I’m just guessing based on this quote from the story on Cinematical.
Cowell says: “The story is told through the eyes of those 10 contestants. We want it to be the musical version of Rocky — an underdog story, a feel-good film. Fame was all about young people wanting to be famous, and in order to do that, they enrolled in a drama school. The difference 25 years later is that everyone who wants to be famous today signs up for American Idol.”
Jesus God, you mean Juliard, Berklee and every other decent university music program in the country has shut its doors because, with American Idol, people just don’t need school anymore?
Ok, maybe that’s going too far, but seriously? If you want to be “famous,” you try out for AI. How about being GOOD! I’m not saying there isn’t talent on Idol and I’m probably picking on it more than I should (it’s Simon’s fault for making a stupid movie - how do I know it’s stupid and crappy? c’mon, do I have to answer that?), but I think Bob Costas said it best in an interview I heard him doing with Ben Affleck. He said, and I’m paraphrasing, that this is the first time in our history when a person can become famous without any achievement.
It’s no wonder the music business is collapsing. I wanted to try and do a regular blog on about the top songs on iTunes, but I realized they don’t change often enough and my reviews were nearly always bad.
Excluding hip hop, which I know nothing about, these are the top iTunes songs today:
The Way I Are - Timbaland
Big Girls Don’t Cry - Fergie
Hey There Delilah - Plain White T’s
Umbrella - Rhianna
Shut Up and Drive - Rhianna
Potential Breakup Song - Aly & AJ
Rockstar - Nickelback
The Great Escape - Boys Like Girls
First Time - Lifehouse
Thnks Fr Th Mmrs - Fall Out Boy
Wait for You - Elliot Yamin
Hold On - Jonas Brothers
Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5
Rehab - Amy Winehouse
Whine Up - Kat DeLuna
When You’re Gone - Avril Lavigne
What I’ve Done - Linkin Park
Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood
Teardrops on My Guitar - Taylor Swift
Everything - Michael Buble
Misery Business - Paramore
Home - Daughtry
What Time Is It - High School Musical
Never Wanted Nothing More - Kenny Chesney
Teenager - My Chemical Romance
Who Knew - Pink
Nobody’s Perfect - Hannah Montana
I Need You - Tim McGraw with Faith Hill
Bubbly - Colbie Caillat
Lost in This Moment - Big & Rich
That’s the top 50. If you notice, there are only 30 above because the other 20 are hip hop.
I listened to these songs and there are maybe only 2 or 3 I found interesting enough to give more than one listen. None of them would make my regular rotation. Look, I’m no Clive Davis (thank Jesus) and I don’t pretend to be an expert music reviewer or anything, but I’d be willing to bet a fairly sizable sum of cash that NONE of the above songs becomes a “classic” in the vein of even Bon Jovi.
Anyone think classic rock stations are going to be spinning Linkin Park or Plain White T’s in 20 years assuming radio even exists? How about Fergie on Mix 96.5 as a classic pop song. Look, they don’t play Tony Basil or Flock of Seagulls anymore, so why the hell would Timbaland or Fergie make that list? Nothing wrong with disposable pop music. Every era has it and it can be fun (I’m looking at you owner of the Disco Duck single). But, up until only recently, every era also had hits that were credible and long-lasting. The 80’s produced Springsteen, U2, REM and many other hits that had real longevity. The 90’s had Pearl Jam, Nirvana, even pop hits from Eric Clapton, Seal and Sting that continue to be relevant.
But, not today.
We’ve reduced ourselves to the lowest common denominator in the name of getting what we want instantly and not having to waste precious brain space on anything but how to upload photos to MySpace and which button to push to get our car alarm to turn off. If you have to THINK about what you are listening to, it’s just too damn much work. Music is just sonic wallpaper, good for dancing and singing as long as the lyrics are simple, the melody is catch and the groove is danceable.
Ah, but that is just what the industry wants us to believe. They are so desperately locked into a failing business model, they’ll do anything to convince us that Kelly Clarkson really screwed up by standing up for herself and Taylor Hicks is the next great voice in American music. If they keep churning out overly-simplistic crapola, they just assume everyone will keep buying the cotton candy. The problem is we all grow up eventually and learn to like steak, sushi and even broccoli. Our palettes broaden and we want more from music than just four chords, a hook that has the subtlety of a sledgehammer and a whiny singer who would rather we feel sorry for him than feel his pain. Pity, after all, is a lot easier than empathy.
Truth is, there are lots of good artists out there and millions of people who want to hear them. Not every one of those bazillion iPods Apple has sold are crammed full of the Black Eyed Peas and the Pussycat Dolls. Surprisingly, and much to the chagrin of the music biz, people actually have discerning tastes when it comes to what they put in their ear holes.
I’m not asking them to quit feeding us the cake. I like cake. In fact, I LOVE cake sometimes. But, I’m not dropping that in the center of my plate for dinner every night. Even the Beatles after recording “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and “Love Me Do” figured out pretty quickly that as cool as it was to become the most famous band ever, greatness was far more rewarding.
It’s a shame the music industry is too busy suing people, making deals with cell phone companies and producing crappy movies to realize that.
Oh MAN you hit it right on the nose!! That’s why I love Orange Is In.
I actually have to think! Not just about the lyrics, but about the chord structure, and what it makes me feel when I hear it, and a million other things. God I’m such a groupie, lol. I love you guys.