John Popper gives me the wrong kind of blues.

John Popper of Blues Traveler fame is often called a virtuoso harmonica player. Sure, the guy can play his harps the way other dudes play guitars, but the deep wah and piercing scream he seems constrained to lack the most essential element of all good music (especially music coming from a band with "Blues" in its name): Soul.

I found my old Blues Traveler collection recently, and listened through it. Each member is individually a fine musician—as far as bass players, Bobby Sheehan was probably among the best (he died in 1999), and Popper has a great voice and mad harmonica skills. Taken together, however, their undeniable talent becomes a wash of competing sound.

Not that any of them (besides Popper) is particularly a prima donna. In the jam band tradition, they're almost impossibly tight, even at their most chaotic. But I say it again: the music lacks Soul.

As does most modern music. I've been in love with rock'n'roll most of my life, but it's sad to think how little truly fantastic rock music exists. And if we explore the lesser non-blues based genres like pop, modern country, techno, etc., the prospect is even more bleak. Many of the musicians are very good, but they have no connection to the feeling music can generate, or ought to generate.

Which is odd, since so much modern music seems entirely based on mere emotion. It's designed to evoke a mood more than to communicate anything significant, yet the mood generally produced when I listen to bands like Blues Traveler is simple boredom. Despite the chops, there's nothing to sink my teeth into. It's bland and tasteless, not because there's no flavor, but because there's too much flavor.

To cleanse my palate, I listened to some Woody Guthrie. Just an old dry-wind voice and his "This Machine Kills Fascists" guitar. He's not particularly "good" in the way most critics mean, but the man was clearly one of the greatest musicians of recent times. He had simplicity, mean guitar skills, an excellent lyric sensibility, and Soul. You can literally feel the emotion in his voice and songs, not because he's virtuosic, but because he means what he sings.

That's probably my biggest beef with Blues Traveler. There's no indication that Popper's rambling lyrics are backed by conviction, or that any of the players would stand behind their licks, fills, and solos in a court of law. It's either showboating, or it's intended to sell records; either way, it's un-emotional and not very good music. I'm ditching my collection.