Alterna Two Step

I was thinking about the current state of mainstream music the other day, and I came to an interesting conclusion. Mainstream music wants to be our music. Now, this is a bizarre thought considering a lot of music that's out there, but give me a chance and I'll explain why.

First off, there's the rising number of "alternative" bands who rose in the ranks of the underground scene (our scene) where they were appreciated, but didn't make the money. No mainstream band can say that the money isn't important, because creative control is lost in the translation. When a band gets signed to a major label, it's usually a band which a company thinks they can mold to the mainstream. Even the so called new and unique sounds of So and So aren't unique. We've been listening to it for years, but in a more pure form.

Easy Examples for ya... Nirvana. They were a great band which brought punk to the mainstream once more, but they (as in the MTV Generation) mistranslated it into grunge. How Nirvana could be called grunge, I don't know, but whatever. If you asked members of the band who their influences were, they said bands like The Germs, Ramones, and other 70's punk bands who were UNDERGROUND. Mainstream listeners didn't hear about punk until, what, 1981, when we (as a group) got pretty much bored with it?

Billie Joe from Greenday was interviewed by someone at MTV months ago, and they asked him the usual question, "So what's in your CD player right now?" Billie responded, "The new HiFives album. They sent me a copy and I can't get enough of it." John From the HiFives thought that was great. I bet a million Green Day fans said, "Who are the HiFives, and how can I get the album?"

On a personal note, I remeber years ago, when I first started listening to the Seattle scene (just before Nirvana hit it big). I loved the music, so I sent a copy of some music to my sister who was in DC at the time. She thought the music was weird to say the least. Not 3 years later, every band on there was the greatest thing since sliced bread and "everyone" was listening to them. Me, I was in that, "Been there, done that," phase.

My point in saying that Mainstream music wants to be our music is that every year more and more variances of the old Alternative music pop up. These variances are nothing but rehashed and spoonfed versions of songs that we love and styles we love. The bands take the styles we got bored with and use them for "new" music in the spotlight. They have the benefit of professional mixers and editors and harmony lessons and 32 track recordings, but it's the same music.

If Bush came around a few years earlier, they would have been loved by our scene for their music, but they didn't. They just took mainstream music one step further which is 2 steps behind us. Let me amend that by saying there have been exceptions to this. There are bands who are really "cutting edge" who make it in the spotlight before we get tired of them, but it doesn't happen often enough. And of course I'm not saying all mainstream music sucks, cause I even review and listen to some, but not very much of it!

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