Talkin' Shit About A Pretty Sunset

About 1/10,000th of the bands out there have the perfect magical mix of what I call the Passion/Talent/Skill (PTS) index. Let me explain. Take any band. What percentage would you give that band on passion? On talent, or skill? The perfect mix of these three will help you explain why they do or do not suck.

But before I begin, let's define our terms.

Passion: This one is obvious. It's not something that can be defined. It's like pornography: you know it when you see it.

Talent: This I define as something innate that defies explanation, that gives you that ability to put together combinations of melodies or chords in order to create something that inspires awe in observers. Please note that this is VERY different from skill.

Skill: This comes from hours and hours of practice. Hours of it. Years and years of playing chords and scales over and over and being able to do anything that anyone could do with a particular instrument. Again, nothing to do with talent.

To explain, I'll go through several bands, bands that Suck Nuts (SN), and bands that Everyone Loves (EL). Remember, my index is Passion/Talent/Skill (PTS).

• Everyone Loves: White Stripes: P: 92%; T: 94%; S: 65%

• Sucks Nuts: Dave Matthew's Band: P: 21%; T: 42%; S: 88%

• EL: The Beatles: P: 96%; T: 98%; S: 93%

• SN: Limp Bizkit: P: 68%; T: 7%; S: 19%

• EL: Sex Pistols: P: 98%; T: 27%; S: 2%

• SN: The Rembrants (they sing the Friends theme song): P: 2%; T: 6%; S: 18%

Some great bands only need a high score on one part of the index. Some need two. Weakness in all three is a sure loser. Sometimes, strength in one part might not guarantee that you'll be good.

Not sure if you're following my line of reasoning but I know what mean.