Who hates Britteny Spears???

I think MTV was the ultimate demise of rock. Became all about the image than the music. Even though rock suffered from the image of glam and disco in the 70s, MTV ruined it all. Vidoes had to be short and glamorous. A band like Pink Floyd who had 45 minute albums with five songs could never be appreciated these days. You definitely have to go underground these days.

The indie scene is OK, but a movement that goes highly unnoticed is the jam-band scene. It's pretty much the offspring of late 60s and early 70s rock- Hendrix, Clapton, Traffic, Neil Young, Allmans. I think it is too closely associated with The Grateful Dead, which gives it a bad rap to some. But, there are a number of good bands that infuse so many different styles of music but it has that late 60s mentality of purity in music and saying "f*ck the mainstream." But, I think the heart of it is that late 60s/early 70s rock. The thing is you have to appreciate long jams and long guitar/keyboard solos, which can be awesome if you appreciate musical talent. But, the solos aren't there just to show off but to improvise to find good grooves and thematic jams and build climaxes and stuff. There are a growing number of jam bands out there which are even techno-y like The Disco Biscuits, Particle, and the Addison Groove Project. I got kind of sick of this movement listening to nothing but Phish all the time, among other stuff. But, it's pure.

Wait, back to Britney Spears. I do hate her. I think she is trashy and a slut but to some extent I feel she is a victim of growing up in the L.A. music scene, being pressed to dress provocatively and act like a slut.

She is originally from Louisiana and I guarantee if she didn't have the talent, she would have ended up going to LSU, Louisiana-Lafayette or some other southern state school, becoming a sorority girl (probably on the slutty side but nothing terrible), and have been pretty normal. I've seen stuff on E! where they interview her friends from Louisiana, and they all fit that southern sorority stereotype. So, I have a tiny bit of sympathy because I do think she has been somewhat victimized but I think she is also an easily impressionable person. So, had she stayed in Louisiana she probably would have ended up like the rest of her friends.

She is pretty dumb, but she probably never even got past her junior of high school since that was when she was getting famous. So, she has probably never been pushed mentally like others have. My grandmother grew up during the Great Depression and had to start working and never made it past 9th grade. She was so clueless about science, math, literature, history (before she was alive) that we could just make stuff up and she would believe it. But, she was also very wise through years of life. She must have had a smart gene in her because my dad was valedictorian of his high school and went off to enjoy many other academic successes.

I don't think she's very hot and yes, her body isn't all it is cracked up to be.

As for the Republican thing, being from the Southeast, I know a ton of dumb girls who say they are Republican and have no reason why. I think a lot of people from small towns in the South and Midwest just grow up republican but don't really know why. Just like a lot of people in heavily urban areas, California, and the Northeast are democrats and don't know why. But, the fact she would even discuss politics is stupid.

But, yes, I think she sucks.

I don't think Christina Aguilera has hair. Once you take off those wigs she's like Charlie Brown.

SNL has really struggled since Will Ferrell left, which was also when Oteri, Shannon, and Gasteyer left. Then Tracy Morgan left which was the nail in the coffin.

The only thing that's funny anymore are skits with Darrel Hammond impressions. But, I'm getting sick of him- he's been on there since the 95-96 season. They can't come up with good original characters anymore that get regular airplay.

I think if you can get one guy and girl who can really lead the others like a Ferrell and a Shannon, it can energize the rest of the crowd. I see potential in this new guy, Rob Riggle, who is brand new this season. He's got a good voice and good delivery and could end up being Ferrell-esque if he gets the chance.

Narco, you see so many breasts just walking down the street from other people giving away beads, there's no need to even give out beads for breast shots, or even to put up with carrying beads for that matter.

I got a couple of friends from Baton Rouge as well. I think they both went to private school there but neither is very southern. I'm sure it was probably tough being the Northern guy early on in high school. First couple years of high school, seems like everybody wes trying to be cool and make a good impression with the upperclassmen. By senior year, no one really gave a sh*t anymore and things got more inclusive, at least at my high school.

I grew up in a town with about 200,000 people and a metropolitan area close to 500,000. I disagree with you, Ziggs, in saying these towns have no character. There is plenty of character and pride in these towns. Ninnu, your question, "what is wrong with small towns?", is kind of vague but I think I know what you are getting at. As opposed to Europe, the U.S. is frickin' huge in land mass. With the exception of the Mid-east/Northeast and Western California, there is so much space between big cities that they are all very different from one another- dialects, customs, everything. So, people from the North are always making fun of people from the South and vice versa. People from big cities are making fun of people from small towns for being ******** and misinformed.

People from small towns, especially in less densely popualated states, are generally not as connected with the rest of the country. they are more isolated and less cultured.

But, to answer your question, I don't think there is anything wrong with small towns. They are just different. When you get outsiders and big wigs from the city coming into these towns, they are kind of culture-shocked, and look down upon it.