the state of the music

I should've known better.

I only listen to the radio if I am in my car, and recently discovered that The Mix does "New Tunes at 9" every weeknight. I was excited about this, thinking that on my way home from classes I could get to hear some new cool music. I should've known that "new" tunes don't necessarily mean "good" tunes.

The following are artists recently heard on New Tunes at 9 and the comments I have regarding their songs.

Dear Kelly Clarkson: I have always liked you. I still think you are the best American Idol. I love your Breakaway album. But since then you have continued to disappoint me. And this new song? Really? How can you take yourself seriously while singing "My life would suck without you"? That's a terrible title and a terrible lyric and you deserve better. My regrets.

To Hinder: I will give you credit for having one of the catchiest songs about cheating on your girlfriend--I will admit to listening to it from time to time. But I guess your new song, Without You, made you realize that if it's hard to be faithful once, the romance won't last long, since now you're fine without her.

Saving Abel, your lyrics are so inappropriate that I don't even want to quote them on my blog, yet you have managed to get mainstream radio play. How did you do that with a song that's about all the things your girl does for you in bed? That's what you like about her, not her personality or her character. And here I am watching you move up the charts. Ugh.

Oh, Beyonce...you are a beautiful and talented woman. Why do you sing such crappy songs? I am forced to turn off my radio any time they come on, that's how awful they are. No offense.

Dear Meiko, I don't even know how your song makes sense. You claim that you know better than to be friends with boys with girlfriends, but the rest of your song is about stealing another girl's boyfriend. I heard it and was confused.

Miss Taylor Swift, how old are you again? Your song starts with the line "we were both young when I first met you"...um, aren't you still young? That's what I thought. You are not old enough to have flashbacks yet or tell tales of when you were young. Let's leave that to The Killers, please. But darn it, if this isn't a pretty catchy super-sappy overly-cheesy song. It did get stuck in my head the other day. But I'm not happy about it.

The rest of you featured on New Tunes at 9, I will let off the hook for now. But if this is the direction pop music is headed, I want no part in it. It is maddening to hear so much bad music broadcast nation-wide, while the talented songwriters remain stuck in obscurity.

In the words of Keith Martinkus...That is all.