I listened to one of the tracks. How can I be polite about what I just heard? I can't. It's garbage. If there is some message in the lyrics besides profanity, it's beyond me.

I'm sure someone once looked at a car and said wow that's ugly I'd rather stick to my horse. Let people who enjoy the genre and understand it make the judgment's. Steve's album has gotten as much or more attention than huge mainstream artist's free releases online which is basically what a mixtape is they are not intended to be or sound like something commercial ala that Beiber cd that you have on repeat.

Who knows if this is good.  Just listening to the first few seconds of the first track I envision Steve Martin trying to get on the beat when signing and dancing with his family on the front porch in the beginning of The Jerk.

That/'s a pretty accurate statement right there.

I was raised on everything from Opera to Big band and everything in between. I really like a lot of what is goingon the hip hop world having had to listen to it since Tommy started playing for team where he was the minority.  Having deep roots in Blues I like the background but you are ablsolutely accurate if you do not have a huge background in music you might think this is good. .....but hey ...it all what you like ....you might think farm raised catfish is real good .....till you have your first piece of fresh caught walleye in Canada.

I can respect this.  I will never, however, take the word of someone who just thinks all hip-hop is crap and that it isn't music because there's no musicians on the track.  You like rock?  80's hair bands?  The Beatles?  That wasn't music at one point, either.  And how do we look at those people who thought that now?  

Food for thought, sorry for the rant.  

I hear what you're saying, Giacomo, as I'd like to think of myself as a musician as well.   

I am a fan of most if not all genres of music, and I apologize if I made it seem like you were casting a broad stroke of dislike for hip-hop. I do believe that there are a lot of hip-hop artists out there that use a live backing band, as I've heard some different tastes and variations of it (especially when I visited New Orleans for the bowl game).  But they aren't the ones you hear on the radio or in pop culture.  Certainly, it would be great it that became the norm.  

The surge in popularity of DJ's and dubstep does point to a change in the style of music that we as a youth prefer, but in my humble opinion I think there is still a lot of creativity found in it, and it certainly does not mean it is the only preferable style of music to the majority of us out there.  Popular music does seem to come and go in various cycles, so it will only be a matter of time before we start hearing guitars and bands on our radios again (just like we've been hearing a lot more boy bands as of late for the first time in a decade)

I was listening to a sports guy rant about the Sirius station 80's on 8. He stated his position that there is not much of redeeming value in the 80's .....and he was a guy who was in college in the 80's so I would have expected that he would identify with that era....seems to sing more 70's soul on his show.

I agree with Monroe. I do not think think there are going to be a lot of repeatable standards from this era . When the recent grads are bringing their freshman to move in 25 years hence I suspect  Broneys will not be blasting music from this era to draw the parents in like they do with current Neil Diamond standards and other classic hits. When I was coming up the 50's were the oldies 2 decades later. When China Grove and the Doobies hit the top of the charts Happy Days was on TV and Rock Around the Clock was on the Oldies statiion. Now it is 2012 and the 70's show seems to have a pretty huge following. SOmehow the 2 decades progression stopped somewhere in the early 80's and has stayed there moving slowing toward  a 4th decade with dance tracks of Michael Jackson and David Bowie along with Stones, Aerosmith and Niel Diamond among those staying as standards in the clubs on Mom's and Dad's weekends.

if what 69 says is true I am happy that I have never been in that "old white guys" grpoup as those and more are the guys I got before they were big names.\

I still look forward  every week to  Friday at WXRT CHICAGO where new releases are still featured,  Way back and ahead of the curve  were Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, B 52 s, Muddy Waters, REM, U2 , Nirvana, Luther Vandross, Tower of Power while they were still fresh and brand new. They were played  right along with the more obscure Blues, Punk, Alternative acts that had a great  following  before those recognizable to most bands eventually sold out and became "Commercially successful" . I am a life long alternative guy and positively am enamoured of the 14 alternative channels on SLacker as well as the Adult Alternative and Prog Rock channels also there. XRT also had the King Biscuit FLour Hour and still broadcasts live acts from Chicago clubs and venues that constantly exposed new and hungry talent.  I do not see Stevie in the same category as those artists. Not hungry or passionate, not inspired or particularly artistic.

I was dismayed that the annual report on incoming freshman included the fact that this class is electronic media oriented and has no use for Radio and greatly changes the way they get their new artists. I am happy that Slacker and similar products has the ability to expose me to new sounds albeit that they are not very random as they are already placed into pre packaged formulaes and stations for me preventing the wide array of sounds that I regularly get from XRT since I first started listening to that station in 1975.

As an aside For anyone looking for new artists Blogs by their xrt  DJ's are pretty good sources

This is actually a pretty fascinating thread and brings back a lot of good memories. Thank Stevie Fresh for getting that going at least, and though it is off topic is pretty entertaining

Good is in the eye of the beholder. Its irrelevant. The question is can he make a living off the music he's making. And the answer is absolutely no way.

Drive By Truckers definitely deserve much more national respect and notoriaty.  And, if you get a chance to see Jason Isbell (former DBT) take it.  Impressive.

(Off to search for Sasquatch.)
 

Can we revisit the Taylor Swift arguement?

TJ Wright was the better former Bobcat athlete turned rapper.