Music Note That Interests Only Me

I got a gift card from Christmas still burning a hole in my wallet, so I was pretty excited to read that 3 of my favorite bands/singers had new releases. Van Morrison, REM and the Stones all with new music. (OK, the Stones was a live rehash.)

I listened to snippets of all three, as much as those listening stations allow. (And I HATE those things, by the way. As soon as you start getting into the track, it changes. The only place that had stations where you could hear as much of a song as you wanted was Joseph-Beth, and now it's gone Snippet, too.)

Anyway, REM's latest, Accelerate, has gotten rave reviews. I didn't think it was that great. I was expecting a return to the Automatic For The People sound. What I got was closer to Monster. Heavy guitars, not enough pop.

I turned to Van. Love Van. Poetic Champions Compose, aside from being a great title for a record, was also a fabulous piece of music. I could listen to Queen of the Slipstream every day until I die. The new Van sounds a lot like the same Van I've heard for the last decade. Pleasant but not really worth the effort.

Finally, the Stones. The world's greatest rock and roll band has nothing left to say and no new ways to say it. The "new'' release is a concert effort but really, how many times can you hear Brown Sugar and Jumpin' Jack Flash before your head explodes?

The Stones are like the Beach Boys now. I still love Tumbling Dice, just like I still love Good Vibrations. But I really don't need to hear either live again. Everything on this record has been done better on another record... Sympathy for the Devil, for example, on Get Yer Ya-Yas Out, made almost 40 (yes, 40) years ago could not be improved upon.

I'm looking for new, Old-Guy music, before the gift card disintegrates. Suggestions welcome.