Okay, my mistake, I confused JJ Cale with Jim Kale. Duh.

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"But Higgins, I can explain."

I caught the concert on PBS as well. Wow, what a show. Those guys are great. Somehow, I just do not believe people will sit back 40 years after the fact and say, "Wow, that Snoop Dogg was a great artist" the way we appreciate people like Clapton and others from the 60s and 70s.

There's talent and then there's hype... (you can insrt many names from the 90s and 00s in place of Snoop. I have no particular beef with him).

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Who's Dot Matrix, and what has she got to do with this?

Regarding the state of modern music, I tend to agree with you Luther. As a whole, it's just not as good as the 60s/70s. So much of today's music seems to be formulaic and tired.

Having said that, there are many young artists of today that I admire, that have a boat load of talent - John Mayer, Alison Krauss, Beck, Jack White, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gipsy Kings, and others.

Modern Top 40, Modern Rock, and Hip Hop are biggest "head scratchers" for me. I just don't get any of it (except for a very short list of artists).

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Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

James J. Walters wrote:

Amen, brother! I'm more into Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. In fact, all I have on my MP3 Player is Josh Groban, and a couple of Sarah Brightman songs. (Nessun Dorma and Time to Say Goodbye.)

James and SL,

I agree with you 100%. New is not the problem. I like many of the new artists that have and use talent... e.g. Grobin, Brightman, Mayer, etc.

The 'headscratchers' that James alluded to are what gets me... no visible talent just a great deal of hype.

One question through, Red Hot Chili Peppers ?

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Who's Dot Matrix, and what has she got to do with this?

Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman are not really my "cup of tea", but I totally admire and respect them. I have heard a couple of Groban songs that I really like.

The Chilli Peppers are an acquired taste. If you are not into a fusion of pop, rock, funk, punk, and hip hop, you probably won't like them. Some of the lyrics from their earlier days left a lot to be desired. I was kind of indifferent to them for many years, until their last three albums when they started using more melodic sounds, textured guitars/bass, and these incredible, multi-layered vocals. I've never seen a band mature as much as these guys. John Frusciante is one of the most innovative and unique guitar players of all-time IMHO. Same goes for Flea on the bass.

But that's just me. I'm into a wide range of artists, in a wide range of genres (from classical, to jazz, to oldies, to classic rock, to prog rock, to R&B, to funk, to disco, to pop, to new wave, to metal, to alt. rock).

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Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

Yea, I understand that it's a taste thing. I was trying to give you some grief for the fun of it...

I agree the Peppers are a pretty good fusion act.

I don;t buy CDs from Groban, Bocelli, or Brightman but I appreciate their talent. I have bought some Mayer stuff and he kills on guitar. Very talented and very innovative.

How about Dave Matthews Band? They are quite funky and innovative also. I do not get into much of their stuff but I like some of it a great deal.

I think we need a new round of singer/song writers making some good clean music again similar to James Taylor, Carole King, CSN&Y and so on.

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Who's Dot Matrix, and what has she got to do with this?

My son made me a CD that includes The Chemical Brothers and Aqua...and I actually liked it! (He told me I would!)

I've been a fan of EC since his Yardbirds (and later, Cream) days. We may have everything he's ever recorded...need to check on that, sometimes music "goes missing" at our house. The first concert my son ever attended was as Clapton stadium show at the age of 4!

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Higgins: You've washed the car?! How extraordinary. Why would you do such a thing?