At one point or another, everyone can feel the splendor of mp3.com Nothing is better than coming here to express their absolute joy or disdain for certain types of music, certain types of artists, certain types of people. Some of us, or maybe just me, sometimes find them perusing the site in the wee hours of the night just looking for that person to disagree with (for me it is all those people who worship U2, they're just a band).

All in one place, people can join in the discussion of the music that drives the world. A person can make a million friends and a million enemies with just one post. It is a gift to all the people who love to talk about the fuel of their lives....great music.

So mp3.com, I salute you for being a haven for all hopeless music lovers!

This is my blog tribute to Tom Morello, lead guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. Tom has become one of the best known figures in rock music for his amazing ability to manipulate a guitar, as well as for his strong political agenda. However, it comes with great pain for me to hear about hoe Tom has "sold out," the term most often used when disillusioned teens stop liking a certain band's new stylr of music. I'm not here to defend Tom Morello, my way with words are much more limited than his (he has a degree in political science from Harvard, which is a greater education than many of his political critics will ever have). So, Tom, the fans, the doubters, and the ones who aren't familiar with his work....this is my tribute to some of the great political quotes from one Tom Morello.

"A good song should make you wanna tap your foot and get with your girl. A great song should destroy cops and set fire to the suburbs. I'm only interested in writing great songs."

"We figured that since they weren't busy serving and protecting the community, which our tax dollars pay for, then they should at least be well fed. So we sent them 300 Krispy Kreme donuts." - Tom Morello, on the 300 off-duty police officers that protested their show in Worcester, MA on November 30, 1999.

I am enormously proud to be an American. I would say that the things our corporate-controlled government has done at best are shameful, and at worst, genocidal. But there's an incredible and a permanent culture of resistance in this country that I'm very proud to be a part of. It's not the tradition of slave-owning founding fathers. It's the tradition of the Frederick Douglasses, the Underground Railroads, the Chief Josephs, the Joe Hills, and the Huey P. Newtons. There's so much that's hidden from you. The incredible courage and bravery of the union organizers in the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds: that's amazing. People often get tricked into going overseas and fighting Uncle Sam's Wall Street wars, but these are people who knew what they were fighting for here at home. I think that that's so much more courageous and brave.

Somebody please let me know when crappy music took over. I don't believe I got the memo. The only thing that plays a larger role in my life than music, is sports. All of a sudden, I turn on a football game or a baseball game, and there is country music EVERYWHERE. The Super Bowl halftime show is Timberlake and Janet Jackson. The Orange Bowl sees Ashlee Simpson get booed off stage. This is the sport of football my friends. Football represents hard hits, aggression, anger, not some girl on stage singing "you make me wanna la la." It pains me to have to change the channel during halftime, but at least i have that luxury.

I don't want much. Just the director of musicology for the sports world to take a look at what is going on. Maybe some AC/DC, maybe some LP, maybe Skindred....I don't care. I understand throwing some jailbait on stage would be great for 60,000 male fans. but, Ashlee makes most men throw up in their mouths a little bit anyway.

Praise the lord/buddha/shiva/whatever for the Girls Gone Wild halftime show.

Just kidding ladies.

Is anyone else concerned with the direction rock music is taking? New groups such as Future Leaders of the World, Crossfade, 10 Years, etc. are the new rock and roll groups. Mainstream rock seems to be losing all originality, it loses catchy vocals and solid riffs. Rather, screaming has become the focal point for many of the new groups, cropping up all over the radio waves. Inventice groups like Faith No More, RHCP, Incubus, etc. are becoming less frequent. New groups like Coldplay, Snow Patrol, and Secret Machines are now trying to break away from the path. But, I can no longer say I am a fan of rock. This comes with a heavy heart, and with many enemies. As this is only my opinion, I expect many, many people to disagree. All I want to know is if this concerns any others.