In response to Joel Porter’s response to the Jon Dahlager article, “Bored with Music,” I would agree with Jon and reiterate the fact that we as consumers have become lax in our musical tastes to the point where we now accept whatever MTV or pop radio forces down our throats (a mother bird feeding her young quickly comes to mind) without even a mere flinch.

I challenge anyone to listen to the last few singles from bands such as Limp Bizkit, 3 Doors Down and Everclear, and tell me that these popular artists didn’t just take their one impotent hit and clone it three or four times to make up for a lack of originality and innovation.

To prove my point, listen to the entire collection of Everclear’s singles in one sitting and count how many times you hear the phrase “ooh, yeah.” (Tip: bring extra fingers and toes.)

I am a musician myself, so I know that even professional musicians don’t play the same three chord “masterpieces” because they stimulate some sort of magical creative g-spot, it’s because these watered-down singles make them money!

This brilliant strategy, sinking down to the level of the average inane consumer, insures plenty of album sales, even at $18.99 a pop, because these records don’t even attempt to nudge the listener from his or her little “alternative” comfort zone.

Luckily there are interesting,bands who aren’t completely wrapped up in themselves and their bank accounts.

For convenience’s sake, let’s look at the aforementioned Radiohead, a prime example of a band who hasn’t bought into the ridiculous notion that a single song cut and pasted four or five times somehow equals a musical milestone.

Does anyone remember “Creep?” Was there ever a “Creep II?” No. Like a bad girlfriend, Radiohead moved on from “Creep” and now consider the track some of their WORST work. Also, their latest tour of Europe, performed in portable tents, was purposely devoid of all product sponsorship or logos, again proving the band’s independence from enticing corporate dollars.

To conclude, yes, Limp Bizkit’s sterile and heinous rehash of their own previous hits and the Dave Matthew’s Band’s eternal string of live records (prompting the plea, “New songs, Dave!!!”) may indeed sell millions of copies, but those of us who wish to call ourselves music “listeners” as opposed to “zombies” will continue to search for fresh, inspired sounds wherever they can be found.

Luke Pool

Resident

Ames