Kevin's Watch

My feelings on Jackson and Timberlake are that they have only proven that they are marginally talented at best. Hence, that is why they must use shock value to get any attention.

This whole teeny-bopper scene nowadays is just trashy. Britney, Timberlake, and the starter of it all Madonna have hit rock bottom in my opinion. What happened to music? Where has musical talent gone? Possibly down the toilet! Talent (real talent) has been replaced by shock values (this is why Madonna, Britney, Manson, and a lot of "Gangster" Rappers have careers).

Its not the "music" its the "freak show" and/or the violence which sells. It's easier to get attention by being a controversial freak than it is to actually produce good music. The music is just a backdrop for the freak show. I doubt that Madonna, Timberlake, or Britney even write their own music. They don't have to because it's not about the "music" anyway. At least original shockers like Alice Cooper and KISS did write most of their own material, and while they weren't probably the greatest of musicians they at least played their own music and instruments.

Why spend the time learning to play an instrument and/or write your own music when you can just be a freak and constantly shock and shake people up? The music industry nowadays is a mega-business that thrives not so much on actual talent than it does on mass commerciality and controversy.

Just my opinion, but the music industry used to be run by fans of music. Now it is run by corporate execs who know absolutely nothing about music--except only the bottom line (money).

Sex sells, violence sells, controversy sells . . . but what about music?

Another questions is: Who's to blame? The so-called artists, the music industry, or is it our own society at large that sometimes expects and demands these things as entertainment? Heavy questions that as Arsenio Hall used to say are "Things that make you go hmm ..."
I don't have the answers . . .

I believe Madonna at least co-writes most of her songs, and I don't really have anything against her, but on most of your points I agree.

I don't hold anything against corporate types for peddling whatever sells - after all, it is a business and they're in it to make money. I think the source of the "shock" problem is the fact that a large portion of the public lap that stuff up, regardless of the music itself. I was originally going to postulate a hypothesis as to why that might be, until I realised I can't come up with one. It's just a self-perpetuating voyeuristic society. Everyone watches the acts that are shocking, and the more they watch, the more of it they are sold. As I said, I don't hold anything against the record companies or other corporate entities - they are simply making use of an viable market - but rather the herd (or even clique ) mentality, the need to belong to something larger than themselves, the need to be accepted, and the desperate comsumption of anything that will make their dull world slightly less so...experiencing vicariously the unusual lives of the people on the screen.

Did I sound like Zeph there?

You know, it's very funny when I realize that the only new artists I would even consider buying are Clay Aiken, Ruben Stoddard and Kelly Clarkson from American Idol. Maybe it's because I keep wondering how Timberlake and Jackson would have fared against Simom Cowel......

I actually saw this Timberlake kid for the first time on tv last night. Can he buy a drink yet? He's kinda cute in a creepy baby brother kinda way. Sheeeez....

I've had it with the entire pop music scene. All of it. Phooey on the recording industry in it's entirety. Justin, Britney, Snoop, Linkin Park, Christina Aguilera, and on and on and on and not enough talent in the whole place to fill a tea cup!

I won't listen to the radio anymore, period. Unless it's NPR, or the college stations.....they have good stuff sometimes.

I'm just going to hole up with my Floyd and my other good stuff that I know of already, and stop hoping for anything good from a major label for, oh, twenty years or so, and maybe by then people will be making MUSIC again....


Oh, and I finally saw the Superbowl thing. Bleh.....uh oh, a boobie. That wasn't what got me. What grossed me out was that kid dancing like that with JJ, who looked old enough to be his grandmother!

I find myself agreeing with all of Foul's points. Of course there isn't an artist he mentioned that I can say I've intentionally spent time listening to their work. They all provide the background music to soft drink and fast food commercials. I spent my high school years listening to The Ramones, The Clash and The Sex Pistols. There are no musical giants in my cabal of bands but they appeal to me. (I guess The Pistols were shocking in their day.) My way of dealing with today's pop music is to ignore it. I don't even have a problem with the super bowl half time show. All I ask it that you tell me in advance so I can turn off my television.

Geeze Foul u sound like an old geezer! From what I hear Madonna does write some of her own music-she's trashy but it was class trash compared to J & J--if they'r supposed to be such good dancers why couldn't they even bump & grind correctly? They looked like to Mac trucks going to different diners. Too worried about what they were going to do later? Where Madonna's concerned I place an emphasis on the WAS--that jazz stopped selling 8 years ago. And to think poor Milli Vanalli were run out of the music business for lip-synching--now it seems Brit-New Kidz-98 degrees-J. Lo all of them are doing it--they're all trash and no class what so ever and I actually hoped Janet was above that-but it's funny what depths u'll sink to when ur last two albums don't sell. At least Mariah Carey can sing and so can, from what I hear, Aquileria, even if she is uglier than Paris Hilton.

But about the Superbowl in general--Kid Rock has no talent-, P. Diddy has no talent and like Janet is passe--no one invited Timberlake-Aerosmith are over the hill and Willie (I'll do anything to pay my taxes) Nelson looked like he either going to throw up or kill Toby (the ultrapatriot-Bush butt kisser) Keith. Who ever allowed such terrible talent there period deserves exactly what they get---If it's an reflection of the state of American culture---then American culture is on it's deathbed. Don't worry we're more diverse than that!

danlo wrote:

Don't worry we're more diverse than that!

Yeah, maybe. But if God judges America by what's on tv, we're all gonna burn in hell.