Substance.

That's what we miss from our music these days. There are few bands these days that are meaty enough to enjoy on a long-term basis. Everytime one springs up, they seems to disappear after a time because no one respected the music well enough to build a sizeable fan base. A sizeable - and dedicated - fanbase carries the cash with them. They exude the respect and the adoration that sustains a strong band or artist. But with bands all over the place and the market heavily diluted with so-so talent, who's going to find the substance underneath all of those bones lying on top and all around it?

I'm disappointed because there are current bands that are NOT retro-based and are extremely talented that cannot get much more than a few sales or a little attention. Many of us know who these bands are but that is about the extent of the attraction. Look around us. Where is the next Rolling Stones? We KNOW that they still have respect because their concerts are well-attended. If that's the case, where's our next Rolling Stones?

Today we have some great talent out there that include Wolfmother, Heartless Bastards, and a few others but it seems as once the reality of life comes to town, these bands pack it in because something has to be done in order to live. The "here today, gone tomorrow" routine that our consumption patterns exhibit doesn't support bands well, unless you're lucky enough to capture a Pop audience like Mariah Carey is able.

The Pop market hasn't gone anywhere except that it refuses to allow a Top40 like we had experienced in the past. More like a Top10 and nothing beyond.

Quality of music is certainly a massive factor. But more so is our refusal to get past an enjoyable track to find the deep album cuts. Soon, even albums may become obsolete with only single tracks being the only works of a band. Which might be a good thing because if a band can't move beyond one or two lucky tracks that appeal then they disappear. Only the talented would survive that game. Which would leave the meat more exposed and thus more likely to gain a larger audience.

I know that times have changed. I know that the Internet has leveled a playing field that once belonged solely to the usually heavily talented. We didn't have time years back when we were young to absorb a ton of bands, and we certainly don't have that time now. Rock and Roll heroes were limited to the amount of money that we were willing to spend, some more than others, on our music libraries. Today, you can download to your hearts content and dispose of that which you no longer enjoy. Need scapegoats? Start with iPods. ever see the notation that you currently have X amount of tunes accumulated to play continously for X number of days? But then we can blame the advent of memory that holds all of that data for us to cheapen the impact of music. Believe me, I'm not belittling the iPod. But it has certainly played a part in our accumulation habits and our ability to randomly shuffle thousands of songs, thus ensuring that we may never get to even one Heartless Bastards track buried in all of those digital bits.

This is only part of the argument. There is more. And more will be said. But we need to start applying our limited (time-wise) attention to bands that are extraordinary and let the sugary Pop or track of the moment melt away while we attend to that which matters more. By doing so, we might be able to help save our Rock legacy. Do it not and we continue to walk into oblivion, a clouded place where no one has the love to turn a band into the next highly rated attraction like U2 or The Rolling Stones. I'd kinda like to see a return to that place before I die. I'd kinda like to leave a solid foundation to the future of Rock and Roll for those that follow after me.

It's all about substance. It's out there. We just need to nurture it better.

Robert Metcalf has presented a review of the recently released new album by Hamadryad called Intrusion.

I want to alert TAP readers to the fact that I have finally put together a FaceBook fan page that you can access and join by clicking on the badge below.  What this offers is the exact same thing as my Twitter feeds provide and that is first buzz on upcoming releases and free offered downloads, many announcements  that beat our main post, sometimes by days.  We also provide a Google BUZZ page that expands on most of the Twitter/FB feeds. On Buzz, you can even hear the music stream if a stream is offered.  There are still things that I'm working on in the FB page, like calender notes as well as links to great sites like The Second Disc.  I invite you to join us at our FB page and bookmark it.  Visit it daily and you'll be rewarded with much news and info.  Of course, you'll still want to come to the main MusicTAP page for our noisy commentaries.  Remember, with our Twitter feeds, you can elect to receive the news bursts as text on your mobile phone keeping you effortlessly up to date with stuff.  Lots of choices.  Find one, or two, that fits.

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Friday Music will reissue several cool vinyl LP titles that include Made in Japan by Deep Purple, and Leftoverture by Kansas. Both titles ARE Limited Edition and will go on sale July 13.

Varese Fontana will release a 2Disc John Phillips title called Many Mamas, Many Papas on July 6.

Island Records plan a 10th Anniversary Edition of No Killer, No Filler (2001) by Sum 41, scheduling the special set for August 3.

BTW, those Japanese SHM-SACD that we're expecting (the unreleased Who's Next, Velvet Underground & Nico, Aja, and a small batch of previously released SACDs) are slated to hit market on July 6. Order now as these are Limited Edition and DON'T order from Amazon as they charge double the Japanese rate.

Surfdog Records will release Don't Mess With a Big Band by Brian Setzer on July 13.

Poor Boy Records to release Custom Built by Bret Michaels on July 6.

On July 13, WEA Japan is releasing remastered Linda Ronstadt titles and should (maybe) be headed for the states later? Titles are Hasten Down the Wind, Living In the USA, and Don't Cry Now.

Hunter will release Requiem on August 10.

Danger Radio will release Nothing's Gonna Hold Us Down on July 27.

Esoteric UK will be reissuing In The Can (1972) by Flash (Peter Banks) on July 13.