Now, while this seems like it could be an open and shut argument-- after all, how can immediate access to an entire world’s worth of music, past and present—not be a good thing? It turns out not everyone agrees with the sudden rush of inspiration provided by the technological revolution. And there are just as many reasons to demonize the internet as there are to praise it.
Some find the ready accessibility of music to be a distraction. Aaron Zimmer, on the eve of releasing his melodic indy rock CD, “Live Wires”, says, “For me, to be inspired, I have to stay away from all of that. Internet, TV, text messages, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace--all of it. For me personally, that kind of connectivity works against being creative. I need real-life experiences or heartfelt introspection to get songs out.” Like the rest of us, Aaron leaves the digital music treasure trove for his personal pleasure. “I DO love finding obscure Pink Floyd videos, or old Layne Staley interviews or whatever. But to be inspired, I have to weed out the distractions and get really simple.”
That view point isn’t the minority. It seems that for every rocker who feels the internet is a boon to his writing, there’s another who’ll be quick to disagree. Kenneth Wilson (bassist) from Abigail’s Ghost argues, “The download culture is a double-edged sword. On one hand everything is easier to get and you can quickly find new music. On the other20hand, as quickly as you find new music you can dismiss it and move on to something else without giving it a second thought.
I think it does affect my writing as I'm constantly listening to new music and getting new inspiration at a much higher rate than normal, but I still spend time listening to music to really absorb it and the listening process ends up being about as slow as it always has been for me. I tend to be very insular with my vision for how I think my music should sound, but still try to be open-minded. It's a strange dichotomy, but I think a singular vision is important for making a good cohesive album's worth of music.”
Kerry Merkle of scuzz rockers John Wilkes Booth thinks that rather than inspiration, the internet can kill creativity. “I think t he younger generations have a great tool in the internet. The networking is just amazing. But on the down side I think many new bands kind of copy sounds instead of drawing inspiration and forging ahead with their own sound.” He even takes his thoughts one step further. “Another down side is that I don't listen to albums as much. I just play my tunes on shuffle all the time. I actually find it sad, but the album as a art form is kind of dead. Most people don't put an album on and listen beginning to end anymore and that kind of sucks.”
So where does this leave us? Inspiration has never been easier to find than it is today. You want to l earn the blues, google B.B. King. You want to see how to lay down some monster old school riffs, search YouTube for Judas Priest and you’ll get 28,500 video references. You missed the old school punk movement, The Dead Kennedys are now available on itunes, “Holiday in Cambodia,” “Kill the Poor,” or “Too Drunk to Fuck,” you choose. But creating music is still an intensely personal affair. Serious musicians of the past who really searched to find inspiration in new sounds or the underground were able to find it, no matter how random, haphazard or hard the search may have been. Today’s musicians have an easier job of hearing the music, but more work in filtering out the mountainous volumes of crap that the internet makes just as readily accessible as the good stuff.
So who has it better; yesterday’s musician or today’s? Will Broadbent, the drum-beating maniac from doom metallers Ogre sees both sides, “I can't really say that the availability of music on the 'web ha s had any direct influence on our songwriting. We're not a band that is really concerned with "new sounds," although there are many new-ish underground bands that we like. YouTube is an amazing thing. You can look up pretty much any band on there and get some cool results. But the ease and accessibility of finding/posting stuff on the internet has created a large influx of, shall we say, less than professional material. In other words, there's a l ot of crap to sift through out there.”
In the end, past or present, honest musicians who really care about their craft have always managed to find inspiration. Whether listening to hours to the babbling of a long-haired record store hippy or flashing a YouTube video on your iPhone. In the end, all that matters is that the music gets into the hands of those who listen, learn, and get inspired.
Catch more of his music reviews (and downloads) on Racer's music blog The Ripple Effect. Todd (Racer) is one of four former radio disc jockeys, rock and roll front men, musicians, and writers who love music and want to share it with the world.
Now, while this seems like it could be an open and shut argument-- after all, how can immediate access to an entire world’s worth of music, past and present—not be a good thing? It turns out not everyone agrees with the sudden rush of inspiration provided by the technological revolution. And there are just as many reasons to demonize the internet as there are to praise it. 
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