Innovation

I wish I knew what happened to innovation in music. What happened to pushing the envelope and completely revolutionizing music like what Miles Davis or Jimi Hendrix or Randy Rhoads did during their time as musicians? They tried to advance musically and do things that other musicians weren't doing. Miles was so influenced by Jimi and what he was doing in music, that in his live album "Live-Evil", Miles used an electric trumpet and a wah-wah pedal. That's a god damn Jazz musician getting out of his comfort zone of Bebop and Cool Jazz and Hard Bop and trying to do something different, something that no one else is doing at that moment in time. When I listened to that record, I thought he was playing a guitar and it sounded amazing. Hell Jimi is still regarded as one of the best guitarists of his time and of all time because of what he did with guitar. Being a left player and mixing rhythm guitar playing with lead guitar playing was just so different for his time. Hearing Purple Haze, or All Along the Watchtower or Hey Joe just shows his abilities as a musician and how creative and innovative he could be. These musicians did not conform to the concept of making their music simple, they made it different, they made it technical and soulful. The second Hendrix bends a note or Davis starts to play a melody you can hear everything one has ever wanted to hear in music. One can hear emotions and thoughts, practically conversation in the music.

I feel like musicians nowadays do not try to be different. They might change a few things here or there, but there is nothing revolutionary or amazing about them. I mean bands like Muse and Lostprophets push the envelope with the creativity and ingenuity. Muse's guitarist Bellamy uses a Khaoss pad on his guitar to get different sounds, and the band as a whole are super creative and innovative in their music. No two albums of theirs sounds alike. They are always doing something different, something new, they are the Miles Davis of the modern era in rock/ progressive music. I may not be biggest fan of Muse vocally, but they are fantastic instrumentally. Bands like these guys just don't seem to exist nearly as much as they did during the 60's and 70's and 80's and 90's. I feel that more musicians are trying to just get famous and not try anything new or different that can redefine them as bands. They stick to the same power chords and root notes and trite solos and try to make a living off of it.