False Idol
Well, American Idol has been on for a few years now and it still boggles my mind that people are so excited about this show. It may be a clever amalgamation of reality TV and a game show. Some of the singers may actually be talented people. Having said this I wonder how many of my favorite singers would actually even make it on the show, let alone win the competition! I mean I do listen to some pretty obscure stuff, but I do count some pretty Iconic people amongst my personal favorites.
Can you imagine a young David Bowie on American Idol? There are few people who even come close to being as prolific or respected in the music industry. He has got one of the most distinctive voices in popular music! I can’t picture him or anyone even close to him appearing on “Idol”. So if that’s the case, what’s the point of it? Some of the best singers in music history have voices that just won’t do the acrobatic tricks that most of the contestants on American Idol trill out like well coiffed poodles jumping through hoops!
When I think about popular singers in general even ones I don’t particularly like, few of them are American Idol material. Freddie Mercury of Queen perhaps, if he would have been willing to submit to some creative dentistry and severely tone down the “gay thing”. I mean we all seemed to like him just fine the way he was and to this day I am in awe of his voice, but that’s just not going to fly these days! I get visions of Simon, telling Freddy to lose the bright yellow suit, giving him tips like “be less flamboyant” and so on!
I think this is all an indication of the contrived nature of popular music these days. No wonder the kids aren’t paying for this stuff! Fake tits, fake talent, audio plastic, 100% creativity free! Every other song is a remake. I don’t blame the artists, why put your heart and soul into a piece of music that, if things go well, could be a really annoying ringtone! And shows like American Idol present this type of music as the paragon of popular music. It’s sad but there is an upside. I saw it at the skate park as I cycled by the other day. No less than five kids all wearing Pink Floyd T shirts!
I guess the point is this. Are Shows like “Idol” an indication that something is wrong with people in general. Is the popularity of the show a harbinger of doom for a music industry that is pretty much on life support as it is? Should more of us be seeking out new independent artists who still have the courage to at least attempt to make a living by writing honest songs and presenting them in an honest way? I have thought about this quite a bit, and if there’s a bright future for music on the horizon, it’s the independent artists NOT the mainstream major labels that we need to pay attention to. When I was a kid we worshipped our idols, perhaps the time has come to start ignoring them!
Can you imagine a young David Bowie on American Idol? There are few people who even come close to being as prolific or respected in the music industry. He has got one of the most distinctive voices in popular music! I can’t picture him or anyone even close to him appearing on “Idol”. So if that’s the case, what’s the point of it? Some of the best singers in music history have voices that just won’t do the acrobatic tricks that most of the contestants on American Idol trill out like well coiffed poodles jumping through hoops!
When I think about popular singers in general even ones I don’t particularly like, few of them are American Idol material. Freddie Mercury of Queen perhaps, if he would have been willing to submit to some creative dentistry and severely tone down the “gay thing”. I mean we all seemed to like him just fine the way he was and to this day I am in awe of his voice, but that’s just not going to fly these days! I get visions of Simon, telling Freddy to lose the bright yellow suit, giving him tips like “be less flamboyant” and so on!
I think this is all an indication of the contrived nature of popular music these days. No wonder the kids aren’t paying for this stuff! Fake tits, fake talent, audio plastic, 100% creativity free! Every other song is a remake. I don’t blame the artists, why put your heart and soul into a piece of music that, if things go well, could be a really annoying ringtone! And shows like American Idol present this type of music as the paragon of popular music. It’s sad but there is an upside. I saw it at the skate park as I cycled by the other day. No less than five kids all wearing Pink Floyd T shirts!
I guess the point is this. Are Shows like “Idol” an indication that something is wrong with people in general. Is the popularity of the show a harbinger of doom for a music industry that is pretty much on life support as it is? Should more of us be seeking out new independent artists who still have the courage to at least attempt to make a living by writing honest songs and presenting them in an honest way? I have thought about this quite a bit, and if there’s a bright future for music on the horizon, it’s the independent artists NOT the mainstream major labels that we need to pay attention to. When I was a kid we worshipped our idols, perhaps the time has come to start ignoring them!
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