I was reasonably excited to hear they put out a new album a year or so ago and then I heard that first song they released off of it -- the one whose video featured Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) -- and it sounded to me like a slightly rawer (forgive me) Backstreet*Sync-Town song. I was very disappointed

Well, that whole thing goes to show what kind of state we are in in rock today. It was a smart move, frankly. No. 4 (the album with "Sour Girl", which is the song you're talking about), was actually a lot harder than the two albums preceeding it. That album rocked hard. They;ve always had ballads too, though, and because they had that song on there, the album sold.

Just take the fact that the album actually came out TWO years ago. Then take into account that they've released another album since then. There wasn't any big hit on that album (except "Days of the Week", the weakest song on the record), so nobody bought it and MTV didn't play it. Too bad.

So yes, STP is definitely proof that rock isn't dead. They can still get an audience, and people still listen to them. Good rock and roll is alive!