If video killed the radio star, radio retaliated and killed just about everything else, including new, independent artists. Music as art, music as expression, musical styles that deviate from the norm, have all been ignored and turned away by corporate radio. We eat what we are fed, and we are fed what the radio stations feed us.

On the menu? Watered-down pop by singers and bands that are created in the interest of money rather than artistic merit, American Idol type shows that rate performers on how well manufactured music would sell and the contestant's "star quality" rather than on originality and artistry. What makes a star anyway? A panel of people who are trained in finding just the right mix of talent, looks, moves and personality, based on previously proven criteria?

Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Frank Black of the Pixies and numerous others would never have made it on American Idol, yet they were, and still remain among the most influential artists in modern music history, some selling millions of records and are still revered to this day. At the time, Rod Stuart was pretty upset because his new album barely sold 250,000 copies. The singer of Loverboy is quoted as saying "Nirvana killed my career," and most other best selling artists of the 80's quickly disappeared.

The 90's brought in an era of new music that was driven by music fans that were looking for something other than the ridiculous "hair bands" of the 80's. The radio stations and the music business resisted as long and hard as they could, but the movement was so huge that it was impossible to ignore. Hundreds of new artists who were shunned and passed over were finally recognized and hailed by the music business as the "next big thing." But, after several years, the so-called alternative music scene was absorbed and manipulated by the corporate music business, which proceeded to water it down and polish it up little by little, until they had complete control over it once again. Money always wins, and the cycle starts all over again.

So, now another revolution has begun. Driven in large part by the internet, music fans and artists are rebelling against corporate mainstream radio and the big record companies. An obscure artist or band can become hugely popular within months with the right internet marketing, and the great thing is that much of that marketing is free. A music fan looking for something different can go to hundreds of music web sites and browse

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