I guess, it is really a generational thing.  I know, that when I was rocking out to Van Halen, Rush, and Triumph, there was a certain amount of disdain for the generation of hit makers that came before them from my generation.  Now most of those stars made so much money, they didn’t need to wear fake chronographs, not that I would have noticed much anyway.  I was really more into the music, then what my favorite musican was wearing.  I suppose that’s why I liked Phil Collins a lot more than Duran Duran.  I know it sounds a little pretentious, but who cares what a musician wears, or who they sleep with, so long as their music is great.

Although I suppose I shouldn’t get myself all to high and mighty.  As looks did matter somewhat to me.  The look of the album covers anyway.  I would be found guilty of buying more than one record album, because the artwork looked pretty amazing.  Sometimes, even without hearing a single song.  But hey, I also bought my first sailboat without ever having sailed before, so I suppose there was some precedence there.  Anyway, it’s not like I was the first to buy replicas when they came onto the market.

I still believe, that it’s the music that should come first and foremost.  Even though I loved MTV from the first day it hit the air, it wasn’t really about what the artists were wearing, as much as it was about visualizing the music that I loved so much.  The little movies accompanying the song were pretty cool.  Don’t even get me going on the whole Micheal Jackson thriller video.  That’s an entire post (or blog) in and of itself.

Over the last few years, sound systems have advanced a lot technologically, from the features they have to their ability to faithfully replicate the recorded audio they play back. However, you may own the best sound system and amplifier on the market, but if you have a poor set of speakers, the audio quality will also be poor. You need to choose carefully when buying speakers, which means carefully comparing the features of the different sets of speakers.

Most wall speakers have similar main characteristics. They all include brackets to mount the speaker. Most brackets can be affixed to any wall or flat surface, and a good number of them can also be fixed to ceilings. However, different models of speakers will also have various enhancements available.

If you’re buying a higher-end set of wall speakers, try to choose something that includes a “tweeter”. This will enhance the higher pitched sounds in the audio (it’s named tweeter after the high pitched sounds that small birds make), and can make a real difference when listening to good quality acoustic covers, for example.

Thought should also go into where the speakers will be positioned in the room. If you’re using them as surround sound speakers for a home theatre system, you’ll want a sub woofer and main speaker near to the TV, as well as left and right front and left and right back speakers.

If they’re just to be used for music with a sound system, it’s usually a good idea to experiment with different positions and spacings of the speakers to get the sound you’d like. Try to balance the treble and bass sounds around the room as much as possible. To help with this, the higher quality range of speakers usually come with individual balancing (treble and bass) controls.

If you arrange the speakers well and you choose a good quality set of speakers, you’ll want to listen to them often, and having music in your home can really improve your mood on any day.

That’s not to say that there aren’t any, it just seems like so many all sound the same. All the hip hop dance floor stuff seems to be the music of choice by so many people today. When I think back to the eighties, I think about the unique sounds of bands like Journey (Steve Perrys voice), Abba, the Eagles, the Beach Boys (maybe a little pre-1980),Led Zeppelin, The Who and Queen. There are of course dozens of others. But the point is, has anyone in the current age of musicians really grabbed the torch and broken free from the mold.

Not too many I suspect, but maybe I’m being just a little too harsh on the current generation of musicians. I know there were plenty of derivative bands from the eighties, and plenty of one hit wonders, that were never able to make a go of it in the business either commercially or artistically. Which actually brings about another point I have to wonder about.

Music distribution has certainly changed this days for artists, with the world of the internet leveling the field somewhat. Really, if your band is good, then you should be able to get plenty of recognition by distributing your music online, and making use of musician friendly websites like MySpace to build up a group of followers. Decades ago, in the pre internet age, it was very risky for a band to try and be different. Cutting a record was expensive, as was the marketing and promotion that went along with it.

With the internet providing such a low cost entry barrier, and digital technology allowing just about anyone with a microphone to create a CD, you’d think there would be far more diversity in the music business today. Or perhaps, maybe there is. Maybe I’m just stuck in the eighties haven’t given the artists of today a chance. If you’ve found some great artists via the internet, I’d love to hear about it. Just leave some comments below, with links to your favorite current bands.