American Idol: Love it, Hate It, Grade It
Dec 25, 2004 12:11:02 GMT -5
Post by sandrose on Dec 25, 2004 12:11:02 GMT -5
As an avid young music fan (high school senior) who plays music and sings as well and has a sibling who is a lead singer in a rising alt rock band I have many subjective thoughts on American Idol though I never faithfully watched any of it.
I play the cello and several other stringed instruments in my school concert band and I'm an understudy in a philharmonic orchestra where my mother is also a cellist. I sing pretty well and have sung with several pop and rock bands but my parents wouldn't let me join a band permanently because they didn't think I had enough time with all of my other activities and school. I argued and lost.
I grew up on classical music and opera but I think my real passion is popular music with great orchestration and inspiring vocals (maybe its just a phase I'm still young). Its odd I know but the first thing I notice in a pop song is the music, not computer generated sound effects, but actual musical instruments played by people. If the musicians aren't good the vocalist can't save it for me. I think most of (75% or more) todays image driven pop music is complete dreck. I love and admire inspired first rate musicians and vocalists no matter what genre of music they play. John Cougar Mellencamp and his band are an example of popular music artistry that I consider first rate. I love Nellys emotional vocals but hate his horrible, copycat melodies, and awful instrumentation so the effect is to dismiss his artistry as superficial and opportunistic. I think Ashanti is a joke and Anita Baker a scarred genious. I think Ryan Cabrera is emotional mush and Gavin Degraw and Frankie J are both major talents. I think sometimes simple beauty happens, nature temporarily takes over peoples creativity and fine art spontaneously occurs like Hillary Duffs "Come Clean". I like Alicia Keyes but I don't think she can play the piano as well as Gavin DeGraw or sings as well as Beyonce. Great artistic expression moves me. Artistic expression for fame, wealth, or stylistic approval is obvious to me and I hate it. I'm not snobbish about music but I grew up in an environment that honored great atristic performances of all kinds, but mainly musicians. I've developed a critical ear and I can tell when a violinist ever so slightly nicks the wrong string, when a note is'nt held perfectly for the effect the composer intended, or instantly when the reed of an oboe is frayed or dry.
American Idol, its purpose, and prize meant nothing to me when it came on. It still disgusts me but I can tolerate the idea of it a little now having learned how corrupt the music industry is. Still I only have to listen to a singer perform for a couple of minutes to know whether that singer is a first rate artist. So far only one first rate artist has been discovered from that freak show. "A Moment Like This" lyrics are a cliche' from beginning to end, the orchestration is very bland and particularly uninspiring, but the very first time I heard it on the radio the powerful artistry of Kelly Clarksons vocals saved it for me (a first for me) and her performance shined as genuinly top rate. That was my first real exposure to Kelly Clarkson. I didn't follow her career but I looked in on the other singers from the shows next season while awaiting more music from Kelly thinking maybe there were others out there the music industry had missed but none impressed me. No more ever have. I've heard several other good voices but they all lack the genuine artistic genious Kelly Clarkson, John Cougar Mellencamp, Anita Baker, and many other true first rate artists have. Imo they (idols) are novice actors singing for money, not first rate artists singing for themselves. That makes them the same dreck 75% of the rest of pop music is only they didn't even have to sacrifice or make any tough choices to get their opportunity. I think Kelly would have found success in music without American Idol so I don't credit that crap show for it. If that show finds any other first rate talent I can wait to hear them on the radio; watching the show is too much torture.
I hate American Idol mainly because it inspires people the wrong way. Its emotional TV drama not great music. Its viewers become obsessed antagonists and advocates from the drama of the show and overlook the deficiencies of its performers past vastly superior artists already on their radios and in the concert halls. Its like wrestling and I hate wrestling too.
American Idol Grade D- Almost a complete waste of time.
I play the cello and several other stringed instruments in my school concert band and I'm an understudy in a philharmonic orchestra where my mother is also a cellist. I sing pretty well and have sung with several pop and rock bands but my parents wouldn't let me join a band permanently because they didn't think I had enough time with all of my other activities and school. I argued and lost.
I grew up on classical music and opera but I think my real passion is popular music with great orchestration and inspiring vocals (maybe its just a phase I'm still young). Its odd I know but the first thing I notice in a pop song is the music, not computer generated sound effects, but actual musical instruments played by people. If the musicians aren't good the vocalist can't save it for me. I think most of (75% or more) todays image driven pop music is complete dreck. I love and admire inspired first rate musicians and vocalists no matter what genre of music they play. John Cougar Mellencamp and his band are an example of popular music artistry that I consider first rate. I love Nellys emotional vocals but hate his horrible, copycat melodies, and awful instrumentation so the effect is to dismiss his artistry as superficial and opportunistic. I think Ashanti is a joke and Anita Baker a scarred genious. I think Ryan Cabrera is emotional mush and Gavin Degraw and Frankie J are both major talents. I think sometimes simple beauty happens, nature temporarily takes over peoples creativity and fine art spontaneously occurs like Hillary Duffs "Come Clean". I like Alicia Keyes but I don't think she can play the piano as well as Gavin DeGraw or sings as well as Beyonce. Great artistic expression moves me. Artistic expression for fame, wealth, or stylistic approval is obvious to me and I hate it. I'm not snobbish about music but I grew up in an environment that honored great atristic performances of all kinds, but mainly musicians. I've developed a critical ear and I can tell when a violinist ever so slightly nicks the wrong string, when a note is'nt held perfectly for the effect the composer intended, or instantly when the reed of an oboe is frayed or dry.
American Idol, its purpose, and prize meant nothing to me when it came on. It still disgusts me but I can tolerate the idea of it a little now having learned how corrupt the music industry is. Still I only have to listen to a singer perform for a couple of minutes to know whether that singer is a first rate artist. So far only one first rate artist has been discovered from that freak show. "A Moment Like This" lyrics are a cliche' from beginning to end, the orchestration is very bland and particularly uninspiring, but the very first time I heard it on the radio the powerful artistry of Kelly Clarksons vocals saved it for me (a first for me) and her performance shined as genuinly top rate. That was my first real exposure to Kelly Clarkson. I didn't follow her career but I looked in on the other singers from the shows next season while awaiting more music from Kelly thinking maybe there were others out there the music industry had missed but none impressed me. No more ever have. I've heard several other good voices but they all lack the genuine artistic genious Kelly Clarkson, John Cougar Mellencamp, Anita Baker, and many other true first rate artists have. Imo they (idols) are novice actors singing for money, not first rate artists singing for themselves. That makes them the same dreck 75% of the rest of pop music is only they didn't even have to sacrifice or make any tough choices to get their opportunity. I think Kelly would have found success in music without American Idol so I don't credit that crap show for it. If that show finds any other first rate talent I can wait to hear them on the radio; watching the show is too much torture.
I hate American Idol mainly because it inspires people the wrong way. Its emotional TV drama not great music. Its viewers become obsessed antagonists and advocates from the drama of the show and overlook the deficiencies of its performers past vastly superior artists already on their radios and in the concert halls. Its like wrestling and I hate wrestling too.
American Idol Grade D- Almost a complete waste of time.
