To Sir (Geldof) With Love

I'm definitely not missing being at the circus that is SXSW this week. Like others, I contend that it's largely a waste of time (and I've lived the fantasy/nightmare enough for several lifetimes, thank you very much). But based on this report, I am bummed to have missed Sir Bob Geldof's keynote speech, in which he apparently echoed what I've been lamenting for a long, long time: that nobody is saying anything worth hearing, and that there's a distinct lack of, as he puts it, "disgust" in the proceedings of this thing we call popular music. Here's a choice quote (bolding is mine):

“What’s music got to say about it? I don’t hear it. Maybe I can’t hear it. Maybe this hyper democracy of the Web simply gives an illusion of talent. You can download a studio. Download any instrument. You can pick up any instrument for nothing. You can make, cut and paste to create fab artwork to make your CD. Everybody has got the means to say anything they want, but nobody has anything to say. We need to talk about it."

Glad to see that I'm not alone in my concern and my desire to hear someone shake things up. And again, I ask that if you know of an artist that's "disgusted" (as defined above), please let me know. I'd love to hear them. ~ Tim