The Rundown: Music I Miss

I rip on current music a lot around here. Maybe that makes me a grumpy old man or maybe that makes me a rock snob who has a taste for music that is better than shiny beats and meaningless lyrics.

Whatever it makes me, I got thinking today about artists and bands that I miss; musicians that would, in my opinion, have kept me from becoming so disinterested in what is on the radio today. Not that there aren't some things I still like, but if I hear Lady Gaga one more time, I might just cut my ears off.

Since it's Wednesday, you know what that means.

Top Five Musical Acts I Miss

5. Boogie Down Productions / KRS-One
One of the first intellectual rappers that I ever got into was KRS-One. Amidst all the dance rap on Rap Traxx 1 and 2 was "My Philosophy" by BDP, a totally different cut from everything else on the cassette and I latched on. KRS went solo after DJ Scott LaRock was murdered and did some good things for a while, but then he got flashy with I Got Next and has disappeared since.

4. Rage Against the Machine
Part of me is mad at myself for being so deeply into hip hop that I listened to almost nothing else during the high school years because I kind of missed Rage during their rise. Thankfully, I caught on later and fell in love, only to have them disband. While they have reformed at various stages, it never lasts long and that sucks, because we could really use a band like Rage today.

3. A Tribe Called Quest
Q-Tip is still around and The Renaissance was cool and all, but Tribe was arguably the best unit out there for some time and I miss that. Tip and Phife Dog played off each other perfectly and Ali Shaheed Muhammed was a drastically under appreciated DJ and producer. Midnight Marauders and Low End Theory are two of the best hip hop albums ever and I wish there were dozens more that followed.

2. Sublime
Every so often, I toss the Sublime Greatest Hits into the CD player and just chill. It reminds me of university and hanging out on the patios of Waterloo with the boys, good times that I enjoy reminiscing over. Then I remember that Bradley Nowell didn't have to die and Sublime could have kept putting out killer ska for years and years and I turn it off because I'm sad.

1. Blind Melon
I don't even really want to get into it more than saying these guys were my favorite band when lead singer Shannon Hoon OD'ed. While most people remember them as the guys who did that song with the bee girl in the video, they were so much more than "No Rain" and their greatest hits is on regular rotation in my office.