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The reason for the demise of rock and roll is a pretty simple one. When a certain musical style reaches its peak of popularity, it begins to settle in, become the norm, and (with regret) suddenly become too commonplace for most folk. Record companies realize that to continue reaping billions of dollars, they must come up with "the next new thing." In the early 90s, this meant introducing music that went into a completely opposite direction as traditional party-hard rock n' roll. The result? A musical Pandora's box was opened, and has spawned artistic evils on a multitude of levels.

Almost overnight, we went from grunge music (which barely lasted 3 years), to alternative music. While everyone tried their mightiest to sit and figure out exactly what this moronic term meant, record companies were already planning to unleash the NEXT big thing: the new pop movement. How do you define today's pop music, besides being "popular?" It's quite simple, really. Take a real large pot, then gather a whole bunch of musical genres together. Water down each musical genre to the point where all merit, talent, and skill is gone, then toss them all into the same pot. The result was dance music, boy bands, rock, punk, ska, and hip hop all rolled into one. All image, no substance, with zero talent.

Where did it leave us? These days, the popular music world has become a sound wave wasteland, with each sickly, struggling band re-starting the vicious cycle of copying their predecessor's material. All popular music sounds precisely the same these days, period. I can no longer tell one rock band from the other, nor one rap group from the other, nor one female singer from another. To further layer on the hilarity of the situation, the record companies have the nerve to blame illegal music downloading as the cause for dropping musical sales! It must be VERY convenient to pollute an entire industry to the point where it has become stagnant, then turn around and blame your target audience!

So who is to blame for all of this? I hate to say it, but it's the people buying the albums. Yes, you heard me right! Rather than speak up and have their say regarding their own individuality, they fell prey to the timeless trap of wanting to fit in by liking the same things as their peers. The music industry is fully aware that teenagers are self-conscious and desperate to fit in, and it didn't take them long to realize that cheap marketing campaigns and a quick buzz can stimulate a teenager's need to have

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