Yawn or Grrr

Can I just say how bored I am with music lately?

There hasn't been much to be excited about, whether on the radio, on TV, or elsewhere. Even some of my favorite artists have disappointed me with recent lackluster CD's (Joseph Arthur and Doves, I'm looking in your direction). I don't know what it is, but for some reason I am very indifferent towards the music scene in general right now. Let's take a look at a few items of note:

Sheryl Crow - When did you become a boring adult contemporary artist? Oh, that's right, with that awful cover of "The First Cut is the Deepest" (fine song, bad version).

Fiona Apple - OK, you're finally back, but why do I not care? Oh, that's because everyone is talking about the process of making the album and no one seems to care about the, you know, music.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Good band, could use more publicity, so you release a CD called "Howl" that's just mellow, zone-out duds? Your best, most popular songs are anthemic rockers like "We're All In Love" and "Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll?" Way to play to your strengths, guys.

Kanye West - Loved "Gold Digger"...the first 10,000 times I heard it.

Moby - Get over yourself. Your best songs don't involve you singing, yet your latest CD, "Hotel," features your voice almost exclusively. You're a DJ, not a singer.

Nas - Where did you go? I loved "Bridging the Gap" so much I bought it from iTunes. But how could you release a massive CD like "Street's Disciple" and then barely market it? Did your label not support it?

(Side note: I like how I'm asking all these artists questions as if they're going to answer me. As if tomorrow my phone will ring and Fiona Apple will be like, "Don? It's Fiona. I so know what you mean. Why can't people just focus on the music. Sometimes I think you're the only person that gets me.")

Speaking of where-did-you-go artists, where's Nelly Furtado? Air? Zero 7?

There have been some recent bright spots. The new CD's from The Dandy Warhols and The White Stripes are pretty good, if not great. Plus, this summer I got to see Ben Lee, Ben Folds and Rufus Wainright all perform together and they're all still doing good work. And I'm looking forward to picking up the new Franz Ferdinand. And anyone who lives in Illinois but hasn't heard Sufjan Stevens' "Illinoise" is missing out.

But that's about it. Earlier I said I was "indifferent" about the music scene, but I think I'm actually kind of angry about the lack of new, exciting work out there.

I don't know anymore. Does anyone else feel this way?