Matt and Andrew's CD a Day project

For better or for worse, this is the state of pop music today: one hour of "Fresh" on VH1 this morning...
(forgive me, I didn't bother to write down the song titles. You know 'em if you listen to the radio).

Evanescence - odd video. It seems like they're saying "piano + metal = English hunting lodge" And not to be mean, but I think Amy Lee might be wearing a corset for a reason.

OK GO - The band does a choreographed dance routine on treadmills. It's brilliant, it's funny, and it works. What's sad is that power-pop bands have to do crap like this in order to get played on VH-1.

Jessica Simpson, "A Public Affair" - The video where Jess calls in a whole bunch of favors, and Eva Longoria, Christina Applegate and Andy Dick co-star. Forgettable and fluffy, just like the song. And Christina Applegate looks hotter than Jessica.

Jewel - Apparently Jewel lives on Wisteria Lane now. I fast forwarded through this one.

Janet Jackson featuring Nelly. This video is ex-pensive. It had to cost $10 million, even with computer graphics... that Hype Williams likes his luxury. The whole thing looks like a fancy oil painting crossed with that movie the Cell with Jennifer Lopez. And... the song's kind of boring.

Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars. Man, I want to like this band, but this video is boring. The guy is either sitting or lying down in random places the entire video, and he looks so calm. This is rock? Show some energy, man.

Beyonce, featuring Jay-Z - The song's not that great; part of the video looks like Beyonce is ripping off Shakira, and the other part has Jay-Z rapping and looking bored while Beyonce humps his leg. Actually, scratch that: this video rules.

Gnarls Barkley - the "song of the summer." It's good, but this Rorshach blots come to life video isn't that great.

Five for Fighting - the 21st century's answer to Air Supply plays a piano that he drew with a crayon. So terrible it's good... ah, I can't back that up. It's still terrible.

Justin Timberlake - "SexyBack." The video is shot in Barcelona, and involves spies wearing sexy lingerie (hey now... lady spies. That was Lance Bass in People last month, not JT). Lots of sterile blues and whites, which match the freaky computer vibe of the song.

The Fray - I am so damn tired of the song, and the video sucks too. Oppressed kid in a prep school learns to deal with his problems through music. Go sit on it, Fray.

Nickelback - while the song, surprisingly, doesn't sound anything like "How You Remind Me," the video has a weird forest fire subplot, and I was bored. Lots of cool red lasers on the band, though.

Ah, at least it was better than whatever MTV is showing right now.

MLB.com is helping to promote the new solo album from Scott Stapp, the guy from Creed. If you buy the album through mlb.com, you get five full-length audio streams, and you can watch him singing two songs live in the mlb.com studios. MLB.com has studios? What the hell for? Aren't they a baseball website? And how can Scott Stapp "have baseball in his blood"? He's from Orlando, who do not have a major league team (although Orlando is near Tampa, and like the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Scott Stapp sucks).
There's cross-promotion, and then there's stupidity. And I'm betting this one's stupidity.

So INXS is back after a big summer-long reality series. Yeah, I know the show ended two months ago (I was a Marty Casey fan, personally), but their new album comes out in a week or two and the tour is starting to sell out, so I feel compelled to comment. Have you guys heard the new song "Dirty Vegas" yet? The new guy (J.D. Fortune, for the uninitiated), sounds EXACTLY like Michael "maybe autoerotic asphyxiation isn't such a good ide..ACK" Hutchence. And maybe that's what the guys in the band really wanted. But it's got to be creepy for ol' J.D. Several years ago, 12p and I were in Lawton, Okla. to open up for the Robbie Krieger Band. Krieger, you might remember, was the guitarist for the Doors, and at the time was playing the county fair and out-of-the-way towns circuit with a set of mostly Doors songs. His son was the lead singer, and he looked waaaay too much like Jim Morrison, to the point that he was obviously fucked up on stage. I feared for the guy's sanity. Think about it: how would you feel if your dad was encouraging you to dress up like one of his buddies (who happens to be dead)?

Honestly, can you tell the difference between Theory of a Deadman and Default? Are they the exact same band using different names so they can have more product out and make more money?

Just announced... November 13 and 15, 2005, SBC Park, San Francisco, Calif. ... The Rolling Stones, with special guests Metallica and Everclear. What the hell? The Rolling Stones, Metallica, and Everclear. Quick question 1: why in the world are Metallica opening up for the Stones? Can't they play stadiums, too? I know that last album was pretty weak and all, but really? Warm-up act for a bunch of sixtysomethings?

Quick question 2: Everclear are still around? I thought that greatest hits album last year was their swan song.

I know this hasn't been updated much lately, but I've been working on a new project. It's just in the formative stages, but go to http://www.originalmembers.com. It'll be up soon, I think.

Just when I thought '80s music was all the rage, every '90s band that was any good is coming back in the next couple of months. We've already had new albums from Garbage and Nine Inch Nails, and this month brings new Weezer, Oasis, Better than Ezra. Later this summer look for new Foo Fighters. That's good, classic mid-'90s stuff right there. Meanwhile, Audioslave are reportedly playing Rage and Soundgarden songs live now (that doesn't make up for the crapfest that is their new single, but it's pretty cool nonetheless).

As I write this, I'm hanging out in a college radio station in Nashville, TN listening to my brother do his show. There's some really good stuff out there right now, a lot of it British, but most of what you hear on commercial radio is recycled '80s or new songs from '90s bands. As of yet, there hasn't been any real 21st century "sound." Why is that? Let's discuss on the message boards. Ignore the come-ons for online poker.

I bet you do, because these days it's being shoved down everybody's throats. Don't get me wrong; I liked the '80s. I even watched both chapters of "I Love the '80s," and I think the Killers album is one of the best in years. But the trend has snowballed beyond our control; when My Chemical Romance and the Used are teaming up on a cover of "Under Pressure" (by the way, that worked for David Bowie and Queen because he was a solo act; what, are both drummers playing on the thing?) and Ashlee Simpson tells MTV she's really into '80s music right now and thinks her next album will head that direction, and when Kelli Osborne's new single sounds like pre-Take My Breath Away Berlin (and even I didn't know what that sounded like until I saw the VH1 Bands Reunited special last year), then things have gone too far.

In other news, Head is still trying to convert 50 Cent. And Maynard from Tool and A Perfect Circle supposedly "found Jesus," but then it turned out to be a prank. Shame; I bet Maynard and Head tag-teaming could have gotten Fifty into the fold. Or at least the Game.