Downloadable Contempt

"Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma MY GOD MAKE IT GO AWAY!"

Welcome to Downloadable Contempt.

My name is Chris, and I am on a mission.

I want to like music again.

When I was a young, pimple-faced, soft-headed adolescent, my parents had a satellite dish, with all of the channels illegally unlocked, including MTV. This was back when MTV actually was about music. So far back, in fact, that it covered more genres than just hip-hop music.

In those halcyon, pre-internet days, I was ahead of the curve musically. I introduced my friends to bands they’d never heard of, and I actually witnessed the world premiere of the ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ video. (after which my friend and I astutely observed that, while it was an okay song, this band will probably not go anywhere)

The 90’s were when I truly fell in love with music, and artists like Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Live, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains, Suicidal Tendencies, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Kyuss, Garbage, among many others.

And then, one gray Seattle day, Kurt Cobain’s head exploded, and while it would be hyperbole to say it was “the day the music died (again)”, I think it’s fair to argue that it was the day the music industry began to unapologetically, indiscretely, and insufferably ooze hot, murky shit from almost every orifice.

Most of the music industry is now essentially producing fast food. Quick, disposable, forgettable, tasty in the moment, but nothing substantial, and probably something you regret consuming afterwards. This upsets me, because the music I tend to love, for the most part, is music that I carry with me forever, aside from the odd guilty pleasure. I see the kind of music that people are consuming en masse, and I can’t imagine that any of it will mean anything to anyone once the flavour of the month has been chewed out of it.

Honestly, if you love Lady Gaga right now, do you really think you will feel the same about her music 5 years from now? Or will you feel a bit of shame and embarrassment, and refuse to admit to people that Poker Face was once your ring-tone? You may already feel that shame, and she’s still actively performing. The half-life on success in this industry is getting shorter by the second.

I am the first to admit that I probably take music a bit more seriously than most people, and that my tastes, while somewhat varried, are also very specific, and I have found it increasingly difficult to find a band or even a song on the radio that I really like anymore. I don’t know if this is because I’m not looking hard enough, not giving enough music a chance, or if it’s simply the “good ol’ days” syndrome.

I’m pretty sure somebody’s making decent music out there, I just need to find it.

So that’s where Downloadable Contempt comes in. I’ll be using this site to comment on music news, latest releases, review and highlight albums that I think are important or complete excrement, post whatever other interesting musical stuff I find online, and to, hopefully, chronicle my journey toward learning how to like music again.

I hope you come check it out once in a while. Because I am pretty awesome.

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