In my first blog post, which was about things that pissed me off about music, I mentioned the fact that it seems ANYONE can get a deal these days. I'm gonna elaborate on that.
OK. Back in the day, and I mean WAYYYY back in the day, you didn't see a new artist every two minutes. My personal theory is because talent, something special that you could bring to the stage, was the key factor in whether you got signed or not. Record companies wanted people who had that "it" factor - an amazing voice, a crazy good guitarist, drummer, bassist, etc. They didn't want just any Joe who walked in off the street and sang with a mediocre voice or didn't have anything special about their playing skills on an instrument. They wanted someone who really had something to offer to the world of music.
Let me tell you how quickly the downfall of talent happened. I'm only 18 years old, and I can remember times when talent was ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for making it - at least, in my eyes it was. Everyone I heard on the radio had something special.
Then the late '90s happened. Holy shit.
Up pops a whole crop of "artists" who couldn't really sing all that well, but could dance and that somehow explained their ability to entertain on stage. When I go to a concert, do you think I go to see a fucking ballet? FUCK NO. I go to hear some good music. I don't want to see people prancing around. Once upon a time, I liked this music - until I realized that it was a horribly pathetic excuse for music.
The dancing brings me to my main point. These days, it seems like record companies aren't looking for that amazing singer, or that crazy good guitarist, bassist, or drummer. They're looking for sex appeal. This concept I think was a long time cooking but starting burning alive in the late '90s when the belly-button baring, pelvic thrusting "artists" like Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, *NSync...you get the picture. (I'm not bashing Christina because she's got a VOICE. Pretty sad that her record company forced her to release her first single, even though it didn't show off her voice, because it had more - yep, you guessed it, SEX APPEAL!)
It's this shit that actually makes me sad that I'm gonna be a radio DJ. Unless I get a job at a station that plays rock or country, I'm pretty much going to be forced to feed the sex appeal bullshit to people - and they're gonna think I LIKE IT. I hear so many singers today, and they don't have anything special. Hell, most of them sound exactly alike - which is what turned me off of most top 40 music in general. Just the fact that talent wasn't needed to make a record that would sell well anymore - it actually breaks my heart. You know why? 'Cause you see so many people who are REALLY GOOD, and they aren't getting shit for their skills because there are these people who sing in the whiniest, most nasally voices imagineable and they somehow make it onto the radio, into the record store shelves, and into the ears of people who fall for it because they've got smoking bodies. Now I'm not saying good looks isn't an incentive, it is - but your looks will someday fade. Someday, you aren't going to have that chiseled body or great face. You'll get wrinkles, and your body will start to sag. Then, if you've based your career solely on your looks, you're royally FUBARed - fucked beyond all repair. If you've got true talent, that's most likely gonna last you a lifetime, and you won't have to worry. If people bought your records for your talent, then if you've still got it, they're gonna keep buying them even after you're not the hottie you once were.
Don't even get me started on instruments, 'cause I could go on all day about how a lot of today's bands don't have any distinct styles that make them great, but they sell based on the fact that girls will say, "Oh my gosh, he's so HOTTTT!" So many bands today, you can't hear their music and be able to say, "Oh, that's so and so" based solely on the distinct style.
Seriously, what happened to the days when talent was necessary to "make it"? It started with pop, and it's slowly crept out into the other genres, like rock and rap. Ohhhh, don't even get me started on rap!
My ultimate point is, the bar's being set too low. Any Tom, Dick, Harry, or Jane can get a record deal nowadays. I've heard people on the radio nowadays that I am totally convinced that they are tonedeaf - and they somehow still manage to get a hit record or two.
OK, I think I've ranted enough. You get my point. Sony, Arista, Atlantic, all you other labels out there - bring the bar back up. You wonder why people pirate music these days? BECAUSE IT'S NOT WORTH PAYING $15 FOR THE FUCKING CD ANYMORE!
