You Got Me.

Alright. I wasn't even going to do a post about this but...

Everyone from Gawker to stereogum are blogging furiously about Thursday's rather shocking announcement that the Roots are going to retire (Forever? Forever ever? The band is staying mum for now.) from touring to be the house band for Jimmy Fallon when he takes over Conan's seat in 2009. The news was broken via a video interview (that has since been pulled, as well as the okayplayer update about the band's decision) during the Philly outfit's Chicago pit stop last week. And while everyone who has access to the internets has been commenting about this blow to the live music scene, what naysayers, haters, Debbie Downers and trick ass marks forget is this:

The Roots tour non fucking stop. Almost 350 days a year or something outrageous like that. I saw them twice in a two and a half week span. That's nuts. Sure, they love playing live and love playing music with each other, even after twenty years. But guess what? Touring blows. Hard. And these are grown ass men. With families, significant others, friends, homes, side projects and real lives (longtime bassist Hub left the group last year to pursue a film scoring career and to spend more time with his family). They have been on the grind for two decades now, and are just starting to get the mainstream respect they deserve. So they want a steady gig, a place to hang their ridiculously talented hats. So what. So fucking what. Who cares that Jimmy Fallon is a dick cheese? I don't. Good for them. Seriously and completely. Not only will this make me want to watch late night TV again, but it will raise the house band bar (also, I do want to see Fallon trade riffs with ?uestlove. He's no La Bamba.). If they had the chance to do a Celine Dion style Vegas run I would hope they would take it too. These dudes deserve all the opportunities in the world. They deserve stability and financial security. The right to do something different. And hello, they said retire from touring, not retire from music making. So quit hating. Musicians are real people. They're not your friends. You can be sad about their choices, but you have no right to be angry. They aren't promoting child molestation or anything. So shut up.

And for those of you who haven't had the honor and privilege of seeing this legendary group live, that's your own fault. You blew it. Kill yourself now, because live music does not get any better. You had your chance. In fact, you had plenty of them. I've seen them 19 times and I'm only 22.

Besides, musicians change their minds all the time. And if you're that bummed, fly to fucking Europe and be one of the lucky few at their last tour.

The Roots To Be Jimmy Fallon's Band; We Are Old And Sad [Gawker]