[donsolo]

And here's the reason bands don't practice and don't become skilled.

In 1963, the Silvertone 1457L was first sold by the Sears Corporation out of their catalog for $67. This was a beginner guitar and amp in case.

Today, that would be $500 give or take.

In 1963, if you wanted a guitar, you had to mow a LOT of lawns, deliver a LOT of papers and flip a LOT of burgers to earn that guitar and you would be damned if that thing collected dust in your closet.

Now, for $100 you can get a Squier that is reasonably playable (subjective) and as a kid you have to work about a week to get one. Instant gratification. Mommy and daddy buy you one for christmas and they don't break your balls for not practicing because it was cheaper than your PS3.

But not taking the instrument seriously and not spending countless hours in your bedroom practicing isn't going to deter you from starting a band.

And bands get signed for many many reasons (Beyonce gets treated with melodyne heavily by the way, she can't sing THAT good, not compared to Aretha). Sometimes it's just a catchy song, sometimes it's a look, sometimes it's because everyone is 19 and have the attitude to sell a lot of records or whatever. It's rarely actually about the music.

So now you've got bands that got "good enough" to "make it" and they're influencing the whole next generation of musicians who will see the bar as being set that much lower. And they will in turn lower the bar for the generation after them.

The bar meaning a minimal amount of musical ability to create your own artistic statement.

Don't pull out Bob Dylan and his 3 chord songs. Those were well crafted, timeless songs. The guitar was an afterthought to those lyrics. He and Willie are rare cases.