After spending the last three days of my life revisiting the Thrice discography right up to (slash through one time to see if it made the cut.. but didn't) Vheissu, I have come to the conclusion that there is no way in hell music is never going to be this aurally pleasing ever again.

I may be the last person who is a part of this website to say it, but... what the hell happened to music? Bands from the late 90’s/early 00’s (Saves the Day, Thrice) are still around making amazing music while still remaining slightly under the radar, and one-hit-wonder bands are floundering after two records while somehow making millions* in the process. These aren’t artists worth paying attention to, but for some reason they continue to hog the spotlight. WHY ARE WE LETTING THIS HAPPEN?

(Random outburst from my educational background: MARKETING. Moving on.)

Maybe it's just the memories associated with old Thrice albums: learning how to play guitar to an almost-socially-acceptable level and spending hours trying to train my fingers to play songs off Identity Crisis, cruising around the neighborhood with my best friend blasting The Illusion of Safety as loud as our ears could handle, and convincing my mom to let me go to the supporting tour for the Artist in the Ambulance (my second concert ever). It’s a bit hard not to develop a bias toward artists you feel such an emotional connection to.

I guess I also consider Thrice one of my old "gateway" bands--along with the likes of Thursday, Coheed & Cambria, Brand New, New Found Glory, Saves the Day, Alkaline Trio--and the list goes on and on and on. These bands are responsible for my current passion for music. Now what dominates the scene? Shitrock like All Time Low clutters the airwaves, and the kids just getting into music have no idea of what they are missing out on. Music used to have substance; now it's mindless crap that dominates the radio and every orifice of the Internet. It's really no wonder that listeners are beginning to lend their ears more and more toward other genres--especially dub step and electronic music in general (I am completely guilty of this, and I'm definitely not ashamed to admit it *cue wubwubs*)--and it's a damn shame.

…Or maybe it’s because I grew up listening to and idolizing the members of Thrice, and now I mostly see artists as people I’ll probably end up befriending. Hell, my primary motivation for listening to so many different artists is so I can write about them, and concerts have become more of a business venture than an escape from reality. Let me tell you—going to a show and photographing the event is a completely difference experience from standing in a room full of crowded people just soaking in the energy from the music.

To put it simply, I’m sick of “perfection.” Everything is overproduced, ridiculously auto-tuned, and essentially stripped of all emotion. It’s impossible to feel a connection with voice that sounds more like a robot than a human. The occasional voice crack or fluctuation in guitar tone just shows that the artist is real.

I know I’m not the only one who feels this way (see: Gatsby's Twitter, Maika Maile of There For Tomorrow's Twitter), so what are we going to do to reverse the damage that has been done? What is the next step? How many bands see this problem and actively working to disrupt this pattern? And how many will actually succeed in breaking through the clutter?

I guess only time will tell.

* Slight exaggeration. Nobody makes millions playing music anymore, are you crazy?!