American Rejects. However, as soon as the music begins, it's easy to recognize Bell has not jumped on the bandwagon, but rather stayed true to his 60's roots. Whereas his earlier work (with the Space Twins) was more reminiscent of the psychadelic movement of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper," "You Rock My Heart" would not seem entirely out of place on, say, the White Album. With bluesy guitars, swinging piano, and Bell's voice echoing throughout the song, the new track gives hope for The Relationship's debut album (release date unannounced, as the band is unsigned).

Jacked Up

And there used to be a way to stick it to the Man. It was called rock 'n roll, but guess what, oh no, the Man ruined that, too, with a little thing called MTV!

So, against my better judgment, I tuned into the VMAs last night. Normally, I would avoid this, as it's basically a rapper's platform to say, "hey, look at me, look at how many bitches and hoes I have." But the offer of the Raconteurs as House Band was too much, along with Jack Black as host. Jacks Black and White on the same show? I had to see. After all, hadn't it been Black who, as Dewey Finn in School of Rock, had uttered the above line? No way would he allow the suits at MTV to tone him down. I was partially right; he was as crazy as ever, but still, somehow, toned down. I could see most of the jokes coming from miles away, even before I could see the twinkle of all the bling that populated the show. I sat through boring, predictable performances by Justin Timberlake (performing his hit song, SexyBack, surprisingly enough) and Shakira (although, for some reason, I enjoyed Shakira's slightly more than Justin's. . .) before I heard a song start up courtesy of the Racs. But as they began the chord progression of "Level," I couldn't belive my eyes. There was a menu for what was coming up next. . .what? Then the camera was on Paris, and slowly zoomed out. What the hell was MTV doing? Before I knew it, they were at commercial. I was pissed. This happened for the rest of the show, either cutting off as the songs started or only coming in as they ended. After awhile, realizing there was no redeeming value (and after seeing Paris try to present, like, an award, or something) I shut it off.
However, there was one notable high point of the show. P!nk won an award for Best Female Video (or something like that-for every video, all the nominees were the same, which included me having to see Madonna in a leotard far more than I ever wanted) for her song "Stupid Girls," which, ironically, criticizes MTV and its worship of anorexic blonde girls like Paris. P!nk walked on stage and exclaimed, in perfect Hilton fashion, "Ohmygawd, I won!" and continued like that for her acceptance speech. You could tell MTV wanted to cut her off, but that would have created controversy that even the most blind followers of MTV could not miss (I have no doubt that most of the Laguna Beach-watchers had no idea P!nk was making fun of them). A truly classic moment.