A Meditation on Modern Music

Point One: Selling Out

Selling out is not changing your sound. Selling out is not signing to a major label. Selling out is not becoming popular. Selling out is not having a Top 40 hit. Selling out is giving up your artistic integrity for money. Everytime an 'indie' band has a moderately popular song, I hear the same refrain: "YOU SOLD OUT!" To be honest, I'm tired of it. It infuriates me. An artist cannot help if they have a song or an album that a lot of people like. So, the jocks and the preps know who The Cure is, big deal. In my opinion, an artist does not sell out with the hit album, but with the next album. If they let the fame go to their heads, and start writing songs only to appeal to the masses (not songs that simply happen to appeal to the masses) and to make a buck, then an artist has given up on integrity, and has "sold out."
Green Day did not sell out.
My Chemical Romance did not sell out.
Bob Dylan did not sell out.
There is a difference between writing songs that happen to appeal to a wide audience and writing songs for the sole purpose of appealing to a wide audience.

Point Two: Creativity

This point may seem to contradict my previous point if you take it the wrong way, so I advise you strongly not to do that and avoid looking dumb.
So, you love her? She left you? You're hurting on the inside? You're angry! You have a poorly tuned acoustic guitar, a synth, and off key vocals that you're going to fix with pitch correction machines? WOO HOO!
Not like I've heard that a million and three times. I understand that it is your right to play the music you want and to express yourself how you want. However, if you're going to take being a musician seriously, please, at least TRY to be creative about it? It's wonderful that you've found a way to express yourself, but dear god, can we not be the same cookie cutter, radio friendly, raspy voiced, power chorded group?

Point Three: Emo is Dead, and Scene Was Never There

What disturbs me most about modern music is not the actual music. What disturbs me the most are the fans; the fans that are so focused on liking one genre of music.
If you like emo, you can ONLY listen to emo! If you like power pop, you can ONLY listen to power pop! If you like metal, you can ONLY listen to metal! And you know what? The rest sucks!
This mindset, this group mentality, sickens me, and this harkens back to point one; if a group does ONE thing that their crowd disapproves of, then they've sold out.
Green Day had a hit album, so they weren't punk anymore, they sold out.
Woo hoo, the music is still good.
My Chemical Romance changed their style.
Woo hoo, the 'emo' thing was getting old anyway, and it's good to see someone who isn't afraid to let us know who their influences are.
Modern music is doomed until fans can get out of their clique mindset and open up to new sounds. Music evolves, as should your tastes.