A bad economy. A changing of power. A re-establishment of order. A re-emerging of skinny-tie bands, flashy clothes and being respectable, all in the name of financial profit and social acceptance.

Does anyone else here see the perfect conditions for a musical revolt?

I seem to remember hearing about this period in time, say, 1980-1986… I believe it was the time where bands such as Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Bad Brains, SS Decontrol, and MDC emerged from a group of musicians – kids – that just couldn’t take the direction in which society was going. It was a time where rebellion and question of authority was at an all-time high, and the music definitely dictated that.

I believe the name was “Hardcore Punk”.

What do we have right now? Where is the revolt? Where is the refusal to take the path of least resistance? I definitely see the need for it- that’s for sure. Don’t misunderstand me, though. I’m not suggesting that we need a bunch of teenage douchbags kicking eachothers’ faces in, setting astrovans on fire and telling their parents to kiss their ass. I’m saying that with ecological disasters, a nation that’s owned(not controlled, OWNED) by government and corporations, an auto-tune garbage factory of total crap being spewed out on the airwaves, and record labels paying millions to hold radio stations hostage to make YOU think that what’s being played on the radio is what everyone wants to hear, that maybe it’s time for some cutting edge music.

Maybe it’s time for music to take this perception that anything that even slightly resembles imperfection is horrible and just throw it off a cliff. Maybe it’s time to reintroduce the perfection of imperfection.

What are we? We’re a nation of people that strive to be heard. We have Twitter and Facebook accounts that keep us in touch with one another, and we’re constantly in competition with eachother to be noticed, heard and seen, even if we say we’re not. We want to stand out. We want to matter.

And what is music? It’s the showcasing of vulnerability. You put yourself in a vulnerable position and open yourself up for everyone to see you, hoping that they like what they hear and want to stick around for more. And yet, the direction of music is being pulled so that we sound like everyone else. We digitally eliminate vocal imperfections so that we sing on the exact pitch of the note and follow the exact chords we’re trying to hit.

Why? So we won’t be imperfect. Why? Because we can. Why? Because everybody else is doing it, too.

Will it stay this way? No. Everything in life is cyclical, and music has proven to be, too. But I can see it on the horizon. I can see a massive changing of the guard about to happen.

But who will it come from? What will it sound like? what will they look like? If time has taught anything, it’s that in everyone, there is a need and want to rebel and be different. Music seriously needs a ballsy, vibrant, fearless leader who will unknowingly change the current state of the art of music.

The new millennium needs something different. It needs to make it’s own mark. Something tells me it might not be developed in a Starbucks on a laptop while sipping on a skinny latte.

Or maybe it will. I’m waiting, though.