i’ve been listening to a lot of different music lately, seeing as how summer has been pretty boring and idle as a result of too much work. (argh)

i wonder if public respect for an artist or group dwindles when they start to explore other types of music outside of their pre-conceived genre. let’s use aerosmith as an example. back in the 70s they were one of the most popular hard-rock bands known to the industry. now the group seems to have softened into a more, dare i say, adult contemporary tone with songs like “i don’t wanna miss a thing” and “jaded”. those tracks exhibit an easy-listening aerosmith as opposed to the edgy group that my parents were used to when they were only a few years older than myself.

other groups slur their style of music into the variety. acts like the embittered limp bizkit stretch from a rock sound to a rap/hip-hop feel. they don’t have a set tone to their music; it could be one or the other or even a mixture. even bubble-gum pop groups seem to be sorting through the music tackle bin, picking out some hip r&b beats along with some rock tunes and strutting their musical diversity. have you heard of the unexpected ballad by kiss which was titled “beth”? that song seemed a complete opposite to the heavy metal tracks for which the group had been notorious in previous decades. even the hard-hitting metallica worked with the san francisco orchestra on their album S & M (which stands for “symphony & metallica,” you pervs).

does this lack of purity in the groups of today lessen their musical, artistic merit? must an artist stick to one tone of music exclusively in order to be considered “real” or “true to the music form?”

i think it’s always good to evolve and experience new things. music, as in life, is about testing the waters and reaching for higher stars. that’s the only way to find out where your place is and to discover what it is that makes you the happiest. purity is a fable made up by pretentious assholes working a group’s market value on the top floor of some glassy, oversized building. diversity is what makes music (and the world) go ‘round — kind of like a noisy record playing an all too realistic tune.