[gnarledmaw]

In a study of people with eye injuries we found that 97% touched that eye with their index finger. Clearly then, our study shows that in people with eye injuries, the vast majority have trouble controlling their index finger. The study also suggests that most eye injuries are likely self inflicted.

Pantload.

Im not buying the crystalized emotion nonsense either.

The fact is that the music industry is intentionally manipulated and has been for a long time. Ive heard Eddie Trunk brag about his part in destroying the music many of you listened to (he refers to it as something like recognizing and facilitating the change in trends).

Most of you are too busy in your adult life to attempt to find decent music. The labels have to force a change from time to time to keep selling albums. Its all a manipulation.

Most of the kids that think they like rap literally dont know any better and when they are exposed to real music are shocked that something like that exists.

Sometimes it seems the intent behind the specific trend change seems to be for the purpose of irritating the previous group of listeners. For me the period of about 93-03 was just trash. Popular music was split into angry groups, angsty whiney groups, cRap performers, and formulaic top 40s with an eye toward pushing cultural subversion.

Then one day I realized that real bands and real music were still out there, the big labels just wont push it. No, its not "mere exposure", bad music is still bad music. Good music just doesnt have the same kind of financial backing. Its often forced to move out of the US but survives where American labels have a little less control.

Some of you seem to just like the worst music of your era, I dont know how to help. I havent intentionally listened to country music since about 82 so cant really help there either but I know some better stuff exists because the wife found that since Im chronically difficult to wake that irritating me to back consciousness with country music was more effective.

"The Kids" dont actually care who or what you listen to, thats mostly industry nonsense too. As noted by others, the music industry is losing control of their ability to control what we all listen to and often the kids like your input and your bands. Some are making good money emulating your bands.

Here are a couple of things for the rest of you that I hope might get you out there looking for more.

Real meaning and writing, story?
SABATON - Christmas Truce

Real talent, no machines, melody, message and some good sories?
Volbeat - For Evigt or maybe Volbeat - Leviathan. How about Lola Montez · Volbeat.

Heres a bunch of kids making buckets by emulating Led Zeppelin, maybe this is for you?

Greta Van Fleet

[Tell It Right]

I promise you that nobody has to tell me that good music is out there if you look for it. I've listened to mostly Christian music since my teenage years, over half with a rock bent but a mixture of other styles like black gospel, pop, southern rock, blues, etc. Virtually none of it was on the radio and you learned about through only word of mouth before Algore invented the internet.

And even among the Christian music industry, I can't stand that since the late 1990's so much of what passes for "popular" Christian music is basically highly repetitive, predictable crescendo "worship" music. For that I blame the Aussie invasion of CCM in the late 1990's. LOL

By the way, I didn't care much for Stryper in the 1980's (IMHO they were good not great). But they came out of retirement a decade ago and I like their new stuff. Like their Yaweh, Reborn, and their remake of Jesus is Just Alright.

But more than that I can listen all day to Petra's Graverobber, Lorid Is My Joy by Vision, White Heart's Heroes, Whitecross' In the Kingdom, or I'm Still Rockin' by David and the Giants.

[rlmorel]

"...I'm not buying the crystalized emotion nonsense either..."

What don't you buy about it? That you are imprinted with music at certain times in your lives?

Empirically, that is irrefutable, and I am pretty certain there has been research on that too.

[Noumenon]

Sabaton just kills it. They have a keen sense of history, and more importantly, their music and storytelling seeks to reconnect us with a past that that is surely being erased, and to no good end. They manage to capture the human dimension of whatever subject they tackle.

En Livstid I Krig, or A Lifetime in War is a moving, epic masterpiece.