You've been warned, Bands

My favorite bands are sorta letting me down.

In the past few weeks I've finally gotten around to picking up copies of the most recent releases by some of my most cherished musical groups.

I've been less than impressed.

This particularly means you, My Morning Jacket, and you, Kings of Leon.

WTF, fellas?

In MMJs defense, I'll probably come around to that one after a handful of listens. It just wasn't quite what I was expecting.

But you, KoL, you .... I'm speechless.

Where'd the rock go?

This new one reminds me of how I felt when the last Wilco record came out, an effort critics charitably referred to as "sun-dappled folk rock" and more accurately characterized as "dad rock."

Sure there were some good tracks on it, but none worthy of the 5-star itunes rating I hold so dear.

Kings of Leon - your last couple of records were chock full of 4 and 5 star ratings. I agree, this is an inherently subjective metric, fully dependent upon my own whims at any given moment, but still.

So, as a general message to all the bands I like: Please stop sucking so much. I'm getting old and even less hip than ever before, so it is hard for me to find new groups to dig when the old groups settle into their sonic equivalent of middle-aged paunch.

Please?

On other news, there are a TON of good shows coming up in town over the next several weeks. Maybe I'll find something there. You've been warned, Followill brothers.