Will there ever be another music legend?
By Cody Gray on Nov. 14, 2007
Hey, it’s Cody Gray from 101.5/97.9 The Planet, the only station playing Everything That Rocks! This is my third blog here on The Burg. If you have no idea who I am or what I’m about, go back and read the first two blogs I have posted. It will give you some insight about me, and I’m sure you’ll at least have an opinion on what I had to say last week regarding life in Lynchburg. If that’s the case, leave your comments or send me an email at . I love to get your feedback on the things that I write! My focus for today’s blog will be asking the question: “Will there ever be another music legend?” I’ll explain more about that question/topic in just a second. First, I just want to let you know about a couple of things happening this week with my station, The Planet.
If you like Stevie Ray Vaughan, then you definitely want to check out The Planet on Wednesday night, the 14th, as we will be airing a radio special called “Stevie Ray Vaughan & Friends: Pride and Joy”. It’s a one hour special hosted by Ray Benson from the group Asleep at the Wheel. It will feature previously unheard tracks from Vaughan, a rare interview, and of course a whole lot of his great music. You can catch that Wednesday night, the 14th from 11:00PM-12:00AM exclusively on The Planet, 101.5/97.9.
Also, I need your help with something on Friday! I am participating in the The Salvation Army Media Mogul Red Kettle Kick-Off Competition on Friday morning. Basically, some media members from the area are in a competition to see who can raise the most money for The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign. On Friday morning from 9:00-10:00AM, I will be in front of the Bank of the James in downtown Lynchburg with my partner, Lynchburg’s Chief of Police Chuck Bennett, ringing the familiar bell for The Salvation Army. Please, if you get a chance, stop by and drop some money in the kettle, or if you can’t make it to that location but would like to show your support for my team with a donation, just email me at and I’ll get you hooked up with the information on how to donate. If I don’t raise more money than my co-workers who are on other teams, then I’m going to have to do something really embarrassing…actually, so embarrassing that I can’t even write about it. So help out The Salvation Army and at the same time help me keep my dignity! Thanks in advance for your support!
Now, on to this week’s topic. Will there ever be another music legend? The music world has changed so much in the past two decades or so. I mean, music is always changing. It always has and it always will. But it seems to me that when new artists and new styles of music hit the scene in the 50’s through the early 80’s, the musical revolutions that happened through that era were for the better. Now it just seems to me, and of course my opinion only, that today’s music has no substance, no originality, and generally today’s artists simply lack talent. Are there exceptions to that? Sure! But I don’t think there are many. I mean, lets get real. Britney Spears’ latest album hit #1 on the charts in its first week of release. This is “music” from someone who is the queen of lip synching! You know what, I think I’m giving her too much credit...she’s not even that good at lip synching! A poor singer, a bad mother who prefers to party rather than be with her kids, but she is sexy. Well, at least she used to be and it seems like today that’s all that matters. A lot of you will say who cares, if she can go out and make money with the little bit of talent that she has, then good for her. Well yeah, it’s great for her. But is it good for anyone else? As a music fan, I say no way!
Our music choices have been watered down to the point that I’m not sure the music industry will ever be able to dig out of the hole that they are in. I mean, they wonder why no one wants to buy a CD anymore and pay $18 for one good song. You know what I’m talking about. You hear this song on the radio that you really like and you dart to the record store to buy the album. You pull off the wrapping and those blasted security stickers, pop in the CD and listen to that great song. Then, it’s time to check out the other songs on the album. I would be willing to bet that 9 times out of 10, after you listen to the other songs you end up in disbelief that you just forked over almost $20 for one good song that you’ll like for a couple months and then will never listen to again. What happened to Elvis, The Beatles, The Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who, Hendrix, Zeppelin and The Doors? They are artists whose music will live on forever because they were all unique, talented, on the cutting edge and willing to take risks with their music. You can buy every album from just about any one of those artists and love the whole thing! That just doesn’t happen anymore.
Will there always be music superstars? Of course! Will there ever be another true music legend that rises from today’s era? I just don’t see it. Until something major changes, you will continue to get your fill of teen pop queens, boy bands, rappers who use everyone else’s music to help create their own, and your everyday one hit wonders. Will Britney Spears or Snoop Dogg or Taylor Hicks or anyone else from the last decade or so go down as artists who revolutionized their genre, took it to another level and actually made music better? There might be one or two, and I’m sure you’ll point those out after reading this, but I think they are almost non existent. I don’t think today’s artists all lack talent, creativity and good sounding music…just most of the popular ones. Until we start rejecting what we’re given from the industry, things will never change. You won’t see another Elvis, or The Beatles, The Stones, or Springsteen. When we’re older, we’ll get to look back at our generation of music and say..."At least we had American Idol!” To me, that’s sad.
Let me know what you think. Leave your comments on the page and you can also email me at . Thanks for reading and have a great week!
Cody
COMMENTS
hey cody! great blog! you couldnt be more right about the state of music these days. love your show on the planet! keep up the great work!
Its hard to say that there will ever be anyone that will set a new standard in today’s music world. My belief is there are too many musicians involved in the industry for any single person and/or band to revolutionize music. The over-abundance of artists today allows for a steady change in music over the years, but does not let one individual completely change the industry. So no, there will never be another legend according to your definition, but there are plenty of people that will be remembered throughout music history as legends of their time. How about Dave Matthews, Phish, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, etc.? All of these people will go down as legends to my belief. Yes there are the teeny bopper & mainstream rock bands that contribute nothing, but there are a great deal of bands that add to the progression of the music industry today.
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