Rant #1,173: Good Music

I don't think I am the only person who can say this, but I am going to say this anyway:

Is today's music the most horrid trash you have ever heard?

All the songs sound the same, no artists truly stand out, and electronics rate well over real instruments in these songs.

Sure, I will bet there are one or two of you out there who probably disagree, and that is OK.

I guess my generation was spoiled.

Being born in 1957, I was part of the first rock and roll generation, spearheaded by the music of Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, and a host of other Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.

Growing up in the 1960s, I was there when the Beatles took over the world, and all the other great acts followed, everyone from the Rolling Stones to the Dave Clark Five to the Monkees and on and on and on.

Sure, I was also there in the 1970s and beyond, when this music started to become corporate, but heck, there was still a lot of great stuff to choose from.

And that is the thinking behind my more than 10-year-old Yahoo Groups site, Alternative Top 40.

Each week, music lovers from around the world vote on between 12 and 20 songs as being their favorites of the week. Those songs that get the most votes remain on the poll, and can remain available for up to five weeks. Those that don't get the most votes are removed, and replaced by new songs.

It is as simple as that.

Most of the music I have put up in the past 10-plus years has been from the 1960s and early 1970s, but I have also uploaded music from the 1950s, the 1980s, 1990s, the early 2000s, and even the current time, the two latter dates mainly from classic artists who have something new to say through their music.

It is a fun site, nothing more than I described to you.

The reason I decided to trumpet the site today is that I am coming to the end of listening to every song I have put up there through my 2012-2013 season, a total of well more than 2,500 songs. They range from pop, rock, soul, and other musical genres.

I put them all on CD-Rs, and have been listening to them in the car since early this year.

I am just about done, and I really think I have uploaded a terrific cross-section of stuff during the past years to listen to.

So if you are into discovering music you never knew existed--or revisiting music that you might have forgotten--Alternative Top 40 is for you.

I put up a lot of B sides, album tracks, and other things from both popular artists and those who really never made it in America.

Just as an aside, the most popular artist on the site, with the most placements and total weeks on the weekly charts, is the Dave Clark Five.

However, the most popular artist in terms of numbers of full placements on the chart versus songs on the chart--eeking out five total weeks on the most songs--I believe is the Beatles, naturally.

Just so you know, the Rolling Stones haven't done very well on the chart, but Petula Clark has. The Lovin' Spoonful have not done too well, but Cheap Trick has.

You can't figure this thing out, and neither can I, which makes the whole thing that much more fun.

Please visit the site at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/AlternativeTop40/info.

You won't be sorry that you did.