As I sit here, my speakers gently injecting my ears with King Crimson's "In the Court of the Crimson King," I can recall the glory days of music back when such bands like Crimson were still in power, and music truly meant something to those who embraced it. The Golden years: Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin...this collection of true musicians almost seems to have a characteristic of being magical, even appealing, to the ears, despite the considerable amount of years that have passed since these bands began to change the face of music.

Even when metal began its rise in the 80's, with bands like Metallica, Slayer, Antrhax and Megadeath, did music slowly start to fan out, and form not just simple rock and roll songs, but spread out into different moods and characteristics. Music was EVOLVING, and giving birth to new ideas that would be toyed with later on as the years would go by.

Fast forward to the 90's, to the era where Kurt Cobain is worshipped as a spokesman for a whole generation. Smashing Pumpkins was just starting to make a name for themselves; The Offspring unleashed the greatest indie label album hit of all time, "Smash" and Rage Against the Machine became infamous for their politically-driven fusion of rock and hip-hop. Helmet would also release Meantime, which would change how the guitar was played as far as riffs were concerned; Tool would follow suit with their album Undertow.

Also, Nine Inch Nails had reached the scene in '94, with The Downward Spiral, which was a huge step up from Trent Reznor's debut album Pretty Hate Machine. Music now had more than just rock and roll; Industrial Rock, several variations of metal, and even rap/hip-hop was starting to take a new hold on how music expressed man's inner thoughts.

There were even some bands in the early 90's, such as Collective Soul, that brought back the real love of music with albums such as their debut, Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid. These kinds of bands really showed how far music had come.

And then...music hit a snag. In the late 90's, Nu Metal arrived on the scene, with bands like Korn and Limb Bizkit leading the charge. Korn was especially important in this time, influencing bands such as Limp Bizkit. Linkin Park would also step in, widening the already rapidly growing genre of Nu Metal.

Bands such as Creed also headed the Post-Rock/Grunge movement, causing musical tastes to flock to simple radio-played hits. It seemed that music was slowly losing its creativity over time, and no one seemed to be noticing it.

And now, in 2008, having spent five whole years of my life dedicated to music and its evolution, I am not ashamed to admit that I weep for the past. For the glory days, when those who wrote music actually appreciated more than just the money. When musicians actually loved the music, not the air time, nor the crowds of fans that demanded their autographs. Bands that created music because that was their gift in this world, and their one true Love.

Now I can't go anywhere without hearing talk from kids my age about some man named Lil' Wayne that I honestly couldn't care about. It's either that or hear a band of generic, cookie-cutter proportions wailing about the same pains and suffering that I have heard so much about during my years of adolescence. I observe to friends casually more than often, "This band; they have no depth. They play the same chords over again. They can't write to save their lives." and the typical response I am given is, "What, and you prefer your screaming shit?"

A devoted metal fan I was when I was in high school. But as the years of adolescence passed by me, so did my love for bands like Slayer and Metallica. Now bands like the aforementioned King Crimson and Porcupine Tree fill up my ipod, as well as the bands that made a difference in the 90's; Nine Inch Nails and Tool in particular. I have seen many bands and heard many sounds, and I've found that the greatest bands are the ones that started this musical evolution.

Let's dig deeper, shall we?

Even rap, a musical genre I detest for the most part, had a great amount of real, honest artists back in the early days, when rap was hardly a force to be reckoned with as it is now. 2Pac Shakur and Biggie Smalls are, of course, well known by everyone as the big icons of the old days. But what about men sucha s Dr. Dre, or men like Nas? Two who took the formula that 2Pac and Biggie started and ran with it. Even a man like DMX at one point had the artistic vision of rap and hip-hop planted firmly in his heart. These men formed the genre, but like all great things, rap/hip-hop was corrupted when the art of music-making became a business.

Whenever an art becomes a business, a little bit of the glory and joy of creation is lost. This is due mostly to worries such as, "How can we make money off of this?" Sadly enough, this question is one of the many reasons that Rap and hip-hop has lost its luster today. Men like Lil' Wayne and 50 Cent have no real desire to speak about the struggles that men must overcome in society, which was something that 2Pac focused on greatly. Rap has become the radio hit of my generation, causing everyone to tip their caps to the side, and walk around with a manly strut. Lots of shiny jewelry, guns on the hips, blah blah blah.

Sadly, rap and hip-hop weren't the only musical genres to be infected with crappy taste and lack of creativity. Rock has now lost its luster as well, due to bands like Fallout Boy, Yellow Car, Bullet for My Valentine,  Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, and...well, good God, there's a lot of them. Rock is the same thing on the radio now; verse, chorus, verse, chorus, short bridge, chorus and then BAM! The End.

Musical Taste has degraded over the decades. Why? Where has the love for music gone? Even Slayer, whom I once toted as one of the all-time metal greats, has stumbled on recent albums. Why is it that no one cares about the love of the pure, unadulterated flow of creativity that ran through bands like Yes and King Crimson and Porcupine Tree? Or even bands like Black Sabbath, a band known for the hit "Paranoid" which has been embraced by many; even they put out songs like "Laguna Sunrise."

Alas, I long for a band to come along that will blow my mind the the oldies do. But as it would seem, if history has been any indication, musical change will be a turn for the worse, and I can't even start to imagine what the next generation of kids will be listening to...

In conclusion, I beg all those who still love music for its creativity and its pureness in sound NOT to conform to cultural tastes of music, which focuses on what is on the radio today. I beg all of you to explore deep, deep, DEEP within yourselves for new sounds. Don't just look at the new hip-hop stuff today; go back to Dre and 2Pac and Nas. Do not just look at one genre of rock; look at several: Grindcore, Alternative, Metal. Take a deep listen to Jazz.

And for God's sake, do not turn on the radio, unless you go to a station that plays nothing but classics. This is my advice to you; it is up to you to aid in bringing back the passion of music to a modern time where the love is gone and replaced with mindless-self-indulgence (pun intended).