Boring!

I am currently bored by the state of modern music. I'm not just talking about rock music (which has been in decline for a while) but the whole deal, even hip-hop which is enjoying its popularity.
I was watching MTV's Sucker Free yesterday, and the two videos that came on where the new T.I song, and one of those Southern rappers with a song based on a dance (I don't remember who it was, but it doesn't matter). The T.I. video had Wyclef Jean in it, because he produced it. It wasn't anything special, usual T.I. The next video I think is the epitome of what is wrong with rap. It isn't the guy's fault, I understand he wants to make a video and a record and make some money, but the record companies seem interested in songs that they can sell rather than establishing artists with staying power. More one hit wonders plugged into a formula: catchy songs with dances that people can dance along to the song to. But it isn't just the danceable stuff (or snap as my friend Matt calls it) there are other songs by rappers and groups of rappers that will be one hit wonders: "Party like a rockstar", "A bay bay", "Sexy Lady". This seems to be the trend unless there is some "hardcore hip hop" that gets popular or gets exposure, which doesn't seem all that likely.
Rock music is in a sad state also. There are new bands that are gaining popularity and exposure, but they have a very generic sound. I was driving yesterday and heard the new single by the band Flyleaf. It was an alright song, nothing too special, very generic rock sound to it. I liked the chorus melody, but it seemed like that something was missing from it. That is how I feel about the majority of the rock bands now. Nickleback, Breaking Benjamin, Staind, 3 Doors Down, they all have a generic rocking, but not rocking too hard sound. It is almost baffling that they are getting popular (I say almost because most of the people I know like all that stuff).
Another thing that bothers me about rock music is K-Rock in New York. After Howard Stern left the station to go to Sirius, they switched to an all talk format. They called it Free FM, because satelitte radio is a pay service, but you can get talk for free from them. A few months ago they switched back to the station that they used to be, because of the failure of the talk format, now with Opie and Anthony in the morning and music all day after them. The station is back, and so is the same exact playlist. I don't understand why in 2007 they play the same music they did in 1997. Stone Temple Pilots, Metallica, Nirvana, all the bands that I grew tired of because I heard the same songs over and over again on the station. They do try to play newer stuff, but it is new stuff by established artists like Incubus and Tool. They do play some of the newer bands, like Flyleaf, but that is usually reserved for their online "station" called K-Rock 2, which I think is terrible. I don't understand why they don't play the newer or less established bands on the air like they used to. They used to have different shows and programming, now they are almost like a rock jukebox, I don't even think they hired DJs yet, and they switched over 4 months ago.

2007 NFL season predictions

It is the most wonderful time of the NFL season, training camp and the beginning of the pre-season. I say the most wonderful time, because for a few weeks, most of the teams in the NFL think they have a chance of winning the Super Bowl, and in reality there are 6 or so teams with a legitimate shot at it.
Now, it is time for me to make my predictions for the upcoming NFL season. Division winners are at the top and in bold and the wild card teams are in italics.

AFC North
Baltimore
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
Cleveland

AFC South
Indianapolis
Tennessee
Jacksonville
Houston

AFC East
New England
New York
Miami
Buffalo

AFC West
San Diego
Denver
Kansas City
Oakland

NFC North
Chicago
Green Bay
Detroit
Minnesota

NFC South
New Orleans
Carolina
Tampa Bay
Atlanta

NFC East
Dallas
Philadelphia
New York
Washington

NFC West
Seattle
St. Louis
San Fransisco
Arizona

Playoffs:
First Round:
AFC
Baltimore vs. Denver
Indianapolis vs. Cincinnati
New England and San Diego have byes

NFC
Seattle vs. Carolina
Dallas vs. Philadelphia
Chicago and New Orleans have byes

Second Round:
AFC
New England vs. Baltimore
San Diego vs. Indianapolis

NFC
Chicago vs. Philadelphia
New Orleans vs. Carolina

Third Round
AFC
New England vs. San Diego
NFC
New Orleans vs. Chicago

Super Bowl
San Diego vs. New Orleans
winner
San Diego

There are my predictions for the NFL season. I expect these predictions to be wrong, but screw it, that is why I can edit the posts later.

What it is shorty

I'll be the first to admit that I am a Kelly Clarkson fan. I was a little late getting into the game, I'm not one of those who followed her career all the way from American Idol, but got into her music after the second album. I think most people got into her music after the second album, which went multi-platinum, and made her an international superstar. Now she has a third album out that has much controversy around it. Apparently she got into a bit of a tiff with her label head (Clive Davis) over the marketability of the album. I thought that it was up to the label to sell it, and the artist to record what they wanted. I don't understand how some people get jobs as A&Rs or CEOs in the music industry because it all seems like it is a matter of taste or opinion. I'm sure there is a lot of stuff that the major labels thought would sell that didn't and vice versa.
I can't understand why Kelly Clarkson got so much heat for the album that she put out. The album is still a pop album, it isn't like she put out a death metal album or anything. It has songs that can be played on the radio, and it does have the slower ballady type of stuff. The songs sound like any pop stuff that you can hear today, nothing that is too different. The sequencing on the album is a bit odd, it goes from upbeat to ballad too often. But overall I think it is a good album, nothing that will ostracize her from the pop world.
The main point of contention that her label will have with the album is that it didn't sell like the previous one. The album has barely went gold (500,000 copies) in about 5 weeks since its release while the previous one sold over 6 million copies in the US. But I would figure when you sell millions of records for the company, they should be able to give you some kind of freedom or input into your next album. They used to do that back in the day, Led Zeppelin III had cutouts and whacky artwork because they sold so much with the first two albums. Shit, they even got their own imprint on Atlantic (Swan Song Records) because they sold so much.
My main point is that they shouldn't hate on Kelly. I think it is a good thing when an artist who is perceived as a puppet tries to do their own thing. She is done being the singer that the American Idol people want her to be, and I applaud her. If anything the whole thing has kept her name in the news, I saw something on MSN today about whether or not her career is over because of the whole new album deal, and it doesn't appear to be. Everyone has hard times and what not in their career, but if they do what they want then that is good for them.