All I heard on the streets of Seattle this summer was how great the Bumbershoot lineup looked and that this was one of the best years in recent memory. While 2014 marked only my second year at the music and arts festival that takes over Seattle Center on Labor Day weekend, when I compared this year’s lineup to last year’s impressive collection of artists, I couldn’t help but shake my head sadly.

In 1996 Nada Surf was on top of the world.  Their hit single, "Popular" was an anthem for depressed high school students.  The song served as a painstaking guide book to teenage popularity.  They had a major label record contract and were destined for greatness.  Fast-forward 9 years and the mainstream music scene had basically written them off.  They were a one hit wonder.  With four albums to their name, Nada Surf released "The Weight is a Gift" at the end of 2005 on Barsuk Records.  The album serves as a beacon of