Quote:
Originally Posted by RedShoe
Every tool on American Idol says the same fucking thing. "I WANT TO BE FAMOUS" None of them do it... just to do it.
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Contestants on American Idol trade fame for fortune (a common trade-off overall in today's music industry). Basically by the time they are a household name, singers/bands have already signed longterm deals with a corporate agency, which essentially puts whatever future career they are to have into the hands of people that put profits above all else.
For example, I have heard that not just the winners, but the popular runners-up, must do American Idol Tour gigs, etc., as part of even getting to be seen on the show in the first place.
Creativity, particularly originality, and actual musical skills, is of less importance to the music companies, as is formulating a "product" that sells, even if that means they foist total drone/clone acts on the public.
The virtual monopoly that a handful of companies have, and their conservative corporate mentality ensures that even most of the bad boy/girl acts are for the most part cultivated and contrived.
The result is vacuous songs sung (or rather lip-synched) by sugar-coated pre-packaged stars, known as much for their dance steps, as their musical ability. Who needs a band? Pipe in the samples. Replace actual instrument playing with sampling, and musicians with turntablists.
In fact, many of the acts no longer have to worry about such skills as musicianship or songwriting, since that is all handled for them too.
Granted, there are still artists who buck the tide, and I still hear good new music each year that gives me hope that a new scene will emerge that is more liberating than the current souless one, but I am happy that I can always put on an old LP, CD, etc. and still be transported to musical nirvana.
ADG