What do Billy Joel, Green Day, Kenny Chesney, Alicia Keys, Elton John, Journey, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Willie Nelson, Linkin Park, John Mayer, and Rascal Flatts have in common?

1. They are all musicians who are doing big album sales and downloads right now.

2. They are all excellent performers.

3. Everyone writes (wrote) and sings GOOD SONGS with musically strong melodies and chords, strong lyrics, and memorable hooks (choruses). If they are not writing all their own songs, they are paying good songwriters to provide them.

Good composition is a craft and an art that requires special skills and knowledge learned through study, experience, failure, and success. The best songwriters often spend years honing their skills, although some seem to have a knack for it.

The problem (as I see it) is that a lot of people are writing songs for their bands or for themselves that are just not good. Writing uninteresting melodies and silly lyrics is all the rage right now, and has been for several years. I think the reason for this is that today’s teens (record buyers), in general, have become as satisfied, if not more, with bad music as they are with good. I’m not saying that today’s teenagers are dumb, but rather that they are easily satisfied with mediocre music.

Sure, good songs are being written and recorded, but too many bands and record artists are getting by with a lot of smoke, hiss, and too little substance. I give Disney credit for keeping good songs in front of kids. Too many of those young singers coming off the Disney Channel don’t meet the standards, but the songs they sing are usually written by Disney’s great team of songwriters. (And modern recording techniques can make even a terrible singer sound like a star)

But things are changing. Check your CD stacks and music downloads and you’ll find bands like Journey, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, and the Stones are back on top. Boy bands like N’Sync and Backstreet Boyz are regaining popularity. Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, John Mayer, Elton John, the Beetles, Tony Bennett and Barbara Streisand enjoy continued support from fans.

Why is this happening? I think young people miss hearing really good songs. Their need for this has not been satisfied for a long time, and they are beginning to show their dissatisfaction with their purchases.

Think about this. Agree or disagree, but think about it.