First Blog......

This is my first blog. I am naming my blog "TRUTH" after one of my favorite albums of all time: "Truth" by the Jeff Beck Group. If you spend too much time listening to noise (i.e., rap/hip hop) that is called music today by ignorant people that do not have the culture to appreciate good music, you should definitely check out Truth by Jeff Beck. It was one of the most influential blues based rock albums of the 60s.

Truth was so titled because Beck was making a statement to the world as to what he felt true music was in a pure and un-adulterated form. I hope to present some insights on current events and bring some logic and objectivity to them that is often missing in the media, on various websites, and other blogs. It is further my hope that from those printed musings of mine, some form of truth will become evident.

The first thing I would like to comment on is the state of music, since I have already referred to it, and admittedly villified one form of today's "popular" music. The record industry is in shambles right now, some suggest that digital music is to blame, but that is not so. It's in trouble, because they are not signing musicians to contracts and cultivating there careers with proper management. It is an industry that is driven on producing "entertainers" regardless of musical talent, as opposed to nurturing artist & their natural abilities and gifts.

When I was in elementary school, I remember in music class the teacher playing a tape, or record of an instrument being played, and the class would have to tell her whether it was a stringed instrument, a percussion instrument, a wood wind, etc. If you turn on a radio that plays today's "hits" the only instrument you would be able to guess is some one's laptop because none of today's "artists" play instruments. There is a reason I did not play at Wimbledon this past weekend. I do not own a tennis racket! By using record company logic however, I could have won the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world despite not being able to play the sport if I simply was promoted heavily enough.

With the system as it is now, we would not have had the sound track that is our life. I remember dancing at my prom to Jeff Healey's "Angel Eyes." I remember dancing with a pretty girl I had a crush on in junior high to Cinderella's "Don't know What You've got till it's Gone." I remember playing the only record I had when I was a kid over and over again on my little crappy record player, it was Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" on the A side and "Don't be Cruel" on the B side. Important parts of my life are framed with great music similar to the way the movie "Forrest Gump" has songs throughout the movie that emphasize what was going on in the world in that snap shot of history. I feel sorry for a kid today who is going to go to a high school dance, and when he gets those butterflies in his stomach when he tries to talk to that pretty girl he's been noticing, he'll be hearing some illiterate dope with poor grammar screaming "get low, get low." As opposed to something elegant like "Well my heart went boom, as I crossed that room, and I held her hand in miiiiinne," written by Lennon and McCartney. Little bit of a difference...

I just turned 30, and maybe it's me converting into an old man and losing my youthful exuberance, but I've never had the urge to "get low." But I know what it's like when your heart is going boom as you cross a room. I've wanted to hold a girls hand so bad that all I could think of to say was, "I want to hold your hand, I want to hold your hand." I've been "all shook up." Youth of today won't remember the crap being played today at their 20 year class reunions. They'll be laughing that they were grinding to some rap song, and now they can't believe their kids are doing it.

The reason music has always been the universal language is that it evokes the most powerful force in existence, EMOTION! Today's music doesn't evoke emotion like great music of the past does. When you hear Elvis sing "Love me Tender," you can't help but think of a special someone you know, knew or want to know. When you hear the intro to "Sweet Home Alabama" you instantly remember a great time with friends you had when someone played that song. When you hear KISS say that they want to rock-n-roll all night and party everyday, it makes you want to forsake every responsibility you have and rock-n-roll all night and party everyday. When you hear the intro to Voodoo Child by Jimi Hendrix hair on the back of your neck stands up! When Bon Jovi plays "Shot Through the Heart" you know that love really is to blame. I live in the south, and the summer heat & humidity are border line unbearable. Sweating profusely when you are active is simply a way of life, however, I have no idea what the sensation of sweat dripping off of my balls feels like, nor do I care to.

It's depressing that artists that really have something to say and offer to the world may never be heard. We may not ever know about the next "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," or "Imagine," or "Communication Breakdown," or "Honky Tonk Woman," or "Dream On," or "Back in Black," or "La Grange."

Bob Dylan said the "the times are a changin'," they certainly are. Jay-Z probably said something, but who cares?