What Happened To The Music??

So, as I sit here getting my music on, I'm wondering, where has all of the good music gone? Don't get me wrong, in no way am I disrespecting the creativity of today's artist, however, what happened to the songs that you couldn't help but dance to, whether you were a fan of the artist or now. It seems like those songs are fewer and farther in between these days. I mean, we have our moments and some of today's music is fun, but what happened to the music of the 70's, 80's and 90's. I mean, there's very little to dance to these days. Outside of Souljah Boy and some of the younger guys coming up from down south, no one is really making dance music anymore. It's hard to do more than bop your head in the club these days. You can barely get in a good two step. JUST BLASPHEMOUS.

Now, before I continue, my mention of Souljah Boy has nothing to do with what I think of him as an artist and you can't call me a fan of his, however, like others in his genre of music (not exactly sure what to call it) I respect the fact that they are having fun with their craft. Many people put them down, call their dances silly or dumb, AS IF SOME OF THE SHIT WE USED TO DO BACK IN THE DAY WAS EXACTLY EARTH SHATTERING, when in actuality, all they are doing is having fun and enjoying what they are doing. Hell, I'm sure they are having MUCH more fun than those of us that have to get up every morning and go to work.

What I'm really wondering about is where have all of the singers gone? I mean, I'm a big fan of Donell Jones, Raheem Devaughn, Musiq, Robin Thicke and umm....well, I guess you see my point. Yeah, there's Usher, Ne-Yo and Chris Breezy...however, they are more along the lines of entertainers rather than strong vocalist. Fans of all, although Usher hasn't really kept me awake for a whole CD since 8701, but are they all we have when it comes to R&B music? What happened to the male R&B group? Hell, what happened to the female R&B group. I mean, save for Beyonce, Rhianna, Ciara and Alicia Keyes and your lukewarm response from some B and C list singers, where has the female singer gone?? No wonder people get so sick of Beyonce, no one stays around long enough for us to remember their name. Now, again, I'm not saying that there isn't good music out there...however, think back to the early/mid 90's, you had Jade, SWV, En Vogue, TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, Changing Faces, Kut Klose, Xscape, not to mention your solo stars, Janet, Whitney, Paula (like her or not now, that woman had hits), Karyn White, Jody Watley, Mariah Carey, Sade, Monica, Brandy and a bunch of others I can't even name off of the top of my head. But, we all know the music and we remember the times. It was the days when you could cut on the radio and actually go a four or five hours without hearing the same song twice, to be hones, you had to try and call in to get that request going on because they'd never even think of playing the same stuff the last DJ played. Those were the days, block parties, free concerts, dance contests...what happened to the music? Remember how your moms used to put on a song early Saturday morning and you could get up and dance to that SAME SONG for like 8 minutes straight?? Where did the music go?

Before it was all drums and synthesizers, vocalizers (thanks T-Pain for resurrecting what Teddy Riley killed) and all that other junk. You had to listen to the radio to hear that new song, no such thing as hopping online and downloading the MP3. Man, do ya'll realize that the MP3 and the internet has put the bootlegger out of business. *Pours some out for the homies that ain't got no one to sell their stolen CDs to* What happened to the days of rewinding the tape so that you could write down all of the lyrics to your favorite songs and be the first on your block to know them. I mean damn, where has all of the music gone?

The other day, my best friend called me OLD. "Every time I talk to you, you've got the oldies station playing, man I swear you're the oldest 25 year old I know." OK, that may not be a direct quote, but it's my blog and I can write what I want to. I'll have all you know, just like I told her, I'm not old, I'm just a lover of good music and you can NEVER go wrong with Ronald Isley and the Isley Brothers. *As I slip IN BETWEEN THE SHEETS and DRIFT ON A MEMORY as I take a VOYAGE TO ATLANTIS* Man, what happened to the music?