To my credit, I’ve made an effort to become more open-minded and give a few current bands a chance. It’s just very discouraging when most of the new music I’ve been exposed to since the late 1990s hasn’t been “musical” at all. Where are the altered chords, time changes, modulations, melodies, and tuneful arrangements? Music has become the result of an overall lack of musical ability, poor production and arranging, and horrible mastering. Until there’s a renaissance in the industry, I’ll continue to be skeptical of contemporary music.

And I’m not saying music has to be super complicated to be good. Songs don’t need to feature multiple time changes for me to like them. I’m just asking for something interesting and stimulating: A catchy melody with clever harmonies and layered instruments that give each other breathing room. Walking bass lines. Smart, tasteful guitar playing. Syncopated drumming. Instead, pop music has been computer-generated beats, monotone and/or autotuned vocals, and brickwall limiting. Or, in the case of rock music, a white-noise wash of electric guitar power chords, overprocessed drums, and quarter notes on the bass. Today’s music is oversimplified, overprocessed, overcorrected, and lacks dynamics and space.

I’ve struggled with this issue for more than a decade. I want to get excited about new bands, but the bits and pieces I hear are awful. I’ve had to reach into the past and discover old music that isn’t new, but is new to me. It’s exciting, but not quite as exciting as discovering current bands, being able to go to their live shows, and anticipating their new albums.

So, I acknowledge my musical stubbornness and the fact that it’s delayed me from enjoying some great music. If you don’t want to take me seriously because that, it’s okay- you’re allowed.