I knew there were lots of other bands out there that I wasn’t familiar with, but in terms of “real” bands – bands with records and gigs and stuff – I was pretty much up to speed. Now, even though I listen to arguably more music than ever before, I feel like there’s no way to keep up.   

But wait, this isn’t one of those “there are too many bands” whines.  There were too many bands back in the 70s, when CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City would have multiple groups every night and most of them would not amount to anything.  The difference is that each of those bands had a chance to work out their material and find their own voice (figuratively and literally) by playing out in dive bars in front of small groups of people.  Some would rise, others fall; and the ones that rose to the level of your attention were often worth paying attention to.  Today, the blogosphere seizes on new music so quickly that very often you’re reading about bands that just formed and haven’t even had a proper tour yet.  We don’t give these musicians a chance to develop – they either emerge fully-formed from their garages and bedrooms or we’re on to the next thing.

So yeah, there are too many bands to follow.  That’s not the same thing as saying there are too many bands.