since June 18, 2004.
"Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?"
I'm sure I'm not the only one who's had that line of pop music culture enter their mind when listening to what passes for music today. What the hell happened? And how did music evolve into this image-happy hell? (OK, granted not ALL bad, but the majority makes one want to unplug MTV.)
First, I wonder why the stuff's even popular. Popular. That brings up that old saying: What's popular isn't always right, and what's right isn't always popular. This is especially true when considering the evolution of rock-n-roll into this. . .computer-generated spectacle.
Backstreet Boys. N'Sync. O-Town. 98 Degrees. Sound familiar? Yeah, that's because record labels, publicists and whomever else have labeled these groups as bands. Ha! They don't play instruments or write their own stuff; they're more like puppets on strings. Popular, yes, but not rock-n-roll.
Foo Fighters. matchbox twenty. Aerosmith. Metallica. Limp Bizkit. Any warmer? These groups better fit the definition of a band, as they play instruments and write some (most or all) of their material. Still popular, yet closer to rock-n-roll.
"Come to San Francisco and dig our sound. . ."
Now, how 'bout these guys: Bob Dylan, Jefferson Airplane, Mamas and the Papas, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, Santana, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones. Not popular with everyone, though if they're not rock-n-roll in some sense of the word, if they don't represent music as it was truly meant to be - an expression, an art form, turning people on, or whatever the artist/group's intention was - then I'll dye my hair blonde.
And for those of you who haven't heard of the groups in the previous paragraph, run - don't walk - to the nearest video store and rent "Monterey Pop," "Don't Look Back," "The Last Waltz," "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars," "Gimme Shelter," "Woodstock: The Director's Cut" - any rockumentary that celebrates the artists, the times, the glamour of rock-n-roll, but especially the music itself - before John Phillips rolls over in his grave.
"I know I'm fakin' it/I'm not really makin' it. . ."
And as for the singers of today? Well, some do show promise, the ones that can actually carry a tune and don't rely on a computer to alter their voices. It's a shame that an industry, which was founded on talent and stood for anti-establishment, is now so deeply submerged into the mainstream that one's image, behavior and lifestyle are now more important. Maybe these singers could borrow a few vocal and performance techniques from their predecessors. Or Madonna's predecessors.
The performance stage should not be a platform for striptease, erotic dancing - the more clothes the better - or live music video performance that includes an entourage of professional dancers. (Seriously, who really travels with that many people?) And microphones should be handheld or remain on their stands. Could you imagine today's dance divas trying to do it old school?
I can almost hear Janis cackling: "Oh, Lord, wontcha buy Britney a new way ta sing. . ."
Copyright © 2004, Talia M. Wilson
published in Cooper Point Journal, Jan. 22, 2004
since June 18, 2004.