Music.
There’s so many different genres and styles, so many talented and creative
people out there… You would think there would be so many options. There isn’t.
Music
of today is not only uncreative, repetitive, and probably about 90% auto tune,
it also repeats on every music station about 15 times a day, every day until it’s
intolerable, only to get replaced by another annoying and remarkably similar
song.
Pop
and rap music are dominating the music industry. How many great artists sell
out by making a few pop songs that don’t even begin to display their talent and
potential? Artists do whatever they can to remain in the spotlight. So much so
that the music is no longer the focus. It is all about image and the shock
factor.
One
Direction, for example, is a boy band made up of cute and funny teenage boys
from the UK with charming accents. I have many friends that identify as “directions”,
obsessing over this band. Yet even they admit that they don’t actually like One
Direction’s music. Sure, the songs are catchy and will get stuck in people’s heads
but in the end, it is the image everyone loves, not the music.
Of
course, the most popular method that attention seekers are now using is the
shock aspect. What better example to use than Miley Cyrus? (Did you expect
anything different?) Today, I was asked the same question multiple times: “Did
you see Miley Cyrus’s new video?” You might be wondering which video this was,
as I did. The one with disturbing images of fingers getting cut off followed by
twerking, creepy teddy bears, and Miley kissing her doll self? No. The VMA performance
where Miley Cyrus made unpleasant faces, vulgar gesture with a foam finger,
with even more twerking and teddy bears? No, it wasn’t that one either. Apparently
Miley has a new video involving her swinging on a wrecking ball (nude), as well
as provocative licking of a sledgehammer.
The
girl never seizes to amaze me. However, I’m sure that, that was the whole
point. Miley knows what reactions she’s going to get. She’s not the first. Lady
Gaga, Madonna and, I’m sure many before them, used the same methods for
attention.
What
worries me is that no one cares about the actual music. Maybe people have
always felt this way through history when music and style start changing. You
could say that the music and style from the flapper era had similar scandalized
reactions to what we have now with singers like Miley Cyrus. Yet I can’t help
but wish that music could just be about the music again.
Hey Julia!
ReplyDeleteI really like your post, especially the way you asked questions in the third to last paragraph.
One thing though, I think "seizes" should be "ceases" as in she never stops to amaze you.
Ha, ironically Julia, I am listening to Lady Gaga right now on Youtube. You would appreciate that when I listen to her music online, I only listen to her acoustic stuff. She strikes me as a talented singer and a moderately talented pianist, so I just listen to music that highlights those talents. I agree with you, though, I can't stand the production and ubiquitous auto-tune that ruins contemporary popular music. I also have an issue with the prerecorded vocal tracks that contemporary performers play over their own performances. Whenever I see a performance with a prerecorded track playing simultaneously, I have to turn it off. Drives me crazy.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, your post is good, but there are several technical issues - particularly with commas - that make your writing a bit difficult to read. Be sure that when you write, you proofread slowly. Ideally, you should also proofread out loud. Of course, this won't help you catch the difference between "seizes" and "ceases." FYI - I made the same mistake repeatedly until I was about 30. There are some words we are all destined to forever confuse.