In response to Tom Hummer’s “The way we rock”:

Why does music have to be bad one decade and good the next? Actually, good music has always and will always be there, we just have to not let the Billboard Top 100 tell us what music to like. It is bloated with copycat bands beating the same musical formula to death.

The same goes for the Grammys — and the award goes to… another well-established artist becoming continually uncreative because they don’t even need to write good music anymore and people will still by their albums while groundbreaking up-and-coming artists are ignored.

The stars shake hands with the stars while the audience grows even more disconnected to true artistic expression.

Do I need to cite the example of Nirvana’s Nevermind losing out to the already celebrated R.E.M. for Best Alternative Music Performance in ‘92? Or what about the unjustice they did when Metallica lost out to Jethro Tull the first year they had the Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance category in ‘89? Music fluctuates like ice ages. While, in the early 90’s, the glory years of grunge were at the forefront, today we are in the midst of another freeze. However, there are some great acts buried beneath all the musical mediocrity. You just have to know where to find them.

Turn toward venues like The Maintenance Shop if you want to experience music that you can touch. 105.1 Channel Q will stray from the beaten path once in awhile and play something from out-of-the-box. The Envy Corps are an awesome act hailing from right here in Ames!

So I say trash those Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift tracks polluting your iTunes! Let’s support a music scene that our generation can be proud of and recollect upon 20 years from now just as we do today with the legendary 90’s scene.

— Jordan McClellan, sophomore in food science