ez wrote:
The trouble is not with the different forms of it. It is rather that the music is not sincere, for lack of a better term, some bands use the term blues (very) loosely sometimes.
The trouble with
that is that sincerity is equally difficult to pin down. I mean, on paper John Mayer comes across as an SRV clone, but when you see him play there's no doubt that he's giving it real horns, and that he's a distinctive player in his own right.
Dan Patlansky is an interesting example here. I went and saw him last year and bought his album at Tanz cafe. Yet, watching him play was so much more powerful and exciting (and not just as a guitarist) than actually listening to the album afterward. Listening to it now, it sounds very SRV-clone-ish, but I don't think you could say it lacks sincerity. The guy plays and sings the hell out of his songs.
And ironically, when musicians try to take things in different directions, they're castigated for not being "pure" enough. If "pure" means staying true to the old tried and trusted forms, there's not much room for innovation.