It's this shit that gets me wanting to make like KoЯn and go trash a record store. Anybody in?
OK. Back in the day, and I mean WAYYYY back in the day, you didn't see a new artist every two minutes. My personal theory is because talent, something special that you could bring to the stage, was the key factor in whether you got signed or not. Record companies wanted people who had that "it" factor - an amazing voice, a crazy good guitarist, drummer, bassist, etc. They didn't want just any Joe who walked in off the street and sang with a mediocre voice or didn't have anything special about their playing skills on an instrument. They wanted someone who really had something to offer to the world of music.
Let me tell you how quickly the downfall of talent happened. I'm only 18 years old, and I can remember times when talent was ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for making it - at least, in my eyes it was. Everyone I heard on the radio had something special.
Then the late '90s happened. Holy shit.
Up pops a whole crop of "artists" who couldn't really sing all that well, but could dance and that somehow explained their ability to entertain on stage. When I go to a concert, do you think I go to see a fucking ballet? FUCK NO. I go to hear some good music. I don't want to see people prancing around. Once upon a time, I liked this music - until I realized that it was a horribly pathetic excuse for music.
The dancing brings me to my main point. These days, it seems like record companies aren't looking for that amazing singer, or that crazy good guitarist, bassist, or drummer. They're looking for sex appeal. This concept I think was a long time cooking but starting burning alive in the late '90s when the belly-button baring, pelvic thrusting "artists" like Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, *NSync...you get the picture. (I'm not bashing Christina because she's got a VOICE. Pretty sad that her record company forced her to release her first single, even though it didn't show off her voice, because it had more - yep, you guessed it, SEX APPEAL!)
It's this shit that actually makes me sad that I'm gonna be a radio DJ. Unless I get a job at a station that plays rock or country, I'm pretty much going to be forced to feed the sex appeal bullshit to people - and they're gonna think I LIKE IT. I hear so many singers today, and they don't have anything special. Hell, most of them sound exactly alike - which is what turned me off of most top 40 music in general. Just the fact that talent wasn't needed to make a record that would sell well anymore - it actually breaks my heart. You know why? 'Cause you see so many people who are REALLY GOOD, and they aren't getting shit for their skills because there are these people who sing in the whiniest, most nasally voices imagineable and they somehow make it onto the radio, into the record store shelves, and into the ears of people who fall for it because they've got smoking bodies. Now I'm not saying good looks isn't an incentive, it is - but your looks will someday fade. Someday, you aren't going to have that chiseled body or great face. You'll get wrinkles, and your body will start to sag. Then, if you've based your career solely on your looks, you're royally FUBARed - fucked beyond all repair. If you've got true talent, that's most likely gonna last you a lifetime, and you won't have to worry. If people bought your records for your talent, then if you've still got it, they're gonna keep buying them even after you're not the hottie you once were.
Don't even get me started on instruments, 'cause I could go on all day about how a lot of today's bands don't have any distinct styles that make them great, but they sell based on the fact that girls will say, "Oh my gosh, he's so HOTTTT!" So many bands today, you can't hear their music and be able to say, "Oh, that's so and so" based solely on the distinct style.
Seriously, what happened to the days when talent was necessary to "make it"? It started with pop, and it's slowly crept out into the other genres, like rock and rap. Ohhhh, don't even get me started on rap!
My ultimate point is, the bar's being set too low. Any Tom, Dick, Harry, or Jane can get a record deal nowadays. I've heard people on the radio nowadays that I am totally convinced that they are tonedeaf - and they somehow still manage to get a hit record or two.
OK, I think I've ranted enough. You get my point. Sony, Arista, Atlantic, all you other labels out there - bring the bar back up. You wonder why people pirate music these days? BECAUSE IT'S NOT WORTH PAYING $15 FOR THE FUCKING CD ANYMORE!
It's this shit that gets me wanting to make like KoЯn and go trash a record store. Anybody in?
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